Chapter Twenty
“You look great, Addy.”
“Thank you. You do too.”
Chris picked me up less than thirty minutes ago, and he’s taking me to some Italian restaurant. He managed to convince Jim to let us out of work early because our reservation is set for seven.
We have been making small talk on the ride - the usual, “How was your day?” and “Anything new happen?”
It’s a comfortable conversation, but I have to admit - it’s a little awkward.
Chris finally pulls into a parking lot of a restaurant, and I sigh in relief. I haven’t eaten anything all day because of my early shift at work, and I’m dying to eat something.
He parks the car, steps out, and opens my door for me - like a gentleman. I smile at the gesture, taking his offered hand.
Melanie helped me with my outfit tonight. Chris texted me earlier to tell me that we were going to some fancy restaurant, so I wanted to look my best. And what better person to go to than to Melanie?
Since moving here, I haven’t really had the time to invest in nicer clothing items. So the strapless, midnight blue dress that stops at mid-thigh and the black heels, are courtesy of Melanie’s closet.
Chris is in a red dress shirt with khakis - the red bringing out his dark skin tone.
We walk into the restaurant, Chris holding the door open for me, and make our way over to the maître d’ to take our seats. Being the gentleman that he is, Chris pulls out my chair before taking his own seat.
The waitress approaches us and offers us menus, “The special for wine today is the Cà del Bosco Franciacorta Annamaria Clementi. It goes great with the Parma Ham or Lasagne. I’ll give you a few minutes, then be right back to take your order for drinks.”
As she walks away, I take the moment to look around the room. I gave a silent thanks to Melanie for insisting that I dress nicer. Everyone at this restaurant looks straight out of the red carpet or something. This is my first time at a nice restaurant like this and I can’t help but feel a little out of place.
I glance at the menu, my eyes going as big as saucers when I look at the prices. Eighty dollars for a simple filet mignon?!
As if sensing my apprehension, Chris says, “Order whatever you want.”
I glance up and smile at him, “Well I definitely won’t be ordering the ninety dollar bottle of wine.”
“Ahh. That’s right. You’re not twenty-one yet. I always forget. You act so much older than nineteen.”
I blush, “Have you been here before?”
Chris shakes his head, “A friend of mine comes here with his girlfriend all the time, and he recommended that I try it. He says that the food is the best Italian he’s had around here.”
The waiter returns, asking for our drink order. I go for a simple glass of water, and Chris orders a water too. Once she returns to the back, I frown at him.
“You didn’t have to order a water, you know.”
He just smiles, “I didn’t want to make you feel left out.”
“Just because I can’t drink, doesn’t mean you don’t have to.”
“Well, it’s the polite thing to do.”
I look back toward the menu, biting my lip at the thought of choosing only one thing from all these choices.
“Do you know what you want?”
Smirking, I shake my head, “It’s so hard to decide what to choose.”
“Would you mind if I chose for you?”
“I’m up for a surprise.”
The waiter, who I believe said her name was Angela, comes back over just at the right time.
“What can I get you two for dinner?” she asks, placing a basket of bread on the table and pulling her notepad out of her apron.
Chris closes his menu, “I’ll have the Rigatoni alla Bischero and my girlfriend will have the Fettuccini alla Vongole.”
While pulling my napkin onto my lap, I freeze at the word that escapes Chris’ mouth. What did he just say? Did I even hear him correctly?
The waiter writes the orders down and takes our menus, “Your meals will be out shortly.”
He says a small thank you before she walks off.
I’m looking at him incredulously, my mind going over that one word over and over again. He finally looks up at me after placing his own napkin on his lap.
“What? Do you not like what I ordered?” he says, laughing.
“Girlfriend?”
Chris looks away from my face and red tints his cheeks, “Oh, uhm… Well…”
I’ve never seen Chris at a loss for words, and to be honest, it’s cute.
He scratches the back of his neck, “I didn’t… I mean… It’s just…”
I laugh, which only makes his cheeks turn more red, “Chris.”
“...I mean, we have been out on a few dates… And I just thought…”
“Chris.”
“....But if you don’t want to… I guess..”
I reach over and take his hand, forcing him to look at my face, “Chris, I don’t mind you calling me your girlfriend."
His eyes widen, “Really?”
I nod my head and smile.
He breathes a sigh of relief, “That’s great.”
Butterflies form in the pit of my stomach as he leans across the table and places a featherlight kiss on my lips. When he pulls away, the reality of my words sink in. I am his girlfriend now.
I don’t even know how to be a “good” girlfriend - I mean, I’ve never been someone’s girlfriend before. How do you even be a girlfriend? Was there a set of rules or something? I wanted to smack myself.
Within a few minutes, the food comes and my stomach growls. A blush breaks onto my face, and I can’t help but smile sheepishly. Chris doesn’t help either - he just laughs.
“Go ahead - dig in,” he says with a stretched smile. “You’re obviously hungry.”
I sigh and then close my eyes. I softly speak a few words of prayer and then say amen. Upon opening my eyes, Chris gives me a deep look, but then starts to eat his food.
Picking up my fork, I take the first bite of the pasta. When the flavor hits my taste buds, a moan slips out of my mouth.
Chris stops the fork coming to his mouth and looks at me.
“Sorry,” I blush. “I haven’t eaten anything all day, and this food is so delicious.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad that you enjoy it. It makes me feel more confident knowing I brought my girl to the right place.”
Geez. I don’t think I’ve ever blushed this much in my whole life. And it’s all because of his words - small words that make me melt on the inside.
Chris breaks me from my trance, “So, Melanie told me that you’ve been drawing recently?”
“They’re just random sketches.”
He chuckles, “I’m sure they’re amazing.”
I shrug my shoulders, “They’re okay, I guess.”
