lets not be alone

First Date

when i get back to my apartment i hardly wash my make up off and brush my teeth before i fall into my bed. through the night i reach for calum but need to keep reminding myself that he isnt here right now. but one day he will be again.

in the morning i call calum and put him on speaker while i make my eggs.

"morning." his voice groggily answers, and i internally groan. of course he is still asleep. or was i guess. i wish i hadnt woken him up but his tired voval pipes make me blush.

"hey. sorry, did i wake you?" i ask and he chuckles.

"kinda. but its okay. looks like luke and john- your dad, are already up."

"how was last night?" i ask him and take a bite of egg while i wait for him to answer.

"great. the album is already done so we just played around. what about you?"

"i met one of my favorite artists, at the coffee shop downtown."

"who is it?" i laugh to myself because if he does know who ben howard is, he is literally my soul mate. if he doesnt then, well, he might still be my soul mate.

"ben howard."

"oh cool. is he, like, popular?" i roll my eyes and put my coat on.

"not technically. to me he is. but lots if people havent even heard of him."

"awesome. tell me all about it.. tomorrow?" when he says this i am halfway through the parking lot, but i cant help myself. i start jumping up and down and kicking my feet out in excitement.

"sounds great." i take a deep breath and try to calm my nerves. i knew he was asking me, i just didnt realize how good it would feel.

"pick you up at seven? its kinda of a really nice resuraunt so.. dress for that."

"im excited calum."

"i missed you yesterday. i thought you might change your mind and come up here to say hello." his voice is somewhat adjusting to the fact that i called him out of nowhere. and now that hes on speaker phone i can actually start driving to work.

"maybe on a weekend. i have work, remember?" i can literally ser him tolling his eyes at me.

"right. work. are you driving there right now?"

"yes i am."

"and you still wanna be on the phone with me while your driving? dont you think i might distract you with my sexy morning voice?"

"yeah i already ran a red. look at me, im a changed woman just from talking to you." i play along and roll into the parking lot in front of my shop. "well im here."

"ill see you tonight, six thirty."

"i thought you said seven." i remind him and he groans.

"yeah but seven is so far away. if i had things my way you would be with me right now."

if only he knew, really.

lily is actually in today, so i make sure she knows her pay is halfed because she didnt call in. she understood and continued to cut apples for the crisp. the day isnt slow but my mind is elsewhere. really all that i can think about is seeing calum tonight, for our date that he bumped forward because he couldnt wait half an hour longer.

i pack up the left over baking that wasnt sold today after lily takes what she wants. i put the rest in my trunk and head home. its only five now, so when i get back to my apartment i take a quick shower. as soon as i get out of the shower i blowdry my hair and apply my make up. then i straighten my hair and put on my dress, which is a black, simple knee length dress. its tight around my waist and loose around my hips, showing my curves. i straighten my back and look at myself in the mirror. the clock that i can see in the mirror reflection says that i have ten mote minutes before calum gets here.

its difficult to occupy my time so i call johanna.

"hey, you. how was your day?"

"im actually waiting for calum to pick me up for a date." i bite my lip and waiting for her reaction.

"OHMYGODNOWAY! is this bar guy? the one that made you leave me all alone at a table and then before i know it you guys disappear together?"

"thats the one."

"calum." she says his name again and i laugh.

"yes, okay so im bored and wanna know what it is you wanted to tell me."

"oh bella honey, youre going on a fahreaking date! my news can wait. go have fun." she says fun as if its something foreign to me. like i need her to explain it, or once we get off the phone she expects me to look it up in a dictionary.

"thanks jo. ill call you when its done."

"and if he doesnt stay overnight ill come over." she says and i know that somehow he stayed over the night of the bar incident.

"oh my god fine. ill call you later." i say and she squeals as i hang up the phone. no more than a minute later, and after i take a deep breath, theres a knock on the door. as soon as i open it i lose my breath again after looking at calum. hes dressed to the nines in a tuxedo and bowtie.

"calum?" i joke and he laughs, bowing.

"at your service."

"you look amazing."

"you look better than amazing." he takes a moment to graze over my body before meeting my eyes again. "ready to go?" i nod and grab my purse that is hung on a hook by the door.

"of course." i say and he takes my hand in his, our fingers interlocking.

as we walk down to the parking lot he halts on the sidewalk, looking around and then walking with me towards a limo.

"you didnt.." i let my voice wander and i gaze over the sleek black automobile.

"but i did." he says and holds the door open for me. its nice when i slide in, the seat cushins around me and calum slides into the seat next to me. his knee touches mine and a sudden electricity runs through my body. he notices too because his cheeks turn crimson and he faces the other way for a second. we both take this time to compose ourselves.

"It's nice. Thank you." I say, and glance at the radio that is turned down.

"So, I didn't make this reservation. Michael did. He said he knows you'll like it, so I don't know what that means but I hope you like it. If you don't I could always beat him up." Claim says as if he is serious.

"I hate to break it to you but I doubt you would win."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? I'm strong." He says and lifts his arm to flex. Of course he's strong. I can see his muscles under his shirt.

"Yes, but I don't know." I say and he smirks.

"You know I would win. Don't even deny it."

"Whatever. What's this place called?" I flick my wrist at our past conversation and lay my legs on his lap.

"That's a secret."

"Calum." I whine and he rolls his eyes. "I'm serious! Tell me what it's called."

"No, I can't. I honestly don't know." He laughs and this seems to crack us both up.

"Next time, maybe you should pay more attention to the plans your friends make for your first date." I advise him as we pull into a parking lot. Christmas lights dangled around a single patio set makes me smile, and I touch the window before looking at Calum.

"I wish I could take credit for this shit, I really do."