While running her free hand over the front of her dress nervously, her head whipped upwards to see Neco. With a smile combination of nerves and shyness, Colette gave him a little wave as she waited for him to invite her in. He seemed to be stunned by something, and it took a minute for him to say something. His stuttering was really cute, and it took quite a bit for her not to giggle. She stepped inside and took in a quick glance of the inside. Just like the outside of the house, it was beautiful.

"Hm? Oh yeah, here you go. It's the chips and ice cream I promised to bring." Passing the bags to him, she now had no idea what to do with her hands. Oh, how she wished this dress had pockets. Holding her hands together in front of her, Colette took a few more steps. She looked around from where she was. "Your house is so beautiful and amazing. Especially compared to my little apartment."

The smell of the steak caught her attention very quickly. It was faint because she was inside. But with her love of steak, it wasn't too hard to find. While waiting for Neco to get back from putting the ice cream in the freezer, probably, she decided to explore a little. Following the scent, Colette found herself in front of the glass door to the outside. They'd be heading over this way anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem she got to the door first.

Opening the door, she stepped outside and was greeted with the strong smell of the steak. Happily taking a big whiff, Colette opened her eyes afterward and let her eyes travel over his backyard. The pool was even more beautiful in person. She couldn't wait to swim in it.

my emotional state has influenced my writing, aka, bland and short)))

Grabbing the bags with a nervous smile, he quickly went to put away the ice cream and grab the green beans. Making a beeline into the kitchen, Neco set the ice cream in his freezer, looking at the flavors which were cookie dough and neapolitan. Raising his eyebrows and licking his lips at them both, he set them into his freezer and pushed at the button, popping open the microwave door and pulled out the steaming bowl of green beans. Giving it another stir with the fork, he turned back around to see her nowhere, but saw that the back door was left open. Not wanting any pesky flies, Neco set out and headed outside, finding her admiring his pool, closing the door behind him.

A proud smile set on his face and he set down the green beans on the little table. It was a little metal table that held glass at the top. The chairs were a simple black, decorated with ornate designs on the arms and the heads. He returned to the barbeque and carefully put the steak on a plastic plate, snatching up his knife and cutting it down the middle. It revealed that it was cooked to medium rare, with a little bit of pink meat in the middle. He put some green beans on both plates and set them down on the table, happily inhaling the sweet scent of food. Purring softly to himself, he looked over at her, realizing that he hadn't said anything. What was he supposed to say?

"Uh..you wanna swim or eat?" he asked, unsure of what she wanted to do. In all honesty, smelling the food was rousing his appetite and he secretly hoped that she would pick to eat first. As he looked down at the plates, he threw his head back. My god he was stupid. "I...sorry..stupid question." he muttered, his face flushing. Grief he could barely hold it together.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned her head around to see Neco walking out. Smiling at him, she went back to looking at the backyard. When he started to plate up the food though, that immediately caught her attention. Turning all the way around, she followed his lead and walked over to the table as well when she saw him do so. Colette watched him cut the streak and tried not to drool.

You get mighty acquainted with steak on a farm, but that didn't make her sick of it. Oh no, if anything she was obsessed with it. Looking up after Neco's question got her to snap out of getting distracted by the food, she tilted her head slightly before shaking her head with a kind smile.

"Not stupid, some people might want to swim before eating, work up that appetite." Colette walked to a chair and sat down while keeping her gaze on Neco. "Lucky for you, I'm not that kind of person. I see steak and I immediately want to eat it. Especially this, it looks amazing." Letting her legs excitedly bounce, she waited till he sat down before digging in.

She didn't want to look like a crazy person eating this, but her stomach was impatient. Putting a bite of the steak in her mouth, Colette's eyes widened before finding Neco's eyes. "What did you do to this because it tastes amazing," she mumbled, a hand covering her mouth that was clearly talking with steak stuffed into it.

She explained to him that some people would want to swim to work up their appetite, but then wouldn't the food get cold? Dismissing his thoughts, his face lit up in joy at her compliment. "Thank you!" He said, feeling proud he was able to impress her. Sitting down, he grabbed his fork, noting at how Colette was already a step ahead of him. He chuckled at her reaction and grinned ear to ear. "Magic~" he said playfully, excited to see her enjoying his food. He took a bite of his own meal as well, quietly purring at the taste. It had been a good bit since he had barbecued, and he missed it.

A few more bites were popped into his mouth, with him 'hafafafsha' occasionally to cool it down in his mouth. He then asked, "What's your favorite food?" Curious to know so he could cook it for next time. She had good taste picking out two very good flavors of ice cream. He was glad she didn't pick mint, because he hated it, it always tasted like toothpaste. Bleh.

Colette was in a food paradise. However he had seasoned it and cooked it made the steak taste like it was from home. It was pushy a year or so since she was last even back home. Rolling her eyes when he said it was magic, she smiled and went back to digging in. His occasional 'hafafafsha' almost made her lose it and laugh, even with food in her mouth. His question about her favorite food made her pause, holding her fork full of food still mid-air before setting it down.

"That is a very loaded question. I think I have a favorite food for every category," Colette said with a small laugh. "I think I'd have to pick oven-baked mac and cheese with that crunchy top layer as my favorite over anything really. Roasted Brussel sprouts are good, if made the right way. Nothing will ever top my mama's Mississippi mud cake or her ooey gooey butter cake dessert-wise. Oh, and biscuits and gravy." Realising she had gone off on a ramble about her favorite foods, her cheeks flushed and her gaze went back to her plate.

