Chapter 9
“I can’t do this,” I state shakily, causing Maggie to turn to me with alarm.
“What do you mean you can’t do this? You were excited like a minute ago!” she demands angrily.
“I…I just…can’t!” I stutter and she stares me down while placing her hands on her hips to show just how much she is not happy with that explanation. I bite my lip nervously and then whimper quietly, “What if it goes badly?”
“It won’t. You two are perfect for each other,” Maggie tells me with a conviction that is hard to rival. I try anyway.
“What if I do something wrong? I’ve never been on a real date before! I will end up making a fool of myself and then he will never want to see me again!” I say, practically hyperventilating. I never thought I would be so nervous about something as trivial as a date. But that was before I met Liam Chase.
“That’s not true. You will be fine. I mean, you guys have been hanging out during work for like a week now! If he doesn’t think you’re a fool or whatever you’re afraid of yet than I doubt tonight will make a difference. He likes you, Dakota. A lot. And why shouldn’t he? You are gorgeous, smart, and a million other amazing things. So, just relax and everything will be perfect,” she reassures me. “Now take a deep breath and put this on.”
Maggie shoves some fabric into my arms and then pushes me into her bathroom. I look down at the outfit she wants me to change into and groan. She picked out a tiny little dress for me to wear. I don’t get dressed up often and I almost never wear dresses. Probably since I don’t really have many nice clothes due to the fact that they cost more money. I brought some clothes with me to wear to my date, but Maggie took one look and said no way. So, now I am stuck with this dress that definitely makes me uncomfortable to wear.
The dress actually isn’t too revealing or short or anything like that, but it is obviously expensive. It is way more than I can afford, that I’m certain of. It makes me feel strange wearing expensive things because it makes me feel like I am pretending to be something I’m not. I yell this to Maggie, who is waiting on the other side of the door, and she tells me to suck it up and try it on.
I do as she says and then step out of the bathroom to show her. I tug on it nervously as her eyes widen.
“That looks amazing! You have to wear it, Dakota!” Maggie exclaims.
“I don’t know,” I reply, still feeling uncomfortable in it.
“Look at yourself right now and if you can tell me you don’t look amazing then you can wear something else,” she tells me and then positions me in front of her full length mirror.
I stare at my reflection, studying it carefully. Half of my dark brown hair is pulled back in a clip leaving the rest to frame my delicate features. My eyes travel down to my dress that I have to admit does look pretty good. It is a simple dark red dress that hangs just above my knees. It is tighter up top, making me look as if I have a bigger chest than I actually do and then becomes looser towards the bottom. It is simple enough that it makes me a little more comfortable wearing it. I don’t doubt it was expensive, but you can’t really tell just from looking at it. I suppose it was a good choice by Maggie after all.
After taking in everything else I lift my head and stare myself in the eyes. Normally when I look in a mirror I can see a sadness lurking in the depths of my eyes, but today it has been replaced with a cautious excitement. A small smile plays on my lips and I almost don’t recognize myself. Not because I look so much different than I normally do, but because I practically radiate happiness. I really hope everything goes well tonight.
“This will look perfect!” Maggie chirps while placing a necklace around my throat. It has a plain ruby red crystal dangling from the silver chain and it matches the dress perfectly.
“Thanks, Mags.”
“No problem. It’s what I’m here for,” Maggie says and then tilts her head to the side when she hears the doorbell. “That must be him!”
Before I can protest Maggie darts out of the room and to her front door. I can hear her talking with Liam from where I still stand in front of the mirror. I take a deep breath and go out to see him.
When I walk into the room Liam immediately looks up, a gorgeous smile lighting his face. Upon seeing him all of my doubts from earlier disappear. Butterflies erupt in my stomach as my eyes meet his and I almost forget that Maggie is standing right there.
“You look beautiful,” Liam says, looking at me in a way no one has ever looked at me before. It makes my cheeks turn pink and I have to look away.
“Doesn’t she?” Maggie chimes in and Liam agrees.
“Thank you,” I mumble. I’m not really used to receiving compliments, more like the opposite. I have been criticized about so much that I almost have trouble believing people when they give me compliments. I believe Liam, though. The way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen is enough to convince me he believes it.
“So, are you ready to go?” he asks and I nod. I hug Maggie goodbye and then make my way out to Liam’s car.
“Are you ever going to fill me in on where we are going?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” is Liam’s cryptic reply.
“I hate surprises,” I complain and a grin is his only response.
“Everything worked out with Marie, right?” Liam questions me and I nod.
