Choices

Part 2: Always Make a First Impression

"This wasn't a random place you picked, was it?" She asks, more as a statement. His smile just widens. "You're the owner."

He shakes his head slightly, causing his dark hair to shift, and some more pieces to fall to his eyes. "No. Not yet. My parents own it. They are out of town for the weekend, but they get back tomorrow, so they can help with the rehearsal dinner."

He watches as her cheeks flame red and she glances away quickly to hide it. She can't help but inwardly curse her friends for not letting her have the piece of information to save herself that bit of embarrassment. "How long have you known Kristine?" She questions.

"Since we were little. Used to play together as children." His eyes glance around the room, remembering times as a child when he and Kristine used to run around together. Though Chelsea is sure he is checking to see if his employees are doing their jobs.

Chelsea sighs again, shaking her head and looking back at him. He meets her questioning gaze. "Why did you agree to this?" She asks.

He moves his shoulders in a shrug. "Kristine was pretty persistent, and persuasive. Plus I owed her a favor." His head tilts slightly, curiously amused by where this conversation is going. "What about you? What is your excuse?"

Something about the way he looks at her makes Chelsea look away from him again and down at her hands folded together in her lap. She can feel her cheeks reddening again. "I didn't get the chance to say no. I only found out a couple hours ago."

Bryce is quick to reply. "But you still came?" He places his arms, folded, on the table, completely focused in on her. "You could have ditched." It would have been logical. He suggests, making her smile, and look up at him.

"I thought about it." She shrugs slightly with a sigh. "But Kristine would never have forgiven me, and I guess I am just too nice of a person to skip out on a date, even if I don't know who he is."

He grows more intrigued by her with every passing second. "Were you disappointed, when you met me?" He asks, daring a more serious question. It is a question that weighed on his mind since the moment he met her.

Very calmly, she smiles. "No." She admits in a clear voice. A smile grows on his face, and she can't look away from him, no matter how much her mind screams at her to. "What about me? Kristine probably told you more about me, then she told me about you, so was I who you thought I would be?"

He shakes his head. "No." For a second, Chelsea's heart drops and she looks back down at her hands, feeling a sense of disappointment. Seeing her reaction to his answer, he feels the need to elaborate. "Kristine hardly told me anything, so I was left to guess what you would be like, and judging from some of the people she hangs out with, I feared the worse. But then when I saw you, I knew everything I had thought up in my mind, was completely wrong. You are so much more than I could have ever dreamed of." It wasn't exactly the explanation he had in mind and saying it back over in his head, he realizes why she is looking at him with an open mouth, shocked expression. Chelsea couldn't help but looked up him when he finished talking. No man had ever told her that before, nor did she ever think one would. She knows that if this doesn't work out, with her new job she just started at the school, this is probably her last date for a while. But here is Bryce, a man she has never met before, telling her something she never thought she would ever hear. "I mean it, Chelsea." He chuckles, humored by her silence. He knows that what he said was true, even if in that second it came out different. She definitely is so much more than he could have dreamed of. She is the girl his heart has been aching for all his life.

Just then their food arrives, and Chelsea, not knowing what she can possibly respond with to his confession, looks at the food being placed in front of her and mumbles, "Perfect timing." She is so focused on her food, trying not to look at Bryce, that she doesn't know that he heard her. He smiles and watches her for a few long seconds. Bryce isn't sure what it is about her that has drawn him in, but he intends to find out. He can't believe how honestly he spoke to her, and what he admitted. While they eat their dinner, they fall into more normal conversation topics, avoiding getting to deep. It is when they are done, that Bryce decides to make his move. He stands up and holds out a hand to her. Chelsea glances at his outstretched hand and then up at him with wide eyes, knowing what he wants, but is surprised he even wants to. "Would you dance with me?" He questions a second later. She doesn't know why, but she finds herself nodding and taking his hand. Chelsea tries desperately to hide the flaming of her cheeks from the strange feeling of his hand touching hers again. She can't deny it, she likes Bryce. There is something about him that makes her never want to leave his side. She hates knowing that a blind date might actually have worked. Or maybe it is more to the fact that deep down she wished it worked, and she is therefore fantasizing and wanting to make it work, when in real life it isn't as good as what is in her mind.

