Maybe Candice should quit the dresses on this date. After all, Elias has only seen her in them. He's seen her bare legs, the discreet curve of her waist, and sometimes, her exposed upper chest.

He's never seen how a pair of jeans complimented her hips, or how a form-fitting shirt clings to the little cleavage she has.

As always, Midas was sitting on the chair by her door. She always used him whenever she picked out outfits. If he was in a tolerable mood, he'd give her an idea on what to wear; very vaguely, but it was still something. If he was, however, in one of his teenage moods, he'd nod, shake his head, or shrug his shoulders. It was surprisingly helpful since she was used to it.

She just had to figure out what mood he was in right now in order to decide if this process was going to be an easy one.

In order to do this, she had to ask one question, "So, what color should I wear?"

She looked at her brother expectedly, her eyebrows raised in hope. He didn't answer for a short moment and Candice felt herself hold her breath until he finally said, "Something soft, but not one of your everyday looks."

Candice released a breath and smiled largely when she heard his response. It was detailed and informative, meaning that he was in an 'okay' mood, and that was more than enough for her.

She began showing him her outfits and informing him that she felt like wearing jeans today maybe? Possibly a dress but he had already seen her in so much of them already and it was hardly unique.

"Okay, what about this top? What does it scream?" She inquires.

Midas scratched his non-existent beard thoughtfully. "It screams casual. You just woke up and decided to throw it on," Candice bit her lip at the response.

She then rummaged some more until her hand caught an army-green off-the-shoulder frilly crop top. The material would cling beneath her small breasts, but the extra layer of material would cover her upper body but allow her midriff to show.

"What about this?" She asked. Midas pondered the question before answering, "It's better, nice choice."

Candice clapped giddily. "Now for pants..." She trails off as she bends over to continue her search.

"What about a skirt? That one that your hand just skimmed over would be a nice pair," Candice retrieved the piece of material that her brother referred to, holding it above the light to examine it. She was surprised that her brother even mentioned about her wearing a skirt instead of something more conservative that hid legs. She didn't question his motives though and decided that it was indeed an excellent choice.

Elias had never seen her in a skirt before, despite it being very similar to a dress.

Candice gasped in excitement as she pictured the clothing on her body. It would surely look nice. She smiled happily as she planted a kiss on her brother's cheek, "Thanks, Midas!" After, she pushed him out of her room and ran to the bathroom.

Elias held his breath. Why must she always do this? How was she able to steal his breath away from him so effortlessly?

Candice finally reached within Elias' presence and he smiled charmingly at her. She returned the gesture, her cheeks flushed beneath her makeup.

Elias proceeded to take her hand and escort her to his car, his eyes discreetly roaming over her body appreciatively.

As he opened the door for her, she spoke, "You never told me where we were heading to," She quipped before he had the chance to close the door.

His lips tugged up at the corners as he replied, "You never cared to ask. It would've been pointless by the way, since I wouldn't have told you." With that, he closed the door softly as not to startle her.

Candice stared through the glass as he walked around to his side of the car, a smile resting on her lips as she tucked a hair behind her ear.

When Elias entered the car, Candice decided to ask instead, "Can you at least tell me how long getting there would take?"

Elias looked over at her, his eyes skimming to the exposed skin of her thigh. He finally met her eyes once again, "You'll see when we get there."

He didn't say anything much after that and Candice didn't ask.

Candice laid back in her seat for the beginning of the ride, playing on her phone and scrolling through Instagram with the little Wifi that had allowed it to load before she left home.

"So—" Candice looked up from her phone as she heard Elias speak, his hands adjusting on the staring wheel as he looked over at her again. "I feel like you've told me everything about the people around you, like your great uncle's cousin's wife," Candice giggles shortly at this. "Yet I feel like I don't know much about you." He finished.

Candice scrunched up her nose in confusion, "There's really not much to tell," She started. "You know my family, way too many friends back home to even mention," Elias heard her laugh but it almost sounded nervous. "And you also know about Milo, my dog. That pretty much sums up my life."

Adjusting his fingers again, he licked his lips before asking curiously, "What about your school? What's it like?"

Candice shifted, somewhat uncomfortably, "You know... how every other school is like, walls, windows, students— nothing out of the ordinary."

Elias laughs at her vagueness and motions for her to continue.

"The teachers—" She starts again. "Very nice people," Her voice spaces out as she continues. "They try to help out as much as they can, you know? But sometimes, there's nothing that they could do that could really help."

Elias bit the inside of his cheek as he looked at the road, "Help? Help with what?"

