The girl from school

Chapter 5

Eventually, Bella and I went out to our usual café, the one on the walk home from the university. Even though we had been there many times before, this time was a first. A first date. I ordered my usual, and she got her ice coffee. I also bought her a profiterole, a little cream filled pastry ball. We talked for a while about just random crap, really, but when we talked about crap, we talked for ages, and she made it enjoyable. We could discuss just about anything, and it would be interesting.
"Imagine if someone invented a mug that made the coffee, instead of a separate plunger/machine," said Bella, "how cool would that be!" As usual now, I had to play the role of the realist and explain to her how it wouldn't be possible. I wasn't trying to ruin her dreams, and afterwards we always laughed about it anyway.
"How could that possibly work?" I asked
"Well you could have, like, the coffee in the... umm... " she started stuttering
"Well like the... ok maybe not then" she said, and we both cracked up laughing.
"Hey, you know what I just remembered?" Bella said to me, getting overexcited,
"What've you just remember?" I said, feigning disinterest, when really I wanted to find out what she had to say.
"Remember that 'Adventures Book' we created, with a list of all the things we were going to do once we grew up.
"Yeah I remember that, sucks that we don't have it anymore, I'd love to do some of those." I said, feeling nostalgic, and sad, of the times we had during high school
"Well, Mark, that's were your wrong, i found it." she said, smiling a wild ear to ear smile.
"Bella oh my god, we need to see this," I said, as I started to clean up the giant mess on our table, Bella and I had been playing with the sugar and salt sachets. Deep down, I will always be a kid, everyone else has to learn to deal with it. "Should we go down to your place now and check it out?" I asked
"Yeah, that actually sounds like a great idea." She said, as she began to grab her purse out of her bag, and I cut her short
"Bella, I'm paying." I said, firmly
"But Mark, you paid last time and I dont..."
"Bella, I'm still paying." I said, physically putting my foot down, in a joking way, but still serious about paying.
"Ugh fine fine, whatever." she said, putting her purse back in her bag. I payed for the coffee and food, and we soon made our way to her house, walking down our usual route. Eventually we made it to her house, and she disappeared off to grab the book. After about a minute, she reappeared holding an old notes book, out 'Adventures Book'. I know it's sounds childish, and something out of a movie, but we couldn't think of any other names. A lot of the things we wanted to do were well thought through things.
"Here, this one looks cool, remember it?" She asked, pointing towards one of our very first ideas.
"Go to an airport on the weekend and buy the cheapest ticket to anywhere, and just wing it. That would've been amazing, too bad we never got around to it." I said,
"Hey, are you free next weekend?" She asked, her face covered in a curious expression.
"Yeah I'm not doing anything, why?" I asked, curious
"Well I was thinking, maybe we could do one of these 'Adventures' as a date, perhaps?" She asked
"That sounds like a great idea, but to do that we will have to pick one out first" I said, laughing quietly, with Bella joining me with a chuckle.
"How about this one?" She said, pointing towards one where you go into the city with only $200 to spend, and stay overnight.
"How about we start off with something a little less financially demanding?" I said, putting on a posh accent toward the end of the statement, squeezing one of Bella's cute laughs out of her.
"Here," I say, "what about this one?" I say, pointing out the to the cliché (but great) movie night in.
"That actually sounds like a great idea, and for a change, why don't we have it at your place? Please." She asked, pleading me with her puppy dog face, and extending the 'e' in please. we never really hung out at my apartment. it was nothing compared to Bella's house. While she had rich parents, all I had was myself. My dad left us when I was 7, he said he went out to get some fresh air, but he never came back. My mum had always worked hard to support our family, and be the father me and my sister never had. Only once I had grown up had I fully realised everything she had sacrificed for me. Since I moved out, I still visited my mum often and gave her money when she needed it, even when she refused.
"Mark?" Asked Bella, realising I had begun lost deep in my thoughts.
"Hey sorry," I said, waking up, "we'll do it next weak yeah?" I asked
"Yeah, it sounds like a great idea" she said "but for now, I think we should get going" she said nuzzling her head into my chest, telling me to leave but wanting me to stay
"Bella," I said, brushing her hair behind her ears, "I've still got time," I said, smiling into her hair, resting my head on hers. For a good minute or two, we just stood there, resting on each other, but the whole time it wasn't awkward at all, even feeling natural. Eventually when I did have to leave, after we finally pulled away from each other, and I made my way to the door. We embraced in a hug, which developed into a small kiss, and I eventually left her house, pulling out of her driveway.