"Stop peeking."
I was told to keep my eyes closed but it was difficult with the suspense.
"Harry, just tell me where we're going. What if I'm overdressed." I could tell he was humored by my annoyance.
His hands were around my waist as he lead me forward.
"You're not, just keep walking. We're almost there."
I wore a fitting dress that stopped a little before my knee, though fit for a formal occasion. My legs were long and bare with the company of my warm colored wedges. I loved it, but I knew it was because Harry had picked it out for me. My steps were uncertain and the air was a lot warmer than the outside's in comparison.
"Okay, stop." He chuckled through his words.
"I'm glad you find this funny." I said.
The chuckling continued.
"Open your eyes now."
My eyes flew open in impatience. It was beautiful. He'd brought me to The Rain. It was an art restaurant I'd always wanted to. I'd never mentioned it to Scott, the girls, or anyone else. The ceiling mimicked the night sky, bringing it significantly closer as if to look at it through a magnifying glass.
I didn't speak. I was a sucker for these kinds of things and I wondered how he'd known. I felt his hands against me again, warm and therapeutic to my body.
"You like it?" He kissed against the skin of my neck. I closed my eyes briefly to realm in the feelings he gave me.
"How'd you know about this?"
His fingers intertwined mine. "I may have, accidentally, stumbled into your Art Room." He sounded guilty.
I faced him as he looked down. My grip tightened on his hand at the thought. I'd never let anyone in there. I swallowed as I began to feel the root of my insecurities. I hadn't yet said anything choosing to decipher whether I found this romantic or a invasion of my privacy.
But for now, i'll let it slide.
~
"So, what else did you find, accidentally?" My tone was interrogative as we sat at the table, waiting for our server.
"I wasn't snooping, I swear. You'd left the door open and apparently the window too, I felt the chill on the way to the bathroom."
I looked down choosing to avoid eye contact for the moment. My hair was brushed from my face with my fingers in thought as I fiddled on my cartilage piercings nervously.
Just then the waiter had come up to the table as my eyes settled on the warmth of the surroundings. It was quiet and peaceful from wall to wall, the glow from the ceiling falling upon us.
"May I take your drinks?"
I'd looked up at him briefly to acknowledge his presence. His name tag read Justin. He was well dressed, his eyes were winter blue almost grayish and I could tell he'd probably gotten a haircut recently. I wondered what the girls would have thought of him. I looked away as his eyes made contact with mine.
"Water, thanks."
I could tell his eyes lingered on me as I fingered my hair back again, looking across the dimly lit room at the other guests.
"Uh, Justin is it? Eyes over here if you may." His voice was deep and serious, as I looked at him oblivious as to what just happened. "Manhattan Noonday for me."
The guy took his notes, before turning to leave.
"My apologies sir. Right away."
I watched as he withdrew himself. My eyes jetting up to Harry. "Harry. That was really mean."
He looked down observing the the menu briefly, before his eyes found me.
"You expect me to just stay quiet while he's blatantly checking you out, right in front of me." His words were cold, and I could tell he had a bit of a temper from the few weeks I'd experienced him.
I honestly hadn't been getting that vibe from the guy. Maybe it was me and I was just naive. I looked down as my mood began to dampen, though I tried not to let it resemble on my face.
"Why didn't you tell me about the room? I didn't even know you could draw, it's obviously an important part of you or you wouldn't have kept it from me."
I thought his words through. To me, it was therapy. Something to take me away if only for a while, when life got too difficult or overwhelming. It helped me from hyperventilating and losing control of the tubes that controlled my lungs. It was something I kept to myself because it was only for myself. I didn't know of anyone else in this life that would admit to needing therapy, or something to steady their imbalance.
I hadn't decided to answer yet. It was our first real date together and I didn't want anything to ruin it. I felt a little uneasy as I sat there, my guy a short distance across the table. I bit my lip, twirling my thumbs around each other as they rest on my lap.
They began to shake steadily anytime I gotten overwhelmed or needed my inhaler. I took deep breathes in my attempt to regain control. The more I thought it, the more I realized I hadn't really told him about my little dysfunction.
He'd caught on to my absence of conversation, placing his hand on the table for me to take. I'd stopped the movement of my thumbs to place my small hand to his large. I noticed they still shook and became aware that he did too as he looked down at them.
His features softened suddenly. "Hey."
My eyes left the menu to look up at him. His curls were sweet and dark as always. I took in how pleasant he appeared to me with his body adorning the black blazer he wore. This had been my first time experiencing him in one.
"Are you okay? Talk to me Alex, tell me what you're feeling." His hands closed around mine at his words. I didn't know why I'd been malfunctioning now but it annoyed me from within.
"I'm okay, Harry."
I knew he wouldn't believe me. His eyebrows became one as his face expressed his confusion. Just then the waiter had come up to accompany us, stalling our conversation.
"Here are your drinks." He'd place them both in the center of the table slowly. "Did you need a few more minutes on deciding your meals tonight?"
"Yes, please." Harry said.
I could tell he was trying to make me feel better about him being rude before. Just then he'd walked away as Harry encouraged me up from the table. My hand was taken in his as he lead us across the room. It really was beautiful, our pace to quick for me to enjoy it. Placing me against the wall had grown to be a signature of his as I experienced him do so again.
"Please. Tell me what's wrong Alex."
I didn't know the answer he'd been searching for but assumed he hadn't believed the previous. His hands clamped both of mine as I realized I left my clutch and the rest of my things at the table.
"Nothing's wrong, okay. I- I'm just still figuring it out."
His face moved closer to mine in affection. "Figuring what out ?"
"Us."
His face became distant with mine as he pulled away. His features proved that he felt a little uneasy at my words. "What's there to figure out?"
My words were vague and I knew then that he'd taken them wrong. I pulled him back to me pressing his lips to mine. I kissed him passionately as if I'd been missing this side of us all night. My hands gripped his tighter as if afraid he'd let me go. I felt his front against mine before we pulled away slowly, allowing each other time to breathe.
"I didn't mean it that way. I just... I'm sorry for not telling you. I'm just really insecure about it."
He listened to me understandably as I peered into his deep green eyes. Surely our waiter'd be back by now.
"Why would you ever be insecure about that. It's beautiful, just as you are. I would've never guessed you could do that."
I felt reassured at his words.
"That's why I brought you here. That room reminded me of this, and I knew you'd known about it." It was sweet and he'd definitely earned points for tonight.
"Thank you, Harry. I love it."
His dimples forced a smile from me as he pulled me in again.
"Now. Is there anything else I should know about you?" He'd said it playfully, but I knew what he'd been referring to.
It'd been another thing I'd been insecure about telling him and I was grateful that up until this point he'd never noticed.
"I um, I have asthma. Some days are worse than others. So if I seem a little weird, don't mind it." I said to him.
He closed his eyes seriously before pulling me into a hug protectively. I could tell he was worried already.
"It's okay Harry, I'm fine. It's just at times, you know, I-"
"I love you." He cuts me off.
I sighed into it. This is exactly what I didn't want, I really didn't want him feeling bad for me. I was okay. As long as I was with him I'd be okay...
"I love you too."
We'd learned even more about each other tonight, and I honestly looked forward to every other.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter filler! Ran out of enticing ideas.
-Shan =)