*Unedited*
"Here?" Dana asked, looking outside the window.
"Yep."
"Why? I mean," she paused, looking down at herself, "I am not dressed for this."
"You look amazing, Dana." Ethan said. "Plus, you've already got me. You don't have to dress to impress anymore," he added jokingly then winked at her, making her laugh.
"I never dressed to impress you." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Really? Never? Hmm..." He looked at her thoughtfully while running his index finger on his chin. His amusement was apparent through his expressions.
In that moment, Dana couldn't help but think how handsome he was. Is this the same guy you found annoying? She asked herself.
"Come. Let's go." He got out of the car. Dana followed suite and stepped out as well. She waited for Ethan to get to her side before they both walked into the extremely posh restaurant Ethan had chosen for dinner that night.
"The next time, we're doing this my way," she said after they were settled on their table.
"Dinner?" Dana nodded. "You don't like this place?" Ethan asked seriously. "If you don't we can always go somewhere else."
"No. That's not what I meant. You always choose a restaurant, so I know of your tastes. Next time let take you to the restaurants that I like."
Ethan smiled and looked away, his eyes now focused on the waitress who walked towards their way.
"Good evening, sir, ma'am. Would you like to order something to drink?" She asked politely.
"A bottle of Chianti, please." Ethan then looked at Dana. "If you don't taste this, you're missing out."
The waitress nodded and left them.
"I love wine," Dana stated.
"Thought so. See that's why we are here. It's quiet, a bit boring but its also a way for us to spend some time together and get to know each other."
"You already know me. You know both my past and my present."
"And your future?"
"My future?" She questioned.
"Yes. What are your plans for yourself?" He took a moment to thank the waitress, who was pouring wine in their glasses, before looking back at her.
"I am just...for now I can't think past William." She admitted, extending her hand to grab her glass of wine before sipping from it. "Delicious." She commented, tilting the glass slightly in Ethan's direction.
Ethan nodded in acknowledgement before continuing their conversation. "William, yes. But suppose that wasn't a concern. Ideally, where do you see yourself in a few years?"
"I want to be able to buy a bigger house. Which means take on more assignments at work. Possibly work for a more established news channel than the one I'm currently working at. It'll pay me more and open new doors."
"You're ambitious," he stated. "I like it. And what about your personal goals?"
"My personal goals? There are many things that I want to work on at an individual level. Besides that... I see myself settling down and having a family in three to four years."
"Marriage, huh?" He looked at her as he took another sip of his wine.
"Are you ready to order?" the waitress asked while looking at both of them.
"I...can you give us a few more minutes? I didn't look at the menu yet." Dana gave a small laugh as she said that, her hands moving her wine glass aside before opening the menu.
"Surely, ma'am. I'll come back in a few minutes."
5 minutes later, they both had decided on their meal and ordered.
"What are you thinking?" Ethan asked as he saw her staring at her glass absentmindedly while running her finger on its rim.
She stopped and looked at him. "Earlier you were asking me about my plans. What are your future plans?"
"Personally?" Ethan asked. When she nodded, he continued, "I am not looking for marriage just yet." He made sure he chose his words carefully. The last thing he wanted was Dana to think that he wasn't interested in her from a long term point of view.
Her expressions fell but she masked that well by shifting in her chair before settling her gaze back on him, her elbows resting on the table.
"I have been married before. I rushed into that relationship and I saw where it took me. I am not looking into repeating my mistakes again. That's why, the next time I think about marriage, I am going to make sure that it's what I want a hundred percent."
"Of course. It's always smart to make sure you know who you are getting in a relationship with. I dated a Mr. Wrong that I am still dealing with. Marriage is an even more serious commitment. It's only wise to think twice before taking those vows." She looked at him sincerely.
He nodded, agreeing with her. "So what's going on with your knitting project? You told me about it a couple of days ago, right?"
"Yes," they moved their hands from the table as the waitress came back with their food and placed it on the table.
"Enjoy your meal," she said smiling widely before leaving them.
"I haven't worked on it yet. I had ordered some materials from Amazon. But I think I can find the same materials at a lower price if I just go to a store in the city."
"Hmm.." Dana waited until he chewed his food before he spoke, "you should look into that. Wow. Ambitious and an aspiring entrepreneur."
Dana blushed, taking her gaze away from his face and focusing on eating her food.
"What...what's..." she sighed, unable to frame her question properly. "Did you speak with the lawyer recently?"
Ethan nodded then lowered his voice, "no new updates. He is just...gone. They had a few leads after talking to that cab guy who tried to take you, but they ran cold."
"Maybe he's not a concern anymore," she thought out loud.
"Probably. Hopefully. I don't want you going through this. That guy is a...he should be behind bars."
Dana couldn't agree more.
"Thanks. For everything." She nodded at him gratefully.
There was a hint of a smile on his face before he said, "I am doing this because I want to. Not because you need my help. I think you're quite independent and if you had to, you would have done this on your own. You don't need my help, Dana. You don't have to thank me for anything."
Dana looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. No words were exchanged as they looked at each other, their eyes communicating silently.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" The waitress drew Dana's attention from Ethan. Dana looked up to watch her silently asking if she could pick up her empty plate. Dana gave her a smile and nodded her head.
After all the dishes were cleared from the table, Ethan asked, "do you care for desert?"
