You, Minus the Fame

Chapter 18

      I opened the front door and Reece appeared before me. He was grinning - as usual - but he was dressed in a suit, which was unusual. Seeing him looking tidied up with hair - for once - neat and his attire, I blushed. The fact that we were going on our first date finally sunk in, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

      "Wow," Reece said, breathless. "You look gorgeous." 

      I smiled shyly and tried to act like I didn't spend the past four hours getting ready. Just for today, I had curled my hair and put on makeup. I was also wearing my fanciest dress - a black, lace dress - and black pumps. It took me forever to decide on my look for today.

       "You look amazing yourself," I replied, grinning. "You look like you got your life together."

       "Yeah, the pieces of my life finally fit together perfectly when you became my girlfriend." He winked.

      "Ew." I stuck out my tongue jokingly. "That's cheesy."

      "Smooth, you mean."

      I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, knowing we had to get to our restaurant in time. As I moved closer to Reece, he extended his hand out. Blushing, I looked up at his green eyes that showed me he genuinely cared about me. My heart melted as I took his hand, and he intertwined our fingers.

      "Ready?" he asked quietly.

      "For sure," I said quietly, wondering why we were talking so quietly in an empty house.

       But as he took me outside, I realized that what I had with Reece was something I wanted to keep between the two of us. Just us, because that was the way things had always been. Him and I in our own little world.

*****

       I looked around the restaurant, amazed. It was grand. Everywhere was covered with purple satin and there were golden lights everywhere. A large, beautiful chandelier hung in the middle of the restaurant, and there were tons of tables filled with lovely couples. This place was for the wealthy, I could tell. Feeling out of place, I brought my eyes back to our own table.

      "I know I could have brought you anywhere, places where we could do something other than eat, but..." Reece said, sounding nervous. "I wanted our first date to just focus on each other. I just want to talk to you. I want to make you smile with words. We always go and do stuff together, so I wanted something that feels more... Like you would say - intimate."

      I smiled and my eyes softened. "It's fine, Reece. This place is beautiful."

      Glancing around quickly once more, I felt bad for Reece who would be paying. He said that he had to pay - or his pride would take a hit and whatever - so allowed it. Looking at him now, I realized that he himself must be rich. Frowning for a second, I wondered if he worked.

       "So, shall we begin this date," Reece began, smiling awkwardly.

      I laughed lightly. "Why are you so nervous? Usually I'm the nervous wreck."

      "You're not nervous?"

      "I am," I admitted. "But honestly, I'm still surprised you feel the same way."

      "Cara." Reece frowned. "I-"

      The waiter came before Reece could say whatever he was going to say. I was thankful for that, seeing how serious he had grown in the moment. So after the waiter left, I changed the topic quickly to lighter subjects. This date needed to be fun, not heavy.