Marie was more than excited to be asked to watch Addie over night again. I was still uncertain, though, especially when Addie cried when I dropped her off today. If she had asked me to stay just once I probably wouldn’t have been able to resist, but Marie calmed her down and when I left Addie seemed happy enough. It doesn’t mean I won’t spend the entire night worrying about her. I always do.
After dropping Addie off I drove over to Maggie’s. I didn’t really want Liam picking me up from my house and Maggie begged me to let her get me ready. She was almost as excited as I was for my date. I couldn’t help myself when I told her that if everything went alright tonight maybe Liam and I could double date with her and Daniel. She turned bright red and wouldn’t say any more on the subject. I know she was thinking about it, though.
“How much longer, Liam? The suspense is killing me!” I declare and he laughs.
“Not too long. We should be there soon. Actually, you should probably close your eyes right now, so that you don’t recognize where we are headed,” he tells me.
I raise my eyebrows at him, but comply anyway. We drive for a little while longer until suddenly I feel the car come to a stop.
“Stay where you are. I’ll come get you,” Liam says and then I hear his car door open.
A second later I hear my door creaking open and feel Liam pulling me from the car. I still have my hands covering my eyes as he leads me forward. I have no idea where I am going and it is actually kind of scary to me. I mean, if Liam wanted to he could lead me to an edge of a cliff right now and push me over. Not that he would ever do that, but still. For someone that has trust issues, this isn’t the easiest thing for me to do.
“Li…,” I begin to whine, but am cut off.
“We will be there in a second, I promise,” he reassures me and I continue taking shaky steps forward.
“Hey, Liam,” I hear someone mutter, causing me to jump. I thought we were alone, which creeps me out enough that I almost take my hand away to see where we are. I don’t get the chance, though.
“Thanks for doing this, Paul. I really appreciate it,” Liam responds, leaving me confused. What did this Paul guy do for him?
“No problem, man.”
Then there is the sound of shuffling feet, as I’m assuming Paul leaves the room or wherever we are. Then Liam reaches up to pull my hand away from my eyes and I’m left blind in the sudden bright light. I blink my eyes a few times until they are able to focus and then look around in shock. The hand that is not still held by Liam’s, covers my mouth as I gasp at what I see.
We are surrounded by paintings. The most beautiful ones I have ever seen. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize where we are. Liam has taken me to the same art museum that I went to on my school field trip years ago. It has changed a lot since then, but I just know that is where we are. The thing that has left me speechless is, how did he know? I never told anyone about my interest in art, so how is it that he knows just the place to take me?
“What do you think?” Liam asks me, sounding nervous.
I look at him in surprise, but find that I’m still unable to answer. I spin around in a circle as if that will help to clear my head, but it only makes me dizzy. That is when I start to giggle like an idiot. I’m pretty sure Liam will never want to go anywhere with me ever again after seeing how stupid I am acting tonight. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Great, actually. How did you know? Nobody knows,” I mutter in disbelief.
“Well, it is kind of hard to explain without seeming like a creepy stalker,” Liam says, giving me his adorable grin. “You remember when I said that I knew you better than you think I do? Back when I gave you the ride home that first day. You weren’t supposed to hear, but I knew you did anyway. Do you remember that?”
“Yeah,” I reply, still having trouble believing this is real.
“The truth is that I have been watching you for awhile. Oh wow, that definitely sounded like a stalker. It’s not like that, though, I promise. I just mean that I used to go to eat at Oliver’s all of the time back before my parents were divorced. They argued a lot and it was better to get out of the house. Oliver’s was my place to get away. At first it was just by chance, but after the first few times I had a different reason for coming. You,” Liam admits anxiously, while trying to gauge my reaction. I’m seriously confused and motion for him to keep talking.
“One day when I went there to eat, I noticed you. You were waiting on some table and I couldn’t help but think you were the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen. I wanted to talk to you then, but you were always busy working and I had seen you turn down a few guys before. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have a chance and it was easier just to watch you while you worked. I kept coming back in the chance that I would see you. I always did since you work practically every single night. You never were my waitress, though, I was actually kind of scared to sit in your section. I knew a girl like you was impossible to be real and I wasn’t ready to get my heart broken by you,” Liam explains and then takes a breath before continuing. “The first time you really noticed me was the night I sat in your section with my friends. I mean, you must have seen me around before, but I don’t think you really paid attention until then. After talking to you, for even just a second, I knew I couldn’t go back to just watching you. So, I asked you out the next day and well you know the rest.”
