[Edited] Chapter 27: The Thing With The Date!

Scott:

"Get out!"

I look up from my laptop to see a very frustrated Nova standing at the door of my bedroom, glaring at me.

"Huh?" I respond, probably with an expression as confused as my answer.

She lets out a frustrated sigh and walks to my bed and sits down beside me.

"You know how I said; we're going on a date today?" She asks, blinking up at me.

"Yeahhh..." I mumble, confused.

"So I need to make plans and I can't do it with you being here, Rye is helping me and I have to be careful!" She grumbles, as if she's talking to herself.

"Oo-kay?" I respond, still not getting the point.

She looks at my confused expression and giggles. Leaning closer, she pinches both my cheeks and gushes, "You're so cute!" But then quickly pulls her hand away, before I could respond, and frowns, trying to think something.

I sigh and put my laptop aside and pull her into my lap sideways, and hug her waist tightly.

She gasps out loud in surprise, but melts into my embrace, resting her head on my shoulder.

"What's going on in that sweet little brain of yours?" I ask, softly.

She pulls her head from my shoulder to look at me and narrows her eyes, "Little brain?" She glares at me.

"You did hear me say 'sweet', right?" I say, giving her my cutest smile.

She sighs, smiling softly and places her head back on my shoulder.

"Rye is helping me plan our whole date. But we can't discuss it, knowing you're in the next room and I want it to be a surprise for you. That's why I wanted you to go out of the apartment." She murmurs softly.

"Oh..." I guess that makes sense.

She pulls her head away, to look at me and says, "So I'm saying this in the sweetest possible way... Will you please get the hell out of the apartment?"

This was the sweetest possible way?

Before I could respond, a soft pair of lip touches mine and kisses me senseless. Her tongue plunges in my mouth and traces it against mine, passionately while her hands tangle in my hair as she explores my mouth.

She pulls back, breathless and asks, "So? Can you do that for me?"

"Um... what was the question again?" I ask, with my eyes still closed, breathless; still dizzy from the kiss.

She giggles and whispers, "Please?"

"Um... sure." I say, nodding.

She bounces in my lap, squealing and kisses my cheek soundly. "Thank you!"

Um... what did I agree to? I can't remember.

"Soo... I'll need um..." Nova furrows her brows, thinking, "forty five minutes! Then you can come back to the apartment." She says, blinking up her big brown eyes at me.

"Okay... I'll go out for a walk." I smile at her, standing up and picking her up from my lap and dropping her on the bed in my place.

I walk towards my closet and pick up a fresh black T-shirt and head back to the bedroom.

I remove the tank I was wearing off me and throw it in the hamper. I take the black shirt in hand and fumble through it, trying to find the sleeves when I hear Nova sigh.

I turn around to see her, smiling softly looking at my now naked chest with dreamy eyes.

I smirk at her, "Keep looking at me like that, sweetheart and we'll be doing something entirely else for the next forty five minutes." I wiggle my eyebrows at her, suggestively.

She giggles and murmurs, "Just admiring the view." And sighs out again, tilting her head, licking her lips and biting her lower lip softly.

That does it...

I throw the shirt backwards over my shoulder and march towards her. Picking her up with my hands on her waist, lifting her off the ground completely, I look into her surprised brown eyes.

"What are you doi-ohh" I interrupt her, by crashing my mouth with hers, with one hand over her hair, tilting her face slightly, deepening the kiss, while the other hand wrapped tightly around her waist.

She moans into my mouth and places both of her hand on my cheek, pulling me into her.

I pull back, slightly and pull her bottom lip between mine and suck on it, knowing how it drives her crazy. She moans out loud, her hands trailing to my hair, tugging on it.

"Hey, Novey... what kind of flowers do you want for decoratio-"

We pull away, abruptly and turn around at Ryan's voice, seeing him making a disgust face at us from the bedroom door.

He whines out loud, "Do you guys do this all day or you just wait for me... so that whenever I'm around, you guys carry on with this lovey dovey crap?"

Nova slides down my body and hugs my side, already blushing hard due to getting caught.

I ignore his question and ask, "Do you have a freaking radar that beeps whenever we are kissing so that you can barge in and disturb us by opening your mouth?"

