Kessie's Short Stories

Date Night

Originally written 2/16/2022

Normally, the fact that her face was already in a displeased frown was a cause for concern. The waiters had been rather nice so far. Neither of them could deny that their server was pretty cute as well. It wasn't enough to make her annoyed on that alone. Something else was on her mind.

"If I knew this place didn't have any booth seats, I wouldn't have made the reservation here." she finally said, almost in a hiss.

"I don't mind it." he replied. He looked over at her and could feel his heart beat a bit faster. "The view from my end is very captivating."

She gave him a long, exaggerated whine. "Oh good god. At least let me order the wine first."

He gave her a wide grin in return. There was no shame to be held here tonight.

"Besides," he said, still in the mood to harass her, "You only want a booth seat so we can sit next to each other. Then you can just lay on me once you're filled with food. Right before you swear you can't eat dessert."

"I don't do that." she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"You do. I notice those things, you see."

"As long as you're noticing something." she huffed, rolling her eyes before looking over the menu. Meanwhile, the grin on his face had yet to leave.

She'd have to order for the both of them, because his attention kept drifting to how beautiful she looked. What separated a general night out with an actual date night was the way she did her hair. He could already see that she had placed multiple braids in her curly ebony hair into a large, flat bun at the center of her head. Not a single hair out of place indicated hours of hard work, cursing, and a bit of hairspray. It was going to be a pain and a half getting that 'do undone if they went back to her place. Which meant that she was going to be relentless in the moments leading up to it, should it happen.

He didn't look too bad himself tonight either. He had always made an effort to look his best when they went out, though. If only the lightning would cooperate with him more. It made his blonde hair look more orange-brown, and completely mudded his light tanned skin. A part of her was internally grateful that he didn't look too much like his father. That jawline might put him into trouble a few years from now, and the way their faces soured was like looking in a mirror. But otherwise there was good room for deniability. She clung to that deniability. It was the only thing she had to stop herself from leaving him.

However, the moment she thought about that stupid senator, her mood started to shift. She didn't let it show as she ordered their appetizer and first course. She even tried really hard to just focus on him. He was her only priority right now- not his manipulative old man. Despite her best efforts, he could tell that something was bothering her when the soup came around. She gave the server a polite nod before immediately starting to it. He titled his head at her as he reached for his own spoon.

"You've gotten quiet." he noted, not meaning any harm. "Usually you say something like, 'this soup is lukewarm, it must have been the bottom of the pot' or 'a bit nutty, but it'll do, I suppose.'"

She gave him a small grin. Her finger started to absently swirl around her glass as she mulled over her next move. There was no point in hiding it, was there? He's gotten pretty good at reading her. Even then, he was going to hear her tapping her foot and realize something was wrong anyway. Might as well cut to the chase.

"What would you do if you found out I was lying?"

The question, along with the wary glance upward, immediately sent a chill up his spine. Something was terribly wrong. And at first, he didn't quite know how to respond. The sudden meekness meant that she wasn't trying to fish for the wrong answer. She was being genuine.

"Well..." he warily started, "Full offense, but you already lie a lot. To anyone. About anything. If you want my honest answer, you have to be more specific."

It was her struggling silence that sparked a small sense of fear in him. What was she holding back? Could he dare to press an answer even though doing so would make her clam up? He didn't want to see her shut him out over the very thing she needed to get off her chest.

"Put it this way," she decided with a heavy sigh, "if I go down a dark path, and lose what little dignity I've got because of it, would you still be my light back?"

"Of course!" he immediately said. He hadn't meant to also slam his hands down on the table, but the loud whack nearly drew their server's attention. "Why wouldn't I?"

She only gave him a wry half smile, refusing to look at him as she took a long sip from her wine glass. He noticed with an acute awareness that she purposely set the glass back down with a steady hand.

"There's a lot of stuff about you that annoys me, you know." she told him. "But that loyalty of yours... Your drive to believe in the impossible... It's... pretty nice."

"And here I thought you liked me for my tongue."

The look she gave him almost made him give an unflattering snort. Her genuine 'what on earth are you talking about?' expression was honestly one of her lesser used ones. It was almost as rare as him standing his ground enough to see red. When she finally gathered that he was just messing with her, a cunning smirk etched itself onto her lips.

"I suppose that tongue of yours is also a bonus." she agreed. "Do you think you'll be using it tonight? It's been a pretty long week."

His heart threatened to accelerate out of his chest as a broad grin appeared on his face.

"Will you let me?"

She didn't answer. Her dark eyes glittering with lustful amusement spoke for her.

. . .

"You smile more when you're buzzed."

She snorted. It was a small distraction from the fact that she somehow couldn't find her keys in her small pocketbook. Little did that lovely moron know that his presence already made her feel light. Alcohol was just a bounce card.

"You're just jealous that you can't hold your liquor." she shot back from over her shoulder. She could hear him give a little hum before his lips nuzzled her neck. The light inside her only grew.

She fumbled around a few minutes more before finally finding the keys. She stuck them in her lock, gestured for him to go in first, and they entered her apartment without so much alerting the neighbors. After locking the door, she turned around to see him patiently waiting for her. A small smile crossed her lips before rushing at him. She jumped into his arms, almost taking him by surprise, before peppering the side of his face with kisses.

"Do you even remember where my bed is?" she teased- her voice barely above a whisper as her lips grazed his earlobe.

"I think making it there would be the bigger challenge." he teased right back. He started to move toward the bedroom regardless. "Might throw my back out."

"Poor baby." she whispered as she buried her head into his neck. "Remind me to add more cardio to your exercise routine. You've got the time now."

That was when a certain pang hit the back of his head; a very swift, anxious reminder of other matters at hand. But this wasn't the time for that. He had to shove it down. At least for now. He owed them both that much.

He almost couldn't carry her all the way to her room. The door just wasn't going to cooperate for a split second. His frustrations came out in a small growl- which in turn nearly made him drop her because of her unintentional squirming. It was an immediate relief when he was able to toss her onto the bed. He looked at her sprawled form with a new round of admiration taking over his mind. The soft expression she gave indicated her own thoughts.

"I love you." he breathlessly admitted before giving her a passionate kiss.

Her content sigh was the only response he needed.