Social Media is FAKE • Q. Hughes

•T W E NT Y - T W O•

NOLEE's POV
"Where are we going?" I asked Quinn, following him down the street.

"Well first we are going to paint some pottery." He smiled, opening the door of an art studio for me.

I followed him inside and we each picked out a plate, a bowl and a mug to paint. We both sat down at a table ready to paint.

I decided I would do small flowers on my large plate, so I sat down, and got to work. I looked up at Quinn and noticed he had picked out Canucks colors.

"Wow you must be a huge Canucks fan." I laughed, pointing to his works.

"Yeah actually I'm a super fan." He laughed.

"You should paint a whale." I told him, thinking of Finn, the Canucks mascot.

"I would, but I'm not that artistic." He told me.

"I'll do it." I told him.

"Ok." He smiled, continuing to paint his mug.

We sat and chatted as we painted, laughing when either of us messed up or made something look funny. It was really fun and honestly a perfect first date. An hour later the staff had wrapped up our pottery and we were on our way.

Quinn held open my door for me. I climbed in and he handed me the pottery. "Thanks."

"Of course." He said, placing a kiss on my lips. He walked around the car and climbed into the drivers seat. He pulled out of the parking lot and turned towards center city, away from his apartment.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Well now I'm taking you out to dinner." He smiled.

I looked over at him and watched as he drove. He looked over at me then back at the road.

"What?" He asked me.

"I don't know." I giggled. "I just like watching you drive."

"Well I like watching you." He smiled, looking over at me. He reached across the center console and placed a hand on my thigh. I felt little fireworks set off below me, his hand lighting up my skin.

I smiled to myself as he pulled into an open street spot. "Wait here." He told me and jumped out of the car. He came around to my side and opened up my door. "There's a puddle."

I laughed as he picked me up and easily lifted me over and onto the side walk. "You didn't have to do that." I giggled.

"Well I can't have you walking in possibly dirty, dangerous waters." He smiled, taking my hand and walking me towards the restaurant. It was small, but upscale, definitely a classic. You can tell this place was loved just by walking into the dining area. The atmosphere was nice and welcoming, and it smells amazing.

We sat down at a booth in a quiet corner across from each other. "So this is a wood fired pizza place. I actually called Bo and asked him where he took Holly on their first date and he told me to take you here."

I saw a light blush creep across his face even in the low lighting. "You called Bo?" I asked him.

"Of course. He always knows what to do. And I wanted this to be perfect and every date depends on how good the food is." He smiled at me.

"Oh so a date can be ruined if the food is shit?" I laughed, looking over the menu.

"Maybe, but not with you." He smiled. "You can make everything better."

I blushed at his words, a smile made its way onto my lips. I hid behind my menu, wanting to cover up my reaction to his sweet words.

He reached over and pulled the menu down to see my face. "Don't hide from me."

"But you're making me blush." I smiled.

"Well isn't that a good thing?" He asked me, moving his hand to hold mine.

"Yes, but it's a little embarrassing." I chuckled. "I'm twenty two and I'm blushing on a first date."

"Oh do you have a crush?" He smirked.

"Maybe." I told him.

"You can tell me, I'm good at keeping secrets." Quinn smiled.

"It's a little ridiculous, he's a professional hockey player, a captain actually." I smiled at him.

"Really?" He smirked again, wanting me to say his name.

"His name is Quinn Hughes." I grinned, holding his hand as he rubbed his thumb over my knuckles.

"I think I've heard of him. He's really lucky." Quinn said, looking at me.

"Well, I'm on a date with him right now." I flirted.

"Well then I can confirm he is the luckiest man in the world." Quinn flirted back, looking into my eyes.

The waiter appeared and Quinn ordered us a bottle of wine and a pizza to share. We talked over the wine, conversation flowing easily. He told me stories about his brothers growing up and how much he loved having siblings. He let me ask him questions about growing up with siblings since I never had any and he tells me about life on the road. He asked me about traveling for work and about being my own boss. He wanted to know about the process of sending in designs and advertising them.

"Dinner was delicious." I told him. "Thank you."

"Of course." He said as we walked hand in hand down the street. There was a light snow falling as we walked, lit up by the Vancouver street lights. He stopped walking and I turned to look at him.

"So No, I know you're leaving tomorrow and I'll see you in a few months, but I was wondering if you would be willing to make it official and be my girlfriend?" He asked me, holding both of my hands.

A smile spread across my face as I held his hands tighter. "Yes yes yes of course yes!" I smiled, leaning in to place a kiss on his lips. I held my hands on the sides of his cheeks, holding his face close to mine. He relaxed and held me close, looking into my eyes. "What?"

"I was nervous." He laughed, hugging me.

"Why would you be nervous?" I asked him.

"I don't know, I feel like people don't ask people to be their girlfriends anymore." He laughed. "Plus it's our first official date."

"I would've said yes even if you asked me in bed this morning." I laughed.

"Well I did give you a warning." He laughs, referring to his drunk words last night.

"And I would've said yes then." I smiled, pulling him in for a kiss again.