A Hiccstrid Story

Chapter 21

The night after the fundraiser, Astrid was sitting in her room reading the article that had been published about an hour earlier. She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans with a light blue blouse and had a black leather jacket on the back on her chair. Astrid was basically ready to go out on the date with Hayden tonight. All that was needed was to put her shoes on and then she'd be ready. She was excited for the date as it was her second chance at love with the man that was responsible for setting her on the path in she was on. It also felt right.

With Erick the relationship had been satisfactory and loving but it had also felt like something was missing. Like a piece of her was gone but she didn't know what. Since she had returned home though and recovered her memories, Astrid realised that the missing piece was no longer missing. Every moment with Hayden just made her feel as if this was where she was supposed to be. With the person she was supposed to be with. Having spent time with Hayden, her forgotten feelings had resurfaced and she had realised that this was what she needed. The sparks she felt with Hayden were things she hadn't felt with anyone else, including Erick.

Astrid leaned back in her chair and thought about the previous evening when her friends and parents had found out about the date. It was a lot of excitement and fussing with her mum almost fainting from the news. The girls had asked a million and one questions about the reunion, the sleeping over and the fundraiser. They had gushed and squealed with excitement as she had answered them all. Eventually, her parents had joined in asking the questions while they ate pizza and laughed about things long since forgotten.

Smiling, she checked her watch a noticed that it was about time for her date. She got up from her desk after closing the laptop and pulled her leather jacket over her shoulders before grabbing her purse and walking downstairs. The plan was to meet Hayden in town, have a nice meal then it was unknown. Hayden had told her that he'd plan and sort something so she was excited to see what the unknown would bring. No matter what happened, she knew that she'd enjoy herself. Images of past dates had been running through her mind since they'd agreed on it and it reminded her just how good at planning things he was.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she looked to find that no one was in the living room. Astrid dismissed it, she knew that Theo and Heather would likely be asleep due to Heather getting tired easier as the pregnancy progressed. Mable and Natalie were likely gossiping about how her date would go tonight and her parents said something about going out so they had probably done that. She smiled as she saw a picture of the family on the wall opposite the stairs while putting her shoes on. It won't take me long to get to the meeting point.

With that thought in mind, Astrid left the house and hopped into one of the rentals. She paused for a moment as she questioned whether this was actually a good idea. I mean their relationship hadn't worked before, why would it now? Pushing these thoughts aside, she rationalised that it only hadn't worked because of the injury. With her mind set, Astrid started the engine, put the vehicle into drive and began her journey into town. The meeting point was set for a restaurant in the centre of town called "A Piece of Italy". It was a new place she didn't recognise but had only heard good things about.

After a short 10 minute drive, Astrid pulled into a spot to see Hayden's car already in the car park. She got out of the car but saw he wasn't in his. With only one other place to look, Astrid made her way to the front of the restaurant where she spied Hayden standing next to the hostesses stand. Pushing the door open, Astrid walked in with a smile on her face, "hey Hayden." At the mention of his name, he turned and smiled as she saw her. "Astrid, you look amazing" he complimented which caused a slight blush to appear on her face. "Thank you, as do you" she countered, "is our table ready." Hayden nodded and led her over to a two person table that was in a secluded corner of the place.