Nova pinches my arm and says, "Behave!"

I roll my eyes and apologize, "I'm sorry, Rye... it's just that... you seriously have the worst timing ever!"

"Whatever... Be grateful that I'm letting you kiss Novey... If it were any other guy, I would've already broken his arms for touching my baby sis." He scoffs, puffing his chest.

I put my arm around Nova's shoulder pulling her into me and kiss the top of her head.

"Aww Rye... I know you love me." I murmur giving him my cutest smile.

As soon as I say those words, I feel Nova stiffen beside me.

"You okay?" I whisper.

She nods with a smile that doesn't touches her eyes.

What's wrong?

Ryan clears his throat and murmurs to Nova, "After you kick your dear boyfriend out of the apartment, come out to the living room... to plan your date. See ya, losers." He waves, slamming the door.

I pick my T-shirt and wear it over my head.

I kiss Nova's cheek, "I'll get going... I have a feeling I'm not wanted here."

She doesn't smile at my poor joke.

What's wrong?

I shrug it off and head towards the door when I feel her hand over my arm.

I turn around and look at her to see her having an internal conversation with herself, her eyes full of uncertainty.

I place my finger on her chin making her look me in the eye. "What's wrong, baby?"

She opens her mouth, but closes it and opens it and closes it again. Finally she takes a deep breath and looks me in the eyes and whisper softly, "Scott... I... er... I... um... I lo..."

She cuts herself short and shakes her eyes and fake smiles again. "It's nothing."

"Take care..." She leans forward and wraps her hands around my waist, her head over my chest and hugs me tightly. I wrap my arms around her shoulder, and pull her small frame into me, nuzzling her hair, breathing her scent.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" I ask again, softly.

She shakes her head into my chest and hugs me even tighter, if that's even possible. "Nothing. Just needed to hug you." She says, pulling away.

Finally, she leans in, kissing me softly as if trying to show me what she wanted to say, without words.

"Novey... be sure to bring your-"

We pull away and turn around again to see Ryan standing at the door.

He sighs and face-palms himself and huffs out, "Why do I even bother?" And leaves.

I feel bad for that guy...

"See ya babe..." I kiss her forehead and head out the door, hearing her soft voice whisper, "Bye, love."

***

50 minutes later...

I knock at the door with a box of chocolate cake in my hands.

The door opens and I come face to face with Nova.

"Hey honey!" She smiles at me but then looks at my hand and claps her hand, excitedly and yells, "You brought cakeee!"

I grin.

She takes the box of cake out of my hand and goes back the apartment and slams the door in my face.

Uh... what just happened?

After exactly 38 seconds, she opens the door and beams, "You can come in now!"

Oo-kay...

I walk inside when I see Ryan sitting on the sofa.

Hmm... they probably must've been planning the date in the living that's why she slammed the door, to clear out any clues about our date.

Stupid surprise!

I sit down on the sofa next to him and ask, "Where's the cake?"

Ryan burps out loud and smiles shyly at me.

Nova settles down beside me carrying the box of cake in her hands.

I notice half of the cake already gone.

I gape at her and ask, "You both ate the entire half of the cake in 38 seconds?"

She smiles shyly and shrugs, "It's a chocolate cake!" As if that explains everything.

"Whatever you say, babe..." I kiss her cheek to which she smiles sweetly at me.

"So... where are we going today?" I ask.

She shakes her head and narrows her eyes, "It's a surprise! You won't be getting any clues from me."

"I tried." I shrug. "What time?"

"Hmm... seven sounds good to you?" She asks, tilting her head.

At my nod, she leans forward, and grabs Ryan's collar who was sitting beside me and pulls his face near her and orders, "Everything should be ready before seven or else I will unleash hell upon you. Capishe?"

"Yeah... yeah... got it!" Ryan blurts out, scared.

I chuckle.

Man, I love her!

Wait... what?

Holy crap! I love her!

"Honey... you okay? You look a little pale!" Nova whispers, softly, caressing my cheek with her fingers.

I look at her, taking in her concerned face and worried eyes...

I'm in love with her...

I clear my throat and smile at her, "It's nothing, babe..." I kiss her cheek, making it turn pink.

