Raven

Chapter 13

"So, where are we going?" I ask Jace as he drives us away from the ranch, and I shift into a semi-comfortable position in the seat.

"We're going to watch a ballet, 'Romeo and Juliet,' I hope you don't mind," Jace sheepishly answers with a slight pink blush coating his cheeks.

"Really?" I excitedly ask, bouncing slightly in my seat as I turn my upper body toward him with a wide grin. "We're gonna go see the 'Romeo and Juliet' ballet? I've wanted to see that ballet for years now! How did you know I wanted to see this?"

Jace broadly grins while keeping his head and eyes on the road, he shrugs; "I may have asked your mom what was something you've always wanted to do. She said that you've always wanted to see this particular ballet, so that's what we're gonna do."

Leaning my left arm on the top of the arm rest between us to place a loud, smacking kiss on his right cheek, mumbling against his skin; "Thank you, Jace! I appreciate this more than you'll ever know! This is already the best date ever, and not just because of where we're going. This is the best date ever because I'm with you."

My skin flushes deep red at my confession, but honestly, I don't really care because I'm speaking the truth.

Jace softly chuckles as I move back to sit in my seat correctly with a content smile gracing my lips as he says; "I feel the same way, too. I'm beyond happy that you agreed to this date, and I'm excited to see this ballet with you. I'm thinking that afterwards we'll stop for a late dinner if that's alright with you?"

"That's fine with me!" I giggle loudly. "What are we gonna have for dinner?"

Jace hums softly as he turns onto the highway; "Pizzas or burgers and fries sound good to me, but I'm up for whatever sounds good to you."

Humming in acknowledgment of his answer as I ponder over what sounds good for dinner before shyly asking; "Can we share a pizza?"

"We sure can, Raven," he instantly replies, briefly glancing at me with a super sweet smile before focusing on the road again.

We listen to the softly playing music from the radio, and talk about random topics until we arrive at the theater twenty minutes later. Jace parks, turns off the engine, we unbuckle, and exit the vehicle. We meet at the hood, and Jace holds out his right hand toward me which I eagerly take in my left. We cross the parking lot, entering the building, and he shows the ticket taker our tickets off his phone, and we make our way to our seats.

I'm vibrating from excitement, and Jace softly chuckles at me as we sit down, and he says once we're seated; "I'm really glad we're here."

"Me too!" I softly giggle as I scan our surroundings, and notice that a lot of the seats are filled, and I hope everyone here enjoys this as much as I know I will. "I hope you like this as much as I'm gonna enjoy this."

"I'm sure I will," Jace replies, leaning over our shared arm rest to give me a soft kiss on the right cheek, and my cheeks tint a soft pink color.

Several hours later, the ballet has finished, and Jace and I are making our way to the local pizza parlor for a late dinner. We settle at a table for two near the window, and place our drink order before we start talking again.

"So, what did you think of the ballet?" I eagerly ask him with a wide grin.

Jace grins as broadly as he looks back at me with twinkling eyes; "I really liked it. I give all of the dancers props because I know damn well that I'm not that flexible."

Giggling loudly at him behind my left palm; "I agree. They're so elegant, and convey the story so well."

The server returns with our drinks before taking our food order, and the entire time she's with us, she only spoke with Jace, and out-right flirting with him despite me being there.

"Excuse me, but will you stop flirting with me because I'm obviously here with my date, and you're being rude," Jace snaps with fire dancing in his brown eyes, and the woman flinches, but that doesn't stop her from glaring at me. "I'd like to speak with your manager, now."

Another server walks by our table, telling us that they're going to bring the manager over in a moment, and I feel as if they saw and heard what happened. He had a smirk on his face as he walk past his co-worker. A few minutes later the server had left toward the kitchen, and the other server and another man approached the table.

"I was informed as to what happened, and I offer my apologies for your server's unprofessional behavior, and this server will be your server while you're here tonight," the man says formally. "Your bill will also be cut in half for their behavior. I hope the rest of your time here is pleasant."

"Thank you, sir, I appreciate this," Jace answers, and I'm glad that the manager took this seriously, and that Jace didn't take the server's flirting with him lightly.

The manager nods, apologizing again, and he and the other server leave us. The new server promised to make sure our order had been placed with the kitchen, and we thanked him.

Jace focuses on me again with a small frown gracing his lips, and I hate this; "Jace, it's fine, I promise. I appreciate that you didn't return her flirting, and that you spoke to the manager about her behavior."

Jace reaches his right hand across the table to hold my left one; "I could never do that to you because I'm here with you. I want to be here with you, and flirt only with you."