I Hate You, I Love You

Chapter 8: The Date

"I just need to grab my shoes," I stepped back. "Do you want to come in for a minute?"

"Sure," Dinah said, stepping through the threshold and closing the door behind her.

Leaving her in the living room, I ran to my closet to find my heels. "You're a little early," I apologized. Waiting was not something I liked to do and so I hated making her wait. Having her in my apartment gave me butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Her being here felt so right and so wrong all at the same time.

"I couldn't wait," she called back. "So this is where you do your work?"

Shit. Normally I leave my work uncovered, but when I know someone is coming over I tend to cover it up, not wanting anyone seeing the unfinished product. Not expecting to invite Dinah inside, I didn't think about it. "Uh, yeah."

"This is a nice place."

"Thanks." Finally, I found the heels I was looking for and snatched them up, running back into the living area worried that I'd find Dinah looking at my work. I sighed with relief when I spotted her checking out my small library, but I was still concerned that she might have seen what I was working on.

"You must like to read."

Taking a seat at the breakfast bar to slip into my heels, I watched as she examined my library book by book. "I love reading." Finished with my heels, I went over to the bookshelf and pulled a book down from the top. "To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite." I put the book back, "Are we ready?"

She took my hands in hers, caressing the backs of them with her thumbs. "I should tell you...you're breathtaking." I smiled and looked away, uncomfortable with the compliment. "But it might be better to wear pants," she chuckled.

I pulled away from her and smacked her arm. "You tell me this now?" Turning, I went to change.

"When do I get to see your work?" she called out.

The fact she was asking reassured me that she hadn't peeked. It was comforting to know how considerate she was being of my work and my feelings. "Soon, if you're lucky," I said, pulling off my dress. Quickly, I slipped on my favorite pair of ripped black jeans and a dark blue blouse that had a plunging neckline with an open back. Back in the living room Dinah was sitting on the couch looking very at home. Walking over to the door to grab my purse, I could feel her eyes on me. I smiled over my shoulder. "Are you going to sit there all night?"

She was up in a flash. When we got into her car the radio blasted and she quickly fumbled over the controls to turn it off.

"Where are we going?"

Dinah looked at me with a look that said I was crazy to ask. "I can't tell you that. It would ruin the surprise."

The drive to where ever we were going consisted of me trying to get her to slip and say where she was taking me. She deftly ignored my attempts, refocusing the conversation on any number of things such as traffic, how bad the smog was, and how it took forever to get anywhere.

I laughed. "Why do you live here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said looking at me.

We finally pulled up outside of a large white building that had very few windows. Dinah opened my door and took my hand. "What are we doing here?" She didn't answer. Instead, she led me inside where I was definitely surprised. "Go-karts, trampolines and," I looked up and up and up. "Rock climbing?" When I looked at her she was smiling from ear to ear. She gave me a slight push forward where a young woman, who looked to be in her early teens, asked how she could help us.