There's Always Second Chances

Chapter 30

"Hey Adrian!" called out Jess. I was staring at the mirror. Tying this tie was awful. I don't remember how to tie it. Amazing how I forgot in such a short time. You would've thought that having to tie a tie for school would've ingrained it into my mind. But no, I've forgotten already. 

"Yes Jess?" I asked. She opened my door and started laughing. "It's just dinner! You're too formal," she said laughing her butt off. I rolled my eyes and threw the tie down on the bed. I wouldn't bother with it anyway. "It's a date. Aren't you supposed to dress nice?" I asked. Jess rolled her eyes. 

She looked at my wardrobe for a minute and then back to me. "Yeah but no one wants to feel like it's a business dinner. Especially the girl." she spoke. Well she would know, she's a girl. I guess Nat didn't seem like the girl to dress smartly on a first date. We're just going for dinner. Nothing fancy. 

"Lose the blazer, roll your sleeves up," Jess instructed. I took off the blazer and rolled up my shirt sleeves. She unbuttoned the top 3 buttons and took a step back to admire her work. She stood on her tip toes and messed up my hair a little. "I spent ages on that," I complained. All she did was roll her eyes in response. 

"Relax, you're going for dinner with a girl, not royalty," she remarked, adjusting my attire slightly. After she was done, I picked up Naomi. "Daddy's going out tonight so be good for Nana," I cooed to her. We walked through the house until I found Mum sitting in the living room. I kissed Naomi goodbye before handing her off to my Mum. 

"Have a nice time Adrian," Mum spoke. I smiled and left the house. God I was so nervous. This is my first actual date ever. Delilah and I never really went out anywhere considering she thought everything was below her all the time. I refused to go to fancy dining places since it wasn't my sort of crowd. I shook my head. Stop thinking about her. She's nothing to you now. She can't harm you, she can't harm your friends, she can't harm Naomi. Just stop thinking about her. 

I drove for quite some time, the traffic lights being nice to me and staying green, before I pulled up outside of a restaurant. I walked inside and felt the nerves come crashing down at once. This is so weird. I'm not normally this nervous. Calm down Adrian, it's just a dinner. Just one dinner. You got this. Giving myself a mental pep talk was not easy. I didn't really know what to do in these situations. I never really thought about dating but here I was going on a date with a woman my own age. 

Shaking my head to get rid of any last minute worries and took a deep breath to calm myself. I mean who says guys don't get nervous before first dates. I walked inside and sat down at the reserved table. Should I get a drink? Should I wait? Should I get an alcoholic drink? I looked at the menu to pass the time. My leg, acting of it's own accord, starting bouncing under the table. A new habit I picked up by the end of school years ago. I just can't seem to kick it. I looked around at the other people. 

Everyone's enjoying their dinner with their respective partner or those who are just having business dinner. How should I act? What does she want to talk about? I had so many questions and not enough time to think about them. I looked up from the table and saw Natasha walking this way. Her red hair tied back precariously. It looked as though it was going to come out of whatever pins and bobbles were keeping it in place. 

The dress she wore was stunning but she looked a little uncomfortable. I stood up to greet her. "Adrian, hi." she said giving my arm a gentle squeeze. "Y-yeah, hi, let me get your chair for you." I responded. I guided her towards her chair and pulled it out for her. Once she sat down, I pushed her chair in and returned to my own. "I didn't think you'd actually agree to come here," Natasha stated leaning forward on her arms. 

I hummed in response trying to think of words to say. For the first time since crushing on Andrea, I'm stunned by the woman sat across from me. "Why wouldn't I?" I asked. I didn't understand. She wanted to repay me somehow and a date seemed like a good idea at the time. "Most guys look at me and think I'm a little crazy. I mean I have wild red hair and a brash attitude as most would say and no one seems to be interested," she started. I presume she must've gotten a lot of stares when she moved here.