---

Chapter Eighteen – A Real Date, A Real Kiss, and a Not-So-Silent Night

It had been two weeks since the fundraiser explosion.

The news cycle had cooled, the mole had been fired (with legal papers filed faster than pizza delivery), and RoweTech’s PR machine had gone from DEFCON 1 to mildly caffeinated.

Tina and Malik, though?

Still awkward.

Still flirty.

Still… circling each other like two emotionally-stunted satellites with too much gravity between them.

Until Dani kicked down the wall.

---

Operation: Real Date

Dani burst into Tina’s office with the dramatic flair of a soap opera villain.

“You two need to go on an actual date,” she declared.

Tina didn’t look up from her tablet. “Pass.”

Malik, seated in the corner of the office pretending to read a quarterly report, chimed in. “Seconded.”

Dani glared at both of them.

“You faked a relationship. Survived a PR scandal. Took down a mole. And you still haven’t been on a real date?”

Malik shrugged. “We had lunch once.”

“At the office cafeteria,” Tina muttered. “With three interns and a whiteboard.”

Dani crossed her arms. “I’m not asking. I’m telling. I made reservations. Tonight. Dress nice. No black. No laptops. No bodyguards. No nonsense.”

Tina raised a brow. “Did you just manage your boss?”

“Someone had to,” Dani said, turning on her heel like she was done saving the world for the day.

---

Date Night – For Real This Time

Restaurant: Juniper — a rooftop garden spot overlooking the Manhattan skyline.

Tina showed up in a deep emerald dress that hugged and flowed at the same time. Minimal makeup. Red lips. No armor.

Malik wore a dark blue suit that actually fit — thank you, Dani — and the sneakers he refused to abandon.

They stood at the entrance for a second, just looking at each other.

“You clean up nice,” Malik said.

“You always say that,” Tina replied.

“You always prove me right.”

She smirked, and they walked in together.

---

Table for Two, Hold the Pretending

The waiter poured wine.

The candles flickered.

And the world, for once, stopped trying to interrupt.

Tina sipped her drink. “You nervous?”

“A little. First real date I’ve been on since… ever.”

“You’ve never dated anyone properly?”

“I mean, there was Simone, but she thought fries were a personality.”

Tina laughed, relaxing a little. “And what do I think?”

“That spreadsheets are foreplay.”

She nearly choked on her wine. “You’re insane.”

“I’m honest.”

They talked.

About nothing.

And everything.

Family. Childhood. Her first startup that failed. His dream of owning a bookstore-slash-café.

“I’d call it ‘Booked & Brewed,’” Malik said. “Coffee and chapters. Coziness and chaos.”

Tina smiled. “I’d invest.”

He leaned forward. “I want to build it myself. Not with your money.”

She nodded slowly. “Then I’ll just be your favorite customer.”

“You already are.”

---

The Rooftop Kiss

They left the restaurant, bellies full, hearts light.

The night breeze was cool, the city lit up like a promise.

Malik hesitated before they parted ways on the sidewalk.

“Tina?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve wanted to kiss you properly since the elevator.”

She stepped closer.

“So what’s stopping you?”

He leaned in.

And this time, there were no cameras, no pretending, no roles to play.

Just lips, breath, warmth, and the kind of kiss that makes you forget the ground exists.

When they pulled away, she whispered, “Took you long enough.”

He grinned. “Worth the wait?”

“Ask me again tomorrow.”

---

Not-So-Silent Night

They ended up back at her place.

Wine turned into laughter.

Laughter turned into slow dancing in the kitchen.

Slow dancing turned into making out against the fridge.

And then —

“I’m not sleeping with you tonight,” Tina said, breathlessly, between kisses.

Malik froze. “Oh. Uh. That’s fine. I wasn’t— I mean, I was— but—”

She laughed. “Relax. I want to take this seriously. For real.”

He nodded, a little flushed. “Same.”

“Also,” she added, “I want you to want me, not the night.”

Malik kissed her forehead.

“I want everything.”

And somehow, falling asleep on her couch, wrapped in a throw blanket that cost more than his rent, Malik had never felt richer.

---

End of Chapter Eighteen.