Alex Darwin:

I couldn't believe that Arianna agreed to give me a chance to prove myself worthy of her love.

Before that day, I had never imagined myself begging someone to go on a date with me. But when she came into my life everything changed. She brought the arrogant Alex Darwin on his knees. I wish I could show her what I felt for her. But I understood that it would be too much and too soon for her to see my craziness for her.

I liked how different she was from the other girls that I had dated in the past. She had this mystery in her eyes that called me in and made me intrigued to find more about her until I disclose all her secrets. But whenever I got close to her, I found myself distracted by her beauty. She had the ability to make me forget everything when she was around. I always act like a fool in front of her and my words jumble in a mess of tangled silk threads.

She didn't like to talk to me a lot about her past. She would avoid the questions which could possibly relate to her teenage life. Still, I trusted myself to bring her fearless side out and make her open up about her past life.

I stared at myself in the mirror and looked at my button-down black shirt and blue jeans that didn't scream millionaire. After a long time, I was dressed in normal clothes making me look like an average guy—not a millionaire.

I couldn't risk her safety and take her in public then let paparazzi follow us around like a bunch of lost puppies. I picked one of the fanciest restaurants in the town and booked the whole restaurant rather than getting a reservation. For tonight, I had borrowed one of my friends Audi q3 2011 which looked more an average-with-a-good-pay-guy-of-car then my black Lamborghini Huracan.

I picked up my black leather jacket and fetched my phone from the bedside drawer. I called her and she picked it on the first ring.

"So are you ready for our first date?" I asked her feeling my heart beating erratically.

"I don't remember agreeing on any date," She teased me.

"Oh, you don't remember?"

"Nope."

"I think your mom must remember that I came last night to ask her permission for taking her daughter on a date," I said.

"What!" She yelled.

"I'm joking. Now, come down. I'm waiting for you," I said.

"Okay," She ended the call.

I made my way down and found my parents watching a movie.

"We are watching a movie. Come and join us." Dad said.

I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. I came here to spend my weekend with them but my attention was snatched by a sinfully beautiful neighbor.

"I'm going out," I said.

Their head snapped in my way and they looked at me from head to toe.

"Where are you going?" Mom asked with the frown.

"On a date," I said.

Mom jumped from the couch scaring me and my dad then started to squeal.

"That's so good. Go and be late. You don't have to come home early," She said and started to push me out of the door.

"Wow, I get you guys are trying to get rid of me," I said, pretending to be hurt.

"Well, we need some our time too," My mom said with a laugh as dad pulled her close to his chest.

My parents' relationship was the only reason I still believed in love.

I got in the car and turned it then stopped outside her house. I got out and rang the doorbell. The door opened and she came out looking exquisite.

I had mostly seen her dressed in casual attire and without any makeup. However tonight, she was looking flawless in black mini-dress. Her small waist was accompanied by a delicate gold chained belt emphasizing her figure. She left her black raven hair open.

When she saw me staring at her, she shyly tucked the strand of hair behind her ear and revealed tiny gold earrings.

"Stop staring," She said with the blush gracing her pale cheeks.

My gaze fell on her red tempting plump lips, inviting me to kiss them.

"I can't when you look so beautiful," I said.

"Thanks, you look alright too," she said with a teasing smile.

"I think the word you're looking for is handsome."

"No, it's cocky," she teased me, getting in the car.

I laughed and got in the car. She switched on the radio and put the slow music on.

I liked how relaxed and happy she looked tonight. There were no frown lines on her forehead, only smile on her face.

We arrived at the restaurant and I parked the car before I got out and opened a door for her. She shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Chivalry isn't dead," she said.

I laughed at her comment knowing how I acted when I approached her in the park and accompanied her to the superstore.

We made our way inside the restaurant and she noticed that there was no one except staff but she said nothing.

A waiter came and showed us our table. We settled down on our seats and looked at a menu.

"Don't you think the restaurant looks horribly empty?" She said.

"People of this town prefer to stay under warm blankets rather than going out in winter," I lied to her knowing very well why it was empty.

I booked it for tonight because I didn't want the people of my town to expose me in front of her on our first date. I didn't want to make her feel insecure thinking that she was dating some icon. For some reason, she already had this thing in her head that she wasn't good enough for me.

"Understandable," she said dismissing the thought.

A server came and took our order while we enjoyed our drinks.

"Did you tell your mother about us?" I asked.

"I did. She thinks it's good that I am finally going out on a date at the age of twenty-three," She said making me frown.

"You have never been on a date before?" I asked her in complete shock.

"Yeah," she replied nonchalantly.

"I can't believe this."

She laughed. "What's there not to believe? I just never got the time to actually invest in a relationship. It wasn't like I didn't want to go on a date. I just didn't have time."

I was confused at her statement. If she wasn't busy with college then why she didn't have the time. What made her so busy in her life that she couldn't enjoy her time.