“I’m still confused, though. How did you know I like art then?” I question him.
“Oh, yeah. See, I noticed that whenever you went on break at Oliver’s you would always sit down at a table and start drawing something. I never knew what or if you were even serious about drawing, until one day you forgot to throw out the paper you were drawing on. I picked it up and was going to use it as an excuse to talk to you, but then I really looked at it. It was seriously the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. You didn’t even draw just one thing. It was a bunch of things all crammed onto one small piece of paper. Even from just that it was obvious you had a lot of talent. I knew if I gave it back to you, you would throw it away like you did with all of the others, so I kept it. After you had agreed to let me take you on a date I had an idea this is what I wanted to do, but I asked Maggie to be sure and she said that she noticed the same thing about you drawing. She said she also heard you talking to one of the cooks about some famous painting and you were using some art words that she didn’t understand. She took that to mean that you liked art and so then I just had to find a way to get us in here.”
I stare at him, speechless once again. He has really been watching me that long? Now that I think about it, I kind of do remember seeing a boy that used to come to Oliver’s a lot. Liam is right, I never really did pay him much attention. I was way too caught up in my own life to even notice what was going on anywhere else.
Everything Liam just said really does help me to understand some things better. Like how he always seems to know things about me that I never told him. It is strange thinking that he used to watch me when I worked, but it is Liam and I trust that he isn’t some crazy stalker. I mean, it’s not like he used to follow me home or anything like that. He just paid attention is all, which must have been a good distraction for him since he was going through all that stuff with his parents. I guess I do understand it. Although, I’m not sure why he would choose me out of all the people to put his focus on. There really is nothing special about me.
“Say something, please! Tell me I didn’t ruin my chances with you,” Liam says, looking very concerned. He has no reason to be.
“For that long, Liam? You cared all this time?” I ask, my voice full of tears. His parents were divorced almost six months ago, which means he must have noticed me awhile ago.
“Well, yeah. It was just after I saw you, there was no one else. No one could compare to you and it was like I stopped seeing the other girls the way I used to. I know it is pathetic,” he mumbles.
His face is full or regret for not talking to me sooner and I can see he thinks I am about to tell him I don’t want to hang out with him any longer. I can’t stand seeing him with that sad look in his eyes and so I fling myself into his arms. His arms wrap around me reflexively and I bury my face in his neck.
“Oh, Liam. You should have said something! I wouldn’t have turned you away. You aren’t anything like the other guys that asked me out,” I say, my voice muffled by his shirt.
“So, you aren’t breaking up with me then?” he asks me, relief evident in his voice.
“Of course not! You set up this amazing date for me without me even having to tell you anything about what I liked. You know me so well just from watching. I don’t even know how to explain how much it means to me,” I tell him after pulling back so I could look him in the face.
“I could think of a few ways,” he replies teasingly as his eyes shift down to my lips. I just grin and take another step back, not ready to let him kiss me quite yet.
“So, tell me. How did you get us into here?” I spread my arms out to indicate I mean the art museum. It is way past the time the museum closes and there is no way they would just let two kids in after dark.
“The security guard, Paul, and I are friends. I had to beg him, but he finally agreed to let us in.”
“You mean, we have all this to ourselves?” I stare at him in wonder. Our first date and he gets us an entire museum all to ourselves. Not that he had to pay for it, but still it is pretty impressive.
“Yup. We have until midnight, my Cinderella,” Liam jokes and I smile at his cheesiness. “I don’t really know much about art, so I’m leaving it for you to lead the way.”
I don’t think twice before pulling Liam off in the direction of where one of my favorite paintings used to be. It sill hangs on the wall in the same place as it used to and I find that I am grinning from ear to ear. It is an abstract painting by a no-name artist and I absolutely love it. There really are no words to describe it, it is just one of those things that you have to see.
“If you like art so much, why don’t you take classes or something?” Liam asks suddenly.
“I don’t have the time or money. Besides, it’s not like I could spend my life painting. I need a job that makes steady money,” I reply.
“Even if it means being unhappy and working at a place like Oliver’s your whole life?” Liam questions, seeming surprised.
“I mean, I would like to get a better job so I don’t have to struggle by, but I can’t go to college. I doubt I will find anything much better than where I’m at now.”
“Dakota, you could be anything you wanted. You deserve so much more then what you are settling for. If art is your dream then you should go for it,” Liam tells me, looking so serious and sure of what I could be if I tried.
“If it was just me I had to worry about then I would, but I have to think about Addie. Everything I do is for her,” I reply softly.
