I stand staring at the clothes in my closet. I hadn't had to get ready for a first date in years, unless you counted my two failed attempts recently. And I was not. I don't know what to wear, I don't know where we are going or what we are doing. I close the door and go to the kitchen for a glass of wine.
It was a blessing that I had to spend all day writing the blog for last night's excursion or I would have spent the whole day obsessing over tonight. Yes, I definitely did so much work and zero stressing.
I drain the wine and put on makeup, taking time with my eyeliner and putting on lashes, because lashes make you feel like a new person. And if anyone needed to feel like a new person, it was me. I curl my hair and spray half a bottle of hairspray in my hair to get the curls to stay in my straight hair.
Back to my closet, what am I going to wear? I check the time on my phone, I have 15 minutes until Noah will be here. I'm definitely not freaking out, no butterflies or nervous flutters. Who was I kidding? If I didn't puke before the end of the night I was going to call it a win.
I reach in blindly and pull out every black piece I have, because black has never done me wrong. I settle on a floral maxi dress with a black leather jacket and Chelsea boots. I hear a knock at the door and throw the outfit on. I hope it looks good because there's no going back now. He knocks again and I ignore it while I check my teeth in the mirror in the bathroom to find them wine stained. I violently swig mouth wash and spit it out.
I run to the door, because I don't want him to knock again. I fling open the door, panting, revealing Noah looking more handsome than I have ever seen him. He towers over me, his wild hair looks brushed for once, with a black button up. The sleeves are rolled up his forearms and his ink stands out on his pale skin.
"Why are you out of breath?" He asks, one sexy eyebrow raising higher than the other.
I heave a breath as I lean over and try to slow my breathing, "because I ran across the apartment."
Noah tries to hide a laugh behind his hand, and I give him a warning look. "Well you look lovely," he says before bending to kiss my cheek. "Shall we?"
I nod at him and he leads me to his SUV, opening the door and waiting for me to climb in. "What a gentleman," I tease. Noah chuckles and shakes his head, closing the door behind me and crossing the car to his side.
"So, where are we going?" I ask as he backs out of our shared driveway.
"You'll see."
Noah turns on the radio, pop music plays softly in the background as we make our way towards downtown. We pull up to a restaurant and a valet opens my car door. I don't think I've ever been anywhere that they had a valet, let alone used it.
Noah meets me at the front of the car and his hand goes to the small of my back, gently pushing me to the hostess. Warmth floods my body as he tells her we have a reservation. The ambiance is dark as the hostess leads us to a table tucked in the back next to floor to ceiling windows.
I feel out of place immediately, I had never been anywhere like this and Noah had this air about him. Like he had money, and I was the opposite. I was living in his basement.
"You are quiet tonight," Noah mentions as we sit down.
I glance down at the menu, I wasn't a picky eater but some of the things on the menu sounded disgusting. "Just a little out of my element here," I say truthfully.
A waiter comes to the table to get our drink order and I order a whiskey drink with strawberry simple syrup and lemon. Noah orders an Old Fashioned.
"What do you mean? Dating?" he guesses, then laughs much too loud and it feels amplified in the dark space. "I'm not really used to it either."
I didn't know how to bring it up, but it felt like he chose this place to show off. I wasn't looking to be impressed, I just wanted to have a fun night out with him. This feels like a life for other people, not for two people attracted to one another but also wanted to kill each other. I should not have been given a knife around him. It was irresponsible. I laugh uneasily at his attempt at a joke. His eyebrows pull together and lines form on the skin between them. He looks like he's trying to figure something out.
"No, something else is bothering you," he says, "what is it?"
I shake my head, "no, Noah, everything is great."
"Delaney," he says my name the way he used to, the way I hate and I roll my eyes at him.
I pause and take a drink of my drink, "This is just..." I trail off, "I'm not used to places like this."
Noah nods thoughtfully, seeming to also be selecting his words carefully.
