𝒯𝒽ℯ ℛℴ𝓈ℯ𝒲𝒽ℴ ℋ𝒶𝓈 𝒮ℯ𝒸𝓇ℯ𝓉𝓈 (𝒯ℒℴ𝒰 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 2 𝒩/𝒜)

An Unexpected Date Night

Once Ellie and Dina were strapped into their seatbelts, Dina leaned over to give her girlfriend the deepest, most loving kiss yet, "Thank you, baby. Thank you so much"... Dina whispered, as Ellie gripped her fingers around both of Dina's wrists.

With that same iconic toothy grin of hers, Ellie answered back, "Anything for you!"

Ellie placed her car keys in the ignition, turning it on and slowly starting to pull out of the driveway, "You mentioned that there was something else you wanted to do before we go back to my house. What is it?" Ellie asked, placing her free arm around Dina's shoulders.

Dina smirked, internally battling with herself about whether or not to spoil the surprise, "Oh, wouldn't you like to know"... Dina thought, ultimately deciding to enter the address of one of their favorite restaurants into the GPS on her phone, "Just follow those directions. I'll explain more when we arrive there".

Ellie nodded, starting to follow the GPS to its unknown destination. Well, it was unknown for now, at least...

During the 20 minutes drive through the slowly flooding roads of Seattle, Ellie had started to sing along to the radio. This, of course, made Dina stare with so much love at the women beside her. Everything about her... Those eyes, that voice, that tattoo, just everything was imperfect to Ellie herself, but the best version of perfect to Dina.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ellie pulled up to an Olive Garden parking lot, smiling softly, "Why did you bring me here, baby?" She asked, completely oblivious to the surprise.

Dina smirked, kissing Ellie's forehead softly, "Well, I remembered how last night, you were saying how your favorite restaurant is Olive Garden and it's my favorite too, so this morning, I got my paycheck and I'm taking you out to dinner!"

Dina was so sweet, carefree and selfless, something out of many things that Ellie found so cute about her, "Really?"

Dina nodded, "You've spent the last three days spoiling the shit out of me. Now I'm gonna spoil the shit out of you!"

Before Ellie could even protest, Dina had already made her way over to the drivers side. She opened the door for her, "Sexy ladies go first! And I don't wanna hear any disagreements. I've earned your trust and you've certainly earned mine!" Dina said, playfully covering Ellie's mouth to prevent her from retorting back.

Ellie laughed softly, stepping out of the car and locking it. The beautiful caramel toned girl offered Ellie her arm, "Come on".

Ellie had rever been an eyewitness to someone being this romantic until this moment. Cat made her do everything because she was entitled.

However, Riley spent a lot of their date nights doing little things that Ellie enjoyed. Although, Dina was different in basically every aspect. This was her first big, romantic night where it was all about her...

Dina pushed open the entrance door, the fragrant smell of freshly cooked food filling the air. She gestured for Ellie to follow her, smiling softly as she walked up to a waiter.

The waiter looked to be only a few years older than them at most, "Hey there! Welcome to Olive Garden. How can I help you?" He asked, pulling a piece of paper and a pen out of his apron pocket.

Dina smiled softly, taking quick notice of the genuinely nice tone in the waiters voice, "A table for two please".

The waiter nodded, leading Ellie and Dina over to a bench seat, "Here you go, ladies!" He smiled, placing two menus and a roll of utensils on the table, "Let me know when you're ready to order. My name is Manny". He had a super strong Mexican accent, which both young women took notice of.

Dina nodded, "Okay, Manny". She answered, starting to look through the selection of drinks, "Feel free to order anything you want, babe. I've got more than enough money to cover everything".

Ellie nodded, ultimately settling on her typical order, "A Mountain Dew and Fettuccine Alfredo for me. How about you, babe?"

Dina giggled upon noticing yet another similarity between the two of them, "Same here, except I'm getting a salad too. Is that all you want, sweetie?" Dina asked, smiling at her lover. Another new nickname... Nice ring to it.

Ellie never ate a lot to begin with, so that would be plenty of food for her, "Yeah. Oh and breadsticks. Those are a personal favorite!"

Dina giggled, "You're a woman after my own heart. I'll order two bags of breadsticks, one for each of us".

Ellie nodded, as Manny walked over to their table to take their orders, "You two all set?"

Dina nodded, reciting their exact orders to Manny as she watched him write everything down.

Once Manny had left to go grab their food, Dina moved from across the table to sit beside Ellie instead.

Ellie smiled softly, looking down when Dina sat beside her, "This is nice"... Ellie whispered, her lips starting to quiver as she spoke.

Dina frowned, "Oh, baby... What's wrong? Why are you so upset?" She asked, holding Ellie's cheek as she began to wipe away each tear as they fell.

Ellie sniffled, "I'm just... Having flashbacks of when my ex girlfriend brought me here but made me pay for everything. Part of me feels as if I'm not worth the money"...

Nothing could've been further from the truth. Dina so badly wanted to find this poor excuse of a woman and punch some sense into her pretty little face, but for now, comforting Ellie came first.

Dina wrapped both arms around Ellie's neck, kissing the side of her head sweetly, "Well, let me tell you that you're worth every penny, honey. Every. Fucking. Penny"... Dina whispered, nuzzling her nose into Ellie's hair in hopes of making the beautiful woman next to her laugh.

Thankfully, Ellie was never one to disappoint a gold hearted woman such as Dina. She let out a happy, but low pitched giggle, seeing their food arrive out of the corner of her eye.

Dina smiled widely upon hearing that laugh that never seemed to stop the butterflies that flew around her growing baby bump. She handed the waiter a $20 tip, whispering to Ellie, "Would you like a minute to go to the bathroom and wash your face?"

Ellie shook her head, "No, I'm alright, babe. Just hungry"... Ellie whispered, biting the end off of her plastic straw and slipping it into the top of her drink.

Dina nodded, starving at just the thought of eating her food. Not just because Olive Garden was her favorite restaurant, but because she was eating for two now.

While others would find it absolutely grotesque watching other people eat, watching Dina eat was the funniest and most adorable show ever. It was as if a five year old was eating fast food for the first time, but at least Dina cleaned up after herself.

Throughout the date, Ellie and Dina ate away their feelings, while also learning about each other more and more. It was as if there was always something more to learn about someone, no matter how well you may know them.

Ellie told Dina all about Joel, Riley and Sarah, while Dina talked about what little information she was able to stifle about her mother. They brought up musical interests, funny stories, hobbies, favorite movies, video games... You name it. By the end of the night, the two women knew more about each other than they knew what to do with. Ellie and Dina knew now that despite their previous breakups, both sides were meant to be happy together.

They knew now that they were meant to last. Nothing about their relationship was temporary. They weren't meant to ever breakup. They were meant to live a long, happy life, with the occasional bumps in the road. Every couple had their challenges, but it was their job as a couple to overcome those obstacles.

No obstacle could stop them, Ellie wouldn't let it. She knew that the woman standing before her was special, too special to suffer on her watch or even at Dina.

Dina's thoughts were much the same way. She knew that things with Ellie would escalate slower than they did with Jesse, but Dina respected that choice. She respected how Ellie put her and the baby above anyone else, no matter what. It was their own little "unspoken" deal made on this unexpected date night that was meant to hold true forever.