Much to Emilia's amusement, I spent the next day and a half panicking.

"When was the last time you even went on a date?" she asked me, cracking up as I lay facedown on the couch, trying not to hyperventilate.

I turned over on my side to face her. My stomach was in knots and I felt like I was going to throw up. "High school."

Emilia chuckled. "Ah, Evan. What was his idea of a date, anyway?"

I sighed and continued turning so I was on my back, staring at the ceiling. "Stupid teenage boy stuff. Movies, cheap dinners, mini golf...ugh, I haven't thought about going mini golfing with him in years." I bolted upright. "Dear God, what if he takes me mini golfing?"

"You'd have to break up with him on the spot," Emilia said, doing her best to keep a straight face.

I threw a pillow at her. "Not helping."

"Ana, you need to calm down," Emilia continued on, this time actually serious although the amusement hadn't quite left her eyes. "You like him. He likes you. You've spent a ton of time together, and done a lot of things together that could have been dates but the two of you were just too stupid to admit how you felt to each other. This is just like that, except now you actually get to hold hands and kiss in public."

"I don't even know where we're going. What if I wear the wrong thing?"

"You could wear a tie-dye shirt and plaid shorts and I don't think it would matter to him."

Emilia was probably right, but I had no plans on committing a fashion crime. It took almost a dozen outfits, but eventually, I felt confident as I stared at myself in the mirror. A simple, sleeveless, fit and flare blue dress hugged my curves up top but then flared out at my natural waist, falling to just above my knees. Paired with my red lipstick, red platform shoes, curled hair, and the chain that held my mom's ring, it gave me a classic look that I figured would work well for whatever Alex had in store for tonight.

"Have fun," Emilia said, grinning at me when we heard Alex knock at the door.

I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks. I'll see you later."

"You mean tomorrow," Emilia teased after me.

I shot her a dirty look, but that quickly fell off my face as I went to greet Alex.

The first time I had dressed up to go out with him, he had looked at me like he wanted to rip my clothes off right then and there. His gaze was pure desire.

But now, Alex's eyes lit up as I opened the door, a look of almost wonder crossing over his face. It was like he was looking at the most beautiful thing on the planet.

All of the nerves I had been feeling for the past day and a half melted away as he took my hand.

"You're stunning," he told me.

I felt the blush work its way across my cheeks. What the hell was wrong with me? This man had seen me naked on many occasions.

But this felt different. This was different.

"I don't think I've ever seen you in anything other than a t-shirt." Okay, maybe I couldn't help teasing him, just a little.

Alex chuckled. "I mean, we can stop by my house so I can change, if you'd like."

I eyed his button-down and the way he had his sleeves rolled up on his forearms. "Absolutely not," I told him. "And I am glad I'm apparently appropriately dressed for wherever it is we're going."

Alex laughed. "Which I'm still not going to tell you, but we should probably get going, or else we'll be late." He offered his arm to me. "Shall we?"

I rolled my eyes as my heart skipped a beat in my chest and then took his arm, allowing him to lead me down to his car. Ever since Alex had left my apartment, he had been almost radio silent, at least when it came to whatever it was he was planning for tonight. And he maintained that silence as he got behind the wheel of his car and we drove off, although I figured out fairly soon that we were headed to New Haven.

"Right, so I remembered you told me the two things you were tired of eating were seafood and bar food," Alex said as he pulled into a parking lot. "So I figured staying away from that would be a smart move."

I blinked. He was right, but even I didn't remember ever telling him that.

"I also remember you saying that you didn't think that Delphine had any good Italian food, so here we are."

Another thing I didn't remember telling him, but those thoughts quickly went away as we entered the restaurant. Candles on top of white tablecloths illuminated the dimly lit space. Waiters whisked around in all black, expertly balancing plates and pouring expensive bottles of wine.

I suddenly felt underdressed and out of place.

"Alex, this seems very—" I stalled on the word 'expensive.' I guess that wouldn't matter to him. "High end," I finished lamely.

Alex looked down at me, half-amused, but the expression dropped off his face once he saw my frown. Pointedly ignoring the host who was waiting expectantly, Alex turned to face me, rubbing his hands down my arms. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his eyes glittering with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I told him, trying to reassure myself as much as him. This was the last thing I wanted to do when we were finally going on an actual date together. "It's just not what I'm used to, is all."

"Ana, if you told me right now that you wanted to go to Taco Bell instead, I would be just as happy," Alex said. "But just because you're not used to something doesn't mean you don't have a right to enjoy it."

I took a deep breath. I did really want to have some fancy fettuccine alfredo. "I'm great," I told him, actually meaning it. "And I bet they have really good dessert here."

Alex grinned. "I checked. They do."

Ten minutes later we were sitting down, glasses of wine in front of each of us, and food on the way. We were at a corner table, half hidden from the rest of the restaurant, so between the fact that very few people could see us and I could hold Alex's hand under the table, my anxieties had completely melted away.

"I have to admit," Alex said, "I'm not really sure what you talk about on a first date when I already know all the first date information about you."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "What's my favorite color?"

"Light blue," he answered promptly. "Like the color of the sky after a storm clears and the sun is out."

"Damn, okay show off," I grumbled, feeling warmth spread from my chest at the fact that he knew that.

"Mine's red, in case you wanted to know," Alex added cheekily.

I rolled my eyes. I did know that. "Speaking of things about you," I said, taking my chance with the window he provided me, "can I ask you something?"

