Look After You | Colby Brock

Surprises

"You really didn't need to book somewhere this crazy formal" I giggle as Colby opens my door for me, He shakes his head with a smile and I step out and wave Sam off as we head inside.

The restaurant is quiet but full of people enjoying wonderful food, Colby speaks to the waiter who leads us to a table next to some glass windows looking out over Los Angeles. "Is this okay for you?" He asks as he pulls my chair out for me, I smile and take a seat. "Perfect". The waiter leaves us menus and takes our drinks order, before I can embarrassingly ask for a Coke in the middle of this fancy restaurant, Colby asks for a bucket with champagne and the waiter doesn't even hesitate.

"How?" I raise a brow, placing my elbows onto the table and resting my chin in my hands, Colby shrugs, "What? Don't I look older" he gasps and I laugh, rolling my eyes.

My eyes scan the menu and I mentally have to remind myself not to choose anything messy, messy on the first date is not a cute look. "I think I'm going to go for the tomato and basil soup for starters" I comment, Colby smirks, "I'm going for the rack of ribs for my main babe, don't think I'm trying to impress you when it comes to good food" he winks and I smile, the butterflies in my stomach go crazy after he calls me babe.

The waiter comes by for our order and I stick to my plain soup for starters but order lasagna for the main. A lot of tomato but Italian food is the safest route. "I'm glad you decided to go out with me" Colby says, filling both our glasses.

I look at him and smile, his blue eyes glistening under the restaurant lighting. "If you had asked me last week, I would've probably laughed in your face." I laugh quietly and he joins, "Understandable".

I take a sip of my champagne to relax my nerves as my eyes wander around the restaurant. The place is filled with middle aged men and women who are classy and way out of my league, it does make me a little uncomfortable that Colby feels the need to bring me somewhere this upper class, but it's also very nice. "You look beautiful." Colby's voice removes me from my thoughts and when I look back, he is staring at me intently.

My face flushes from the compliment, "Thank you. You're very handsome yourself." I smile and he lets out a small chuckle.

"How was class today?" He asks, following his question with a sip from his drink. "It was great, we did an update on the therapy sessions. Everyone seems to be at a block with their clients, I'm glad we're getting somewhere now." I smile and he sits back in his chair.

"Obviously I'd see this more like a brewing relationship than a therapist and client" he gestures his hand between us and I nod, "Of course, I didn't have any plans to start flooding you with questions that are out of your comfort zone, don't worry" I laugh and he remains straight faced, "Good." He mutters and I ignore, smiling at the waiter who is on our way to the table with our starters, thankfully decreasing the awkward tension.

Colby opted for smoked salmon which looks delicious compared to my soup, but I still dig in. The bread they supplied with the soup being the best bit. "Do you eat a lot of food?" Colby asks as he pats his mouth with the napkin, I frown, confused by the question, he laughs "Sorry, I mean, do you know a lot about food? Like, do your parents cook" he smiles and I nod, "Yeah, my mom is more of a baker, she'd always have a fresh batch of cookies or muffins on a Friday. But my dad, he cooks all sorts. Fish, chicken or a meat dish, he'll cook up a storm"

I continue to eat my soup, the thought of my parents cooking making me hungrier. "That's nice, that they both have cool aspects in the kitchen." He says, I look at him with a sympathetic smile, "Did your dad cook?" He shrugs, sitting back after finishing his starter. "He would always attempt to have some sort of dinner ready for us, even if it was a frozen pizza"

I do feel bad that my childhood seems to be everyone's dream, but not everything was rainbows and unicorns. Although, for the most part it was. "How was your salmon?" I change the subject to stop any further awkward tension. "Lovely" he winks, finishing off his champagne before refilling.

"You finished your soup so I'm guessing just as lovely." I laugh and he joins. The waiter clears up our starters a few moments later after we exchange some small chat about the restaurants menu. "I'm going to run to the bathroom, no stealing my food" I wink as I stand up and Colby smiles.

The white marble of the bathrooms is beautiful, something I definitely would like in my dream home. I fix up my makeup and comb out my hair, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The date is going well, definitely out of both our comfort zones but he seems happy enough and that is all that matters. I clear my throat, adjusting my revealing top before heading back out to the restaurant and back into my seat with Colby. "Alright?" He smiles and I nod.

"I hope you don't mind but I've arranged a little something for after dinner, Sam is driving" I smile, "Cool, what is it?" I tilt my head and he laughs. "It's a surprise" he lifts a brow and the waiter interrupts, I scold Colby as the waiter places our food down.

The lasagna looks to good not to get tucked in so I dig in without hesitation. Colby rolls up his sleeves and tucks into his ribs too. The restaurant seems to be getting louder as the night goes on, more and more people coming and going and the bar lingers with people.

"Did you enjoy those?" I tease Colby as he wipes his face from the ribs. I laugh, sitting back. "I'm full" I complain, finishing off the champagne in my glass, Colby wipes his hands and sits back too. "Me too.".

We sit in silence for a while before Colby cracks open the second bottle of champagne he purchased, filling both our glasses, I sit forward and rest my hands on the table. "This has been lovely." I smile and Colby blushes, "Yeah, totally out my comfort zone, but at least if we do it again, we'll do more fun stuff now the serious part is over" he places a hand on top of mine, he would like to do it again, great news.

"But, Aliyah, the date isn't over just yet." He winks, and I nod, "Of course" I knock back the rest of the champagne in the glass as he's watching. "Guess we're leaving now" he laughs and pulls out his phone to text Sam. I stand to my feet and sling my bag over my shoulder. "Do you want to go halfers for the bill?" I ask Colby as we stand at the bar to pay. He declines a few times and I just let him pay the pretty steep $130 bill, reminding him I'm paying next time as we head outside.

Sam arrives quickly and we climb into the back, the car still warm. "Alright, you know where we're going" Colby states and Sam nods, turning the music up in the car. I feel the nerves from earlier build up again as we drive. Colby places a hand on my knee, tapping his fingers to the sound of music. I bite my lip, watching the street lights go by as we drive.

"Ok, enjoy you guys!" Sam turns in his seat, Winking at Colby before we get out. He has taken us to a car park, several cars linger around and I quickly notice the car park to be the skatepark. "What?" I look at Colby confused, he giggles, grabbing my hand to lead the way. The car park is lit up by a couple of flood lights and I do see a few other people sat in their cars which relaxes my nerves. "Alright, here we are" I frown, staring at Colby's car that is parked up. He lets go of my hand and opens the trunk to his car, the car is covered in pillows and blankets and I notice some snacks laying too, I look at Colby and tilt my head, "Turn around." I turn around to see a large projector screen, my eyes widen. "Drive in cinema, I've always wanted to go to one of these" I laugh kicking off my shoes and climbing into the back of the trunk, Colby joins. "Yeah, you seemed like the type." He smiles, loosening his top buttons of his shirt and laying back. This is awesome.