for, lover (Completed; editing)

Chapter 65

"I was thinking I'd pick you up around 7:30? How does that sound?"

I keep the phone balanced between my shoulder and ear long enough for me to get a bottle of Gatorade out of the fridge. "Sounds good to me."

"Great!" Tony gushes. "I'll see you tonight." He hangs up abruptly.

I'm glad I've got something to look forward to and apparently he's just as excited as I am about our date. I even went out and bought a new dress for the occasion; one not too fancy but casual enough to wear just about anywhere.

I go light with the makeup and make sure my hair doesn't look too dingy like it has been thanks to me being at work all the damn time. I thought after becoming a manger I would be dealing with customers less because I wouldn't be on the floor as much. It turns out I'm just doing the same amount of time on the floor plus the bonus hours afterwards of being a manger. At least the pay is nice.

I know I've got a long way to go but I started a savings account to get a new car. Mom would be ecstatic to hear that I'm close to retiring Jackie. I'll wait to tell her when the time comes.

Maddy pokes her head in the bathroom where I'm finishing getting ready. "What time is Tony picking you up?"

"In like fifteen minutes."

She's got Lily resting in her arms. "Do you know where he's taking you?"

"Nope." I grab my phone from the counter and squeeze past her.

"Alright well be careful and safe." She says, motioning down towards the baby.

I laugh. "Goodnight."

Tony meets me at the door with a bouquet of roses in his hands.

"Oh my God, Tony." I giggle. "Let me put these in a vase real quick." I take them from his hands and walk to the kitchen to get them in water.

He remains standing at the door, waiting for me to come back. "You look great."

"You don't look so bad yourself."

He's in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white button up. His hair is freshly trimmed on the sides and he even went all out to trim his facial hair.

I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and follow him out to his car.

"Where's your truck?" I ask.

He's in a rental today. A really nice rental.

"It's in the shop. I'm using this one for now."

"They let you borrow a Tesla?"

Tony laughs and unlocks the doors. "It's my dad's actually."

His dad?
Tony has never once mentioned his parents. I assumed there was bad blood between them or something.

"Your dad owns a Tesla?"

"A car dealership." He corrects me.

"I never knew that."

I feel guilty not even asking about them. He knows all about my personal life, the relationship with my parents, my friendship with Maddy, and pretty much everything else. I don't even know his father's name.

He shrugs and climbs in the car, waiting for me to join him. I buckle up and lean my head back.

"Why is there tension now?" He asks.

"What? There's no tension." I rebuke.

"There's definitely tension. What are you thinking?"

"I just..." I suck in a breath. "I feel like I don't know anything about your personal life. We've been doing this thing for months. I should know more by now."

He nods slightly and pulls out of the apartment complex. "You never really asked."

"Yeah, I know. I'm asking now though."

He chuckles. "It's not a big deal. My life is pretty ordinary."

"That's always what unordinary people say."

"There really isn't much to it. My parents live in Chicago and run his dealership. My mom doesn't work but takes care of the grandkids all the time."

"Grandkids?"

"My sister. She has three kids; two girls and a boy."

I didn't know he had a sister.

"Okay, I'm the shittiest girlfriend on the planet." I mutter.

He takes a quick glance at me, beaming.

I look over. "What?"

"You said girlfriend." He says, still with a wide smile.

"Tony, don't be twelve. We've been dating for awhile."

"It's just nice to hear you say it." He reaches over the console and grabs my hand.

It feels weird saying it. I know it's not too soon and we're justified to be in a happy relationship, it just seems off.
I deserve to be with someone so it's not that.

I lean my head back and stare out the window as we enter downtown.

"I figure we'd grab dinner before the surprise." He says, pulling up to a Dairy Queen drive thru.

"Mmm this is romantic." I tease him.

He rolls down the window. "It's comfort food." He grins.

We get our food and continue back on the road. I watch the city disappear in the rear view mirror, keeping one hand holding onto the bag of food and the other holding onto Tony.

He takes a turn onto a dirt road and the familiarity starts to set in.
The trees bend overhead to shape the trail leading right out to the edge of the woods. Tony's truck is parked right at the end.

I raise my eyebrows. "I thought you said it was in the shop."

He chuckles. "I lied." He parks the car and climbs out, walking around to my side as I push the door open. "Wait here." He takes the bag of food and drinks from me and carries them over to the back of the truck, returning shortly to get me.

He extends his hand out for me and walks me over to the truck bed. The entire bed is covered in a velvet colored comforter, topped with synthetic rose petals and beige pillows. There's a neatly folded black blanket in the corner where he sat the food. Around the edges of the truck bed walls he's got strings of lights attached and a small battery powered lantern up against the window.

I look to him. "What is all this?"

"I just thought I'd bring you back to the place where I..." He exhales a deep breath he must have been holding in. "Fell in love with you."

I stare at him. My lips part slightly and he returns the gaze, anticipating what I'm going to say. "You didn't have to do all this..." I say softly.

He cracks a nervous smile. "I wanted to. C'mon." He climbs up and puts both of his arms out to help me up there.

It's way more comfortable than it looks. There's got to be a mattress topper or something under the blanket.

He slides off his shoes and sets them on top of the truck. I get my sandals off and do the same.

"This is really cute." I flash a smile and take a look around again.

Just like before, I can see the city lights from here.

"You're really special, Bree. You deserve to feel like you are too."

I face Tony in time for him to lean over and plant his lips to mine, moving slowly and trailing his hand down the side of my arm. My face heats up as he starts to push at my shoulder to lay me down. I force my hand forward between us and stop him. He opens his eyes, looking right down at me.

"The food is going to get cold." I mumble.

He clears his throat. "Right. Sorry." He sits up and reaches for the bag.