Neco watched her eat, pride swelling up faster in his chest. He was so happy to see someone else enjoying his food. Smiling at her response, he rolled his eyes playfully and listened intently. His own mouth watered at her naming off all the different kinds of food, not realizing he had let out a sigh of content as she finished. However, once he heard 'biscuits and gravy', his face scrunched up in disgust. "Ew.." he muttered lowly, not trying to be rude, but that honestly sounded gross. Noticing her blush caused him to blush as well, because he was interally gushing over it. He looked down to avoid her seeing his reddened face when he noticed he finished up his meal, much too quickly than he would've liked. He didn't give himself much, slightly insecure about looking full in front of her with no shirt on.

Looking away from his empty plate like he didn't notice it, he replied, "That was not a loaded question. But most of those things you listed are things I haven't tried yet, but they sounded delicious." He attempted to be cheery about it, but the thought of it made him seemingly more hungry. Making note of how quickly she was eating, he got up and excused himself saying that he would be right back. He made a beeline inside and dashed to his bedroom, giving himself a good lookover in the fullbody mirror.

He was never one to really look into legitimate detail about himself often, and somehow forgot his unruly chest hair that covered his chest and then slimmed down into a line that ran down the center of his belly. Maybe she would like that? It gave him a more manlier appearance right? His thoughts then wandered over to his swim trunks, which were snug around his thighs and hips. Did this look too..flirting? Or was it weird?

"Gah!" he growled, throwing his hands in the air. He walked out of his room, trying to get rid of the insecurity that threatened to suffocate him. He walked back outside with a small smile, one that portrayed his nervousness. "S-So..do you wanna eat ice cream or test out the pool?" he asked, attempted to get his nervousness under control.

It made some sort of sense when he mentioned he never had any of these. But what wouldn't make sense is if she didn't do anything about it. Maybe someday she could make him a little buffet when she had him over. That thought alone set something off in her stomach. Colette looked down at her mostly empty plate and decided it was because she ate too fast. Nodding to him as he excused himself, she shook her head at herself for eating so fast. She couldn't help it though, the food was so delicious.

Looking up when Neco came back, she could tell just by the look on his face he was nervous. Why was he nervous? And better yet, why did that make her feel more nervous herself? "I say the pool, but I just need to run to the bathroom quickly." Now excusing herself, Colette went inside and started the search of the bathroom. Once she found it, her feet quickly carried her inside and closed the door behind her. She didn't really need to use the bathroom, she just needed to take off her dress that was covering her swimsuit.

Colette could have done this outside, but she felt a little more secure about doing it in the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she slipped off the dress and gave herself a once-over. Nothing looked- too bad. Telling her mind to knock it off with the negative thoughts, Colette walked out of the bathroom and put her dress away in her bag before going outside.

Giving Neco an extremely shy and nervous smile, Colette gestured to the pool. "Shall we?" Sitting on the edge, she let her feet dangle in the water to gauge the temperature. Once she was comfortable with the coolness of the water, Colette slipped the rest of her body into the water.

After she had excused herself, he couldn't help but feel at fault. Was he making everything awkward? Was it because he ate too quickly? Or was he just not good at this? Regardless of what it was, it had Neco groaning in frustration at himself. He didn't want to screw this up, not after getting so far. Besides, she was just trying to have fun, right? He couldn't let himself think for even a second that she could ever be interested. She came over to enjoy a day in his pool and that's what she will do. Yet, the thought of she was over at his house had his heart giddy.

He attempted to calm down, breathing in and out. He could do this. He turned his head after hearing his back door opening and his jaw fell slightly at her in her bathing suit. Swallowing thickly, he smiled with all his might and nodded, following after her. Her shy smile imprinted itself in his brain and he sighed softly. Watching her find that the tempurature of the water was good, he made his way over to the deep end and simply jumped in. The rush of the water made his skin prickle for a brief moment, but he quickly got used to it. Floating up to the surface, he took in a breath of air before clearing the water from his face. He noticed it was also dripping from his hair as well.

He gave her a smile and chuckled, "Sorry, should've given ya a warning." he apologetically explained, rubbing the back of his neck in a slight worrying. He sighed, the feeling of weightlessness in the water was pleasing. He floated around for a small bit before rolling onto his back.

Colette was thankful she had slowly gone into the water. It was just chilly enough to send a wave of goosebumps over her skin, but it gave relief from the heat. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and let her body fully adjust before walking a little deeper. It was amazing to be in the water after so long. This was just what she needed between the heatwave and work.

Oh, how she wished she hadn't closed her eyes though. If she had, Colette would have seen Neco's splash coming. The rush of water triggered a loud squeal to slip from her lips. Eyes wide open now, she stared blankly at him before laughing. "It's fine, just a little shocking. Don't worry about it," she assured him.

After swimming along the surface, a mischievous look wormed its way onto her face as a plan formulated in her mind. He seemed pretty relaxed, for now. Quietly diving under the water, Colette swam her way to where Neco was. Waiting for the right moment, she carefully floated up below him, poked his sides, and darted away.

(fried brain and caffeine makes for a word writing session)