Jon was eating dinner with his mother when her call came through. He excused himself from the table and walked away to take the call. He was confused as to why she was calling him now, but the only way to find out was to take the call.
"Hello." He answered.
"Hey, Jon." She sounded unsure. Of what? He couldn't help but wonder.
"What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"Yes. Umm, yeah. Everything's fine." He waited for her to keep talking but she didn't.
"Emma?" He asked. He had gotten to his bedroom now.
"Yes. Jon, I just wanted to find out..." Her voice trailed off. He decided not to hurry her up. Let her get comfortable. She cleared her throat. "I wanted to find out if the offer's still on the table?"
Jon smiled. The offer? Adorable. "You mean the date that you turned down?" He was messing with her now. He wanted nothing more than to be there to see her cheeks turn pink with embarrassment.
"Umm, yeah?"
"Well, I can't right now, Emma." Jon said.
"Oh okay. I understand." She replied.
"Emma. I'm kidding." Jon stated. "Of course it's still open." He said.
"Oh okay. Thanks." She said. He literally couldn't stop smiling. She was thanking him for the opportunity to go on a date with him. She was good for his ego.
"Is Friday night okay for you?"
"That's the day after tomorrow?"
"That would be right."
"It's good for me. You?"
"I asked, didn't I?" Jon teased.
"Alright, see you Friday night."
"Yeah. It's a date." He said and chuckled.
"It wasn't that funny." He heard her say. He laughed some more. She was learning.
"I thought it was."
"Of course you would." Ella said and he could imagine her rolling her eyes.
"Bye, Emma."
"Yes, bye." She hung up.
****
Ella got off the phone to see Jasmine smiling sheepishly at her. "You know what this means, right?"
Ella's panic was instant. It was never good news when Jasmine smiled like that. "What?" Jasmine just leaned closer to her and wiggled her eyebrows at her. Ella's eyes widened. "No!" She exclaimed, horrified.
"Yes." Jasmine said, nodding.
"No, I refuse to go shopping with you!"
Jasmine stood up and took her empty plate to the sink. "It's cute really, the fact that you think you have a choice."
When she came back to the table. She turned to Ella. "So, tell me about this guy."
"Well, his name is Jon." Ella said. She wasn't willing to divulge too much information. Especially, the fact that he was her mechanic.
"What else? Where did you guys meet?"She asked. "Wait, where did you go today?" She snapped her fingers. "You met him when you went to check your car?"
"Yes."
"What kind of car does he drive?"
Ella shot Jasmine a look. Why was this a relevant question. "I don't know."
"How could you not?" Jasmine asked.
Ella sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.
****
"Mommy, there's someone at the door." Josh shouted as he ran into her room. He stopped when he saw her. "Where are you going?"
"Out." Was her reply. She didn't know whether it was wrong to tell him that she had a date.
"Am I coming too?" He asked.
"No, honey. You'll stay home with Jasmine." She said, hoping it wouldn't be a problem for him.
"Okay." He just shrugged and left her room. Ella turned to Jasmine to ask if she looked okay. She hadn't looked in the mirror since Jasmine had started doing her hair and makeup.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" Jasmine said with a huge smile. Ella stood up and went to the mirror. When she saw her reflection in the mirror she smiled. It was not what she had been expecting. With Jasmine, she had expected glitter and colors. But the makeup was actually rather subtle, it was difficult to even see it. But she sure looked different. Her hair was scooped to one side and pinned. Her dress was brown, almost the same shade as her hair. It was a sleeveless dress that had a fitted bodice and a pleated skirt. She was wearing adorable black flats. She cleaned up nice. That and Jasmine was very talented. "You like?"
"I love." She said and when she turned to Jasmine and saw that she had tears in her eyes. Ella sighed. Jasmine was too dramatic. "What is it now?"
"This is your first date in five years. Excuse me if I'm a bit emotional." Jasmine said and wiped her eyes. "Go on. Don't keep him waiting for so long."
Ella hugged her and stepped out into the living room. She walked to the door, but before she opened it, she stopped and took a long deep breath. She was ready.
She was not ready. When she opened the door and saw Jon there, she nearly started to hyperventilate. She calmed herself and looked at Jon. He was wearing a navy blue shirt with the top button open, giving her a peek at his throat. He wore that with black dress pants and brown loafers. He cleaned up real nice.
"Hey." He said, making her look at him. He didn't have a smile on his face which was weird.
"Hi." Ella replied, trying to smile and hoping it didn't look like a grimace.
"You're beautiful." Jon said after taking a slow gander with his eyes from her top of her head to her feet.
Ella blushed, as per usual. She waited for him to tease her about it, but he didn't. She shot him a questioning look. He finally smiled at her. "Let's go." He said and offered his arm.
When she got into his car, she heard her phone beep. It was a text from Jasmine. She opened it.
It read: Awwwwwww!
Ella giggled and put her phone back into her purse.
"Where are we going?" She asked, she knew she should just be patient.
"You'll see."
****
Ella found herself seated in a beautiful Italian restaurant with a red and white color scheme. It wasn't one of the fancy ones. It was a quaint little place. She loved it.