He hadn't stopped looking at me since we ordered. "Anything." I could tell by the light in his eyes that he meant it.

"I know your past in New York is complicated," I began, hoping I wasn't about to derail the whole evening, "but, you know, what did you like about it?"

A slightly wistful smile crossed Alex's face. He didn't seem bothered by the question at all. "Central Park," he said, not needing much time to think. "Just wandering around by myself and getting lost. There's always something going on, so if you're ever bored you always can find something to do. The food." He paused as our entrees came and the waiter set them down. "So many options. Like, anything you could ever want. And the people, too. They come from everywhere, everyone has their own story of how they got there."

God, I loved seeing him like this, talking about the things that he actually enjoyed. His entire face lit up, a soft smile on his lips.

"Honestly, I think that's one of the reasons why I love working at Coral Brews so much," he admitted. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're a great benefit," he added, bringing my hand up to his lips as I rolled my eyes, "but I would like working there even if you weren't there. I just like talking to people, hearing their stories."

"Alex, are you telling me you're slacking off on the job by talking to customers," I said, trying to sound severe but barely keeping laughter from bubbling up to the surface.

"Hey, I am a great busboy-slash-bartender," he said, pretending to be offended. "You know, Ana," he said, this time his voice more serious even though his eyes still looked at me in almost wonder, "there's a lot I want to tell you. About me, about New York, about my past. It just might take me a little bit of time."

"There's no rush," I told him, simply. My heart constricted. No one had ever looked at me the way he was right now. "Whenever you're ready."

But now was the time for Italian food, and my fettuccine alfredo was heavenly. Despite the large portion, I had no leftovers, and still had room to eat an entire tiramisu on my own.

I tried to ignore the waiter as he came and handed Alex the bill, forcing myself not to think about how much we had just spent on one meal.

Damn it, Ana. You are not ruining this over your ridiculous sense of fiscal responsibility.

Alex and I left hand in hand, and as we exited the restaurant he pulled me forward, apparently eager to get moving.

"Don't tell me you're that eager to see my dress on the floor," I said laughing, stumbling after him.

He stopped at his car and his eyes flickered over me. "Oh, I'm very eager," he said. He leaned down and kissed me. "But not yet. Don't tell me you thought that I would waste our first date on only dinner, did you?"

Okay, maybe I thought that a little bit, but apparently, Alex had more planned. We drove for a little while longer through New Haven until Alex found what he was looking for and pulled over.

"Wow, look at that parallel parking job," I teased, although actually mildly impressed.

He looked over at me, slightly amused. "I did learn to drive in New York City, you know," he reminded me. "No parking lots."

Fair enough. Alex and I got out and approached a nondescript building. As soon as he opened the door, however, a wave of fast-paced music ran over us. The space was brightly lit, with a band playing on the stage, and several couples in the middle of the floor.

Swing dancing. He was taking me swing dancing.

"Alex," I said, gripping his hand, feeling my nerves return but also a rush of excitement. "I really hate to break it to you, but my dance skills don't go much farther than what you saw the first night we went out together."

Alex wrapped his arm around me, and when I looked up at him, I saw his eyes shining. He was ecstatic.

"And I am very, very appreciative for those dancing skills," he told me. "But don't worry. I've got you. I promise, it'll be fun."

And I believed him.

Alex apparently timed our arrival, because not long after the music changed up and people shifted around. Apparently, we were at the newbie hour.

Fortunately, Alex didn't torture me by dragging me to the center of things, and instead, we hung out near the edge. He took both of my hands into his and raised them to chest level. "Trust me," he breathed, grazing his lips across my ear and letting his warm breath run across my skin.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I did.

He taught me the basic step first, and while I got a hang of it after a few repetitions, it still felt clunky. Alex leaned down again to talk into my ear. "I know you have rhythm, Ana," he said, his voice low. "Your hips and ass made that very clear to me. So trust yourself."

I blushed. This man was apparently determined to turn me on as much as possible before we got home. But I did as he said, letting my shoulders relax, my hands getting more comfortable in his. I forced the instructions Alex gave me on how to do the step from my head, and I followed him and I followed the music.

It worked out much better.

A minute later, Alex lifted one of my arms up and spun me around, wrapping his arm around my back to steady me as I stumbled back toward him, caught off guard. I looked up at him, breathless, my head spinning.

"I think you should try that again," I said, feeling very pleased by the rush of adrenalin that it had served.

Alex grinned and did as I asked, and this time I stayed more in control, twirling back into him with much more grace.

Over the course of the next hour, Alex taught me a few more spins, but eventually, the lessons stopped and we just danced. I was sweating like crazy and I knew my hair was probably sticking up and frizzing in places, but it was just so much fun. I couldn't remember this time I had this much fun, with nothing on my mind except the music and Alex.

Alex. Oh, and Alex. I hadn't ever seen him like this before. He moved with such ease, leading me and steadying me with every beat, with every turn, with every twirl. The grin never faded from his face, not even in the moments where he bent down, still on the beat, to sneak a kiss.

The hour flew by, and it felt like barely any time had passed when the band stopped playing and everyone started clapping for each other. I let go of both of Alex's hands for the first time since he had grabbed them and joined in, my eyes gazing into his.

"Alright, now the regulars take over, apparently," Alex said, leaning over to speak into my ear as the music started again. He rested his hand on the small of my back. "We should probably get out of their way."

I had no issue with that. I grabbed his hand again and we headed off the dancefloor. I was buzzing. And that buzzing didn't stop even as we left the dance hall and out into the cool, night air.