I'd Never Fall In Love Again.

Chapter 3.

After a few minutes drive they pull into the parking lot of Declans favorite ice cream shoppe, he has been coming to this one since he was a young child, he and his family have tried other places but to Declan none of them came close to being as good. So even though the date is supposed to be casual he already felt comfortable enough with Juliet to take her to one of his places. They walk up to the door, being the gentleman he is, Declan opens it for her and leads her to a booth in the corner so they could have some semblance of privacy in a public place. 

As they are talking a waiter comes over and leaves them with two menus to browse, without even looking at the menu Declan knew what he wanted, a sundae with everything on it, however Juliet, having never been here before took a bit longer and looking at the options, before deciding on a sundae with only fudge and strawberries on it. The waiter came back and they gave him their orders and Declan added on two Coca-Colas, the waiter took the order to the counter to put it in. As they are waiting on their ice creams they start talking about things they like and the things they dislike, turns out they have more in common than they originally had thought, while also disagreeing on some things, the perfect mix really, they somehow got on the topic of books, and that's how Declan found out that Juliet's favorite book was Mary Shelley's Frankenstien. He had never read the book himself but he listened to her ramble about it and watched her face light up as she did so.  

 Hearing that, in the back of his head, he decided he would read this book to try and see what she loved so much about it. Juliet then found out that Declan's favorite book he had ever read was The Great Gatsby, she thought he was basic for that answer but decided since she never read it she would give it a chance and judge him after. Their ice creams and pop had been served and they ate it contently as their conversation morphed from books too plays, about how Declan has never read or attended a play, Juliet being the play lover she is could not believe it and decided then that if this relationship kept up she was going to take him to a play. He asked her what her favorite play was and without hesitation she said Romeo and Juliet. She said she knew it was cheesy but she was named after the leading lady and really loved that. They were both laughing as she defended her choice but all he could think about was how much he loved her laugh and how he would not mind hearing that laugh for the rest of his life 

After a good bit of time talking they had finished their ice cream and pops and decided to take a walk before heading home. They did not talk for a while, but it was a comfortable silence, they both were just observing their surroundings, walking down the sidewalk of downtown Cleveland. The old oak tree, the taller city buildings, the street lamps lighting the way, the cracks in the sidewalk, the city smell, the clear winter sky full of stars, the chilling wind on their faces. Walking shoulder to shoulder, hands locked, both of them feeling the same thing, but neither of them admitting it out loud, an immediate sense of loving affection. Breaking the silence Declan decided he should tell her that he thought her eyes in the moonlight were the most captivating he had ever caught sight of.

They had been walking for an hour and started making their way back to Declan's car when he looked at his watch and noticed how late it had gotten over the course of their date. Once they made it to the car he opened her door for her and waited for her to get in before walking around to his own door. The drive home was once again in comfortable silence, enjoying the simple calmness of just being together. A couple minutes later they made it to the Dooley's house. Their first date ended with Declan walking her to the door and finally kissing her goodnight, walking away and leaving her stunned. She went inside, locked the door behind her and leaned against it for a couple minutes before taking her coat, boots, scarf and gloves off and walking upstairs to her room. She went to her dresser, took out pajamas and went to the bathroom she shared with Celia to change and get ready for bed. Juliet walked back to her room , opened her covers and flopped down on her bed then fell drifted off to sleep thinking about Declan.