"So, this is a really nice place." She said to the man sitting opposite her.
"Yeah, it's one of the best." He said with a smile.
"How were you sure that I don't hate Italian?" Ella asked.
"Because I hated Italian food until I came here." He replied cockily. "They make the best lasagna. You should try it."
"Maybe I will." She replied, just as the waiter came up to take their order. Ella let Jon do all the ordering, as it was not his first time and he knew what was good. For appetizers, he ordered the fried ravioli. For the main course, he ordered the Classic Lasagna for the both of them and some Cabernet Sauvignon to go with it.
"So, small talk." He said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's start with the basics. What's your favorite color?" He asked with a smirk.
Ella couldn't help but laugh. "Really? That was the best you could come up with?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, okay. I don't have a favorite color. I think all colors are beautiful in their own way."
When she looked up at him, he had an incredulous look on his face. Then he started to laugh. Just then, their appetizers came. "That is so cheesy. Mine is blue. I'm decisive." He pointed at his chest to emphasize the point.
Ella laughed. "You're just boring. Okay, next one. Favorite food?"
"How does one choose?" He said as he picked up a ravioli and dipped it in the marinara sauce and popped it into his mouth. Ella smiled at the way he was eating. It was a casual restaurant without all the formalities and dress codes. It was refreshing. "I mean, there's so much to choose from. I think all foods are beautiful in their own way."
It wasn't in his voice, but she could see from the mischievous look on his face that he was teasing her. "I don't have one either. But if I did, it just might be cake." She said and joined him in eating the appetizers.
"I knew it." He said. "I mean why else would you own a bakery? By the way, those lemon cupcakes, Amazing."
The waiter then came and took away the now empty appetizer dish. In about five seconds, another waiter showed up with their meals. A third waiter showed up with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"So, why did you decide to open a bakery?" Jon asked. Ella took a bite of her lasagna and sighed.
"This is the best lasagna I have ever had." She said dreamily.
"I told you." Jon said with a smirk.
"Okay, back to your question. Well, I love baking. And I hated my former job. I used to work at a bank." She said.
"That must have been depressing."
"Well. It wasn't that bad. It was just boring as hell." She shrugged. "How about you? How come you're the one who got the body shop?"
Jon took a bite of his lasagna as he considered the question. "When I was young, I was something of a troublemaker." He smiled. "I was forever getting myself into trouble. My dad would make me work at the body shop as my punishment. I wanted to get a job at the movies, I mean free popcorn and hot teenage girls. But I could never stay good long enough to stop working at the body shop. So basically, I'm the only one of my brothers who actually knows much about the body shop so I guess it made sense."
"Did you hate your old job too?" Ella asked, drinking from her wineglass.
"No, I loved it. But duty called and I can't let my father down." He said, also drinking from his wineglass.
****
Jon pulled up in front of her building. The date was over, but he didn't want it to end yet. This was probably the best date he had been on in a long time. When he parked, she turned to him.
"I had a really good time tonight."
"Me too." He didn't particularly know what to say. This was the awkward part. "I'll walk you up." He heard himself say. "You know, make sure you get home safe."
Ella laughed. "This is a very safe neighborhood."
"Still, you can never be too sure." He argued. Ella nodded and picked up her purse and got out of the car. He followed her but after locking his car.
The walk up to her apartment was quiet. The both of them lost in their own thoughts. Thinking of the least awkward way to say goodbye and end the night.
They got to her door. She turned to face him. "This is goodnight then." She said. He had a different idea as to how to say goodnight. His eyes zoned in on her lips. Her full luscious lips which were at the moment coated in pink lipstick. He found himself moving closer to her. He saw her eyes widen a little, but she made no move to step back.
"It is goodnight." He said in a low voice. Before he could help himself, one of his hands was on the small of her back, pulling her into him. She did nothing to protest. As a matter of fact, she put a hand on his chest to steady herself. He leaned into her until their lips touched. He felt both her hands going around his neck, as she pulled him closer. Their lips moved against each other softly until he nudged her mouth open with his tongue and then the kiss exploded. What had been gentle, turned passionate. She tried to get even closer to him which was not possible as they were already as close as can be. As quickly as the kiss had escalated, she pulled back from him.
She avoided eye contact with him, suddenly very interested in her feet. He put a hand on her chin and made her look at him. "Emma. I would like to do this again. Would you?"
Ella just nodded silently.
"Alright. I'll call you." He said and kissed her cheek. Then he smiled. "You have the most beautiful blush I have ever seen." He hadn't thought it was possible but her cheeks turned even redder. He chuckled lowly. "Goodnight, Emma."
"Goodnight." She said in a choked voice. He turned around and walked back to his car.
****
When Jasmine opened the door and let her in, she squealed. Ella couldn't make a sound. She was still in a daze. "Oh my God, you're blushing so hard. I take it the date was good." Jasmine said, wiggling her eyebrows.
"It was amazing." Ella said.
Jasmine squealed again and pulled her towards her bedroom. "Josh is asleep. Tell me everything."
****
Song of the chapter:
Halsey - Ghost.
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