The 20 Dates Challenge

Nineteen - Date Number Eight

Date Number Eight

‘Where are we going?’ I ask for the fifth time.

‘I told you, the train station,’ he laughs.

‘So we are driving to the train station. Wouldn’t taking the train to the train station be easier?’

He laughs again and shakes his head at me. Since our seventh date last weekend, the two of us have been really close. He’s told everyone at school that we are dating. When he took me out for lunch on Sunday, in the middle of the shopping centre he grabbed my hand, threw it in the air and yelled, ‘who else thinks this is the most beautiful girl in the world?’ At least ten other people cheered him on.

‘So what is this eighth date anyway?’ I ask, ‘and why does it require me to pack two days’ worth of clothes and a trip to the train station?’

He pulls the crumpled list out of his pocket.

‘Eight, go to the train station, get the cheapest, soonest departing train to anywhere and stay there for a weekend,’ he reads over the steering wheel.

‘What?’ I gasp, ‘my mum said I can go?’

‘Yep, and so did mine,’ he smiles.

‘My mum trusts you enough to let me go off with you for a weekend?’

‘No, your mum trusts you enough to let you go with me for a weekend.’

I stare out the windscreen. In my peripheral vision, I can see Alex is still smiling.

‘What’s so funny?’ I ask.

‘Your reaction,’ he laughs.

‘So, where are we going?’ I ask.

‘I won’t know until we get there.’

‘How much money have you got?’

‘Two-thousand on card plus five hundred in cash but some of it is for you.’

I gape at him. He pulls into a car park and I get out. We are parked at Southbank.

‘What are we doing now?’ I ask.

‘Walking to Southbank Station,’ he says, taking my hand and dragging me along the path.

I’ve managed to squish everything I need into a small suitcase which I drag along behind me. We walk up the hill and onto the platform. Alex checks each of the time tables.

‘A train is leaving for the Gold Coast in ten minutes. We’ll get to Varsity Lakes at around eleven-fifteen,’ he says.

‘Then I guess we’re going to the Gold Coast,’ I smile.

Alex buys our train tickets and we sit down. Not long after we take our seats, the train pulls up beside the platform and we get on. We grab a two seater at the back beside the window. He wraps his arms around my waist and lets me lean on him. I spend most of the one hour and ten minute ride sleeping or looking out the window. Every now and then we talk about what we are going to do when we get to Varsity Lakes.

We get off at the last stop. Alex pulls out his phone and opens Google maps.

‘There’s a motel called Aussie Resort that’s seven kilometres away,’ he says, ‘we can take a taxi.’

He calls for a taxi to pick us up and take us to the resort. The lady behind the desk seems pretty reluctant to give us a room but, after a call to both our mothers, she hands us the keys and we go up. The room is average size and pretty boring. Two double beds take up most of the space. The rest is taken up by a TV, small kitchen area and couch shoved against the wall. We dump our stuff on the beds and then go down stairs. The pool in the middle of the resort is a very pretty blue. I kick my shoes off and stand in the shallows.

‘It’s cold,’ I shout as I jump back.

‘It is the middle of autumn,’ Alex laughs.

I grab his hand and pull him into the water with me. He picks me up, swings me around and then holds me over the edge of the shallows.

‘Don’t you dare!’ I shriek.

‘Come on,’ he laughs, ‘it’ll be fun.’

He drops me but catches me just before I hit the water. Children are standing on the edge of the pool, watching and laughing as their mothers try to drag them away. Alex carries me to the edge and sets me on my feet. I wrap my arms around his neck and, much to the surprise of the children around us, I kiss him. The all run off, their parents scurrying behind them, to hide behind deck chairs. Alex and I laugh and sit down at the bar. We order lunch, toasted cheese sandwiches, and then go upstairs. He turns the TV on and calls the lobby to bring up a movie from the hotels supply list, Year One. I lay down on the bed closest to the TV and watch as Alex and a bell boy set up the DVD player.

When they finally get it working, Alex lays down on the bed beside me.

At first, we lie on opposite sides of the bed but, as the movie progresses, I slowly end up sitting on his lap with his arms around my waist. He kisses my neck and shoulders. The movie is quickly forgotten and he turns me around so he can decorate my face and lips with kisses. He sinks low on the bed so I’m lying on top of him. I tangle my fingers in his hair. He plays with the hem of my dress, tugging at it every now and again.

Then he rolls us over so he is on top of me. He repositions the both of us so he is lying with my legs on either side of him. I push him back and he looks down at me.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbles, sitting up.

I sit up too and kiss him.

‘Don’t be,’ I say.

He kisses me again, slower this time, and pulls me back onto his lap.

‘Our parents trust us,’ I whisper when he starts kissing my neck again.

‘Maybe they shouldn’t,’ he whispers in my ear.

I giggle as a scarlet blush creeps over my cheeks. I take his hand from my waist and twine my fingers through his.

‘Not yet,’ I say softly.

He stops kissing me and leans back.

‘Ok then,’ he says.

I lean into him and he kisses my forehead.

‘I’m not good at waiting,’ he says.

‘I know,’ I reply simply.

‘I’m really impatient.’

‘I know,’ I say again.

‘And I complain if I have to wait to long.’

‘Good thing I’ve learned to ignore you.’

He laughs and shakes his head. I smile and kiss him once more before turning back to the movie.