Consider Yourself Lucky

Four

We are in the car for half an hour before we pull into a parking lot. There aren't many cars, especially for a Saturday night. As we get out of the car and walk towards the restaurant, Collin grabs my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. The night has barely started but I already feel butterflies in my stomach.

He opens the door for me like the charming gentleman he is. "I hope you're hungry."

"Starving." I hope the food is better than the tuna salad I had for lunch. I can't take another stomachache. We walk in towards the greeting booth.

"Reservation under David, please. Party of two." He squeezes my hand tight.

The hostess grabs two menus and some silverware. "Would you prefer to dine inside or on our outside patio?"

"On the patio, please." What patio? I didn't see any outside dining from the parking lot.

"Of course. Right this way." She leads us to through the restaurant to the opposite side of the building. As we step outside, I am in disbelief. I didn't know we would be dining on the water, right after the sun goes down. The skyline is a pinkish orange. Exquisite. We take our seats at the table. As we get settled in, our waitress comes to our table.

"Hi, my name is Cindy and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you started with any drinks?" I haven't even had time to take a look at the drink menu.

"We'll take a bottle of champagne and a couple waters, thank you." The waitress nods her head and walks back inside.

"How did you find this place? I've never heard of it." On the back patio there are little white fairy lights hanging all around. There's light music playing but I can't make out what genre. It almost sounds classical. Grandma would love this place.

"I do my research. So, how do we start this off? When is your birthday? What is your favorite color? Celebrity you would sell your soul to meet?" Basic but important questions. I like the way he thinks.

"My birthday is April 20th, my favorite color is emerald green, and Jennifer Aniston. Your turn."

"Ah, you hit me with an Uno Reverse card. Um, January 15th, Adam Sandler, and before tonight my favorite color was red but now, I think I'm more of a light blue kind of guy." He blushes.

I look over the menu and I'm flabbergasted by the prices. Surely the floral business is something he's good at if he can afford prices like this. Parmesan shrimp sirloin, roasted red pepper and artichoke stuffed chicken. I don't know what to choose. Cindy comes back with our drinks and asks if we're ready to order.

"Do you know what you want?" Very funny. I haven't even gotten halfway through the menu.

"Um, maybe I need a couple more minutes." I shyly smile at her.

"No problem hun. I'll be back in a few."

"If it's any consolation, you can never go wrong with chicken broccoli alfredo." He's right. I do love pasta. And chicken. And broccoli. Especially doused in alfredo sauce.

"Then I will be more than happy to try the alfredo."

"I think I'll go with the same. Did you want any sides? There's cheesy breadsticks, garlic bread, regular bread with butter."

"Garlic bread sounds good. The more garlicky my breath is, the higher the chance you won't want to kiss me on the first date."

"I wouldn't exactly say that." He looks at me with those big hazel eyes. Almost a puppy dog begging for attention. Did he plan on kissing me? I don't know if I'm ready for that. Then again, I haven't been kissed since high school. I'm even still a vir-.