"No. I'm quite full actually."
"Alright then." Ethan asked them for the check. They left the restaurant as soon as they finished paying.
"I hope you enjoyed the meal," Ethan asked as they walked to their car. Her hand was wrapped by his, making her heart flutter. She realized that she was loving every second of it.
"I did. Thanks." He let go of her hand to open the car door for her so she could get in. After he made sure she was safely inside, he shut the door and got in himself.
A comfortable silence settled upon them as Ethan drove towards Dana's place. however, that silence was soon broken by the sound of his phone ringing. His phone was connected to his car which made the caller ID flash on the stereo system screen.
The name 'Cassandra' made Dana quirk a brow.
"Aren't you going to answer that?" she asked after a few seconds, when Ethan didn't answer the call.
"It's probably not appropriate." Ethan muttered, letting the phone disconnect.
"Why not?" She asked. Although, she already knew what the answer could be.
"We used to date."
"Hmm. Used to? So you guys are not a thing anymore?"
"I thought we were a 'thing?'" he questioned, glancing at her briefly.
"Well, if you have nothing to hide then answer the phone call." She said teasingly as the phone started ringing again.
He pressed the 'answer' button and cringed a little when Cassandra's shrilly voice made his ears hurt.
"Ethan! You haven't talked to me in a while!" Cassandra complained. "It's been so long."
"Indeed." Ethan said, looking at Dana's reaction.
Her expressions gave nothing away.
"Look, can I call you later? I am a little busy right now."
"Oh no way! You're always busy. We barely get any time to talk. Let's meet this weekend? Stay over at mine?"
Dana looked at him with stony expressions.
"Eh. I'm not really interested anymore, Cassandra."
"Hey, baby." Dana couldn't help but raise both her eyebrows at the seductive way Cassandra said those words. "Meet me so I can get you interested again."
Dana wanted to burst out laughing seeing how uncomfortable Ethan was with the whole conversation. However, she maintained her neutral expressions.
"Hey let me call you back, alright?" Ethan said before quickly hanging up. Then he looked at her. "Dana." He brought his gaze back to the road before looking at her again. "I told you that it's going to be awkward."
She looked at him and bit her lip to keep from laughing.
But then she couldn't control anymore. She laughed.
"What?" She asked when he gave her a confused look. "You thought I'll turn into Hitler the second day of being together?"
He relaxed and asked teasingly, "so we are together?"
"I thought you knew that." She looked at him to see his expressions. Were they together now? In her eyes, they had shared a kiss. That had to mean something. But in his eyes, it could just be a kiss that meant nothing.
"I do. But let's take things slow, alright? I want to be sure about this."
"Of course." Dana wasn't about to rush into anything serious either. Rushing into a relationship was a big 'no-no' for her.
"But to make up for putting you through that call, let me buy you an ice cream." He turned right and stopped the car in front of Baskin-Robbin's.
"I want a whole pint of ice cream." She looked at him with a big smile.
"Give me something in return then." He leaned in, his actions telling her what he wanted.
She leaned in as well until he could hold her face in his hand before kissing him. She expected the kiss to be brief but moaned when he gave her the most scorching kiss ever.
"I could buy you the entire store right now." He murmured before kissing her one last time. "What's your favorite flavor?"
"Cookie dough." She whispered breathlessly.
"A pint of cookie dough ice-cream coming right up, ma'am." He said, before getting out of the car.
Dana rested her head on the seat and sighed. I am going into this with the point of no return, wasn't I?
Ethan walked into the shop and grabbed a pint of cookie dough ice-cream. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed another one and took them to the cashier.
He waited as the lady was busy with another customer and checked his phone.
Emails. Phone calls. Voicemails. Texts.
He usually ignored texts from people he didn't know. But one particular text stood out.
'Small advice: Back off, Salvay. She won't be yours for too long.'
He frowned upon reading that.
He was about to ignore the text, thinking that it must be from some jealous boyfriend or husband but then stopped.
He turned to look outside the glass window in the direction of his car.
Could it be?
No.
His car window was tinted black so he couldn't see inside.
How long had it been since he was in the store to buy ice-cream. It felt like an eternity.
It must have been less than 5 minutes though.
Anything could happen in 5 minutes, he thought.
If the text was sent by who he thought sent it then...
He quickly placed the ice-cream on the counter and ran out of the store. He opened the car door so suddenly that Dana jumped a little.
"What?" She asked.
Ethan felt an immense amount of relief seeing her sitting there harmless.
"Nothing. Nothing. I just came here to ask if you wanted 2 pints instead." He tried to hide the fact that he was freaking out a second ago.
"If you'll share it with me." She smiled at him but sensed something off. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. I just came here to ask that." He returned her smile before shutting the car door softly. He took a moment to look around.
Nothing was out of ordinary. Cars were driving by, people were crossing street, people were walking on the sidewalk holding shopping bags...
Nothing out of ordinary, he said to himself.
He went back inside and paid for the ice-cream. When he came back to the car, he was a bit more composed.
"Here we go." He placed the bag on the back seat. "Ready?"
"Yep." Dana said. "Ready."
_______________
Here we go! I struggled to write this chapter a little bit with my health and school work. But here it is! I will be able to upload again around May 19, after my exams. I'll keep you all posted!
Thanks for all your love and appreciation! <3
-Ruchika