-Chapter Twenty Nine-

“R-Really?” I asked, stuttering as a blush crept onto my face.

“Really.” Jake smiled at me. “Shall we go?”

“Sure. Where are we going again? Wait, no. You’ll probably say it’s a surprise anyway.” The corner of my lips turned up.

“You know me so well.”

“Hey, Baby Girl!” I turned around and saw my dad walking down the hallway. “Why are you two so dressed up in fancy clothes?”

“We’re going out for dinner,” I clarified.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. You two are. . . Boyfriend and girlfriend now. So I’ve heard, at least. Is this. . . True?” He looked at me and begged me with his eyes to say no.

“Yes, sir,” Jake said.

My dad nodded and smiled, though I could tell it was forced. “Okay, then.” He paused and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uhm, have fun.”

“I’ll try to.” I smiled warmly and gave him a goodbye hug. “Bye, Dad. Tell Mom I said bye, too. We’ll be back soon.”

“Okay, sweetie.” Crow’s feet appeared at the corner of his eyes as he genuinely smiled at me.

“Bye, Dad.” I gave him one last smile. Jake let me walk out the door first, like the gentleman he is, and walked out after me. . . That is until my dad pulled him back in. Oh, God. Here goes The Speech.

I rolled my eyes and proceeded down the front, stone pathway. A fancy looking car was parked in the driveway. Is that for us. . . ?

I heard the front door open and close, but I didn’t really pay attention to it. I was still focusing my eyes on the car. Trust me, I had no idea what it was called, or how to compare it to anything. . . All I can really say is that it was white and beautiful.

Two arms hugged me from behind. I knew it was Jake. Hehe.

“Are you ready to go?” he whispered in my ear, sending chills down my back.

“If you are.”

He retracted his arms, putting them to his sides. To think I made fun of all those stories when the guy stops touching the girl and she feels colder all of a sudden. It’s a true fact!

 “Well, then let’s go,” he said.

“Okay. Is this car for us?” I questioned.

“Indeed.”

“Why so fancy?”

“Because riding on a motorcycle to a dinner date isn’t exactly the definition of romantic.”

“Well, aren’t you a gentleman.”

“Of course I am.” He winked at me and jogged back to the driver’s side, climbing in. That wink was so much better than the emoticon. Exaggerating much? Oh heck no.

“What did my lovely father say to you when he practically dragged you back into the house like a serial killer?” I asked curiously as we pulled out of the drive and onto the street.

“Eh. You know, the usual death threat that boyfriends tend to receive from fathers or older brothers in movies and cheesy stories,” he explained.

“Ah, I see.” I sighed. What am I going to do with my dad? At least Christian got what he deserved after my dad figured out what he had done. . . I smirked at the memory.

My phone buzzed in my bag. I pulled it out and saw that I had one new message from Danielle.

“Hey, where are you? Did you and Jake run off into the sunset again? ;)”

“I’m in the car with Jake. We’re going out somewhere. Don’t know where, though.”

“That boy’s just full of surprises, isn’t he? Have fun ;) *dramatic sigh* They grow up so fast. . .”

I rolled my eyes at her reply. “We’ll try to, and I’m older than you!”

“By five months. I'm eating candy. Gotta go now! Bye!”

I didn’t bother texting her back. Why? Because if I did, she’d probably scold and smack me for replying after she told me she’s eating candy, which, by the way, is ‘being busy’ for her species.

* * *

We arrived in front of a fancy looking restaurant that seemed to be three stories high? Wow. Lights were illuminating the exterior of the large building. A sign that was placed on the front had a word that was written in cursive, and in a different language. Huh. Looks pretty fancy to me.

I knew it was an Italian restaurant, and definitely not just because I read the little text under the main logo that said: Italian Restaurant.

Don’t judge me!

“Is this the right place?” I questioned looking at the place in awe. “Are you sure we are eating here?”

“Yes, I am. Fancy, isn’t it?”

“Are you kidding me? Look at it!” I exclaimed. “It’s huge! How can you afford this kind of stuff?”

“I’m a drug dealer. What did you think?”

I gasped. “What—”

He laughed at me. “I’m just kidding, Alex. Don’t go crazy, now.”

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. “You don’t play around like that! Didn’t your mother teach you better? You scared the crap out of me. Jeez.”

“Sorry, I’ll try to not keep such a straight face next time.” He smiled at me and took my small hand in his larger one. “Come on, let’s go eat.”

“Okay. . . But it’s going to be full. We’ll never get a seat.”

