Inside the apartment, I lean against the door and think about what happened outside. Everything Veron said to me seemed honest.
I can't believe the way he said why he loved me. It was all I've ever wanted to hear. What girl doesn't want to hear a guy say that he love you for the little things you do? To know that someone was giving you attention, enough to notice these things about you sounds really flattering.
But more than that, Veron asked me out for dinner. I never thought this day would come. When you spend so many years thinking that it was you with him instead of the other girl, you imagine about these kinds of things to happen. But that doesn't mean I was expecting this. Hell! This is unbelievable.
I know this is going a little too fast but that wasn't an enough reason for me to decline the offer. So, I said yes!
I can't believe I'm going on a date with him. I know it's only dinner but still. I can't believe this is happening. I mean, nothing I ever wanted to happen happened in my life. So why this is happening all of a sudden, I will never know.
I'm not sure if my crush for him will stay as a crush or if it will become more than that.
I remember how desperate he sounded asking me to give him a chance. I really feel sorry about Ronica. More than that, guilt. At the fact that I'm going on a date with Veron knowing full well how much Ronica loves him.
But if he loves me instead of her, I can't really help that right?
I don't know low long I stayed like that but after awhile, I decided to take a shower and cereal, my usual night time routine. I feel like I'm in a dream. I am so excited about this. I can't even remember doing anything with my mind being full of Veron. It's like someone is controlling all of my actions while I'm living in a another state entirely.
So when I ended up in my sweats, eating cereal and going through Veron's fb page, I wasn't much surprised. I know, I do this basically everyday but something about today makes it all different, special.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know is that, I was woken up by sunlight shinning brightly right at my face.
I get ready to go to work with so much energy. I feel happy with everything.
I almost call Chelsea and Umiko to tell them about this but I decided against it. I don't want to be too excited about this. Who knows how tonight would go? It could be good or bad. So, I'll tell them after tonight depending on how it is.
I nearly danced on my way to work. Honestly, if someone looks at me close enough, they'll notice me skipping as I walk.
I don't think I've been this happy in the last 3 years.
There are so many customers today. So with work, I forget all about tonight and all that excitement. Soon enough, I'm starting to sweat and get dirty.
After lunch hour, customers come at a normal pace and everyone was glad about that. I asked Mr. Travor if I could go early today, maybe at around 6 and he looked at me with concern.
"Lately, you have been too distracted from work. I don't know if you are having trouble but I'm getting worried about you." I smile at him and say that it's all fine. He gives me permission but I can see him shaking his head muttering something worriedly. I chose to ignore that.
So after my work's done, I run home to get ready. I have about a hour before Veron said he will come to pick me up.
I had a quick shower and then dried my hair using a towel. I let it air dry a little and started on makeup. It's not like I have many makeup items Just mascara, lipstick and face powder. I did a little touch with those and went to pick an outfit. There's actually not much to chose from but I take out all of my clothes. Picking up the denim, I look for the magenta blouse I would normally wear for a special occasion. I didn't wear that in a long time that I'm slightly worried whether it will fit me or not. But seeing how thin I have gotten, I don't think it won't be an issue. I throw the clothes that I won't need today out of the pile and onto the floor and finally, I found that blouse tangled up with a bunch of clothes. Trying it on, it's actually a little big and with the denim i look older.
Any other day, I wouldn't really care if it's big or small, I would just wear it if it's comfortable. But tonight, I'm overly aware of how I look like. So removing both the jeans and the blouse and tossing them aside, I take out the frock.
It's the only frock I have. My mom bought me this for my 15th birthday. It's a yellow sleeveless frock with frills and it reaches up to my mid thighs. It's too short for my liking actually. It still fits me even though I got this 6 years ago. The only difference is that back then, it was too long but now, it's short. But I always loved this one. Mostly cause it felt like my mom still loved, despite everything that happened.
I let my natural blond curls hang lose on my shoulder and wear my flats. Taking my phone from where it's charging, I put it in my side bag and leave the apartment to go outside.
I see Veron standing outside the door, looking around. He is fidgeting with his fingers. I wonder if it's a nervous habit. I've never seen him do that before.
