The last bell of the day rang, my heart started racing, and the imaginary butterflies in my stomach started fluttering around in my stomach like crazy. At this rate, I wasn't going to make it out of the classroom, let alone out of the building, to meet Noah for our after-school date. I hurried down the hall to my locker, switched out my books, and headed toward the front of the school, listening to my heart pound like conga drums in my ears. I kept looking down at my clothes, wondering if they were okay. It's not like I could do anything about them if they weren't okay because I was here at school and didn't have access to my clothes from here. Then, I thought, what if it's another date like what happened with Jude? Surely, I couldn't be that unlucky in love?
I pushed open the right door, and Noah was looking down at his phone at the bottom of the steps off to the left, leaning against the stone pillar. I started walking down the steps; girls were walking in front of him, flirting, batting their eyelashes, giggling, and saying hi. He raised his head, smiled, and then looked back down at his phone, not really acknowledging them. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that; I didn't want to read anything into it and get my hopes up. I mean, look at the last time I got my hopes up; my date ditched me for our server, who happens to be in English with Jude and me. She transferred classes so that she could be in class with Jude. It was bad enough that I had to look at him every day; now, I had to look at the back of her head. Today, I dreamed of taking a pair of scissors to her hair and chopping it off. The thought made my mouth's corners curl into an evil grin. I wiped the smile off my face before Noah saw it and wondered what I was thinking because I didn't know if I'd be able to come up with a good enough lie.
"Hey, Gemma." Noah smiled, glancing up from his phone. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. I texted my mom earlier and told her I wouldn't be home until later." I walked down the steps. Noah pushed the button on the side of his phone, then put it in his pocket. He stepped away from the stone pillar when I reached the bottom step.
"Where would you like to go get something to eat?" Noah asked as I stepped down off the bottom step.
"Anywhere but The Breezeway."
"Yeah...I heard about that. Sorry, he did that to you. No, Breezeway. How about pizza?"
"Pizza sounds great. Before we go, do you mind if I drop my book off at my car?"
"Where are you parked?" Noah asked, looking around the parking lot.
"I'm parked back that way." I motioned a few rows behind us.
Noah looked over his shoulder. "Oh...." He stopped, turned around, and started walking in the opposite direction. I turned and hurried after him. We returned to my car, and I put my book bag in the backseat. "Where are you parked?" I asked, locking my car.
"I'm parked over that way." He pointed toward the other end of the parking lot. I looked at him, then across the parking lot.
"Get in." I unlocked the car. "I'll drive us to your car." I opened the driver's side door. It was hot outside, and I didn't want my makeup to sweat off my face. That wasn't the look I was going for on my date with Noah. I was already pushing my luck with the all-day look. If this had been a specific date, I'd be walking out of the house with a fresh makeup look, not one I've had on my face since this morning. I didn't even want to flip down the visor and look at my hair. I'd hate to see what it looked like right now. If you thought all-day makeup was bad, all-day hair should be outlawed. You can't go out on a date with a hairstyle you've had all day. That's just wrong on so many levels.
"My car is the shiny blue one." He pointed to the shiny sports car.
I peeked over at him, then returned my gaze to the parking lot because kids were still whipping out of their parking spaces and heading toward the exit. I should've known it was the sports car. We did go to a rich school, so most of the vehicles in the parking lot weren't your average teenage cars. I pulled up next to his shiny blue car that looked like it rolled out of the showroom floor.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Noah said, opening the passenger door.
"Uh...Yeah." I opened my driver's side door, not taking my eyes off his car. I was trying to figure out what it was with boys and sports cars. Maybe because I was a girl, I never saw the big deal about them. I grabbed my purse from the backseat, closed the door, and locked my car.
*****
We made it to the pizza place thirty minutes later because of Santa Monica traffic. Noah parked toward the back of the parking lot, away from the rest of the cars. I assumed it was so no one would bang into his vehicle. The minute he turned off the car, he was out and at my door within a few minutes, opening my door for me. Jude never did this for me the other night. Once I was out of the car, Noah closed the door, stepped to the side, and waited for me to take the first step toward the white two-story building where people sat on the rooftop enjoying the wonderful sunny, cloudless day.