“I made reservations.”

“You just asked me out on this date three hours ago, Jake.” I explained. “How do you already have reservations?”

“I have my ways. Nah, I just called ahead of time.”

“How much ahead of time?”

“Three hours ago.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Whatever. Let’s go in now. I’m hungry.” Letting go of my hand, he put his right arm around my waist and held me close to him as we walked into the building that stood ahead of us.

“Hello,” the woman behind the wooden podium greeted, smiling warmly at us. “How may I help you two today?”

“There should be a reservation under Carter?” Jake told her, turning it into more of a question.

“Alright, first name?”

“Jake.”

“Okay, right this way!” She gave us another smile and guided us towards the back. We passed multiple tables filled with people at least in their mid-thirties and up. Were we the only teenagers in here?

Seconds later, the kind woman stopped in front of a table for two. “Here is your table. Your waiter should be here soon. Have a lovely evening!”

I gave her a smile, and she handed us each a menu. Jake opened his menu, and scanned over it. I looked at him in deep thought. Why would he choose this place? It’s so fancy, and we are surrounded by old people! Okay, fine, they aren’t old, but thirty is close enough, right?

Jakes green orbs flicked up from his menu, landing on my own. “Yes, Alex?” He sounded amused.

“Why here?” I asked him, voicing my thoughts.

“What do you mean? You don’t like it?” He seemed disappointed. I mean he probably will spend tons of money tonight, just for me, and here I am, complaining?

“No, I love it! It’s just. . . It just seems expensive, I guess,” I said truthfully.

“Alex, don’t worry about how much any of this costs, alright? It’s fine, honestly. My dad is good friends with the owner of this restaurant, and the owner has practically known me since I was a baby. I got a discount. Consider it paid for already.”

I relaxed a bit when he explained. It felt like a thousand pounds was lifted off of my shoulders. “Thank God,” I murmured. He chuckled from across the table. “Seriously though, I would never let you pay for something that expensive by yourself. The least I could do is toss in a few dollars.”

“Hello, there,” A man, maybe in his mid-twenties, greeted us with a strong Italian accent. He looked so proper. His uniform looked dry-cleaned and pressed, which it more than likely was, not a single wrinkle to be seen, and everything about him seamed neat. I have to say his overall looks were pretty good, too. His brown eyes were like a pool of chocolate that I would dive into. Dani would probably use Nutella rather than chocolate, though. His hair was curly, dark brown, and hid his ears. He was pretty scrawny for his age, I must say. Yeah, Jake would win in the looks department by a landslide.  “My name is Mike, and I will be your waiter today.”

“Hi,” I replied, smiling at him.

“Are you two ready to order your drinks?” he asked, pulling out a small notepad from a pocket in his uniform.

“I’ll just have a glass of water.”

“So will I,” I told the man.

“Alrighty. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your drinks, then.” He turned on his heels and left us alone.

I opened the menu that had been sitting on the table untouched for quite a bit.

 “What do you think you’re going to order?” Jake asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.

“Hm. . . I’m thinking about going with the Fettuccine Alfredo. I’m not sure yet.”

“Good—”

“Here are your drinks.” A glass of condensated ice cold water was placed on the table in front of me, water slowly dripping down from the rim.

“Thank you,” I said and took a sip. The water was thirst-quenching and refreshing as it ran down my throat.

“Thanks,” Jake also said with a nod in the man’s direction.

“You’re both welcome. Would you need some more time, or are you ready to order now?”

I gave Jake a questioning look, and he nodded. “Yeah, I think we’re ready,” he confirmed.

“What would you like to order, then?” Once again, the waiter took out his pocket-sized notepad, pen in hand.

I folded the large, bulky menu and placed it on the table. “I’ll get the Fettuccine Alfredo.”

“And I’ll take the Chicken Parmigiana.”

“Okay. It might be awhile, though,” Mike informed us.

“That’s fine.” Once Mike left us alone yet again, Jake looked at me. His eyes examined my face, as if he was trying to memorize each and every single, little detail about it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I drawled. “There isn’t anything on my face, is there?”

He exhaled half a laugh. “No, there isn’t anything on your face, Alex. You just look so beautiful tonight,” he told me.

I could feel my cheeks heat up at a rapid pace. “Oh. . . You too.”

“You think I look beautiful, now do you? Oh, stop it. You’ll make me blush.”

