A New Life (River Phoenix)

Getting to Know Young Rio

After telling River I'd meet him outside, I went to inform Piper I was leaving. I knew she'd be mad if I left and didn't tell her.

Within a minute of searching I found her at the bar, not to my surprise.

I tapped her shoulder and leaned into her ear.

"Hey, I'm leaving." I yelled awkwardly over the music.

"We just got here!" She complained, taking the shot she was offered.

"No, I mean River and I. We're leaving." I clarified.

She scrunched her face at the bitterness of her shot and embraced me.

"Have fun. Are you coming back?" She wondered.

"I don't know," I replied. "Maybe."

-

The second I exited the club I spotted River leaning against the building.

He walked to me and quickly threw his arm around me as we began to walk down the strip.

At the same time, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two pairs of black tinted ray ban glasses. He put one pair on me and one on himself and smiled.

"Now no one knows who we are." He announced happily.

I adjusted the glasses on my face and looked around at the people who walked by.

"Where are we going?" I wondered.

"Dinner," he answered. "I'm leaving soon and I want to take my girl out to dinner. Is that so wrong?" He wondered.

"I was just asking!" I defended. "I'm excited."

He smiled at me and kissed my cheek.

"Good."

-

The restaurant was one of the fanciest I'd been to in Hollywood. The ceiling was high and the tables were small but nicely decorated.

I noticed how underdressed we were for dinner, being that everyone else wore a suit and tie. I couldn't help but feel out of place, though River didn't seem to notice.

"Two, please." He said to the host, pulling his glasses down slightly to give him a wink.

The host smiled and grabbed the menus, leading us to the back of the restaurant.

"Enjoy your meal, Mr. Phoenix." He informed as he stopped us at a table.

We sat down and I glanced at the menu.

"This place is so fancy. I don't even know how to say the words on this menu." I confessed, starring down the unfamiliar grammar.

River laughed and shook his head.

"I don't either." He responded, causing us both to laugh.

"So what made you want to do this?" I questioned.

He furrowed his eyebrows at looked at me, making me nervous.

"Do what?"

"Dinner." I said.

"Oh. Well, you don't know much about me and I feel like that should change. I really adore you." He confessed simply.

I smiled at him and sat back, crossing my arms.

"Then tell me about you." I commanded.

He sat back, mimicking my actions.