As Bryce leads her to the dance floor, Chelsea tries not to look around, but she feels as though she is being watched. When she does happen a glance around the room, she realizes she is, in fact, being watched by what seems to be the entire staff. She really hates being the center of attention, and she hates being judged even more. Her mind screams at her to run. They are not grinning with fake or forced smiles, but genuine smiles, like they are happy with how things are going. Some of the staff look at her with envy and Chelsea wonders why. Can it be they are jealous of Bryce's attention pointed solely at her, or are they jealous because he wants to dance only with her? Or maybe they can see what Chelsea can't, and are jealous of Chelsea and Bryce in general? Chelsea mind stills however, when Bryce comes to a stop in the middle of the dance floor and turns, setting his gaze on her once more. Her heart and mind suddenly decide not to run, not with that look he is giving her. Why is she so drawn to it? She feels shy under his gaze, shyer that she has even been in her whole life. She cares what he thinks of her, and that is a dangerous power he has over her. No man Chelsea has ever dated has gotten that far, but Bryce has gotten there in a few hours. They are dangerous emotions indeed. Still, she doesn't run. Bryce knows she is more nervous now, being closer to him then they have been all night. He pulls her close to him, and can't help but shudder at the touch of her hand on his shoulder. Chelsea, herself, can't help but shudder as his left hand comes to rest on her side, feeling like a branding iron, branding her as his. She is his, and she knows it. She has never been this close to him before, and she wants nothing more right now than to have him touch her. As if he has read her mind, he glances down at their hands, which they have still been holding, though Chelsea's arm is a limp noodle now. She follows his gaze, and watches as he pulls her hand up in the right dancing position. When Bryce looks at her, he can't look away, not now, and not ever. Somehow he knows that she feels the same way.

Bryce doesn't care what song the band is playing, nor does he notice the way people are watching them. The band plays song after song, and he doesn't notice as there are fewer and fewer couples dancing as the night drags on. He doesn't notice, nor care to even think about anyone else other then her. All Bryce wants is to see her smile, and to make her laugh and have fun, because he gets the feeling that she doesn't get to do that much. He wants to change that. They slow dance, and line dance, and two-step and for the most part he doesn't even know what he is doing, but it makes her laugh so he goes along with it. He is truly enjoying himself as well, watching her have fun, and watching her watch him. For as long as she will let him, he will continue to make her smile.

"Bryce." He feels a shake. "Bryce, wake up." He feels the shake again, and stirs from his dreams. Opening his eyes, he sees his mother, half leaning over the booth table with motherly worry. "Really, Bryce. Did you sleep here?" She asks and he knows she is thinking of the many times he has done so before. He gives her a puzzled look, glancing around as he continues to awaken. He glances at his clothes, and he is fully dressed in the clothes he wore the night before. His mind shoots back to the previous night and the memories that came with it.

He stands up, grabbing a booth blanket that he had placed around Chelsea when she had fallen asleep in his arms. He suddenly looks around the place but the only people there are him and his parents. "Where did she go?" He asks, fearing his parents caused her to panic.

"Who?" His father questions, and Bryce can see that his father truly has no idea who he is talking about.

"Chelsea." He replies, looking around again. Surly she has to be around here somewhere. He knows his neck and back will give him trouble later, but it is worth it. He still can feel the way she had fallen asleep, leaning back against his chest, with his arms holding her in place and sandwiched in the booth.

"Bryce, there is no one here." His mother laughs, glancing around to make sure, but looking back to her son. "We have been here for over an hour, but we only ever saw you. Have you been dreaming of your "dream girl" again?"

Bryce checks his watch, which reads seven thirty in the morning. Why would she leave? "She's is real. I promise." He glances at his parents again who share a questioning look, possibly thinking their son has gone mad. He sighs heavily and runs a hand through his dark hair, frustrated at the situation. She didn't wake him up, or even leave a note. She just left. "She's gone."