Stevie took one last look in the mirror, fixed a loose strand of hair then sprayed her favorite perform on. She took a deep breath and opened the door of her room to head out. There was nothing to be nervous about, but she was. Maybe she was excited more than anything else. She lost count of how many dates she and Lindsey had been on already, but somehow, she still felt like it was going to be their first every single time.
"You're going out?" Jennifer spoke up from the living room having heard Stevie's footsteps.
"Yeah." Stevie nodded, she stopped on her way and leaned against the doorway. "You're eating a tub of ice cream and watching trashy reality TV?"
Jennifer gave her a narrowed eye look. "You don't have to throw it in my face, you know. I'm glad you've met the man of your dreams, but some of us aren't so lucky."
"Aw, I'm sure he's out there." Stevie teased, ruffling Jennifer's hair, which she did not like at all.
"Should I wait up for you?" Jennifer asked hopefully, but the apologetic look on Stevie's face gave her the answer she had already expected. "Just go." She rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh.
Lindsey was already waiting outside, leaning against his car. He kept checking his watch, wondering if maybe he'd come too early. For a short second, he thought that Stevie had changed her mind, but then he smiled, seeing her coming his way.
"Hey." Stevie waved first, then gave him a quick peck on the lips.
"Hello." Lindsey reached for her hand and lifted her arm up to spin her around. "Whew!" He whistled. "And what are you doing, going out with me, again?"
"Oh, stop." Stevie cast her eyes down, if not for her makeup, he would have seen her blushing.
"You look gorgeous." Lindsey touched the side of her face and tilted her chin up. "Every single time I see you."
"Liar."
"Am not." Lindsey shook his head, kissing her again. "We should go, we'll be late for our reservation."
They chatted about nothing important on the way. Well, Stevie did mostly, Lindsey just listened, but he didn't complain. He adored how quickly she could get carried away. If anything he found it endearing. However, he was actually too nervous to speak for once. He had the same thought on his mind for a while now and for whatever reason, tonight felt like the night.
"Everything looks so good." Stevie said, looking over the menu. Lindsey stayed quiet, wondering if there was a way to make his heart stop beating so fast. "What's up with you?"
"Wha- oh nothing." Lindsey shook his head and forced a smile. "Just trying to figure out what I wanna eat."
"Nine times out of ten you order the biggest piece of meat they offer, so..." Stevie shrugged making him laugh and his heart melt.
"Have you decided yet?" Lindsey asked, his eyes had wandered off to the wine selection.
"Yeah, I think, I'll have the chicken." Stevie put the menu down and noticed how tense he'd become out of nowhere. "Lindsey."
"Mm?" He didn't look up.
"Lindsey." She said his name again and he looked at her, swallowing uneasily. "What's going on? You're starting to worry me."
"I'm fine, really." He swore and locked eyes with a waiter.
With their order placed, Lindsey shifted his gaze, his eyes focused on everything but Stevie. She felt like he was holding something back, which now made her nervous, too. They remained quiet until the waiter returned with the wine. A glance at Stevie's face and Lindsey could tell he'd made her uncomfortable. Screw it.
"I want us to be official."
"What?" Stevie's eyebrows creased at his sudden declaration.
"I want us to be a couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend, all that crap." Lindsey added, wiping a thin layer of sweat off his forehead.
Stevie bit into her bottom lip and leaned in closer, she covered his hand with her own. "Were you being weird because you were afraid to ask me?"
"Yes." Lindsey was annoyed with himself that it turned out to be much harder than he had expected. "I'm not good at this, you know. I-"
"I'd say, you're pretty damn good at this." Stevie smiled, brushing her thumb over his knuckles. "You can relax. In my mind, we've been dating for weeks now." She added with a laugh and he breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to squeeze out a sincere smile.
