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JULY 25TH, 2017 — ❝ YOU BREAK MY HEART WITHOUT REALIZING. ❞
Eloise was going on a date with Tom.
And she was going to throw up. She was so nervous, so incredibly nervous to see him again. He'd flown in from San Diego just to see her again, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that.
She'd been overworking like crazy to get her mind off of him, attempting to distance herself from him, but he was always texting. And it was like resisting a plate of your favorite food. She couldn't resist texting him back.
Eloise was currently sitting in her car, taking deep breaths, and every now and then, looking over at her inhaler. She was dressed in the same outfit she was wearing when she met him, except with no red lipstick this time, and her hair was down in curly waves.
The same black heels and everything. At the age of twenty-seven, should she still be this nervous for dates? She hadn't had one in years, the last relationship she had been in was . . . Four years ago, and it was something she never talked about.
Some things she kept that way.
Taking a deep breath, and adjusting the straps of her leotard again, she reached over, grabbing her purse from the passenger seat, and got out of her car. The restaurant that Tom had told her he wanted to meet her at was one she'd never been to . . .
A fancy steakhouse. Christ. There was no way she'd be able to afford this, even with her entire paycheck, which was . . . A lot of money that she still wasn't used to. Swallowing her nerves, and trying to push her heart from her throat to her chest, she entered the steakhouse.
Eloise searched the crowd, looking for him. Her heart was beating so fast, she was starting to think she was going to have a panic attack. A server approached her, and asked, "Hi! Are you here with a group, or by yourself?"
"I'm, um, meeting a date," Eloise said in a strained voice, tightly clutching the straps of her bag. She finally spotted him, tucked in the corner, and said, "I'm going to meet him now."
"Oh. Well, have a good date!" The server waved her through, and Eloise felt as though it was taking forever to get over to the table. As if time were going in slow motion.
When she approached the table, he looked over from the window, and his face broke out into pure joy. Smiling back at him, Eloise sat across from him, and said, "Hi."
"Hi," Tom said back, and then chuckled. "I really like that outfit of yours."
Eloise choked, not sure what to say. "Uh, thanks. I thought . . . Well, I just really like it." She was so nervous, she had no idea what to say or what she was saying.
"You seem very nervous," He said, and she blew out a deep breath, and said, "You have no idea."
"Why?" Tom frowned. He'd never seen her so nervous. Under the table, Eloise was wringing her hands, and stuttered out, "I . . . I just haven't been on a date in a long time. Not only that, but uh . . . I really like you, too."
