The Coffee Spill |Demi Lovato|

Chapter 11

Written 2015
Revised March 2021

*Ellies POV*
Trying to find something to wear in Demi's closet was a bit overwhelming, for many reasons. The amount of choices as well as the price tag were just a few to begin with. I try to settle on something casual. I decide on her yellow sundress and jean jacket. This is appropriate for an Italian restaurant, right? I style my hair in a fishtail braid and a pair of Demi's sandals. By the time we are done getting ready its almost 7:00 PM. Demi made reservations for 7:30 PM.

"So this place is a small family owned restaurant." Demi explains, pulling out of her driveway. She starts to swirl down a rabbit hole, listing and describing each of her favorite dishes. "Don't even get me started on their warm bread and oil." She moans jokingly. The rest of the car ride her right hand is intertwined with my left one and in silence. Demi turns her blinker on before pulling into the restaurant parking lot. In front of us is a small, cottage looking restaurant.

"Antique table?" I question. Demi nods. I never heard of it. However, the way Demi hyped up the place on the car ride here, it must be good. Demi puts the car in park, telling me to stay where I am before getting out. She walks around to my side of the car, opening my door, holding her hand out. I gladly take it and step out of her Tesla.

"Such I gentleman." I tease causing Demi to smile. We walk up to the front doors, I extend my arm, opening the door for Demi in return. She smiles. As we enter the establishment, we are greeted by the smell of garlic and spices. It smells fresh.  The lights are lightly dimmed, and we can hear the faint sound of Italian music echoing through the speakers. The waitress gives us a smile before welcoming us to the restaurant. She happily guides us through the aisle of tables and to a smaller dining area. There are 4 tables in this secluded area, but only one is pre set. On the table sits a candle, one red rose and a bottle of champagne in a wine chiller. I am overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness laid out in front of me.

*Demi's POV*
Ellie's eyes when she enters the dining room begin to sparkle. Her mouth hangs open in awe as the sides of her lips curl into a smile. She locks eyes with me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I walk Ellie to our table, pulling out her chair for her. She flattens her dress with her hands before sitting down. I give her a small kiss on the cheek before taking my seat across from her. Only after a few minutes, a gentleman with an apron around his waist and a basket of bread and oil approach us. He places the basket on the table.

"Hello. Welcome to the Antique Table. My name is Tyler and I'll be your waiter this evening. Have you dined with us before?" He ask with a smile.

"This is my first time." Ellie admits, looking up at him.

Tyler turns towards Ellie. "We'll we are happy you could join us today." He says followed by a wink. Ellie seems to miss his flirtatious wink, but I caught it. I give him a small glare, hoping his wink was a one off. As Tyler is pouring our champagne into our flutes, Ellie and I settle on the fried mozzarella as an appetizer.  "I'll put that order in right now ladies." He says, giving Ellie one final smile before exiting.

Once the waiter leaves, Ellie opens up her menu, placing it down on the table to read. She pulls apart a piece of warm bread and dips it in the oil.

"Did you not notice that?" I ask her, taking her other half of bread and shoving it in my mouth.

"Notice what?" She asks, mouth half full of bread.

"Oh come on, he was clearly flirting with you." I explain. My left leg begins to bounce up and down, growing jealous.

Ellie swallows. "He was just being friendly. He's a waiter. It's his job." She says trying to reassure me.

I roll my eyes. Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm just overreacting.

I pick up my glass of champagne and hold it up. Ellie does the same, letting our glasses clink. "To the start of something new."  I say. "To the start of something new." Ellie repeats.

Not long after Tyler returns, carrying our appetite in one hand and two empty dishes in the other. He places the dishes on the table, giving Ellie another wink before leaving once again.  I look at Ellie and she is cutting a piece of fried mozzarella in half. She is completely oblivious to what's going on. I roll my eyes and laugh. I wonder how many times someone has tried to ask her out and failed because she didn't know what was going on. 

Tyler returns to our table just as we are finishing our appetizers. "How was everything?" He asked, removing our dirty plates from the table. I pick up my cloth napkin and wipe marinara sauce off the corner of my mouth.

"It was delicious." I reply, taking a sip of champagne.

"So are you ladies ready to order?" He asks, pulling out his notebook. Ellie and I nod in unison. He turns to me first.

"I'll have the chicken Marsala, no mushrooms." I say, closing my menu and placing it on the table. He writes my order down before turning to Ellie.

"And for you, gorgeous?" he asks smiling. Ellie's smile drops and she looks at me, somehow knowing I were not to stay quiet this time. I drop my glass of champagne on the table just hard enough for some of it to slide up the side of the glass and over the rim, falling onto the white table cloth.

"Ok listen here, Tyler. That woman you keep flirting with across from me is taken. By me. As you can tell by the private room, champagne, and flowers this-" I say circling my arms around the room "-is a date."

"I'm sorry I didn't know. I just assumed you wanted a private room was cause you're famous." he stutters. "You seem like friends." He adds.

"Friends? If we were friends would l I do this?" I ask leaning over the table, grabbing Ellie's cheeks, crashing my lips onto her in a hard, passionate kiss. I let the kiss linger for a few seconds before pulling away.

Ellie is first to break the silence. "I'll have the chicken alfredo."