I’m surprised my cheeks didn’t turn into ash and fall of yet. You could probably say they were on fire at the moment. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean you looked beautiful. . .” I looked down, at my glass of water, shielding my face with my hair. The water dripping down the side of the glass suddenly became the most interesting thing on earth.

“So I don’t look beautiful? You just made a huge dent in my man pride.”

Okay, I had to laugh at that one. “No, Jake. You don’t look beautiful. You look handsome. It’s the tux. Definitely the tux.”

“Sexy, isn’t it?” He smirked at me.

“If it’ll help you sleep better at night, than yes. Very sexy, indeed.”

He put his hand over his heart, a pained expression on his face. “Oh, that hurt.”

“Good.” I smiled at him, rolling my eyes. “You can cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it.”

“Crying a river would take too much of a long time. I’d probably get too bored and go play Black Ops.”

“Knowing you, you probably would do something like that,” I replied and took one more sip of my water.

My phone rang in my—well, Vicky’s—clutch bag. Thanks to my mnemonic, air-headed mind, I forgot to put my phone on silent mode, and my new and improved “I’m Sexy And I Know It” ringtone sounded throughout this almost completely silent, fancy restaurant. People gave me odd stares like I was some kind of new, demented species.

“Didn’t your parents tell you that staring and pointing is rude?” I said, cocking my eyebrows at the nearby elderly couple who just happened to be doing that—staring and pointing. Jake on the other hand was trying to hold back his laughter.

What a great boyfriend I have. . .

I opened my bag as fast as I could and retrieved my mobile. I sighed as I read the caller ID. It was Danielle. . . Again.

“Yes?” I asked her exasperatedly. I tried to keep my voice down at a low volume.

“Where did he take you? Am I unpleasantly disturbing you two’s fabulous date?”

“No, Danielle. You’re doing the exact opposite of disturbing us right now. Actually, it was quite convenient that you chose to call at this exact moment.”

“Oh, really? In that case how’s it going?”

“I was being sarcastic, Dan! I’ll see you later when I get home. Bye.” The last thing I heard from the receiver on my cell was a shriek coming from the other end of the line. That exact shriek of my best friend’s was cut in half because I hung up.

I looked at my boyfriend across the table that was shaking his head and smiling. “Ah, Danielle. . . What are we going to do with her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we can tie her up and make sure to keep her phone next time we go out.” I grinned.

“Hm. That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard all night. Is she going to do this every single time we go on a date?”

I sighed and nodded. “You can most definitely count on it. . . And I am not lying whatsoever.”

“Oh trust me, I’d count on it, even if my life depended on it, he uttered sarcastically.

I shook my head. “I won’t.”

For the last few minutes of our long wait for the food, we talked about Lily and her issues, or whatever might be going on with her and this so called ‘crush’ of hers. She hasn’t told anyone yet. Everyone, even Grandma, has been begging Lily to let the cat out of the bag. I don’t know why, though. I mean every girl has a secret crush at one point in their lives, right? Why not just keep it a secret?

No, I can’t say that, honestly. . . Mostly because my nosy little self is dying to know, too.  

Mike came back with two steaming hot plates of food. My mouth watered in anticipation. If it was possible, I’d dive into that plate of Fettuccine Alfredo right now.

And you probably think I’m kidding.

During the wait, I was actually dying on the inside from hunger, though on the outside, I kept my cool. That is just another good thing about me. Well, in most cases, anyways. I should really just be thankful that the food got here before my stomach started to growl at me. Talk about embarrassing!

“Bon Appétit!” Mike exclaimed, placing our food neatly on the table.

“I thought this was an Italian restaurant?”

“Oh, but it is.”

“Then, why would you use—”

“Who says I have to speak Italian? Huh?  Answer that!”

I pulled my eyebrows together in confusion. “Well, I’m sorry.”

“You should be sorry,” said the waiter.

“I’m so confused.”

“Well, I’m sorry for your confusion, but I must go now. My unicorn awaits me in the kitchen.” He gave me a dirty look and walked away, backwards.

“What just happened?” Jake asked.

A woman who had a uniform that was similar to Mike’s on walked over to us.

“I am so sorry about that. Sometimes Mike can be a bit. . . Nonsensical and incongruous,” she told us.

Ah, okay. That explains a lot.

This chapter took a lot more time than I thought it would. I had a lot on my plate this last week, really. That’s all I can say right now. I love all of you. Thank you to my 400+ fans!! Xx. First comment gets a dedication! And oh, lookie! No cliffhanger ;)

       ~Storylover11~