I woke up to an empty bed and felt my heart sink. She had left again, just like the last time she stayed over, disappearing in the middle of the night. With a sigh, I slid out of bed, walking to the kitchen. There was a note taped to my fridge and I grabbed it, beginning to read.
Gene--
Had to run to work, and you deserved to sleep more. I had a wonderful time last night, thank you for the date. I love spending time with you, and I'd like to spend more time with you if you want. Call me when you want to meet up again.
Love, Bea
A wide smile split my face as I looked at her phone number, written on the piece of paper in her wonderful loopy yet blocky handwriting, as if she was trying to be stiff and formal but couldn't help getting a little flamboyant. And of course, she had signed it with a lipstick kiss.
Humming to myself, I bustled around my kitchen, starting to make breakfast. The smell of brewing coffee wafted through the air, reminding me of the color of her eyes. I settled on just having a bowl of cereal, too excited to want to eat much else. All I wanted was to run to the phone and dial her number and ask her if we could meet up in an hour, or tonight, or every day this week. But she was at work, and I knew I had to wait.
I spent the day gathering up everything I could think of to make a perfect date for when Bea and I met up again. I was determined to make sure that the date was flawless, as despite both of us very much enjoying our dates since we first had dinner at the Rainbow Room, there had been a lot of times that things went sideways. Not the next date, though. The next date was going to be perfect.
Even though I assumed she got off work at 5, I waited until 6 to call her, giving her enough time to get home. Taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone, holding the note in one hand and dialing her number with the other. It rang for a bit before going to voicemail and I let out a sigh, beginning to leave a message. As soon as I had finished my message and hung up, the phone began to ring. Holding my breath, I picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey it's Bea! I'm sorry, I just missed your call," she said, slightly breathless, and I smiled, feeling my heart racing the way it did when I would ask a girl out back in high school.
"Hey you picked up in the end, that's all that matters. Do you uh...do you have plans for tonight?"
She giggled and I melted, crossing my fingers. "Only if they're with you."
An hour later, I was sitting in a cab by the curb in front of Bea's apartment, waiting for her to come downstairs. After a minute, she ran down the steps, pulling open the door to the cab and sliding into the backseat.
"Hi," she said breathlessly, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek. "Sorry, lost track of time."
"As long as you show up at all, that's all I care about," I said, before picking up the bouquet of flowers I had gotten, handing them to her.
She looked at it in surprise before looking at me.
"What's this?" she asked, and I smiled.
"Flowers for you," I said, resting my hand on her thigh, for once not even tempted to slip it up under the hem of her lilac dress. I wanted to treat her better than that. "That's romantic, right?"
There was a pause as she stared at the bouquet of red roses she was holding, fingering one of the velvet petals before inhaling deeply, closing her eyes, as if she was just absorbing the scent, the feeling of the flowers tickling her nose.
"It is," she murmured after a pause. "It's very romantic. I really appreciate it."
I grinned, slipping an arm around her waist, kissing her. "Hopefully the rest of the night will be just as romantic."
We reached our destination and I stepped out of the taxi cab, helping her out after me. She tilted her head back, a smile spreading across her face. I put my arm back around her waist, pulling her against my side, feeling the warmth of her against me as we walked inside.
"The Empire State Building?" she asked, and I nodded.
"Mhm. You ever been?"
"I haven't, actually," she admitted. "I've lived here all my life and I've never been to one of the city's biggest attractions. Kinda embarrassing, honestly."
"If it makes you feel better, I've only been to take some photos with KISS," I said, walking inside and handing the tickets I had bought to the person behind the desk, collecting the stubs as he handed them back to me.
"It's 86 stories up, right?" she asked as we headed to the elevator, and I smiled.
"Mhm. I won't let you fall, don't worry," I teased, and she laughed.
"If I fall, I'm dragging you down with me," she retorted, doors shutting behind us with a faint chime.
As the elevator ascended rapidly I kept her close against my side, both of us feeling the slight sway of the metal box we were trapped in. My stomach started feeling uneasy as I thought too much about it, but thankfully we arrived before I could panic.
It was a little crowded on the deck, since it was just about sunset and the air was still rather warm, even all the way up here. Bea stood in the doorway to the deck, not moving forward.
"You alright?" I asked, putting a hand on her cheek and tilting her face toward mine.
She had gone pale beneath her tan, smile just as weak. "I might be a little more afraid of heights than I realized," she said.
"I'll keep you safe," I said, hugging her close against my side.
She was still clutching the roses, red flowers standing out against her white jacket as she walked firmly across the deck, keeping her eyes trained forward. I walked beside her, keeping a reassuring arm around her, slipping the other hand into my pocket and feeling the jewelry box there, reassuring myself that I still had it.
After a few moments, Bea had worked up the courage to make it all the way to the railing, soaking up the view of the city. I had been up here before, I had already seen the view, so I just focused on staring at her, absorbing every inch of her, thrilled to see her enjoying herself.
Taking a steady breath, I leaned on the railing beside her, pulling the box from my pocket. "Hey I uh...I got you something else, too," I said, gently pressing it into her hands.
Tilting her head to the side, she opened the box, letting out a gasp as she saw the pair of diamond earrings. "Oh, Gene..." she murmured. "They're absolutely beautiful."
"I wanted to get you a nice gift," I said, kissing her. "And hopefully this makes up for ruining your outfit on our date at the park."
"It does," she said with a giggle, eyes sparkling as much as the diamonds. "But you've already more than made up for it, you didn't need to buy me earrings."
"Maybe not, but I wanted to. Do you want me to help you put them on?" I asked, and she snapped the box shut.
"Oh, no, no, you don't have to. I've already got some plain studs in and besides, I don't want to risk dropping one," she said.
"You'll have to wear them on our next date then," I said with a wink, and she smiled.
"Oh, I...I will, of course. You just have to take me somewhere nice enough for them," she replied, and I wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her shoulder and staring out at the city.
"That's not a problem at all."
