Shadows

Date

A week went by since our little talk. We went out several times so that he could show me how wonderful the place was. It was filled to the brim with joy, laughter and colour. He showed me the many pubs and clubs; we ate at a multitude of restaurants and shopped at loads of expensive stores… much to my chagrin.

  That day however he decided that he wanted us both to go on a date. He didn’t give me any details except that it would be very formal, so he suggested that I pick out my most elegant dress… or something on the lines of that. I was vacated back to the ‘guest room’ so that I may get dressed and ready in private. He said he wanted me to surprise him entirely. I started with my makeup; I wanted to look like something that was both Marilyn Monroe and a tamed Stefani Germanotta… whether I would succeed with that was a totally different matter.

  Once I was satisfied with the makeup, I moved onto my hair. A simple messy bun would suffice in this case as I thought it would match with one of the dresses I managed to bring. The chosen dress was knee length, black, sleeveless and had golden swirls covering both the top and the bottom. It wasn’t anything fancy like he wanted but it would do for me I suppose. To top this ensemble off I threw on some black four inch heels and grabbed a black waist length jumper. I stared at myself in one of the mirrors, I truly looked older than my years… it was quite shocking and took my breath away. If that is what it did to me then I was really excited to see what Dante’s reaction would be.

  I knew that I was not permitted to leave the room… well that was a lie. I was allowed to but he requested I don’t til he knocked on my door. He was very old fashioned in ways… I guess that came with the age and background. I must have wandered around that room dozens of times, making a trail as I paced the carpet in a continuous motion. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was, it was only Dante and we had been out hundreds of times… but for some reason, tonight it felt different and the way he was acting made me think he had something big up his sleeve, but I supposed that was a load of crap. He said he wanted to spoil me, so that’s just what he was doing. Or maybe I was nervous because I wanted this to lead somewhere… yes tonight was the night.

  A knock on the door was the sign that it was time to go. I inhaled deep, stood up straight and began to strut my way to the door. I clasped the handle and opened the door, there stood a dashing and very handsome Date, dressed in a tuxedo and his hair greased back. He looked down at me and half smirked and half smiled

“You look beautiful” he mumbled

“Really?” I asked as I glanced down at my little ensemble, he grabbed my hand, bowed down and kissed it in one of those formal yet elegant manners. He then rose himself back up, looped my arm under his and we were off.

  It night time when we had left, the cool and crisp air sent shivers along my spine so I found myself clinging to Dante. He looked down and smiled at me before taking off his tuxedo jacket and wrapping it around my arms. I glanced up to smile at him thankfully, in response he bent down and pecked me on the lips. The night air smelt so clean and fresh to me… yet I knew that I couldn’t stay in it for too long so I urged us both forward. We eventually reached a small restaurant called ‘Shardana’ it didn’t look all that fancy from the outside, but appearances can be deceiving that I will assure you. It had a white and marble appearance back wall which had two paintings hung neatly on it. There must have been about thirty tables in total that were neatly placed in rows. In the middle rows there were single rounded tables… probably reserved for couples. The floor was just as shiny and marble like, the walls…. I couldn’t believe how formal this place appeared to be. On the tables they had vases that held a single rose, how romantic.

  Once we were in, Dante talked to the person behind the counter to say that he had a reservation for a Miss Cruz and a Mr Istrati. The man came from behind the counter and ushered us over to one of the seats that was available and had our names on two cards. He removed the cards and gave us two menus. I smiled across the table at Dante and said my thanks to him. Scanning through the menu I overwhelmed with choice. Eventually though I decided on having Bruschetta Classica for a starter, Tagliatelle Ortolano for a main and homemade tiramisu for desert which all added up to £19.70 in total. I felt bad for making him fork out such money but he did say he wanted to spoil me. Once we were both done he insisted that we have a drink to finish off, so I settled for a simple hot chocolate which added another £3.00 to my side of the bill. Once done I fished around for my purse but realised that I had left it in the apartment, he smiled at me and told me not to worry as he had enough cash to pay for us both. Apparently being a Lord has its benefits in the Vampire world.