-Bex-
Cole and I had just finished our meeting with Danielle at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Everything was set up and ready to go for the next couple of days. All three of us had our own list of things to complete in order to make this whole thing extra special for Noelle. For whatever reason, making her feel beautiful and special had become a top priority for me. It was about more than just her having a good time while she was here.
"Are you nervous? I mean you're kind of taking her on a date."
"No. It's not a date. It's two people getting dressed up and going out to a nice dinner."
"So, a date." Cole wasn't going to let this go despite my constant response that it wasn't a date. At that point, I wasn't sure who I was convincing; her or myself. We drove back to the apartment and I got changed in to black skinny pants that could pass as 'dress pants', a black t-shirt and my leather jacket. I decided to wear my converse shoes with it, because there was no way I was going to spend the night uncomfortable. I mean my stomach was already in knots. Why in the hell was it in knots? This is not a date. We are two friends going out to a nice dinner. Fuck. It's so a date. No it's not. I had to get out of there. My brain and heart were starting to battle and apparently have a conversation with themselves.
"Do I look like a 'T-bird' from Grease? Be honest."
"No, you look great. She's going to melt in to puddle when she sees you."
"Thanks. Lauren is going to bring by all of those clothes and makeup within the next hour. My cab is here, so.... I guess we will be back later." My palms were already becoming sweaty.
"Have fun, Danny Zuko." Cole burst out in to hysterical laughter.
I closed the door behind me and walked down to where my cab was waiting. I had decided not to drive, because a strong ass drink or two might be needed to calm my nerves. Shit, if there had been a shot of anything in that cab, I would have thrown it back. It felt like the longest ride ever from my apartment to the salon. The cab driver parked in the temporary parking that Cole had parked in hours before.
"I should only be a few minutes."
After getting buzzed in and climbing the stairs, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Dugg greeted me with the utmost enthusiasm.
"Look at you!" He exclaimed.
I blushed.
"Wait until you see her. You are just going to die!"
Yep. That might actually happen. I could die. She could walk out and I could die of heart failure. Wait. Why in the hell was I so nervous? This isn't a fucking date, damn it. As I was trying to convince myself one way or another, I heard Dugg call her in to the room. Holy fucking shit. I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. Damn it, Bex. Get it together. She was smiling ear to ear and was walking with her head held high. She looked absolutely stunning.
"Hi..." She said shyly. This time though, she didn't look at the floor.
"Hi... hey.. You uh, you look ...." I couldn't get words out. What the fuck was happening to me?
"Stunning? Beautiful? .... but since you can't seem to speak, I'm going to go with breathtaking." Dugg said, filling in the blanks for me.
She continued to smile and giggled at my loss of words.
"Is there water somewhere? My throat is dry." I coughed and excused myself to find some water. Oh my god. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. I had to eat in front of that. I had to talk to that. That was the most beautiful and adorable woman I have ever seen in my life. I repeated 'this is not a date' about twenty times before I took a deep breath and returned to find Noelle chatting with Lauren and Dugg.
"I'm sorry. I just needed some water. Noelle, you look beautiful." I tried to pretend that I had it together completely, but I was acting. Tonight would be a test of my abilities, there was no question about it.
"You look amazing as well" she said.
"Our driver is waiting. Lauren, Cole is home to let you in to drop all of those things off. Thank you so much for everything."
We both hugged all of them and headed down to the cab. I opened her door for her, which seemed to surprise her. It surprised me too. If it wasn't a date, why the fuck did I just open that door? She had an arm. She has a hand.
I went around and let myself in and buckled my seat belt.
"Thank you so much Bex, for everything. I have never felt so good in my own skin. For the first time in my life, I feel like I don't want to look like anyone else.... I'm not sure if you will ever understand the impact that this alone has had on me." I could see her beautiful eyes sparkle despite the darkness.
"You're welcome. You deserve to feel this way and I'm sorry that you haven't felt it before now."
"So, where are we headed all dressed up?"
"To drinks, dinner and dessert."
"Where at?"
"You'll see." I teased. Within a few minutes, the cab driver pulled up in front of the restaurant.
"Oh my god, Bex! It's Sur! This is my most favorite restaurant that I've tried in LA."
"I know." I paid the cab driver and walked over to the sidewalk and stood beside her. "Are we going to go in?"
"Yes. I just want to take a second to take this all in."
She took a deep breath.
"Okay, let's go!" She was so excited. Her excitement over just going to dinner made me feel so alive. She made me feel alive.
The hostess greeted us.
"Taylor-Klaus. Reservation for two, please."
She quickly seated us and brought us menus. Noelle was looking around everywhere in awe.
"Bex, you have to get a lemon drop martini. They are the most delicious drink from here; however, sip on it. Last time, I was lucky I walked out from one. They are super strong, but oh! Soooo good."
We both ordered lemon drop martinis along with our dinner selections. Over dinner we made puns and she tried grilling me about the plans I had made for her and I. Despite the alcohol, I didn't give in to the pressure.
After paying the bill, we walked out. I complimented myself on the idea of getting a cab, because she hadn't been exaggerating at all when she said they were strong, but they had been delicious. We talked until our cab arrived to take us to the dessert portion of the night.
Within a few minutes we arrived at Millions of Milkshakes.
"Yes! This is the best day ever. You're the best person ever. Why are you so amazing?" She was slurring her words, but so was I.
"You're the most amazing." I blurted out. She blushed.
We ended up getting a shake to share because we were both too full to have our own.
"Lets go walk around and explore like lions in the jungle!" She exclaimed.
"Rawr." I said. Clearly we were both extremely intoxicated. I was trying very hard to control my words and actions, but it was getting increasingly difficult as the night went on. We walked down the street when I noticed her starting to shiver.
"Are you cold?"
"I mean kind of. I didn't realize California got this chilly at night." She crossed her arms.
I stopped in my tracks.
"What are you doing?"
"I can't multitask right now..." I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Better?"
"Perfect."
We walked back to Millions of Milkshakes. I had texted Cole before our walk, so she should be there soon. We finally were standing back in front of the illuminated sign. Going for a walk intoxicated, was not our finest idea.
"Are you okay?" Noelle had been quiet for a few minutes. I was standing directly in front of her.
"Yep. That martini was ... I'm a hot mess. These shoes are not alcohol friendly." She giggled and managed to lose her footing, falling forward. I caught her, barely. Two drunk people just can't save each other.
"I've got you." I regained my balance and helped her stand back up.
"Sorry. I went from a lion in the jungle to a .... to a.... I don't even know what."
"Hey..." I tilted her chin up to look at me. "Roar." I playfully said.
Our faces moved closer and closer. I closed my eyes and just decided to let whatever happens happen. The martinis were in control.
"Hey! Lovebirds! Get in the car."
Our faces were centimeters apart when we heard Cole yell. We both jumped back, startled. She nervously laughed all the way back to the car, while I wanted to smack the shit out of my best friend who had the worst timing.... but then again, it wasn't a date!