A New Life

Chapter 21

5:50pm comes around pretty fast. I'm dressed in my good black jeans, a button up white shirt, my boots and a black jacket. I give myself a once over, take a breathe and knock on her door. No more that a minute later she opens it. Fuuuuck. She's in a long black dress, with white heels that take her up to just above my shoulders, her hair is wavy and down her back, she has red lipstick on and smells like candy. She's absolutely beautiful. I felt my heart jump and my butterflies come back. "You look gorgeous Katy" I say giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She just flushes red. "Ready to go?" I ask offering my arm. She takes it and closes the door, locking it. I can't believe I'm going out to dinner with her. Damn.

We have a quiet drive to the restaurant. When we get there the waitress seats us. Staring at me. She has half black, half blue hair and a couple piercings.
After taking our drink order, she looks nervous. "Uh, I know it's probably not a great time. But uh.. Could I get a photo with you? I'm just a big fan of you guys and your music means so much to me." she says very fast I almost missed what she said. "Yeah of course! Thank you so much for supporting us. Will we see you tomorrow night?" I ask standing up. We quickly take a selfie. "Uh no, I couldn't afford the ticket. But that's okay! I'm sure you guys will have fun!" she blushes. "What's your name?" I ask, she looks confused. "Melissa, uhh, Melissa Goldsworth." she says quietly. "Well Melissa, I'll put your name on the entry list. Go to the doors and say your name. They should let you in without a ticket." I see her face brighten up, "Oh my god, are you sure? Oh thank you so much! You're amazing! I'll uh. I'll go place your orders! Thank you Chris!" she gives me a quick hug and runs off to the bar and I sit back down. I turn to face Katy beaming at me. "That was so kind. You've just made her life." I smile at the thought.

We order our dinners and eat them, talking about the party, the shop, she showed me updated pictures on her niece and sisters growing bump. Melissa, our waitress comes to collect our plates and leaves a dessert menu.
"So uh Katy, I have something to tell you. Its been really hard for me to find the right time, and courage I guess. But I'm kind of running out of time, and I don't want you to hear it from someone else." I start. She just looks up at me with an encouraging smile. Oh fuck she's beautiful. "So, tomorrow night is more than just a Halloween party... Its a tour promo party... The thing is..." Uh fuck this is hard. "The thing is, we have a tour coming up..." I look up at her. I can see a little bit if confusion. "When do you go?" she asks, emotionless. "3 weeks.." I say feeling a lump in my throat form. "Oh. That's soon. I guess it makes sense, you can't always be home right?" she softly chuckles.. "You're okay with this?" I say feeling confused. "Well yeah, I knew this was coming. I just wish we had a little more time." I give her another questioning look. "More time for what?" again confused. "To do this kind of stuff. I wasted so much of our time being that way, that we've only got a couple weeks before you go again."

We ordered dessert, and talked about the upcoming tour. She seems to have taken it really well. I feel this weight lift from my shoulders. Only slightly though, I still have this feeling of needing to proctect her when we go. But at least she's not mad. Thank god.

We finish up and pay the bill leaving a tip for Melissa. We thank the chef and leave. As we drive home, she softly puts her hand on my thigh again. This time not removing it when I look down at it. The butterflies are back and in full swing. "So are you staying tonight?" she asks, breaking the silence. "Uh, I don't want to impose. Plus I've got a bunch of stuff to do for tomorrow". "Oh okay, well you know you're more than welcome to stay." she smiles up at me.