Ultraviolet

Chapter Twenty-Two: Love Story

My phone buzzed with a message from Ty saying he was waiting outside, so I grabbed my wallet, said goodbye, then headed out. Ty was standing beside his car, a black car with silver details, a smile on his face the second his eyes met mine.

"Hi." I grinned when I stepped closer to him.

"Hey, Violet." His voice was deeper than I remembered, probably because he was yelling to be heard over the loud music. "I like you're dress, you look amazing in it."

I twirled around, showing off the outfit. "Thanks, I dressed up pretty just for you." I joked.

"How ever did I get so lucky?" He asked sarcastically. He jogged over to the passenger's side door and opened it for me, a charming smile on his face.

I slid into the car seat, the interior of the car a thousand times more impressive than the outside. There was black and red leather over the seats and there was a GPS screen in the centre of the dashboard. "Violet" was titled over the address; he saved it as my address. I guess he's confident in there being a second date.

"So, I was going to book a reservation but I don't really know what kind of food you like. Instead, I figured we could go to the farmers market. They have stalls that serve street food and its right by the movie theatre if you wanted to catch a film."

"That sounds great." I enthused as he started up the car. "But, um, what exactly do you mean by street food."

"Y'know, like fast food sold from booths. Last time I went there was a Thai one and there's always a Mexican one. You haven't been to a farmers market?"

I knew it wasn't his intention, but the question made me feel a little unworldly.

"They don't really have markets in the town I grew up in. I only moved here from Nebraska a couple weeks ago."

"Nebraska? Thats... very different." He laughed. "I've lived here my whole life. I don't think I've ever seen the midwest."

"Well, there's not much to see." I explained. "I grew up in a small town. Everywhere you turned, you could see farmland."

"Why'd you leave?"

"Wanted a change of scenery." I shot back a little too quickly. I planned ahead my answer to that question. The last thing I wanted was to dump my depressing sob story on Ty. "I love Boston. It's so... alive. More people walk into the club in one night than live in my entire town."

He reversed into a car park beside the iron fencing of the park and we stepped out of the car, the cold immediately nipping at my bare arms. The park had a big open gate way just a couple steps from the car and we stepped in. Giant trees loomed over the path into the centre of the park. After a couple steps I felt like I'd left the city and entered a forest.

"Pretty, aren't they?" Ty asked. His eyes were looking up at the dark green leaves shading us from the setting sun. I hadn't even noticed I was staring at them.

"My grandmother had a willow tree in her backyard. I used to sit underneath it and read for hours. I used to think it was so magnificent, but these put that willow to shame."

"Did you spent a lot of time with your grandparents?" I could see a moment of hesitation in his eyes, like he knew I'd lost them but couldn't relate and wasn't sure how I'd react.

"I lived with them for a while." Was all I said before continuing further down the path.

Ty and I turned right, revealing a clearing set up with tables under tents, all stacked with fruit and vegetables and baked goods. Between the trees surrounding the market were golden fairy lights making the entire place feel just that bit more magical.

"What are you thinking about getting?" Ty liked to ask questions. I wasn't used to being listened to and having someone want to know about me.

"Whats that smell?" I asked as the scent of strong spices wafted towards me.

"Uh, Indian, I think."

"I want whatever that is." I smiled. I sneakily followed the scent to a cart with a sign that read "Authentic Indian Cuisine".

"What can I get you?" A man with a strong British accent asked.

"Uh," I hummed as I looked over the foods displayed. All were a bright yellow or orange colour and looked delicious. "I'll have the Daal Ma-sah-la." I sounded out, hoping I wasn't sounding ignorant.

"Okay and what kind of rice?"

"Um," I mumbled. "Regular?" I didn't know there was other types.

The man at the cart looked a little bewildered before Ty spoke up, "Basmati." and the server seemed to know whatever that is. "And I'll have the butter chicken." He turned to me a smiled. "I'll pay."

"What?" I asked, but before I could argue he had already tapped his card to the  machine. We stepped out of the way and I turned to him. "I'll pay the $12 for my food. I have cash."

I opened up my wallet but Ty pushed it away. "Its fine." He insisted. "I want to be a gentleman."

"And what if I wanted to be the gentleman?"

"Well, you can pay for movie tickets, if you must." He smiled.

We grabbed our food once it was done and headed to an empty park bench where we sat side by side. Every now and then our knees touched and I felt my cheeks flush. I am very easily flustered.

My food was spicier than I was used to, but it tasted pretty good. When I took my last bite I looked up to Ty, who was smiling cheekily.

"What?" I asked.

"You have a little bit of Masala on the side of your mouth."

I grabbed a napkin and wiped over my mouth. "Thats not embarrassing." I mumbled sarcastically.

"Maybe you should practice getting the food in your mouth." He teased.

I smacked his shoulder playfully and shot back, "Maybe you should stop staring at my lips."

Ty's cheeks turned rosy under the amber lights and I caught his eyes dipping down to my lips once again. Our hands were half an inch from each other, and his fingers slowly reached over to rest atop mine. I flipped my hand and intertwined our fingers, his thumb falling on the back of my hand and stroking it lightly, sending my heart in a spiral.

"We should go see what's on at the cinema." He announced.

We threw out our rubbish from dinner and headed out of the park, my hand still in his.