“I doubt it,” he shakes his head at the expression I give him. “What? A beautiful and talented girl, like yourself, has to be quite gifted.”
Laughing, I reply, “Oh shut up. You’re just saying that.”
“Are you ever going to show me? I believe that you told me on date number one that you’d be happy to.”
“Hmm….” I said, tapping my chin, “I’ll have to think about that.”
He makes a pouty face, which in my opinion, is cute as h*ll.
“Kidding. I’ll show you some of the few that I’ve worked on.”
I don’t know why, but being with Chris is easy; like breathing air. I can talk to him like I’ve known him for years. I’m comfortable around him, which is strange because I’m never good around guys. And when I’m with him, I feel genuinely happy.
Chris is a great guy - someone that a father would approve for his daughter. There’s no bad rep about him, and he’s not involved in anything thats dangerous. He’s the perfect guy that a girl could find.
But why do I feel like somethings missing? I mean, what more can a girl need than a sweet, caring guy?
My mind drifts over three words: Danger. Adventure. Thrill.
Subconsciously, one person pops into my mind.
He’s the guy any father would despise his daughter being with. I mean, he’s reckless. He’s annoying. He’s aggravating. He’s carefree. He’s unpredictable. He’s fun. He’s courageous. He’s talented. He’s perfect… Wait, what?
Anger builds inside of me, and I inwardly slap myself for thinking of Nash. Well, he is also not the guy I’m on an amazing date with.
I’m unaware of Chris speaking to me, so when I draw my attention back to him, I’m all confused.
“....with me this weekend?"
I shake my head, “I’m sorry, what?”
“I was wondering if you would like going to the new art gallery with me this weekend?”
At his mention of art, I’m sold. What I wouldn’t do to go back to an art gallery. I missed looking at painting or sculptures and falling in love with the artists’ skill and creativity.
“Of course, I would! I love seeing all the different paintings and drawings! I used to go to art galleries all the time. Any specific reason we’re going?”
He laughs, “I told you earlier that my mother is one of the administrators working there, and I’m sure my mother and stepfather would love to meet you.”
Nervousness starts to build in the pits of my stomach. What? I was meeting the parents already? I couldn’t help but think that it all seemed too fast and early.
My cheeks warm at the thought of meeting his parents, “Oh….”
Chris grabs my hand across the table, “Hey, they’ll love you - really.”
I look up at him, giving him a reassuring smile.
“Anyway, it’s a bit of a drive…”
“Oh? Where is the art gallery?”
He nods, “It’s in Cincinnati, which is about three and a half hours away. It’s where my parents live - where my mother moved to when she broke from my father.”
“Why’d you decide to move to Hudson, then?” I ask, curious to know more about him.
“Why else would anyone move? I was looking for change.”
I would understand that.
We finish our meal with comfortable conversations and start to head back out to the car at around nine. It was chillier than earlier, and I rub my bare arms, feeling goosebumps protruding from the skin.
Without a warning, I feel a soft material being placed against my cold skin. I look up to find Chris smiling down at me, warmth in his eyes. And I smile back, a silent thank you.
The drive back to my apartment wasn’t as awkward as earlier; music was comforting the silence.
Chris held my hand through the whole ride, and when he walked me up to my door, I asked if he wanted to come in for a bit.
So here we are, sitting on my couch with two cups of coffee and playing the worst game of poker ever.
“I absolutely suck at this.”
Chris was beating me each round with an amazing hand, while mine was terrible.
“Eh, it’s all luck,” he lightly laughs.
I frown, “Well, luck is not on my side today.”
When I was younger, I used to play cards with my dad - before he started drinking - and my mom would always yell at him saying that teaching me to play poker was a bad influence. She said it every time we played, but that never stopped us.
My dad won every single time, that is until he rigged it and made sure I won a few.
“Surely it is…”
I put down my set of cards, while he places his down - a jumble of letters and numbers for me and two matching pairs for him.
“Obviously not, Chris.”
He laughs, “Addy, you have a full house.”
“What?” I ask, eyes going wide.
“You have a full house - you just beat me!”
My mouth drops open, “No way in h*ll did I win!"
He nods, looking into my eyes, “You definitely just beat my a**.”
“You let me win.”
“No I didn’t,” Chris says, shaking his head.
“Oh my God…. I won?!”
A squeal escapes me, and I nearly tackle him, molding my lips with his. He grabs onto my legs, his warm fingers coming in contact with the skin on display due to my dress rising up. We stay like this - embraced in each other’s arms, lips connected - for a while, before a familiar sound distracts me.
The sound of a guitar, the familiar melody of a song, echos silently in the air. The same melody that I used to hear every night before I drifted off to sleep. The melody that played in my head, even when he wasn’t strumming.
I break away from Chris, straightening out my shirt that had ridden up my waist.
“Sorry,” I mumble, turning away.
He grabs my hand, pulling me closer to his chest and placing a light kiss on my lips, “Don’t apologize. I liked it.”
A reassuring smile forms on my face, and I instantly forget about the music drifting in the background, too absorbed with the way Chris is stroking my hair.
I’d rather be here in this moment, with a sweet guy like Chris, than with someone who is nothing but bad news.
Wooooooh. Well, I hope no one hates Gabby and me. I'm sorry if you weren't pleased with this chapter. But honestly, I think it was a little cute. Chris is adorable, you can't deny that. And it's official, now. Addy and Chris are dating. And how about that poker match? Addy's such an idiot... But you have got to love her.
Sorry about updating a little late. It's been a pretty hectic week for me - actually Gabby and I have both been quite busy. All we really want to do is read, but duty calls. And by duty, I mean school. Anyway, thank you for the support and love. We'll see you back next week for Chapter Twenty-One!
xox, Ana - a.k.a The Aurora Honor