A Diary for Two Ch. 08

"I'm up for it!" exclaimed Mike as he walked in, having just arrived through the front door, unnoticed to us. "Just be careful, Elise, Beth might be here any second."

"To Hell with that," said Henry, "We'll just tell her you're visiting and invite her to join us."

I hesitated at that, before reluctantly nodding. It was true that if we all supported that version of events, she'd have no choice but to believe us. I soon forgot it however, as we got immersed into the game. It was a lot of fun, despite Beth's refusal to join when she finally did arrive home, looking like she'd had a very long day. She went straight her room at that point, leaving us to finish our game of 'poker menteur' with imaginary chips.

I think the main reason that I was getting so immersed, and for that matter continuously winning, was that some part of me was getting rather scared of the idea of my date with Thomas. It had seemed like a fine idea originally, but now that the actual time was coming closer, I was making myself worried. This only became worse when I received a text from Thomas offering to pick me up around half past seven from home and asking my address. I sent him my address in a text, and subsequently lost the next two rounds of our game.

Finally, it became time for my night out, and, sighing, Henry went to fetch something more suitable. He came up with a plain albeit pretty pale red dress, which I hesitantly combined with a pair of nice black three-inch heels. Applying make-up was a lot more painstaking however as I attempted as best I could to make myself look a little more dressed-up without painting myself like a clown. Finally, I divided my hair into two neat braids attached with red ribbons, as I was still not confident enough to try using elastics.

On reflection I was very lucky that Beth had gone to her room, as it allowed me to get changed and ready with the help of the boys without raising some very unusual questions.

Finally ready and clutching a partially emptied handbag, I found myself sitting nervously on the edge of the couch, waiting for Thomas to arrive. The doorbell finally rang, and I jumped up to go and greet him, leaving the other two behind as I went to the door, my heart hammering, seemingly from within my throat. I found him well dressed in a neat pale blue shirt and smart navy blue trousers, his sleeves rolled up and his hair combed back. He hadn't shaved off his five o'clock shadow however, despite wearing an aftershave, which had a strong, albeit layered smell.

"Hi!" He said.

"Hi." I answered lamely.

I smiled shyly at him, as I walked out the front door and closed it behind me, nearly tripping over my 3-inch heels. Those probably were a mistake... he didn't seem to notice however, and grinned down at me as I stood beside him, holding onto my handbag as if it were a lifeline with my right hand.

"You look... Beautiful." He said

"Thank you." I said, blushing. I paused for an instant, wondering whether I should return some sort of compliment.

He didn't seem to mind though, and turned to start walking down the stairs, stopping suddenly as he offered me his arm. This was weird... Who still offered their arm to girls as if they couldn't walk, Especially to go down stairs in front of their own houses? I wasn't used to such old fashioned, senseless gallantry. In fact I wasn't used to any gallantry directed at me. I still lightly took his arm though, acting out of instinct as my mind ran wild.

As we made our way down the stairs, I tried my best not to get too close to him or put any more pressure on his arm than a light touch, feeling very shy and embarrassed. Despite that, I tripped on the third to last step due to my heels, and found myself nearly falling onto him, as he stabilized me with his arm. I looked at him apologetically as I blushed furiously, but he simply smiled pleasantly at me, making no comment.

I was surprised, when we reached the sidewalk, to find him steering me towards a smart looking little Porsche. For some reason I had not expected him to be a driver, and I found myself pleasantly surprised. I only hoped that I would not have to drive him home if he were to get too drunk.

He courteously opened my door for me as I clambered in, closing it after me before walking around the car and sitting himself in the drivers' seat. He obviously had rather good parallel parking skills as he expertly maneuvered his way out, and I watched him drive us smoothly towards the center of town. A thought suddenly hit me.

"Wait a second... Don't you usually take the bus to campus?" I asked.

He blushed visibly despite the dimness inside the car, and hesitated for a couple of seconds.

"I... I borrowed this car from one of my housemates." He admitted.

I giggled at that.

"Don't worry, I'd probably find it a little imposing if this car actually were to belong to you... I find you more relatable like this." I told him, trying to sound reassuring.

"Thanks... I just thought you might like to be driven somewhere for once, instead of always taking the bus." He said, relaxing a little on the wheel.

We started chatting after that, mostly about very superficial things thankfully, as I really wanted to avoid talking about our studies. It didn't last long though, as we quickly found ourselves in the center of town, having avoided rush hour, and stopped near a very pretty bridge crossing the river. I looked around in amazement, making the most of the beauty of the town.

