Shadow (Jake Seresin)

Chapter 12

Ellie and Jake eventually planned their fancy dinner date. They had the funeral for Iceman tomorrow, and they wanted to get out of the house, since they didn't have training.

Ellie basically did nothing all day up until she had to get ready. She did her makeup with a semi dramatic smoky eye, a nude lip, and her hair up in a loose, curly updo. She decided that a short, black, ruched bodycon dress with long sleeves and red heels was the go to for tonight. Jake kept it simple with a black suit and white button up. He wanted to surprise her with flowers, so he got her a dozen yellow carnations, since they were her favorite.

He got to her home and rang the doorbell. She ran to the window in her bathroom, since it was near the front of the house, told him it was open, and that she was almost ready. He knew where she kept her singular vase that she owned, so he was preparing her flowers as she finished getting ready. She made her way down her stairs, excited to see the look on his face. She knew she looked good, and she wanted to show it.

"It's not everyday that I get to dress up." She chuckled as she started to walk over to him.

He went to say something, but stopped as he looked at her. He was so stunned to see how good she looked. She stopped and chuckled as he gawked at her.

"Damn." Was all he managed to get out.

"I know. Usually I'm in flight gear, a t-shirt and shorts, or sweats." She chuckled.

"I got you flowers." He smiled and moved out of the way so she could see the bouquet sitting on her table.

"Oh my gosh! Jake, you didn't have to." She stopped and looked at him.

"Yeah, well I never bought you flowers before, but I heard you say these were your favorite so surprise!" He chuckled.

"Thank you." She smiled and kissed him.

"Shall we get going m'lady?" He asked and held his arm for her to take.

"Yes, good sir. We shall." She took his arm and they left her home.

The sun was starting to go down, but still very bright, so they both put their sunglasses on at the same time...not knowing that they did it at the same time.

"Okay we are now officially the hottest couple on this planet." Jake chuckled as he opened his car door for her.

"I think it's because I'm here. I bring all the bacon when it comes to looks. That's what mediocrity gets you, pal." She playfully said with a laugh.

"Now I'm hurt. I get allll dressed up for you, just for you to call me mediocre and 'pal'. So much for a romantic date." Jake pretended to be hurt.

"Oh hush. Just wait til later." She laughed as he raised an eyebrow to her statement.

"Sure you don't wanna do that now? We can skip appetizers." Jake suggested with a smile.

"Funny. I'm hungry." She chuckled as he nodded and backed out of the driveway.

The drive a little over 20 minutes, just like Jake told her, but the way they took was right along the coastline. She looked over to see her view from the passenger seat, and the sun was on its way down, and Jake's hair was slightly blowing around, since they had the windows down. He looked over at her and smiled as he went to squeeze her hand that was gently resting in his lap.

When they got to the restaurant, Ellie could just tell that it was expensive just by the look of it.

"How did you find this place?" Ellie asked as he took her hand and walked towards the door.

"I may or may not have looked up 'nicest restaurants in San Diego' and figured out the rest." He chuckled and opened the door for her.

She smiled at the hosts and Jake put their name in. They said it would be about a 5 minute wait until their table was ready. While they were waiting, Ellie looked and saw a couple girls eyeing Jake. While she understood why, he was her man. She looked towards him, and pulled him in for a surprising kiss. She made sure the two girls could see, and when she looked towards them, she smiled and waved, and they turned away.

"What was that about?" Jake chuckled lightly.

"I caught people staring at you. Needed to show them what's what." She chuckled lightly.

"Ohhh so someone is a little jealous?" Jake raised an eyebrow.

"No. No I'm not. Maybe a little." She chuckled lightly.

He smiled and put a hand on her hip.

"Don't worry. I'm all yours, El." He kissed the side of her head.

They eventually sat down in a small and private corner in the restaurant. It was all lit up with candles and the warm mood lighting. Ellie thought it was such a perfect spot for the two of them. After they ate the food and talked for a coupe hours...Jake and Ellie gave each other a knowing look, suggesting it was a good time to leave. Jake left a nice tip, and drove them back to her place. He made a pit stop at his house, to grab his uniform for tomorrow.

After about an hour of fooling around, Jake had plopped next to Ellie on the bed, the both of them breathing heavily. Jake had his arm around Ellie and kissed the top of her head.

"Do you wanna shower tonight? Or tomorrow morning?" He asked.

"I can shower tonight. Do you wanna go first?" She asked.

"No, I can wait til you're done. I'll grab you a towel." He smiled and got her a towel from the closet.

She quickly took a shower, and while he was in the shower, she got to thinking. She wanted this to be long term. She wanted to eventually take him to meet her family...she knew for sure he'd get along with her dad. Her mom would surely love him too. She facepalmed herself in the forehead for letting her fall this hard for someone she 1. barely knew really 2. knew they weren't gonna be staying in San Diego much longer past this mission. The thing is, she felt like she's known Jake for years...or that they were together in another life. She knew she wanted this to be it for her, even though she told herself in the beginning that it would never happen. She just couldn't help it. She had a feeling Jake would feel the same, but also it still SO early into the relationship and they already said "I love you." She laughed at that.

"This would be the most intense summer fling known to man if I've ever seen one." She chuckled to herself. 

She honestly gave it enough grace in the beginning to be a quick fling, but she was in too deep now. She didn't wanna get out of it either. She knew after that date that she wanted him and him only for the rest of her life. It almost made her cry tears of joy thinking of the idea of a life with Jake. She quickly wiped the forming tears away when Jake came back out to get back into bed. When he turned all the lights out and got under the blankets, Ellie nuzzled into his side and plopped her head on his shoulder.

"You okay, darling?" He asked her.

"I'm okay." She said warmly with a smile.

She was telling the truth. She probably hadn't felt as okay as this in her entire life.