Their first date had gone better than Lily expected—and that was saying something, considering it took place in a restaurant where the cheapest dish probably cost more than her weekly groceries.
Aaron had been charming without trying, surprisingly unpretentious for someone whose last name carried weight. His mom's restaurant—The Pomegranate Table—was all soft lights, expensive wine lists, and waiters who moved like stagehands in a play. But Aaron had made it feel... normal.
"I come here so often the staff probably knows my blood type," he'd joked as they sat down. "Try not to judge me too hard."
Lily smiled. "I'll only judge you by your dessert choice."
That night, they talked about everything and nothing—Lily's love of writing, Aaron's strange habit of reading film reviews before watching movies, how neither of them trusted people who didn't like dogs.
After dinner, they went to the old theater downtown to watch a romantic film Aaron had picked.
"You're into romance movies?" she asked as they found their seats.
"Guilty," he said. "Don't tell my father. He thinks I'm at a networking event."
They laughed. And even though she didn't normally hold hands during movies, Lily found herself reaching for his somewhere around the second act.
In the days after, Aaron didn't ghost her or play games. He texted her good morning. Shared songs that reminded him of their date. Asked about her day without fishing for compliments.
A week later, they met again. Less formal this time—coffee and a long walk through the gardens. Lily wore an oversized hoodie. Aaron wore sunglasses and got recognized twice. She asked if it bothered him.
"Being known?" he said. "No. Being expected to be someone I'm not? That part sucks."
Lily nodded. She understood that feeling too well.
By the third time they hung out, they weren't talking in first-date voices anymore. They joked. Teased. Got more real.
Aaron opened up about the pressure of being the "future CEO," about how his parents loved him but sometimes made him feel like a brand instead of a person.
Lily shared how she always felt like the quiet one in her family, the "reliable" one who never shook things up—but sometimes wanted to.
One evening, sitting on the hood of Aaron's car under the stars outside the city, the question came naturally.
"So... are we doing this?" Lily asked, brushing her hair back.
Aaron looked at her, thoughtful but smiling. "Yeah. I think we are."
And that was it. No fireworks. No Instagram posts. Just a feeling that had quietly grown roots.
So when the invitation to Lily's family BBQ came up, she didn't hesitate to ask him. Not because she wanted to parade him around, but because he had already started to feel like someone who belonged.
And Aaron? He just smiled and said,
"Only if I get to be on grill duty at some point."