He is wearing blue jeans with a black T-shirt. With the moonlight hitting his body, he looks really handsome that my heart skipped a beat.
He looks at me as I opened the door and step outside.
"Wow..." He looks at me from top to bottom. It's a little embarrassing to get checked out like this. I tug down my dress a little to cover my almost bare thigh when his eyes stay a little too long on my legs. "You look stunning." He breaths out.
I can feel my cheeks heating up.
"Thank you." I point at him with my hand. "You look good too."
He looks down at himself and smile. He comes toward me and takes my hand. My already frantic heart going insane with his touch. He leads me to his car, the BMW Z4.
Oh wow! It looks pretty cool.
I must have made some sort of a sound seeing the car that he grins proudly while opening the door for me to get in. The interior is so grand. It's the first time I'm seeing something like this since I have never ridden in a fancy car before.
Veron gets in the driving and buckle in his seat belt which reminds me to do it too.
"You ready for our date?" I look at him. His blue eyes are shining in the light. It's so beautiful.
I shake myself out of staring and answer "Yea. Where are we going?"
He starts the car. "It's a surprise."
We ride for a while in awkward silence until he started small talk.
"So... How was work today?"
I shrug. "It was okay. Same as always."
"Ahh..." I'm pretty sure he has no idea what "always" is like in a restaurant.
Our attempts at small talks ends quickly so after awhile we both give up trying and just go in an awkward silence. Both of us are nervous and I really wish the ride was shorter.
After about 30 minutes, we pull up in front of a restaurant. The place looks fancy. With all the expensive cars parked outside, I can say that this place isn't a place where average people would hang out at.
Veron parks the car near a water fountain. The fountain is big with a horse statue in the middle. There's water getting sprayed down to the pool from the horse's mouth.
We walk inside and I'm immediately hit with how grand everything looks. The decorations are all in a gold colored theme with red roses here and there. It's all breath taking. The place is a little dark in the dinning area but each table has 3 lit candles and that just makes it look romantic. I instantly like this place.
We reach a table that's in the middle of the place and Veron pulls out a chair for me to sit. He sits himself on the opposite side of me. We were smiling at each other awkwardly when a waiter comes and introduces himself as Richard. He hands us the menus.
"What would you like to drink sir?" Richard asks.
Veron started explaining about some champagne he wants. We are not old enough to drink. So after Richard leaves us, I point it out to Veron.
"It's okay. I know this owner. They won't say anything." I nod and lean back in my chair looking at menu, a bit unsure about everything. I'm not sure if it's good drinking cause we have to drive back. I don't feel like drinking any alcohol anyway.
A few minutes later, Richard comes with a bottle and each of us a glass. He fills up the glasses and I watch as the bubbles dance around in the drink.
"To out first date?" Veron asks as he lifts the glass.
I smile and lift mine. "To our first date" We toast and take a sip. It tastes a little sweet and like alcohol. It's actually pretty good.
We keep on staring at the menus not knowing what else to do. I haven't been on much dates but I know for a fact that it shouldn't be this weird and awkward.
"So... Martine's, Is it good?" He asked me several times about the restaurant I work at but all of them leading to a dead end after a short while.
"Yea it's fine, hard work but it's fine." I smile at him. I look back down at the menu since he asks no more questions, I try to find a good sigh. All these names are written in a weird way that I can't really understand what they are and they don't even explain it. I'm embarrassed to ask Veron about the dishes so I decided to ask Richard instead. I chose a name anyways which gave me a feeling that it's something like a chicken salad.
"You have to walk a lot to get to work from your place right?" He asks me. I keep my menu aside and he follows suit.
I shrug. "It's just a 15 minutes walk."
"Really?" He laughs and scratches the back of his neck. "I feel like I walked a lot that day."
He said he followed me day before yesterday, the day I walked slowly cause I needed to think. I'm sure that's why he felt like he walked a lot.
I change the topic from me. "Is that your car?" I point a finger towards the entrance.
"Yes!" He looks so happy to talk about the car. "My dad bought it for my 18th birthday. No one else drives it although once Sam tried to without telling me." I know that Sam is his little brother.
"So what happened?" I imagine the car with a scratch or something and how mad at Sam Veron would have been.