She smiles back.

I smile inwardly. I'm so in love with her...

***

My alarm beeps, indicating its 6:55.

I quickly walk towards the mirror and check myself in it.

I straighten out my white T-shirt that I had worn under my unbuttoned black shirt and roll the sleeves up to my arms. I scan my eyes down to my black jeans and shoes and take out my black watch and quickly wear it.

"Okay, Scott... date time!" I slap my cheeks twice and get out of the bedroom, to see Ryan in the living room with Jenna, smooching.

I clear my throat loudly and smirk when I see Ryan throwing daggers at me with his eyes.

I grin at him, evilly, with an expression that said, 'Now you know, how it feels like to be interrupted when you're kissing.'

He just rolls his eyes at me.

"Ooh... By the way please tell everybody to be upstairs in their own room when Nova and I return from our date."

I didn't give him a chance to reply and head towards Nova's bedroom.

I knock on the door, twice and wait.

The door opens wide and my jaw drops.

I check Nova out (probably a few hundred times). She had worn a sleeveless white lace dress with sweetheart neckline that ended mid-thigh, paired with a black four-inch peep toes and some matching bangles.

The dress fitted her perfectly, showcasing her delicate curves. I look back at her face, seeing her brown eyes happy, her cheeks flushed, her soft lips curved into a smile.

I run my fingers through her wavy red hair cascading down to her chest, and look into her eyes, wrapping one hand around her waist pull her closer so we're chest to chest and lean down, my lips near her ear and whisper, "Beautiful."

She shivers and smiles softly, blushing prettily.

"You too..." She murmurs shyly.

I chuckle and look down at her, "You think I'm beautiful?" I smirk.

She blushes and pulls away from me, and blinks twice, clearing her head and huffs out, "You know what I mean..."

I love how she can't seem to think when I'm near her.

"All right, babe. Come on... let's go." I say, taking her hand in mine.

She smiles and squeezes my hand softly. We say our goodbyes to Ryan and Jenna and quickly get out of the building.

I stop walking when we reach the entrance of the building and look at her and ask, "Soo... where to?"

She smiles and takes my hand and leads the way.

"Why are we walking?" I ask, as we cross the road.

"I just felt like it..." She shrugs, her heels making her reach up to my shoulders.

"Okay." I wrap my arm around her shoulder and kiss the top of her head.

She furrows her eyebrows thinking and looks at me, and blurts, "Would you rather eat a spider or drink broccoli juice?" She blinks up at me.

I smile at her random question and I think out loud and murmur, "I think broccoli juice. Spiders freak me out!"

"Mmh... I would've done the same. Although I hope I never have to drink broccoli juice. Ever!" She shudders and fake gags.

I chuckle and tighten my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

"Okay. My turn. Would you rather live in a world without me or in a world without chocolate cakes?"

"Without chocolate cakes." She says, without thinking or missing a beat.

I look down at her shocked and ask, "I thought you loved chocolate cake."

She giggles at my expression and says, "Yeah but I lov--" She cuts herself off and clears her throat, blinking twice and snickers, "I've kinda grown used to your ugly face." She grins evilly.

"Gee... thanks." I murmur sarcastically.

She laughs, sending a shiver down my spine, "So... um... would you rather be a guy who loves pink or a guy who hates sports?" She looks up at me.

"I think... a guy who loves pink. I love football. Can't live without it." I shrug.

"So noted!" She mumbles.

I look down at her and ask, "Would you rather watch a horror movie alone or an erotic movie with your parents?"

She raises her eyebrow and asks, "Was that a question? Of course a horror movie alone. An erotic movie with parents equals to yuck!" She scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. "Plus my parents are like a bunch of teenagers. They'll start making out with each other during the movie."

I chuckle.

She laughs and bumps her shoulder with mine. "All right. Next. Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Like you'd rather live in Antarctica or Sahara Desert?"

I smirk at her, "That's too easy. I'll live anywhere if you're with me." I give her my cutest smile.

Her expression softens, "That's soo sweet!" But she quickly smirks, "Now. Seriously. Tell me what you were really thinking?"

I smile and kiss her cheek, murmuring, "You know me too well."

She scoffs as if saying, 'Of course I do.'

