let me down slowly - wilbur soot

chapter 68- aphrodite

"wasn't that fun?" aubrey asks as we walk hand-in-hand out of the theme park. "smiler twice in a row!"

"sure... fun is one way to describe it," i reply. "i think i'd use the word nauseating, though."

"at least you didn't throw up! and hey, the picture looked better the second time around."

it's true. the first picture was a disaster for me, snapping a picture of me mid-scream. but the second time around was a lot better because i knew when the picture was- so i could fake a smile for a second before going back to panicking.

"that was the best date i've ever been on, though. so, thank you," aubrey says bashfully. i grin as i pull her close and put an arm around her shoulder as we walk.

"you really thought it was over?" i ask. "i was hoping i could take you out to dinner."

aubrey puts her arm around me.

"i'd love to go out to dinner with you."

"perfect. but first, we have to change."

"into what?"

"remember when you asked if you should wear something casual or formal today? well, right now it's time to get formal."

i drive back to aubrey's apartment and send someone a quick text, confirming that everything is perfect. i get a thumbs up reply, so i don't have to worry about anything getting messed up.

we make it to aubrey's apartment, and are met with niki waiting inside.

"what the hell?" aubrey shouts as she walks over and hugs niki. "how did you get inside?"

"wilbur left the door open a crack when you left. then i slipped right inside and locked myself in," niki replies. then she turns to me. "you got her flowers? i'm impressed. i didn't even have to tell you to do it."

"i'm well-versed with the ladies," i say with a smirk.

"okay, tommyinnit. follow me." niki leads the two of us to aubrey's bedroom, where she has two nice outfits laid out for us.

on the left, there's a beautiful long dark red dress. it's tight fitting with a slit on the right leg. on the right, there's a black suit, white button down, and matching dark red tie.

"holy shit... you really meant formal," aubrey says with a hand over her mouth. "this is so beautiful..." she runs a hand over the dress.

"i'm glad you like it," niki says. "wilbur actually picked it out. he sent me the picture while you guys were out and asked me to pick it up."

"how much do i owe you?"

"bold of you to assume i paid for it." niki scoffs.

aubrey then turns to me.

"you really thought i was gonna make niki pay for something i asked her to pick up for me? please. you think so low of me," i tease.

"how much do i owe you, then?" aubrey asks me. i shake my head.

"please. you're joking, right?"

"answer me."

"you don't owe me anything."

"yes i do!"

"you owe me the privilege of taking you out to dinner and continuing the best date of your life."

"ew. with that, i'm leaving," niki says. "you two have fun! get her home by ten, wilbur!"

"of course, mrs. allen!" i call as niki walks away.

"bye, mom!" aubrey says, catching on to what i'm doing. we hear the front door click shut and we burst out laughing.

i go to the bathroom while aubrey changes in her bedroom. i slip on the suit jacket as i examine myself in the bathroom mirror. i haven't dressed this formally in a long time. it makes me feel like i'm getting ready to take my crush to prom or something.

i leave the bathroom and knock on aubrey's bedroom door. i hear her yell "come in!" so i enter slowly.

i say this every time i look at her, but oh my god.

no one has ever captivated me the way she does. she looks like a goddess, aphrodite specifically. the goddess of love. able to put anyone under her spell and leave them thinking about her every day. leaving people to either want to be her or be with her. and i'm sure you can guess which one i want.

"could you zip up the back?" aubrey asks. "i got it halfway, but i think the zipper got stuck..."

"yeah, of course," i say as i snap out of the love spell she put on me.

she moves all her wavy, dark hair to her shoulder, exposing the entire back of the dress and her zipper that's not fully zipped. i grab it and zip the entire dress up, and it takes everything in me to not spin her around and kiss her right here.

"you look beautiful," i say as aubrey sits back down to re-tie her black platform shoes.

"as do you," she says. "is it okay that i left the boots on? i only have one pair of heels with me and they don't really fit..."

"i'm still wearing mine, so i don't see an issue with it." i point to my black high tops and aubrey nods. she pulls on her spaghetti straps as she stands up.

"lead the way," she says. i hold my arm out to her and she takes it, holding onto it gently. we take a few steps outside her apartment before we start hesitating.

"maybe we should wait until we leave before we do anything..." aubrey suggests.

"yeah, i agree," i nod as i drop my arm and she lets go of me.

we get a couple of longing stares as we leave the apartment complex and get in my car, but we hardly notice. we're too busy in our own little world, buzzing happily about getting dressed up to go somewhere.

"where are we going?" aubrey asks. "or is it another little surprise?" she uses a mocking tone for the word "surprise."

"we're going to dinner!"

"well, in these outfits, we must be going somewhere really fancy..."

it takes everything in me to not burst out laughing.

"yup. super fancy."

"i hope it's not too expensive! i can pay for my-"

"don't start with that. and besides, you don't have to worry. because it's not expensive."

we eventually pull into the parking lot, and the two of us get out of the car.

"surprise!" i say as i point out where we're going. aubrey's face drops and she looks like she could kill me.

"you mean to tell me we're going to TACO BELL dressed like this?"

"come on! doesn't that sound like fun? dressing up all nice to go to a crummy fast food restaurant!" i attempt to entice her.

after a couple of minutes of negotiating, aubrey starts to like the idea. so we link arms and walk into taco bell in our suit and dress. 

(A/N slow updates rn but i'm so excited to get the next chapter out!! you guys have been asking for fluff and the next chapter is a LOT of that! anywayyyy thank you so much for reading!! i don't even have to ask you for the next part, you know what i'm about to say... so i'll skip it and say I LOVE YOU AND I HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER!!! <3)