Candice clears her throat and looks at the blank screen at her phone with interest, You know, with school work, homework, test, that kinda stuff."

Elias didn't reply for a while. He shortly after stopped at a red light before rubbing a hand on his jeans-clad thigh.

"You only mentioned your friends vaguely, tell me more about them," He pushed.

Candice looked at Elias for a short moment before motioning that the light had turned green, "Just like any other friends, I suppose." She leans forward and turns up the music a bit before leaning back in her seat.

Elias somehow got that as an indication that the conversation had ended.

She spoke again, "What about you?" She tucks her blonde hair behind her ear. "I know nothing really about you either."

The car slowed down before Elias turned and gave Candice a mischievous smile, "Oh look, we're here. Gosh, darn it." He snaps his fingers in fake frustration.

Candice sends an angry glare his way as she watches Elias exit the car. She follows his actions in opening her door, before Elias somehow ended up in front of her in a flash as he offered a hand to her and gently pulled her out of the vehicle.

He slammed the door before going back over to his side and locking the door.

Candice looked at her surroundings, her eyes landing on a large red sign which read The Bowling Arena.

"Oh look..." She chuckles almost in disappointment. "Bowling, fun." She laughs again as she turns to face Elias.

Elias looked at her as his lips twitched in amusement, "You don't like bowling, do you?" He folds his arms across his chest.

Candice sighs dejectedly and slouches her posture, "No, not really." She bites her lip. "I'm so sorry, Elias. It's really the only thing that I'm not exactly fond of. I just didn't think that the odds would be so... thin. Of you bringing me here."

As Candice stared at Elias, she was surprised that for someone who was just told that the dating venue they had chosen wasn't exactly to their partner's liking, he didn't seem fazed in the slightest. In fact, he had that stupid lopsided grin on his face that Candice just found... incredibly hot.

Elias comes to stand directly in front of Candice and leans down until their faces were directly in front of each other. Candice's breath hitched as he raised his large hands and placed them on both of her forearms before spinning her around.

"Well, it's a good thing that we're not going there then," She could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, before she looked up and gasped at the bright building in front of her with flashing lights and tons of games.

"You brought me to an arcade?" She yelled excitedly. "I've never been to one before! What are we waiting for? Come on, let's go!" She grabs the palm of his hand and pulls him into the building.

Elias chuckled at her excitement and moved his body along with hers, knowing that on her own, she'd never be able to get him pulled.

They played and played and played for the entire night. Game after game, they played. Candice was way better than Elias had expected, and he had lost count on how many times she had beaten him. She pulled him to everything that her eye caught.

She forced him to played basketball in order to win her tickets, she made him play golf to win her tickets, and she commanded him to play soccer to win her tickets.

And Elias did it all.

Candice grew hungry, so the pair had stopped for a quick few minutes to grab a bite to eat, much to Candice's own dismay. She didn't want to stop. It was so much fun! She couldn't believe that Elias had brought her here. She couldn't remember ranting to him about the fact that she had never been to one. She was sure that she would have remembered.

It wasn't long before both of them were up and at it again.

They left the arcade that night with silly hats on their head and a wrestling belt around Candice's waist.

Elias drove them and somehow, they both ended up where they currently are now, sitting on the beach together, gazing into the water. The moon had placed itself just above the horizon, shining the water with its bright light.

They talked about whatever came to their heads first and somehow landed on what they wanted to be ten of fifteen years from now.

"He wants me to run his oil company but I guess I always wanted to do something simpler, an accountant, I'd say," Elias spoke.

Candice couldn't stop the slight giggle that escaped her lips.

Elias looked at her, "What's so funny?"

She giggles again, "I'm sorry," She now begins laughing. "I just can't imagine you—" She motions to his large form. "—Sitting in a small cubicle all day, it's comical."

"Well, okay," Elias starts in amusement. "What do you want to be, Ms. HotShot?" Candice stared off in front of her.

"I know it might be silly since I'm already seventeen and all already, but, I'm not quite sure yet," She played with the hand of the stuffed animal that Elias had won for her at the arcade. "I suppose I just want to be happy."

Elias sat in silence next to her, "That has to be the most..." He sighed out in amazement. After a very short while, his facade ended and his lips twitched uncontrollably. "The corniest thing I'd ever heard on my life."

Candice glared at him as he bellowed loudly, before slapping him harshly with the turtle in her hand, the stuffed one, that is. Elias cowered away from her torture, his laughter dying down.

Elias looks at Candice as a smile of her own rests on her lips, "Really though, Candice, it's not silly to not know, it's just human," He reassured.