For some reason, I had never really appreciated just how pretty this place was at night. To be fair, I had generally only ever been around here during the day or with a group of drunk and soon-to-be-drunk friends, so this was quite a new perspective. I loved it, and kept looking around in amazement at the lights and architecture as Thomas guided me to the restaurant.

It was a lovely place, which was obviously not aimed at students as a main clientele. The inside wasn't quite extravagant, but it definitely was posh, with a lot of art on the walls and a small jazz band playing softly near the entrance. We were shown to our table, which was upstairs on a sort of balcony, which presided over the band below.

We sat down, and were given the menus as Thomas recommended that we go for their Bordeaux, which, he said, was rather nice. A little taken aback, I told him I'd be delighted to try it. When it arrived, the waiter served Thomas a small drop, which he smelled and tasted ceremoniously as if he had been doing it his whole life. He then nodded, and the waiter served me, before finally filling Thomas's glass.

I tasted the wine before going through the menu, fining it to be potent and yet strangely fruity. I then quickly scanned the dishes of the people eating below us, comparing them to the choices on the menu, before settling for a sumptuous-looking dish based on chicken cooked on a skillet with green chili sauce.

Thomas, seeming more original by the second, opted for the French styled 'boudin noir'. We then talked about our lives at university and beyond, although I did my best so as not to be too specific about my life before university. Indeed, I was cautious not to merge my life too much with that of Erik, as I had the feeling that if he knew too much about it, I might too easily slip up and say something odd.

The food was delicious, and I savored it slowly, making the most of the many-layered flavors within the chili sauce and the carrot puree, which accompanied it. We soon found ourselves exchanging pieces of each other's dishes, and I found myself almost favoring Thomas's blood sausage over my own chicken.

The pudding was even better, and I was pretty sure that the evening had been a success as I scraped up the last crumbs of my tart, giggling at one of the surprisingly many jokes and stories that Thomas seemed to come up with. However, I felt a strong, unexpected pang of regret when the bill arrived, as Thomas insisted on paying for it all. I tried my best to make him split the costs, but it fell on deaf ears as he refused to even show me the bill, simply slipping it under the money as he left it on the table.

This left me deeply disquieted, as I knew that, knowing this kind of restaurant, the bill would substantial, far more than a student is accustomed to paying. In addition, I deduced from the way that Thomas didn't put any change on the table that he was also leaving a tip. I told him that next time I'd be paying, but he shook his head at that, laughing, and led me back down to his car.

He then drove me straight home, talking quietly in the aftermath of the musically enhanced restaurant, as he thanked me for coming with him. I told him that it was my pleasure, and watched, impressed, as he made another show of talented parallel parking in a car, which didn't even belong to him. He then got out of the car, the engine still purring lightly, and made his way around to open my door.

I thanked him honestly for the truly wonderful evening, to which he simply smiled. He then led me up the stairs to my front door, telling me that he would like to do this again sometime. I turned to him, smiling, and was suddenly caught by the intensity of his gaze as he looked down at me. He lightly put his hand on my arm and took a step closer to me, close enough that I could count the individual bristles on his cheeks.

"I really like you." He told me calmly.

"I..." I hesitated, at a complete loss for words.

He leant his head to the side and slowly leaned in towards me, slowing only a few centimeters away from my face. I hesitated for an incredibly long second, unsure what to do. If he had just tried to kiss me there and then I would probably just have pushed him away I think... But the way he just stopped, leaving me the option at the last second... Something simply overtook me, and I made a small, lurching forwards gesture with my head. It was all he need, and closed the gap, brushing my lips ever so gently with his own. It only lasted for half a second... And then he straightened back up.

He smiled at me as I blushed, feeling utterly paralyzed, before nodding his head.

"I hope to see you soon Elise. Goodbye." He said, before turning around and walking down to the car.

I watched him, still immobilized, as he got in and drove off, my eyes huge and my heart caught where I used to have an Adam's apple. After what seemed like a couple of minutes, I finally regained control of my body, opened the door, and entered. The house was dark, as everyone had gone to his or her rooms. I made my way to mine, closed the door, and shakily removed my dress and make-up, staring at my pale face in my small mirror.

Having then undone my braids, I put the ribbons to the side and slipped into bed. It was only then that I appreciated how mild this night had been. Indeed, I was still shaking, but this time not due to the cold.