In the Arms of the Enemy (Raph x OC)

Chapter 14

Esme's POV

I glanced down at my phone and double checked the text Raph had sent me the day before. I knew I was at the right place, but I couldn't help myself. This was our first official date after all.

I put my phone back in my purse before looking up at the abandoned building. I had taken an uber here because of the dress I was wearing; couldn't run across rooftops in this. I ran my fingers down the silky material of the dress I had gotten at the mall a few weeks ago with Karai. I knew it'd come in handy.

I took a deep breath, hyping myself up before pushing open the doors to reveal the large crystallized form of mutagen.

"Raph?" I called out, not sure where he was. A flickering of light caught my attention up on the balcony where Raph and I had run into each other last time. He must've been up there.

My heels clicked on the pavement as I went over to the ladder, making my way up. Heels ain't got nothing on me.

Ok, maybe I lied. I winced as I got to the top and had to resist the urge to rip the deathtraps off my feet. Why did they have to be so cute?

"She's here, go out there," I heard a voice whisper, not very quietly, which was followed by a few more voices that I had trouble making out. Upon looking up, that's when I noticed the set table with two plates covered by those fancy metal lids you see in movies. There were also some candles lit, a pitcher full of what I assumed was water, and some flowers.

"I felt my cheeks immediately turn to a tomato shade of red as my heart skipped a beat. I walked up to the table, smiling at the display when suddenly I heard someone step out of one of the side rooms behind me.

"Esme, hey I'm so sorry, I meant to greet you at the door, but we got caught up with setting this up," Raph began to explain as I turned around to face him. He stopped mid sentence, looking me up and down.

"Oh wow," he muttered, his eyes widening.

"You look beautiful," he started, but a few seconds later he seemed to realize what he said and his cheeks flared up.

"I mean you look very nice, that dress looks really good on you. I mean not to say nothing else looks good on you, it does, I just-" I giggled at his rambling.

"I should shut up now, shouldn't I?"

"No keep going, this is great for my ego," I teased, a smile on my face, not able to ignore how happy it made me to hear him call me beautiful.

"Haha, very funny," he replied sarcastically, a cheeky grin spreading across his face.

"Did you set this all up yourself?" I asked, motioning over to the table.

"April and the guys helped," he responded, "I'm sure you can tell, but I'm not very good at this kind of thing."

"I don't believe that," I responded, looking out at the blue, pink, and purple lights that scattered across the room. He picked a place that had meaning to us and set up a private romantic dinner. Maybe it wasn't his initial idea, but just the fact he asked others for help proves how much he wanted to make tonight special.

I glanced back over at him to see him observing me, probably taking the opportunity while I had been distracted.

"Well, hey, why don't we enjoy our food before it gets cold," he laughed nervously once he realized he had been caught.

"Yes, I'm starving," I said, heading over to my chair.

Raph's POV

"Now there are three things you need to remember about tonight," April said as I sat on the couch, hanging on to her every word. It seemed that the other guys were also listening in and taking notes in case they got lucky enough to end up on dates as well.