Finding Love Again

Chapter 16

Time to put the plan in action!

________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday, the day Steve was going to take Sharon to the new restaurant, the day that the plan was going to be put in action, unbeknownst to Steve.

Steve was nervous. He hadn't felt nervous on a date in a long, long time. But the nervous he was feeling was a different type of nervousness. He was nervous because he didn't know how Sharon was going to react to the new restaurant. Well, here he was in front of Sharon's apartment on Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side. There was no turning back now. Yes, he could switch the restaurant, but he honestly didn't have another option. He just had to take a shot for it. He went inside the building and headed towards the elevator. The receptionist already knew why he was there because of how often he went in. He got into the elevator and checked the time. 5:58 P.M. Well, he would make it just in time if no one else got into the elevator. The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and he got out. He casually walked to 524. He looked at his watch before knocking on the door. 6:00 P.M. Right on time. He held up his hand to knock but hesitated a little. He could always cancel, say that Livy wasn't feeling well. No, that would be lying. He gathered up his courage and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" he heard Sharon yell. As he was waiting, he heard her scrambling around. Finally, he heard a jingle of keys, and he knew she would be out soon. "Hey, Babe!" she greeted when she got out of her room. "Let me lock up." When she finished locking her apartment, she turned around and closed the space between her and Steve. Steve leaned in for a kiss to which Sharon happily accepted. She threw her arms around Steve's neck. Before Sharon could deepen the kiss, Steve pulled back.

"You ready to go?" he asked her.

"Yes."

Once they were in Steve's car, Sharon asked the question Steve was dreading. "So, where are we going tonight?"

Steve's nerves came back, but he tried to keep his cool. "Oh, I thought we could try a new restaurant. Bucky recommended it, so I thought we should give it a shot."

"A new restaurant?" Sharon asked perplexed.

"Yeah, it's Mexican."

"Ooo, I love Mexican food. I haven't had it in a while. When I went to Mexico for a business trip, I tasted it. I thought I wasn't going to like it, but it was delicious! I didn't want to come back here because I knew I would miss the food."

"I'm glad you like Mexican food. I was kind of worried you didn't like it since we always go eat Italian and French food."

"Well, you never asked me if I liked it," she simply pointed out.

"Yeah, I realized that when Bucky was telling me about the restaurant."

They were soon crossing the Queensborough Bridge. "Wait a minute," Sharon said alarmed. "Why are we crossing the bridge?"

Steve inwardly laughed. "We're crossing the bridge to get to the restaurant. It's located at Long Island City."

"I thought this restaurant was in Manhattan!"

"What's the difference?" he asked completely confused as to why it bothered her that it wasn't in Manhattan.

"Manhattan restaurants are the only ones I eat at, Steve, and you know that!"

"Oh come on, Sharon! That's ridiculous!"

"I'm serious!"

"Please, just give this restaurant a chance. Remember, it's Mexican." Steve made eye contact with her and gave her a small smile before focusing back on the road.