Good Things

dates & love, rosie

We drive for a while, until I'm really confused. It feels like we're going nowhere.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
I try to be patient, but a few minutes later, we come to a stop in a random parking lot. I look to Evan confused, and he sits gripping the wheel, looking forward.
"Ev, what are we doing?"
"Get out."
At first, I think he's joking. But after a minute, I get out of the car. Evan turns the key and the car starts. He flips through the radio stations until he turns it off. He looks at me through his mirror.
"Confused yet?"
"Very," I yell.
He grabs his phone and a beats speaker. After several more seconds, he gets out of the car.
"Our reservations aren't actually until 7:30. So we came here first." He grabs his phone and syncs it to the speaker.
"Um. Ok."
Music begins to play.
"Let's dance." He grabs my hand and pulls me close. I set my purse on the back of his car. The music is soft, but loud enough to hear. A familiar song. The artist begins to sing, his voice so soothing. Evan and I sway back and forth, close enough to hear each other's heartbeats.
"Spin for me."
I perform a wobbly spin and nearly fall. Evan catches me, bridal style. We continue our dance as the songs play on.
"Can I tell you something Jo?"
"Of course."
"Here goes," he sighs. "Without you, I don't know where I'd be. What I'm trying to say is that you have already changed my life so much. I want you to keep changing it. I love you."
"Aw. I feel the same way." I place a small peck on his cheek.
"You look stunning." He holds me at arms length and looks me up and down. His eyes hesitate a moment at the slit in the lower half, where you can see my prosthetic through it.
"Thank you. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah," he looks for a second longer before looking back to me. "It's 7:15. We should go ahead and go."
"Totally."
We arrive at a fancy French restaurant, with a name I can't pronounce. The staff is kind, but distant, and the food is exquisite.
"Mmmmm," I try to chew faster so I can speak.
"Oh yeah definitely," Evan says sarcastically.
"Shut up," I say and fake punch him. "I was trying to say thank you for tonight, but you're a jerk."
"I'm a jerk?"
"Oh yeah definitely," I say, making a jab at his earlier sarcasm.
"You like it."
"Of course. In all seriousness, you scared me to death in that club. To a little girl, a very drunk boy in his boxers approaching her is frightening. And look where we are now."
"The dress you are wearing right now reminds me a lot of that dress you wore the first time I met you. It was low cut and a little loose at the top. The silver part of it was so bright. That caught my attention and I was hooked. That's why I picked the one you're wearing now."
"Why did you chose this date for me to wear it?"
"I wanted this to be a new beginning of sorts. We never broke up, but we've had a lot of problems. Mostly caused by me, but I'm over it. And since you're trying to get better, and now you have your leg, we can start over."
"Wow. Yes. That sounds amazing. But I wouldn't want to have anyone else tell me we'll get through it than you."
I grab his hand, the same way he's done to me for months. We eat the rest of our meals, joking and laughing, having an amazing time. Evan picks up the check and I get the tip. We walk to the car, and my leg starts to rub my stump.
"Hey you okay?" Evan looks at me a little concerned.
"Oh yeah. Ha. The legs a little uncomfortable, probably just because it's the first time I've worn it. I'll get used to it."
"Okay. You can take it off if you need to."
"I'm good. If it gets bad I will."
We ride home slowly because I get scared every time Evan takes his eyes off the road to look at me. His hand rests on what's left of my actual leg. The song we danced to is stuck in my head, and as I accidentally fall asleep, it plays through my dreams.
I wake up being carried into the house.
"Dang it. I was trying to let you sleep. I'm sorry. Go back to sleep."
"No I wanna stay up with you."
"Okay." He sets me down on the couch and I slump over. "Do you wanna watch a movie in your room?"
"Yeah. Let's watch something really good."
"Like what?"
"Like Love, Rosie. That one is so good. I've seen it hundreds of times."
"Love, Rosie it is then."
He helps me walk into my room, the prosthetic causing a little more pain now than before. I gesture to it, and Evan understands. He unzips the back of my dress, helping me take off the leg.
"Can't you just pull it off from the front?"
"I could," he responds with a laugh and continues to unzip it. He pulls the straps off of my shoulders and stands me up. I hold onto his shoulder as he unstraps the leg from my hips.
"Got it," he says as the leg drops to the floor.
"Whew. Thanks." I examine my stump and see small bruises forming.
"Aw. Baby. Does it hurt?"
"No not really. I think I just have to get used to it that's all. Let's watch the movie," I sit in the bed and curl up to a pillow. For a second, I forget I'm only in my underwear and I sprawl out across the bed. Evan looks over at me and raises one eyebrow. I quickly realize that my chest is out across a pillow, and I cover up. An embarrassed giggle escapes my mouth and my hand flies up to cover it. This is the first time I've been in my underwear in front of Evan. We fall into a fit of laughter and he strips into just his boxers.
"You look nice," Evan says, looking the opposite direction of me.
"I'm sorry," I giggle. "Let me put on some shorts and a sweatshirt."
"No. Don't," Evan reaches over and kisses me. "You look good," he smiles and reaches for me, lips recklessly pushing into mine.

Needless to say, I fell asleep naked, next to Evan Gatton.