"Nothing. I caught him before he could even start the car. I pulled him out and shut the door."
"Oh."
"Dad said he will buy Sam his own one when he reaches 18." He shrugs.
"Oh."
They are rich.
"What about your parents? What do they do?" He takes a sip from his champagne.
I thought he might already know these things about me seeing as he came to see me at work, according to Ronica. Maybe he is just asking me to see if I would lie or not? Or maybe he doesn't really know anything about me.
I was thinking about what to say when Richard showed up just then. I can't tell how happy I am about that. I have no idea how I can answer a question like that.
Veron asks something about the dishes from Richard. Their talk about all the food makes my innocent question of what it is, sound so stupid. After their talk, when it was my turn to order, I order that dish I chose without another thought. I really hope it's chicken salad.
"So?" Veron prompts me to answer the question. I thought we wouldn't get back to this question again but it seems like I won't be able to get away from it. I don't know how much he knows about my family. I don't really wanna talk about any of this much.
"I don't live with them anymore." I look down at the table hoping he wouldn't ask more about them.
"They must be proud to see you being independent."
I hate this conversation.
"Yea... I guess." I start to change the subject before he can ask me more. "So what happened to that rumor?" I'm genuinely interesting in knowing more about this.
"It still goes around. People make fun of me saying I fucked a waitress." He shrugs. I flinch at his words. "It doesn't matter anymore. I have you now. And thanks to that rumor, I broke up with Ronica." He smiles at me.
Which reminds me, "Aren't you suppose to be grounded?"
He laughs. Like a full on laugh. I'm left looking at him not knowing why he is laughing until his laughter subsides. "They can't keep me in the whole day." He smirks. "I left Sam in my room to pretend to be me sleeping, in exchange for 200 dollars."
"Oh." I laugh awkwardly. Wow!
Our food arrives.
Thankfully, mine is a chicken chop with mashed potatoes. It's delicious. I eat a little slowly savoring every bite I take.
We eat in silence with a little talk here and there. I'm still on my first glass of champagne when Veron's in his 4th. He has to drive even. I'm actually getting worried about it.
After our plates were cleared, Veron orders an ice cream plate to be shared. The ice creams good but now that we have to share, it's even more awkward.
I wonder why it's too awkward between us. I don't know much about Veron other than what I found out through fb. I don't know his interest or likes or anything. I don't think we have anything in common. Even though I don't know much about him, I can't make myself ask him about those as well. Something about him makes me want to keep my mouth shut.
After the ice cream is nearly over, we both give up trying to finish it. Richard brings us out bill.
"Let me pay half at least?" I ask as he grabs the bill without even showing me how much it is. He just replied "It's all on me." Smiling.
Honestly though, I can't afford to pay seeing as what I ordered was 54 dollars and that was one of the cheapest ones.
Just because he pays for dinner, I can't buy an expensive dish. I can't waste someone's money like that. My mom always thought us to choose the least expensive one if someone else is paying and now I can't stop myself from doing that. But it's actually a good habit.
Richard brings the changed money and Veron put all of it in his valet.
"Shall we go then?" In nod and he stand up.
I'm surprised at the fact that he didn't leave a tip. He has that much and can't keep at least like 2 dollars as a thank you for the man who served us? So I fish out 2 dollars from my purse but before I can keep it on the table,behind my glass of water, Veron grabs my hands to walk out of there. So I just put them back in my purse, sighing.
I'm really mad at the fact that he didn't leave a tip. I mean... Normally everyone leaves a tip for their waiter. Richard served us very well, he deserves it. I feel guilty just walking away.
Back in the car, we are still quiet. This time no small talk at all. He doesn't even turn on the radio and I'm afraid to touch the fancy radio. It looks confusing and I have no idea how to even turn it on.
The drive back home could not possibly go any slower.
Arriving at my place, he stops the car right in front of the apartment building entrance.
"You were quite today." He looks at me. His expression is hard to understand but his gaze is so intense that he holds my eyes in his.
"So were you." I whispered.
"You wanna do this again?"
I stare at his beautiful blue orbs.
Without even thinking, I reply.
"Yea."