Falling Apart

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Sitting at the edge of the staircase, I waited patiently for Jace to come pick me up. At seven o'clock precisely, I saw car lights beaming through the windows. Bouncing up from my seat, I opened the door the second Jace rang the bell. "Hi!" I greeted, a little too excitedly.

I immediately blushed, not expecting myself to sound so enthusiastic. However, truth be told, I was really excited to go to dinner with Jace- this was going to be our first date. I had envisioned this scenario so many times, and it was finally going to happen.

"Hi, princess." Jace grinned, holding out a bouquet of flowers. I took them in my hands, eyes widening at the beautiful array of tulips. "This is kind of cliché, but Reina insisted that I get you flowers."

I couldn't help but smile at such a sweet gesture. I was slightly surprised that Jace would do something as cheesy as getting me flowers, but nevertheless, I was beyond appreciative. "These are so pretty." I beamed, eyeing the beautiful, purple tulip that was already starting to bloom. "Thank you, Jace."

I didn't even have time to process my next action. I stood high on the arch of my heels, balancing on the tips of my toes. Leaning forward, I gently pecked Jace's cheek before lowering myself back down. Warmth immediately rushed to my cheeks at my sudden, bold movement.

Jace seemed shocked initially, but once he realized that I had just kissed him, he smirked. "Princess," he teased, "that was cute."

I cleared my throat, rolling my eyes in attempt to play it off. "Whatever, Jace." I muttered. "So, where are you taking me?"

Jace opened the passenger side of the door for me as I slid inside. Shortly after, he got into the driver's seat and started up the car engine. "Patience, Everly." He joked. "I know you're excited to go on a date with me, but it's a surprise."

I glared at him, sticking my tongue out childishly. "You're a loser." I snapped. "Who said I was excited to go on a date with you?"

Jace kept his eyes on the road, smirking. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reached his free hand over to cover mine. 'You don't have to say it, love. I just know."

I stared at Jace in silence, admiring his every perfect feature, from the way his eyes illuminated to the way his hair fell gently over his forehead. It was then that I realized just how much I've missed him these past couple of months- how much misery I went through without him being by my side. I missed the comfortable moments of quietness and I missed how we could talk about anything with each other.

I never wanted to lose him again.

*

"Okay, it's official." I stated as Jace and I exited the restaurant. "My new favorite type of food is Thai."

Jace smirked as we made our way towards the parking lot, where his car was. "Really? You liked it that much?"

I nodded happily. "Yes! It was so good, Jace. I'm a bit disappointed that I've never tried Thai tea until tonight." I paused. "How did you even find this place?"

Jace rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as we spotted in front of his car. "Well, truth be told," he paused, "I looked it up on Yelp."

Biting back a laugh, I couldn't help but wonder, why the hell was he so unintentionally adorable?

"Thank you for tonight, Jace." I said genuinely. "Dinner was perfect."