"Now you're on your first date, so we will make it a special one for you."

"Are you going to remind me every minute that it's my first date?" She asked me with a raised eyebrows.

"How does it feel to be on the other side?" I asked her with a smirk. "I'm going to tease you on this one for a while."

She laughed aloud. "Why didn't I think of this before?"

She bit her lips to stop the smile while I stared at her innocent face. My breath hitched at her innocent yet sexy action. Her red lips were calling me like a siren and I wanted nothing more than to grab her and kiss the hell out of her.

"You are going to be the death of me, Arianna," I said

"Don't ever say the word "death" in front of me." She said pressing her hand on mouth.

I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes and understood it.

"I will never say that again," I said.

Our server came and served dinner.

We finished the dinner while talking idle sharing funny and embarrassing moments of our life. It was one of the best dinners of my life.

"I have never enjoyed dinner this much," I said.

"I was told my company is funny," She said.

"Your company is thrilling," I said.

"What would you like in dessert?"

"I love anything with chocolate," She said.

We enjoyed the chocolate mousse that was actually nice. After that, we left the restaurant and got in the car.

"So where are we going now?" Arianna asked.

"We're going to this place where everything started," I said turning to her while driving towards the direction of the park.

"And that place is...?"She asked me about the confusion.

"Here," I said parking outside the park.

She looked at the park with a wide smile.

We stepped outside of the car and made our way to the center of the park.

"Why are we here?" She asked crossing her arms on her chest.

I realized she was feeling cold so I pulled off my jacket and placed it on her shoulder.

"Thanks," She mumbled.

"I thought it would a good idea to take a walk and burn all the calories that we consumed in the restaurant," I said.

"I appreciate this," She said making me laugh.

She smiled at me walking beside me silently.

"I just realized that I don't know your full name," I said.

Her face turned paper white like she was scared. Her eyes darted around to find an escape and that made me worried.

"Why do you want to know my full name?" She asked sounding nervous.

"Umm... I just thought we should share it," I said.

"It's Arianna B-Beckley," She said shuttering.

"Arianna Beckley, nice name." I tested her name on my tongue.

She sighed and gave me the full-blown smile making me mesmerized.

"Now, it's your turn," She said.

"Alex Darwin," I said and waiting for her to recognize me but she remained unfazed.

She didn't recognize me and I didn't know if I should tell her about me or wait for more.

"Alex is my favorite name". She murmured.

"Why?" I asked her.

"When I was six, I went to the mall with my parents. I was following them closely but my eyes landed on a cute white fluffy gown in the shop and I froze. I started gawking at the dress. I turned back to tell my mom I liked the dress but my parents had disappeared from sight. I was on the verge of crying when a boy with brown hair came to me. He was taller and looked a few years older than me. He asked me why I was crying. I raised my finger to the white dress and he glanced at it then he smiled at me. He asked me if I know what it was called. I shook my head in a silent no. I was scared of talking to a stranger. He told me that it was a wedding dress and I told him it looked beautiful. He asked me if I wanted that dress and I said yes. He promised me that he would buy me that dress when I would get older. Then his mom called him Alex. He waved at me before disappearing from my sight. My parents came back and found me standing outside the shop. I love this name since then," She ended the story and I felt ripples of a shock going through my body.

I was completely frozen staring at her with my mouth agape. After hearing that story, I recalled that day. It became vivid in my head. She was such a cute girl wearing a purple floral printed frock, staring at the glass window with her big chocolate brown eyes. I felt some kind of a pull towards her so I left my mom's hand and made my way to her. She was really shy to reply at first but then we had a nice conversation with each other.

"I hope that boy fulfill his promise now that you are old enough to wear that wedding dress," I said with the teasing smile.

"I don't want him to fulfill his promise anymore. I don't want to get married," She said.

I was surprised at her response. And my heart dropped in the pit of my stomach.

"Why?" I asked her.

"Marriage is not for me." She said.

Before I would say anything she sighed and said, "I'm really tired, Alex. Can you drop me home?"

We made our way back to the car. We stayed silent through all drive to her house.

We arrived outside her house. She stepped out of the car and I followed her to the porch.

"Thanks for the dinner and everything. I will never forget this beautiful night," She said.

"Thanks for spending time with me," I said taking a step closer.

She smiled at me shyly and took the step closer to me. She rose on her tiptoes then placed a soft kiss on my lips.

I pulled her closer to me by putting my hands on her waist and deepen the kiss.

"I'll remember this night forever," I mumbled.

We pulled apart. Our breathing was ragged.

"Don't forget to dream about me," I said with the kiss on her forehead.

"Of course not," She murmured then she unlocked the door and got inside the house.

I left and went back to my house with a smile on my face.

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To be continued

Publish Date: 24-04-17

S.G. Sonysa