"I brought you here because it's one of my favorite places," he frowns, "I thought you would like it."
This whole thing already feels forced. I want to throw something at him or start a fight, but I saw the prices and I cannot afford to throw anything in this place. I feel like a huge asshole as soon as his words are out. This date is not going anything like I hoped.
"If you like it, I'm sure I will too. I haven't even given it a chance," I say, reaching across the table to touch his hand. I want to stop being so careful. Noah's being careful, I'm being careful, and this has been the tensest hour of my life.
Noah is still frowning at me, "we can go somewhere else.."
"No," I say firmly, "if this is a place you like I want to try it out." I try to reassure him, but the tone is completely different. This was a mistake, I should have never let him get under my skin. He and I were trying to force a circle into a square and it was never going to work.
The waiter comes back and Noah orders a couple of appetizers and I try to keep my eyes in my head when the word octopus leaves his lips. I can't choose a single thing on this menu and finally decide on a lamb dish.
"We just ordered so much food," I say when the waiter leaves the table.
"Yes, well, you eat like a horse," Noah smirks
"Hey!" I cry, and again the urge to throw something is back. Maybe I will throw the octopus at him when it arrives.
"Tell me something, something no one else knows," Noah prompts when the conversation dies.
"A bit profound for a first date don't you think?"
"No, not with a girl who wants to know my opinions on the secrets of the world," Noah smiles slyly.
"I don't know how to answer, you know a lot about me already."
"I know what you want me to know," he says as he shakes his head, "tell me something that you aren't so forthcoming with."
"I know I'm going to regret telling you this, but when I was younger I was really into big cats. Like all of them, leopards, lions, tigers. I was obsessed with them, and my mom who is just the best person in the world really leaned into the bit. She always made me these elaborate Halloween costumes and made me believe I could do anything if I really put my mind to it. Anyway, one night we are out to dinner and the waitress asked me what I wanted," I pause to contain myself and look at Noah, he's leaning forward a little, hanging onto my story, "I told her I wanted blood soup, because if I was going to be tiger I needed to start eating like one. My mother was so embarrassed and didn't take me anywhere with her for like 6 months."
Noah, who had been taking a drink of his drink, spits the drink out with surprised laughter. I smile to myself, immensely pleased with his reaction as I dab his discarded drink from my chest, as people start staring at our table trying to see what the commotion is.
"You're joking!" He accuses, still trying to control his laughter.
"Unfortunately, I am not," joining him in his obnoxious giggles. "Your turn."
"I don't have anything that good," he shakes his head and sips his drink, keeping it in his mouth this time. "Okay, I got it, so my grandma lost me in a department store when I was really little. It was this huge thing, they had the store on lock down and they were searching everywhere. I guess I had perched myself in a group of mannequins and they couldn't find me because I blended in with the mannequins."
I smile at him, "I could see you doing something like that."
The waiter brings out the appetizers, focaccia bread with olive oil, empanadas, and the octopus bruschetta. It all looks delicious and presented so nicely. I immediately try a little of everything, and it's all so good. I sit my fork down and look at Noah, who hasn't touched anything.
"What?"
"I genuinely enjoy watching you eat," he says, "you make this small noise every time you take a bite, like its the best thing you've ever eaten." I feel the blood rush to my face, and I look away from his scrutiny. I catch his smile widening just before I duck my head.
"Don't get all embarrassed," he jokes and digs his fork into the empanada. "You are cute when you are red in the face."
"Is that why you try to make me angry all the time?"
"No, darling, I don't have to try at that," he smiles secretly at me.
We finish all of the appetizers, me eating most of it. The waiter brought out our food, and like the appetizers, it was delicious.
"Dessert?" Noah asks me as the waiter clears our plates.
"I always have room for dessert," I smile at the waiter and Noah nods at him and he leaves the table. A few minutes later he returns with the strangest sundae I've ever seen for each of us. When I bite into it the ice cream appears to be matcha flavored with a lemon pound cake and topped with a lemon curd.
