The following evening I stood before Colette's full length mirror in her bedroom, double checking my outfit was suitable for my date with Leo. He had told me to go with something nice but not that fancy, so I was wearing a black dress with daisies all over it with spaghetti straps, a white t-shirt underneath it. I had finished the look off with black combat boots, the ankles of my white socks showing a little. I pulled my light blonde hair up into a high ponytail while I made sure my pink lipstick wasn't too bright. Even though my heart was pounding when I heard Leo knock on the door downstairs, I also felt myself smiling.
"Leo's here," Colette told me after jogging up the stairs.
"Yeah, I heard him. Do you think I look alright for tonight," I wondered as I straightened out the skirt of my dress.
"Yeah, you look great. Do you know where he's taking you yet?"
"I have no idea, but I know that we're going out for supper."
"Yeah, I bet he'll take you somewhere that has the best food. I loved the place he picked when I went with you," she laughed a little.
"I think you would've loved any place that Johnny was at," I lightly teased, causing her face to flush.
"Well, yeah, but that's not what I meant."
"I know," I told her before heading down the steps. I didn't expect Leo to already be in the kitchen with our grandmother, and I also wondered if I would ever stop feeling so nervous around him. Even though we could have real conversations I could always feel a trace of butterflies.
"Hey, you look great," Leo beamed the moment that he saw me.
"Thanks, you do too," I earnestly told him as he stood there in his black pants and white button up shirt. It was funny how if he had added a tie and a jacket he would look so dressed up, but instead he appeared fancy casual.
"You two have a good time," my grandma told us before we headed out. I was glad that my parents didn't come over to talk with us. Leo had reservations for the restaurant, and I didn't want us to be late somehow. When we pulled up to the place I still wasn't fully sure what type of food we would be eating. The moment we sat at a table where there was a Hibachi grill then it dawned on me what was in store.
"I've never had them prepare my food right in front of me," I admitted as they got set up.
"It's great, especially this place. They always put on the best shows," Leo shared as he sat forward slightly.
I couldn't deny that it was thrilling to see the food cooked right before our eyes, and it did taste better than I ever imagined.
"You always pick the best places to eat," I giggled a tiny bit before eating more of my fried rice.
"Thanks, I'm glad that you like where I've taken you so far. I wasn't sure if you would want to sit right at the grill."
"No, this was something that I've always wanted to do. I guess you just marked something off my bucket list."
He smiled at me in a way that made his ocean eyes twinkle, and I still hadn't recovered when he focused on eating his meal again. I felt like I was in heaven as he kept his arm wrapped around me on the busy streets of Los Angeles. The sun was already beginning to set when we arrived at a place where they had dancing and live music. They served drinks too, but we didn't order anything as we hit the main floor. It was the closest I had ever come to flying as I moved around Leo, not feeling like I was in my own body anymore. All I could focus on was how cute he was that it hurt my lungs. I flipped my ponytail around before jokingly doing the robot as he followed suit. It was almost like a game of Simon Says as he mimicked most of my moves before busting out a few of his own. That's when I was the one following the leader, feeling like a carefree child again as we synced up our steps to finally hold onto each other. We swayed for awhile to the slower song as I rested my chin on his shoulder. When we pulled away though I looked up into his eyes, and that's when he leaned down to kiss me. If I thought I had been dizzy before that was an understatement compared to that moment. I think Leo could sense that I didn't want it to end, since he continued to move his lips against mine sweetly.
