A Sky Full of Stars

8. First Dates

"You kissed him!"

Emilia smiled at Angelina and nodded her head. Angelina squealed.

"I want to know what happened last night!"

The bed groaned as Emilia shifted her weight. Angelina got off the floor and sat next to Emilia.

"I saw ye two getting down! Don't deny it. You were awfy close to 'em. And you kissed!" Angelina loudly said.

"We got drinks and he took me to the dance floor. We danced, and I took a risk," Emilia said.

"The risk looked like it paid off, innit? He looked like he was sucking yer face."

Emilia slapped Angelina. "He was not sucking my face!"

Angelina giggled and stood up. "Do you mind if I use your shower? I need a shower whenever I go out. It makes me feel cleaner."

"Go ahead."

Angelina thanked Emilia and grabbed some clothes. She left the bedroom, walked to the bathroom, and closed the door. Emilia heard the sound of running water. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand.

Last night's messages flooded her phone. Emilia quickly scrolled through the messages and noticed a few from Logan. Her heart was pounding as she opened the message. She quickly read through the texts before taking a deep breath and thinking about what she wanted to say.

From Logan: Last night was truly something! I guess the rumours of us becoming a couple have officially come true. Let's have our first official date tonight, so we can make it official official.

Emilia squealed and whispered her thoughts to herself. She wanted to craft the perfect response, but also didn't want to sound too impatient or too excited. Her mind was racing as she typed her response, deleted it, and then typed some more.

She deleted the message entirely and slowly typed out a response. After writing some sentences, she read the message to herself. She wrote some more, stopped again to read, and then wrote some more. She quickly proofread the text to make sure it sounded good, and holding her breath, she sent the message.

From Emilia: Last night was amazing! I guess the cat is out of the bag. Where do you want to go tonight? A part of me wants to try Haggis, but I'm too scared.

The breath she held in slowly left her lungs. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she awaited Logan's reply. Every message sent her scrambling to unlock her phone, so she can see who sent it. To clear her mind, Emilia started getting dressed.

After an eternity, she heard her phone ding. Emilia held her breath as she unlocked her phone. She read Logan's response and giggled to herself. She heard a knock on the door, and Angelina opened the door.

"You look happy," Angelina said as she walked in.

"Logan and I are chatting. We're planning our first official date," Emilia excitedly said.

"What did he say?"

Emilia unlocked her phone and read the message to Angelina. "You need to try Haggis and become a real Scottish lass! There's tons of pubs in Glasgow where we can get ginger and Haggis. I'll pick you up around 6:15."

"That's my girl!" Angelina said.

Emilia proudly smiled.

"I guess I'm spending the afternoon with you!" Angelina said. "We have to make you look like a true bonnie!"

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Emilia sat outside her house and waited for Logan to arrive. She fiddled with her purse and anxiously thought about what the night would bring. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Logan's car pull into the driveway. She got up and walked to his car.

"Hi luv," Logan said as she got in.

"Hi!" Emilia said.

When Emilia was strapped in, Logan backed the car out of her driveway and drove. All of her rides with Logan were filled with stories from work and school, but not today. Today's car ride was filled with silence. The butterflies danced even harder in Emilia's stomach.

Logan pulled the car into a parking lot. A small pub sat on the side of the road and was surrounded by trees. Behind the pub was an open field filled with trees. In the distance were the Scottish midlands covered by fog.

Logan got out of the car, and walked around to Emilia. He opened the car door and offered his arm. Emilia smiled and nestled her hand in the crook of his arm. They both walked to the pub.

The pub was small, made of brick, and shaped like Hagrid's hut from Harry Potter. Logan opened the door. Emilia thanked him by nodding her head. Inside, the pub was small and cozy. A group of older gentlemen sat at the bar and shouted at anything and everything. Logan placed his hand on Emilia's back and guided her towards a table.

The table sat in front of a fireplace, and a fire was lit. Emilia sat down and Logan sat across from her. Two menus and silverware rested on the table. Emilia grabbed a menu and looked for Haggis. She also picked a Kopparberg cider.

"Are ya ready to order?" Logan asked.

"I am," Emilia said. "Haggis and a Kopparberg."

Almost a true Scottish lass!" Logan said. "Next time, you have to try Irn Bru."

Logan kissed Emilia on the top of her head, and walked to the bar to order. The butterflies continued their dance in Emilia's stomach. She hadn't gone on a date in years. As Logan walked back to their table, Emilia took a deep breath.

Showtime.

"You look beautiful," Logan said.

"Thank you," Emilia said. "You look handsome."

Both sat in silence. A waitress brought their drinks to the table. Emilia quietly thanked her and took a sip of her drink. The courage Emilia had yesterday came back with each sip.

"I had fun yesterday," Emilia said. "Going out was amazing."

"It was fun!"

They sat in silence again. Thoughts raced in Emilia's mind as she tried to find another topic to think about. She fiddled with her drink before taking another sip. Each sip from the Kopparberg gave her more courage and she took a leap of faith.

"You know everybody's going to give us shit now that we're together officially," Emilia said. "Imagine telling them our introduction story. We've been friends since I arrived in Scotland, and then I ask you out by kissing you."

"That takes guts though," Logan said.

Emilia thought back to last night. Her heart pounded as she stayed with Logan and even more when she kissed him. She nearly exploded when Logan kissed her back. "It does. I was so nervous when I kissed you. I thought you wouldn't kiss me back."

"You definitely surprised me!" Logan said. "When we kissed, it was-"

Plates of food lowered onto the table. Logan ordered fish n' chips. Emilia's haggis was wrapped in a green, hard case and had a side of mashed potatoes and turnips. Emilia took her fork and gently jabbed the green case. The case didn't open, so she grabbed a knife and cut it. The case split open, and minced meat filled with onion and carrots spilled out.

Emilia scooped a handful onto her fork and took a bite. The haggis tasted very meaty and had a slight metallic flavor, yet also had some sweetness.

"You were saying?" Emilia asked.

"Oh yeah. The kiss was unexpected, but it also felt right. Like everything stopped and I forgot where I was. You sure I haven't snogged you before?"

Emilia melted at his words. She lowered her gaze, so she could hide her red face. She continued eating her dinner.

"How's yer dinner?" Logan asked.

"It's good actually. I didn't think I would like it but it's growing on me," Emilia said. "I imagine the fish n' chips are good, yes?"

Logan nodded his head with a mouth full of food. Emilia giggled.

Logan swallowed his food and then spoke, "So Emilia. Even though I know almost everything about you, I want to know even more."

"I'm an open book," Emilia said. "Fire away."