“You need to do things for yourself sometimes too, Dakota,” he says and then looking hesitant continues. “What about your mom? Can’t she do something to help you out?”
“No. It’s just me. She doesn’t know how to take care of herself, let alone her kids,” I inform him bitterly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks and I shake my head.
“I’m pretty sure this isn’t how dates are supposed to go. I mean, shouldn’t we be talking about happy things?” I reply, hoping he will take the hint and change the subject. He looks at me doubtfully a moment, like he wants me to tell him more about my mom, but he doesn’t push me for any more.
“Yeah, I guess we should,” Liam says and then grins suddenly. “I have another surprise. I hope you’re hungry.”
Before I have a chance to reply, Liam takes my hand in his again and leads me into another room. Instead of telling me to cover my eyes he does it for me by placing the hand that isn’t holding mine over my eyes. We take a few steps more and then Liam stops me.
“What do you think?” he asks after pulling his hand away.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathe with wide eyes.
The room that he took me to is lit up by little twinkly lights that cover the ceiling and some of the walls. There is no other light source other than them, so it is kind of dark, but in a lovely night sky kind of way. It almost feels like I am looking at stars.
“Before you tell me how amazing I am for doing this, you should know that I can’t take credit. The museum is doing some special Starry Night festival based on the Van Gogh painting and so they are decorating some of the rooms to go with the theme. I saw it and thought it would be the perfect place for us to eat,” he tells me.
“You were right,” I grin and follow him to where he has a blanket spread out on the ground.
“I was going to set this up outside, but I think it is supposed to rain. I figured that wouldn’t be a good ending to our first date,” Liam laughs and I join in.
In this weird lighting in this room it almost makes Liam look as if he is glowing. He is absolutely beautiful to me. His smile, his laugh, his eyes, and most of all just who he is. My God, I think I really care about this boy. This is so not good at all, but I can’t seem to make myself care. I hardly remember my reasons why I wouldn’t say yes to him in the first place. Now that I am here with him they all seem so pointless now.
“Outside or not. This is perfect,” I say and truly mean it.
During the next hour or so, we talk and eat for the most part. I do my best to keep the conversation on Liam because there isn’t too much that is interesting about myself and I don’t want to get into my parents and my situation with Addie. Although, Liam acts as if everything I do say is something amazing. It would be a lie if I said he didn’t make me feel special.
“So, if you don’t date I’m guessing you never had a boyfriend before, right?” Liam asks me suddenly, looking very interested in my answer.
“Not really. I kissed someone before, but I never actually went on a date with them,” I reply, my cheeks turning pink.
“Oh, so you let random guys just kiss you then?” Liam raises an eyebrow at me and I roll my eyes.
“No! It was just one time and this boy from school came up to me when I was going to get Addie. He tried talking to me, but I wasn’t really paying attention and then he just kissed me. I pushed him away right after because I was kind of shocked. When I asked the kid why, he told me that he thought it was the only way he could get me to really see him since nothing else he did before had got my attention,” I explain.
“Did it? Get your attention, I mean.”
“Not exactly. I told him the same thing I told you, that I don’t date.”
“Well, I guess he wasn’t as persistent as me then. Otherwise you would probably be with him right now and not with me,” Liam says while giving me that adorable grin of his.
“I don’t think so. You were just special,” I reply softly.
“I guess this means I’m your first real boyfriend then,” Liam states simply and I bite my lip nervously.
“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Liam?” I tease him.
“You couldn’t of just went along with it and agreed? Fine. Dakota, will you be my girlfriend?” His stormy eyes stare into mine, taking my breath away at how much emotion he is able to show without saying a thing.
“Okay,” I answer him, grinning like an idiot for probably the hundredth time tonight.
Liam’s eyes flicker down to my lips again, but this time he doesn’t try to kiss me. I’m pretty sure he is thinking about how he wanted to kiss me earlier, but I pulled away. He won’t even try to kiss me now because he thinks that I don’t want him to. I do want him to, though, and so for once in my life I stop thinking, lean forward, and press my lips to his.
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Hey guys! So, what did you think of the date? It didn't really turn out like i expected it to, but i hope you still liked it. On the side i am posting a picture of the dress Dakota wore. It isn't exactly what i meant, but it is pretty close.
Also, if you guys are bored and would like to check out the prologue to my new story i just posted, i would appreciate it so much! I'm not going to actually start writing that story until this is over, but i would love to know what you think of the prologue. If you are interested it is called Making Room For Hope :)