Better in the Long Run

The Date

                “So what happened to you after graduation?” I asked.

                “I moved to New York and went to Columbia…after that I went to Yale law school…I was seeing a girl there and we broke up on graduation.”

                “If you stayed at Columbia, I’m sure we would’ve crossed paths.” His icy blue eyes told so many stories…they captured me and wouldn’t let me turn away.

                “I could’ve done this sooner.”  I giggled and finally cracked the menu open. When Steve came back, we told him our orders, I was getting the shrimp and chicken fettuccine and Ian was getting the salmon.

                “What’s so great about breaking up on graduation day, anyway?” He smirked.

                “I wouldn’t know…Shannon from high school wanted to explore when she went to college so she broke up with me, and Daisy from Yale thought that she could do better.” I scrunched my nose.

                “You were always the sweetest guy I ever knew.” The corners of his mouth twitched.

                “You were always by yourself…you were different I liked that about you. And I knew you were Josh’s sister…but I just wanted to get to know you.” It was true. Ian was always the sweetest guy I ever knew. Especially now, sitting in front of him as he complimented me on how I looked or how my modeling career was going. Our food finally came and we talked as  we ate.

                “I really know nothing about you…”

                “What would you like to know?”

                “Everything I guess.” He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and dove into his story.

                “My father was a lawyer and my mother is an interior designer. I have an older sister who lives in Maine. I was really close to my father growing up…he kind of reminds me of your dad. My mom was never really around. Even still I only see her twice a year. Well, it turned out that my mother was cheating with one of her clients and a few years later my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He died a year later. I live by myself now and try to see my sister as much as I can.” I frowned to hear about his hard family life. I could never relate.

                “What about your hobbies?”

                “I like to hit the batting cages on the weekend,” he offered. I giggled.

                “What else?”

                “I am a fantastic cook.”

                “A little cocky now, aren’t we?” I loved his crooked smile.

                “I’ll make you dinner one night.”

                “I think I may just take you up on that offer.”

                We finished dinner and paid the bill. Ian and I walked out of the restaurant and walked to the car. “We’re going to eat dessert now, so I’d advise you changing into your flip flops.” Curious, I took off my heels and slid my flip flops off. The sky was now a navy blue and we were driving another five minutes when Ian pulled into a deserted parking lot. I glance up at him and he put the car in park. “Ready?” I nodded curiously and got out of the car. He opened the backseat door on his side and pulled out a quilt and a picnic basket. We started walking up the rickety stairs and down the ramp that lead to the beach. We walked through the sand and found the perfect spot to lay the quilt.

                As we sat down, Ian opened the picnic basket and put out an electric lantern and two slices of chocolate cheesecake. “There’s a meteor shower coming tonight…have you ever seen one?”

                “Not in my life,” I replied.

                “It’s beautiful. I wasn’t sure if you even liked cheesecake, but I took the gamble.”

                “It’s perfect,” I replied with a giggle. We ate in silence and when we were finished, Ian took the container and placed it back in the basket. We both lay down on the quilt and stared up into the night sky. Ian stretched his left arm out and I rested my head on top of it. His fingers gently caressed the skin on my shoulder. My skin erupted in goosebumps and I was hoping he didn’t notice.

                “What’s your biggest fear?” He asked quietly.

                “Whales,” I replied nonchalantly. He chuckled.

                “Why whales?”

                “Their teeth scare me…I was always afraid that if I was in the ocean and I fell off of a ship, one would accidentally eat me and kill me with its teeth.” I knew it was silly. But I was always afraid of whales even when I was little. “I guess on a more serious note it would be to live a life without doing something significant.” I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. “What’s yours?”

                “My biggest fear is falling to my death.”

                “That is pretty scary.” Suddenly in the sky, we could see the meteors streaking across. It was like a million shooting stars in one sitting. I silently wished that I wouldn’t drive Ian away. “It was never my intention to become a model. I never wanted it to become a career. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that.” This time I turned my head and faced Ian who was staring at me intently.

                “Then why did you do it?”

                “I’m really good at it.”

                “So what do you really want to do?”

                “I want to be a novelist. I’ve actually been working on something for a few years now.”

                “Can I read it?”

                “When it’s published,” I said sheepishly and looking away.

                “I’ll wait for it then. But I want an autograph.” I giggled and nodded. His reached his right hand over and placed it on my hip. His lips crashed into mine, his tongue gently teasing to enter my mouth. My skin was on fire and the butterflies were in a frenzy now. He pulled back abruptly, wishing we would’ve just stayed three seconds longer. He smiled, his whole face lighting up. “I think I should probably get you home…”

                Ian drove me home and we sat on the porch swing for a few minutes before leaving. He kissed me on the cheek goodnight and told me that he would see me tomorrow. I walked inside, giddy and doing some serious floating on cloud nine.

                “I take it that you had a good date,” said Dad from his chair, reading a book.

                “Did you even move?”

                “My daughter was out on a date with the next door neighbor. What do you think?” I giggled and walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

                “It was a very god date.” I hurried up the stairs and crashed on the bed. I was going to call Ali and let her know how it went.

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                I was still smiling by the time I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing.

                “Ms. Hollinger, this is Sabrina from News 10 in New York. Would you like to comment about Hayley Tanner’s statement?”

                “What statement?”