"I don't think I've had a better meal," I say to Noah when my sundae is gone.
"And you wanted to leave," Noah teases, his dark eyes sparkling.
"I'm glad I stayed, thank you for bringing me here," I reach my hand across the table to squeeze his hand.
After fighting Noah, begging him to let me pay for my half, he pays the bill. Noah's hand is back on the small of my back, leading me to the valet. The breeze is nice outside as we chat while we wait on the car to be brought around. Noah opens the door again and I slide in. I assume the date is over and we are going home, but I realize we are on the wrong interstate for home.
"Where are we going now?" I ask, trying to guess, but we are in the middle of nowhere in Franklin and I don't spend much time here.
"Oh, yes, I'll just start ruining the surprise now," Noah says with an eyeroll that ends on me.
"I don't like surprises very much."
"That will make them all the more fun for me," he grins cheekily but doesn't take his eyes off the road.
Noah finally turns off the main road onto an absurdly long gravel driveway. I'm beginning to think he really is trying to kill me when a large building with several other cars come into view.
"What is this?"
"You'll see," he says, coming to open my door for me.
We head inside and it looks like a museum, heavy filled with astronomy artifacts. There's a large sign on the wall that says "Dyer Observatory".
Noah walks silently beside me as I move from exhibit to exhibit in the small space. His hand hovers at the small of my back when we stop to read the plaques on the wall. Neither of us says anything, we are just taking it in.
"Would you like to go upstairs?" Noah asks, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
"Yes," I whisper, without turning around.
I follow Noah up the stairs and into a small room.
"After you," Noah says, and I follow instructions and step up to the eye piece. His hands rest on my waist as I gaze at the stars. And not just stars, Noah has keeps adjusting the telescope so that I can see a black hole on the sun. He also shows me another galaxy, and I can't believe he's thought this up.
I twist in Noah's grasp and pull him to me. My eyes flutter closed as I bring my lips to his. His grip on me tightens as he pulls me closer and presses his lips against mine. It's in this moment that I know I'm in deep with Noah. I couldn't go back to boring, controlling Caleb ever again. Noah lets me be free and encourages adventure. He doesn't make me feel safe as Caleb once did, he makes me feel wild and out of control.
Noah and I stroll around the roof of the observatory, and he grabs my hand intertwining our fingers together. I don't want to be a total girl, but Noah Sebastian is holding my hand and I'm freaking out a bit.
"You, Delaney, are as beautiful as the stars," Noah whispers into my ear.
Despite myself, I blush and lean into him even more than I already was.
"I bet you say that to all the girls," I joke.
"I can assure you, I've never said anything of the sort to another girl," he laughs loudly.
When the observatory is closing, Noah and I are reluctant to leave. Our steps are sluggish as we make our way back to Noah's car. The ride home is quiet, comfortable, while Noah rests his hand on my thigh.
"I had a really great time tonight," Noah says, he's looking intently at me.
"I did too, even more than I could have imagined."
I wasn't ready for the night to end, and Noah didn't seem to want that either. I finally made the first move and open the door. He walks me to my door, and I turn to face him, expectantly.
Noah uses one large hand to cup my cheek, I tilt my head up to meet him, he was so much taller than me. My stomach flip-flops with anticipation as I wait for Noah to connect our lips. His warm lips cover my own, as I lay my hands on his lean stomach, feeling the sinewy muscles beneath his soft shirt. Noah moves his mouth expertly over mine, seeming to anticipate exactly what I want and how I want it. His tongue slides into my mouth, and I tangle mine with his. The sensation causing my stomach to grow warm in the best way.
I pull away, blushing and looking at the ground. I wanted to be with Noah, but not yet.
"Goodnight, Laney," Noah brushes his lips over my ear as he whispers.
"Goodnight Noah," I smile, reaching up to kiss his cheek.