"Isn't this place fairly new?" I asked as we walked toward the front of the restaurant.
"Yes. My parents just opened it up a few months ago." Noah smiled.
"Your parents own Angelo's?" I asked, looking up at the sign above the entrance to the restaurant.
"Yes." He opened one of the glass doors. I walked inside, stunned by how beautiful the inside was, decorated with ivy and lights. The tables were white with cream-color-padded chairs and booths.
"Noah, I'll let your father know you're here," A lady behind the hostess counter said as she turned to walk toward the back of the restaurant. Five minutes later, she returned with an older version of Noah. Except the man's hair was a little darker brown than Noah's. But the other features were almost identical. Same chiseled jawline and grey eyes.
"Noah, I didn't know you were coming to the restaurant today." The man said, walking around the counter toward us.
"Dad, I'd like you to meet Gemma Parker. Gemma, this is my dad, Colin Everet, part owner of Angelo's." Noah smiled, placing his hand on the small of my back.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Everet. Your restaurant is beautiful inside." I gazed around at the lights and ivy."
"Nice to meet you. I wish I could take credit for the inside, but this was all Noah's mom. She did a fantastic job." He smiled, admiring her work. "Amy, please tell their server that their meal is on the house. Please order whatever you like. Again, it was wonderful to meet you, Gemma. Noah, I'll see you later tonight. I need to get back to the kitchen." He nodded, then turned and headed to the back.
Amy took us to our table, then greeted our server and told her our meal was on the house. I couldn't help but feel relieved when I saw our server was old enough to be close to our parent's age. I didn't think I'd be able to sit through another meal having to watch my date flirt with our server. She took our drink order and checked on another table on her way to the back.
"Well...What do you think?" Noah asked.
"Wow..." I gazed up at the lights hanging from the ceiling, ivy wrapped around the white wooden columns. "It's incredible."
"Wait until you try the pizza." He turned to look over his shoulder; his fingers brushed against my hand on the table, sending a sensation throughout my body. I caught myself staring at his lips and wondered what they would feel like on mine. "I wonder where Diane is with our drinks?" He said as he turned back to face me.
"I'm sure she'll be back soon. Do you want to leave soon?" I lowered my head.
"What? No. I didn't mean it like that." I could see him slide his hand over, placing it on time of mine, his thumb caressing the side of my hand. "Sorry that you thought I wanted to leave." His finger traced the back of my hand.
"Sorry, it took me so long to get your drinks. I had to get something for another table." Our server said, setting our drinks down in front of us. "Noah, did you and your friend decide on what you'd like to order?"
My head snapped up when she said his name, swapping curious glances between the server and Noah, trying to figure out how she knew his name. Then, it hit me because his parents owned the restaurant. I wasn't prepared for what came out of his mouth next.
"Gemma, this is my mom, Diane. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner." He glanced up at his mom.
"Please excuse my son's terrible manners." She shot him a glare; then, her brown eyes flashed back to me with a smile. Her blonde hair was in a high bun, with a few strands down around her face. Her makeup was perfect as if she had stepped out of a magazine. "It's nice to meet you; I'm Diane Everet."
"Nice to meet you." I smiled.
"I was telling Gemma the pizza is amazing." Noah opened the menu and then slid it in front of me.
I looked down at the pizza menu and started getting a little overwhelmed by the two lists. "I like just about everything on my pizza except anchovies." I closed the menu before I had a panic attack over pizza.
"Okay, one medium Angelo's special coming up." Diane smiled and disappeared to the back again.
"Why didn't you tell me she was your mom?" I asked.
"I didn't want you to get freaked out that my mom was waiting on us, and you'd clam up and stop having fun. Besides, she pretty much leaves me alone when I stop by with my friends."
"Friends as in other girls?" I took a drink of my tea, staring off toward the other customers.
His brows furrowed, and he let out a laugh. "No, I mean my friends." He reached over and took my hand.
Author's Notes:
Do you think Noah's playing around with Gemma's heart? Let me know what you think in the comments.
If you like this chapter, please show it some love by giving it a vote. Thanks! Amber