Candice laughed again softly, her fingers playing in the sand, "Look who's corny now."

Elias chuckled deeply before gazing at Candice. He blew out a breath before gently raising his hand and caressing Candice's cheek.

Candice leaned into his touch, her brown orbs twinkling at him. Ever so slowly, Elias leaned in and brushed his lips against Candice's. Her eyes fluttered closed at the soft feeling of his lips before she pulled back slightly, resting a hand on Elias' own that was on her cheek.

"Elias, it's just... been a while—" She started. She released a shaky breath as she moves forward towards him a bit.

Simultaneously, he pulls back, his thumb moving in a circular motion across her cheek, "I know, I know." He murmurs.

Elias leans forward one last time and plants a chaste kiss on Candice's lips before continuing his actions and taking her bottom lip in between his lips and tilting his head to kiss her deeply.

Elias' hands travel lower until it situates itself on the bare skin on her neck, where he lifts her head higher to receive better access in order to delve his tongue into her mouth.

Candice cowered back a bit, the feeling still a bit new to her. Imagine Elias' surprise when he felt a slight weight being hovered above him, causing his head to be tilted upward at the new position.

His hands found her waist as Candice drove her hands through Elias' silky hair. Hm, she wondered what shampoo he used.

Kneeling on her knees above Elias due to their new position, Candice rests both of her hands on his face, pulling back slightly and laying kisses across his sharp jaw. Elias swallowed as he squeezed her waist harshly, slightly withdrawing from her lips.

Candice pulled away fully to look down at him, "What?"

Elias stared at Candice's flushed cheeks as he rubbed a thumb slowly across her swollen bottom lip before murmuring, "I'm a gentleman," He started. "I wish I wasn't right now but... I don't think this is a first date kinda thing."

Candice's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she sat back on her heels. She scoffed out a light laugh shortly in embarrassment as she held her temple, "Yeah um, right, right sure."

Elias swept his tongue on his top row of teeth at her reaction. Obviously, for Heaven's sake, he didn't want to stop but— he had to.

He sighed as he pulled Candice's feet from under her so that they were lapped as they stared at each other. He tucked her hair behind her ear.

"What time do you have to get back?" He grabbed her hand gently.

"Whatever time you plan on taking me back," She countered.

Elias smirked, "You sure you wanna give me that power?" He paused as he leaned in closer. "Cause, you see, I wouldn't take you back at all if it was my choice."

Candice laughs melodiously. "Well, yes," She bites her lip. "I am giving you that much power," She comes forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.

He hummed in content as he looked down at their hands together.

"Had fun?" They stood in front of Candice's door.

She dug inside of her bag for her keycard, "Very much so," She looked at him for a short moment before searching her bag again. She pulled it out when she found it— but didn't make a move to put it in its rightful slot. "When next can we, you know, meet?"

Elias looked as if he was thinking, "Ah, not sure," He rocked on his heels. "Let me check real quick," He pulls out his phone and Candice waits patiently. "Damn, can't for a while," He tsks. "I have to take out Brittany tomorrow, Camilla on Tuesday, and Whitney on Wednesday, I might be able to slip you in on Saturday though, not sure..." He thought out loud as he rubbed the imaginary stubble on his chin.

Elias looks up tauntingly at Candice through his eyelashes to see Candice staring at him with wide, confused eyes.

Candice gasps when she realizes that he was kidding, "You big, stupid dummy." She abuses him again with the turtle on his chest.

His laughter dies down as he shields himself, "Really though, my family wants to spend some time together or something."

Candice's face falls, "Oh, yeah, right right... I get it," She nods her head in understanding.

"I can ask them if you could join is," He suggests. "I know they won't mind—"

"No, no. Really, it's okay, another time, I don't want to impose," She trails off.

"It's really no problem, Candice," Elias reassures. "They won't mind."

Candice shuffles on her feet, "I know they won't but, it wouldn't feel right cutting in on your family time, you know."

Elias sighs in defeat before letting out a deep chuckle, "I guess."

"So..." Candice trails off. She pauses as she gazes up at him before smiling beautifully, "Good night, Elias," She whispers as she looks down at the floor.

Elias lifts her chin up to meet his eyes, "Goodnight, Candice," He mumbles as he places a delicate kiss on her cheek.

He pulls away slowly and watches as she turns around and enters the room after looking at him longingly again.

Elias then walks off with a permanent smile on his face.

Word Count: 2909

I give you permission to scold me for not updating in about two months, but I'm pretty much back now!

~TheOfficialSinner