Love is Ours {See Final Author's Note}

Chapter Fifteen

[Sierra]

Sierra was in a dilemma.  She stared angrily into her closet, which was nearly empty.  Clothes were strewn all over her bedroom, and Celie pawed around, sniffing at each article of clothing.

"Ugh!" Sierra moaned in frustration.  Her eyes landed on her phone, and she snatched it up. 

She quickly face timed her sister Summer, who was back in New York. 

Pick up pick up pick up, Sierra silently urged. 

After trying to connect for what felt like forever, a blurry image of Summer popped up.

"Hey, Sierra!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi, Summer," Sierra sighed, propping her phone up on the nightstand.

"What's up?" Summer inquired, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.

"I kinda have an...outing tonight and I seriously need some fashion advice." Sierra didn't know what to call her "evening" with Ramin.  It certainly wasn't a date, but it wasn't a typical "outing" either. 

"Well, what kind of "outing" is it?" Summer asked.

"I'm going to see Les Mis and there's a...press event after that I'm, uh, going to." Sierra quickly came up with a lie.

"Um, okay..." Summer trailed off, but she thankfully didn't question Sierra further.

"So, got any ideas?" Sierra pressed.  She quickly checked the time: 4:42.  She had less than an hour.

Summer asked what options she had, so Sierra walked the phone around the room, angling it at the clothes strewn everywhere.

After almost half an hour of debating, they decided on a knee length black dress that had 3/4 sleeves and a scoop neckline.  Around the neckline were little black mesh flowers.  Summer suggested Sierra wear black tights and a pair of black pumps with it.

"Thanks, Summer; you're a life saver." Sierra thanked her sister before ending the FaceTime call.

Her hair and makeup was still done from earlier, so Sierra just touched it up a bit.  By the time she was finished, it was 5:26. 

She grabbed a black Kate Spade purse and put her phone, wallet, and some gum in the little pockets inside the purse.

At exactly 5:30, there was a knock on her door.  She rushed to answer it, and took a deep breath as she pumped the handle.

For a moment, she was speechless.  Ramin was in a suit and had combed his hair back.
He grinned at Sierra and she snapped back to reality.

"You look nice," she complimented him, stepping out of her flat and locking the door.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Ramin told her as they walked to his car. 

Ramin quickly opened Sierra's door for her and she thanked him as she slid in.  He climbed into the driver's seat and put the car in drive.

"So, where to?" He asked.

Sierra froze.  She'd completely forgotten to choose a restaurant to go to!  The look of panic on her face must've been clearly visible, because Ramin chuckled.

"Sorry," Sierra apologized sheepishly.

"No problem," Ramin assured her. 

"Let's just drive around and pick the first nice place we see," she suggested.

"Sounds good," Ramin nodded.

They set off down the street, scanning the storefronts for a nice place to eat.

Sierra's eyes flickered past a restaurant that looked inviting.

"There's a place!" She told Ramin, pointing to the restaurant.

"Looks good," Ramin agreed.

Luckily, someone was pulling out of their parking space just ahead, so Ramin quickly lurched the car forward to claim the spot.

Once they were parked, Sierra shoved some change in the meter before Ramin could.  She grinned triumphantly at him.

Ramin didn't say anything as they walked by the restaurant doors.  Instead, he peered inside and furrowed his eyebrows.

"This looks awfully expensive, Sie," he warned.

"Then it's on me," she chirped, pulling open the door and dragging Ramin in.

The hostess immediately walked over to them and carefully picked up two thick, velvet menus.

"Just two?" She questioned in a very proper voice.  Her lips were pursed and she had graying hair that hung limply around her face.

"Yes," Sierra replied, mimicking the hostess' pursed lips.  Ramin laughed and the hostess glared at them as she motioned for them to follow her.

She seated them at the very back of the restaurant and left.

Sierra settled in her seat and put her napkin in her lap.  She picked up her menu and saw the restaurant name on the cover.

"We certainly chose the right place to eat," she chuckled, showing Ramin the name.

Le Gavroche, the menu read in fancy script.

They laughed and began to browse through their options, just enjoying each other's company.