forever n then some

chapter 20

dalton's pov

"would it be too cliche if we matched clothes a little?" ariana asks through the phone.

"i'm wearing a black hoodie if that helps at all"

"hmm lemme see"

i begin to hear the faint shuffling of clothes, realizing she's probably getting dressed.

"uh- should i call you back?"

"noo please stay on i need company. at least you can talk back to me unlike toulouse- actually i take that back, man if toulouse could talk he would be a total bitch i swear"

"he's not that bad" i refute.

"he bit you TWICE the first time you came over"

"but he's such a sweetheart with you"

"...true toulouse can be a sweetie if he wants to be" barking echos in the background making us both laugh.

ariana's stories accompanied by her adorable impression of her nonna keeps us occupied until i make it to her house. i knock on the door and frankie lets me in with a surprised look on his face.

"last thing i heard was that you two weren't a thing anymore" he says, leading me to the living room.

"we're starting over and seeing how it goes"

"i'm glad. these past 3 weeks she's been doing nothing but moping around the house or going to the studio by herself. this morning she randomly texted me 'i love you frankie!' i thought something was wrong" he laughs with a slightly concerned tone.

the feeling of guilt rises in my body. "really?"

i should've tried harder to see her.

toulouse runs into the room allowing me to refocus my worries and avoid having to continue that conversation with her brother. "hey buddy still hate me?" i crouch down and get a few pets in before he starts growling. "i guess so"

"at least he didn't bite you this time" ariana quips walking in. "hi dalton"

"hey ari..." my voice trails off as i look up. she's really the most beautiful thing i've seen. "...you look nice."

nice?  why'd i say nice? "you look nice" dumbass.

"nice? that's it? i matched our outfits and everything!" she huffs and puts her hands on her hips.

"n- no i didn't mean it like that-"

"it's fine it's fine i was kidding. you look great..."

frankie clears his throat to get our attention and i realize that we've been staring and smiling at each other like idiots for way longer than anyone should.

"shit i'm sorry, hi frankie i forgot you were coming to watch the dogs" ariana goes over and gives him a hug. "thank you i know i asked last minute"

"it's okay! as long as you guys have a great time it's all worth it"

"should we probably leave then? i think it's getting to close to when i set the reservation." ariana nods and we say bye to frankie before walking out the door.

ariana's pov

dalton told me on the way that this restaurant is owned by his good friend from college. i'll have to admit i'm kinda nervous since this is our first official date.

"hey D!" a man comes up to us as we walk through the door.

"jordan! how are you doing?" dalton says.

"good good" he turns to me. "and of course welcome ariana."

"nice to meet you" i grin.

"we got you two a booth in the back. ill get a waiter over to you shortly."

once he walks away, dalton puts his arm around my lower back. i think he's trying to be subtle about it but it's too late now. i look up at him and giggle.

"what's so funny?" he asks smiling.

"oh nothinggg" i say, turning to face him and put my arms around his waist.

i lift my gaze, finding myself staring at his lips. becoming embarrassed i quickly push off of his body. i'm getting ahead of myself it's way too soon for us to just jump back to where we were. but damn i would do anything to be able to kiss him again. dalton looks at me confused and opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted by the waiter offering to take us to our table.

"you like harry potter right?" he asks once we get seated and order our food.

"it's one of my favorite things ever created hell yeah"

"i don't think i've ever watched or read it in my life. never really understood the hype behind it" he shrugs.

"you're kidding" my jaw drops. "now we have to watch every single movie and read all the books together- okay maybe not all the books.. but most of them! ahh i'm so excited i can't wait to see what house you're in.. " i continue talking until i notice that our food is in front of us and dalton is laughing. my face immediately flushes. "...sorry"

"you don't have to keep apologizing..."

"sorr-"

he lifts my chin and cuts me off with a kiss. if we weren't in public i would let him take me right then and there.

"i've been wanting to do that all night" he chuckles scratching the back of his head.

"me too" i blush.

dalton pulls me in closer and we make out for only god knows how long. when our lips finally part i can't seem to stop myself from smiling so much my cheeks hurt.