I look at her and say, "I was thinking if we were living in the place that was too hot, you'd have to remove all your clothes and I'll get to see your sweaty naked body and if we were living in a place that too cold, you'll have to snuggle up with me, tightly." I sigh longingly and continue, "So... whatever it is... I'll be a happy man."

I look down at her and wiggle my eyebrows.

She shakes her head smiling and murmurs, "God! You're such a perv!" She punches my arm.

I scoff, "Sweetheart... I'm not a perv. I'm a guy!" I shrug.

She looks at me and raises her eyebrow and mutters, "Nahh... you're just a perv!"

I look at her and blink innocently and murmur, "But I'm your perv!"

"Damn right, you are!" She mumbles and gives me a peck on my lips.

Suddenly, she stops walking and announces, "We're here!"

I look around and blink twice. We have walked around the block and returned back to our building.

I give her a confused look.

She just smiles and leads me back to the elevator and presses the button to the roof.

Oh...

The door opens and my jaw drops for the second time today.

A small section of the terrace has been decorated with lilies on the floor, lanterns and candles on the borders, red and white balloons of heart shaped, at the corners.

A small table with two chairs, with a bunch of roses in a vase and two candles with two plates with our food ready, was placed in the middle of the terrace.

A soft music playing through the speakers of Beyoncé singing Halo.

Nova looks up at me and ask, her eyes unsure, "You like it?"

"No." I answer and her face falls. I kiss her cheeks and whisper, "I love it!"

She smiles widely and pulls me towards the table, for eating our dinner.

Throughout the dinner, I felt her staring at me when she thought I wasn't looking or touching me whenever she could, as if this was the last day we'll be spending together.

After dinner, we relax on a lounger watching the stars. Nova rests her head on my chest and hugs me, her hand drawing doodles on my chest, unconsciously.

I smile and put my arm around her, pulling her close.

"Scott?" She whispers softly, still looking at the stars.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"I wanna tell you something..." She whispers so softly that it wasn't even audible.

I sit up straight and pull her in my lap, sideways, like in the morning and ask, "What is it, sweetheart?"

She looks me in the eyes, her own eyes looking uncertain and unsure.

She takes a deep breath and whispers in a soft voice, "I wanna tell you everything... about my past, my nightmares... everything."

I kiss her forehead, and murmur, "You don't have to if you don't want to..." I smile at her, reassuringly.

She looks at me, her eyes moist as if she was about to cry and whispers, "But I want to..."

I smile at her and pull her close, "Then I'm all ears..."

She looks at me and opens her mouths and closes it and repeats the same few times.

I place my finger over her chin and lift her face, "What are you afraid of?" I whisper softly.

She closes her eyes, a lone tear drops from her eyes, "That you'll leave me..."

"Hey..." I place my hands on her cheeks making her open her eyes. "I could never leave the woman I love."

She gasps softly, her eyes wide and stutters, "Wh... what did you say?"

I chuckle and lean into her, our foreheads touching, "Haven't you realized it yet? I'm stupidly in love with you, Novella..."

She looks at me, blinks twice, and whispers softly, "You are?"

At my nod, she sobs, "I love you too..." She hugs me tightly, burying her face in my neck, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Brownie." I whisper kissing her hair.

I slowly lean forward and kiss her, lovingly. Wetting her lower lip with my tongue, I slid my tongue inside as she parts her lips.

I nibble her lip till the corners, and then slant my head, deepening the kiss, twirling my tongue with hers.

She tangles her fingers in my hair as she makes a purring sound on the back of her throat. Not being able to control myself, I moan into her lips, as my hand trail down her spine, making her shiver and press herself against me.

She pulls away, her eyes turn firm and murmurs, "I have to tell you everything... Max was a big part of my life... I've gotta tell you all about it."

I stiffen at the mention of another man's name coming from her lips. I clench my fist at my sides till my knuckles started to turn white.

You have to do this for Nova...

Just listen...

Be calm...

Deep breaths...

Nova places both of her hands on my cheek and says, looking me in the eyes, "Max isn't who you're thinking, right now." She shakes her head.

I look at her confused.

Max isn't...

She looks at me and whispers, "Ma... Max... Max was my..."

***