Page 102 of Make Me Swoon

She nods, ducking her head to hide her blush and seeing the pink stain on her cheeks puts me at ease. It means that I’m not the only one who’s feeling nervous about tonight.That has to mean that she has feelings about me too, right?

I open the car door for her and Coraline smiles at me as she slips inside. I planned for us to go to an escape room before we head to Il Tettoo, a rooftop restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. It was the most romantic place that I could think of with its tiny twinkling string lights and the view of Penn Avenue. The food is supposed to be great too which is a major plus. Coraline cooks for people all of the time, so I want to take her out someplace good.

“Where are we headed?”

“Have you ever been to an escape room?” I ask her.

“Uh, no… but quick question.”

“Sure,” I say with a smile.

“Um, should I be worried that for our first date you’re taking me someplace where I’ll literally be trapped with you?” she asks with a laugh and I join her.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I admit. “It just sounded like something fun and I’ve never been before, so maybe it would be a new experience for both of us.”

“It sounds cool. Are we grabbing food too?”

“Yeah, I made reservations at Il Tettoo at seven-thirty so hopefully we’re out of the escape room by then.”

Coraline laughs as I pull into the parking lot of Dido’s Escape Rooms and hurry out of the car and around the hood to open Coraline’s door for her.

“You look gorgeous, Coraline,” I whisper in her ear as I lean past her to close the car door.

I could swear that she shivers at my words and my confidence grows. These feelings can’t be one-sided.

I take her hand again as we head inside and get checked in. Our escape room is designed like a prison and we listen to the instructions before the energetic employee locks us inside and starts the timer.

“Where do you want to get started?” Coraline asks me, and I look around the small room.

“Those shelves over there?” I suggest and we start to search the room for the first clue.

We only have forty-five minutes to find all of the clues and the key and get out. It’s fun to watch Coraline get competitive. She’s so cute and smart. She finds most of the clues and we make it out of the room with five minutes to spare.

Coraline high fives me as we head up to the front counter and I grin. I’ve never seen her so happy and carefree and I love that I was able to put that look on her face. I want to do it again and again every day of my life.

Things are easy between us as we drive the few blocks to Il Tettoo and ride up to the rooftop in the elevator. Coraline’s eyes widen in wonder as she looks around the cozy restaurant.

Twinkling lights are strung criss-cross around the space and small tables are set up all over the rooftop. There’s some low music playing and the soft murmur of other couples talking adds an intimate feeling to the space.

“The view is incredible,” Coraline murmurs as we take our seats near the edge of the roof.

You can see most of the Pittsburgh skyline from here and the traffic from down below is just a distant hum.

“I’ve never been here before but it is pretty. I’m glad that you like it.”

“I do. I’d love to be the chef at a place like this,” she says, looking around the space once more.

“You don’t like running The Culinerdy Cruiser?” I ask her.

I thought that the food truck was her dream, but I should have realized when she mentioned she had an interview with Max.

“Not exactly. I love being a chef but I want my own brick-and-mortar place. I couldn’t find that in New York and, so far, I haven’t found it here in Pittsburgh either. The food truck was the next best thing.”

I mull this over as we both look over the menu. I love learning new things about her and I want to help her achieve all of her dreams.

The waitress comes by to get our orders and as soon as she’s gone, I start asking Coraline more about herself.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

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