Every Story Matters

19

♡ Scarlett ♡

"You must be excited," Sheri says knowingly.

I roll my eyes as I hang my apron up. "It's just a date Sheri," I say crossing my arms across my chest.

A date that I'm extremely nervous for. It may not seem like it, but I have no idea how these things work. And I'm pretty sure the books I've read in English class, like Romeo and Juliet, and Othello, are little out of date. I don't even know where he's taking me, which means I don't know what to wear either.

"Really? Cuz your cheeks say otherwise," she says pointing to my flushed cheeks.

I put my hands up to my face to cover my cheeks and scowled in her direction. "I'll see you later," I tell her and walked out of the Café. Before I left, I made sure to check the time and saw that I have three hours until Austin will come to pick me up.

Back at my house, I immediately went for my closet and tried to find something appealing to wear. Only Lord knows how long it's going to take for me to find something. I come across a dress which was too formal, tops that are only good when it's humid, and bottoms that are not 'date' worthy.

A frustrated groan escapes my lips as I gape uselessly at my closet. This is useless. I don't have anything that most girls wear. Taking an intake of air, I took a last once over in my closet. I was about to give up when my hand brushed across something soft and silky. Grabbing onto the material, I brought it out and examined it. Of course...how could I ever forget about this? It's a white floral romper with lace outlining the edges. My parents bought this for me on one of my birthdays and told me that one day, I'd get to use it on a a special occasion.

I guess today counts.

Slipping the romper on, I spun and turned around in my mirror, checking how nicely it fit my body. I decided that this will do and kept my natural curls for my hair. For the remaining time I had left, I decided to make my self useful and started to tidy the house a bit. This is the first time Austin has seen my house after all.

It might have been a few hours or so until the sound of the doorbell caught my attention causing my heart skip a beat. I took in a deep breath and dusted the invisible dust on my romper before answering the door.

My breath hitches in the back of my throat as my eyes land on Austin's figure. I took him in as I admired his dark jeans, button up polo shirt, and styled - but messy at the same time- hair. His eyes linger on me, looking up and down while a small smile spreads across his face.

Suddenly feeling a sense of insecurity, I tell him, "I didn't know what to wear...is this ok?" As I shuffle side to side uneasily.

"No," he answers shaking his head. My smile falters as I stare at him blankly. "It's perfect," he finishes grabbing my hand in his, the touch sending heat throughout my body. I flash him a smile, failing to mask my cheeks that are no doubt the color of a fire truck.

I stepped to the side and waited till he was inside before shutting the door. "I'll be right back, I have to get my things." He nodded his head and I left for my room. Strapping on my strappy sandals, I grabbed my purse and headed back out to the living room.

"You have a nice house," he comments as I walk into the room.

I look at him incredulously. "Compared to your house? Yeah, ok."

"I'm serious. It's cozy and you don't have to worry about getting things broken or dirty," he says glancing at me. I squint my eyes at him and he chuckles taking my hand in his. "I mean that as a compliment. I always have to worry about things like that at my house." A slight grin appears on my face and I just nod my head, heading towards the door.

"Shall we?" I say gesturing to the door.

He strolls over to where I was standing and opens the door for me. "After you," he says grinning. Rolling my eyes, "such a gentlemen," I say as I walk out the door. I make sure to lock it after he closes it behind him.

Although I was very nervous for this date, the anticipation of knowing where he was taking me was starting to become overwhelming. I knew, however, that if I attempted to ask, he probably won't tell me. So, I decided to save my breath and continued to watch as street after street passed by in a blur.

After about ten to fifteen minutes, a sign comes into view that reads 'Now leaving Centralview, come back soon!' I open my mouth about to ask why we were leaving town, but his car stops to halt just after the sign. And then, that's when I noticed it. The most beautiful field of flowers and trees I've ever seen laid right here. How have I not noticed or known about this before? I curse myself for not bringing my camera.

Austin sees my awe struck expression and sends me a smirk before opening the door to exit the car. He jogs over to my side and opens the door for me before gesturing me towards his trunk. He opens it and what lays before me are blankets draped all over the back, a basket, and a laptop. My heart does a little jump of excitement making me smile up at Austin.

"You can call it picnic I guess, but since there's nothing much we can do, I figured that this might be the next best thing," he says shoving his hands in his pockets.

I wrap my hands around his arm and leaned my head against his shoulder. "I love it," I let out contently.

I clamber inside with Austin following me suit. Austin grabs the basket and starts to pull out containers of food. I peaked inside and saw that there was homemade spaghetti, salad, and desert.

"Did you make Nancy cook all of this?" I ask suspiciously.

"I was the one who actually cooked." I look at him incredulously through narrowed eyes. "I did!" He exclaims holding his hands up in defense, "with Nancy's help of course."

My eyebrows raise in shock. "Wow, I'm impressed," I tell him honestly. "First time doing something like this?"

He nods his head with a slight smile on his face. "Yeah. It actually feels good you know? I mean, yeah Nancy helped, but you know what I mean." And I did. I did know what he meant, and I'm extremely happy for him.

I nod my head smiling. "Congrats on your newly found accomplishment."

We started eating the spaghetti and salad, which was actually not that bad. It was delicious even. He suggested that we watch something on Netflix, but I told him that the best motion picture we can watch right now is the scene in front of us. The darkened sky covered with millions and millions of sparkling diamonds. The swaying of the trees as the gentle wind blows. And the many, many vibrant colors of the flowers dancing in the field. Who needs Netflix when you have this?

"So, will I be able to see this report of yours?" Austin questions.

"Yeah," I answer, watching as his eyes light up a bit. "When everyone else gets to see it," I finish, giving him a sly look.

He frowns giving me a pouty face a five year old would do. "How's that fair? It's about me! You can't expect to me wait till the yearbook comes out," he exasperates.

"I think I just did"

✫

I think we must have spent at least two to three hours lying in Austin's trunk talking about anything and everything. It was the most amazing night I've ever had and was sad when we had get going. Our conversation didn't stop, however. The whole ride home, we continued to talk like we knew each other since we were kids.

The amazing night comes to an end when Austin pulls up on my driveway and walked me to my door.

"Thank you for tonight," I tell him, "I had a really good time."

He pulls me into a hug, his scent and warmth surrounding me with comfort as I wrap my arms around his waist and tightened my hold. "I had a good time too," he mumbles into my hair. He pulls apart, much to my dismay and whispers, "goodnight. I'll see you at school."

"Night," I whisper back, and watched as he gets into his car and drives off.

✫✫✫