First Crush, My Forever

Chapter 21

  "I say... yes. Yes, I would love to go on a date with you Taytum." Those were the words that left Dani's mouth eight days ago which in return left me shocked and really excited. As soon as I got home that evening I started brainstorming for our date because this is for Dani and it has to be perfect. I text Dani and asked if I could take her out Friday and she happily agreed. I would have loved to take her out sooner but with Thanksgiving I knew it was best to wait until afterwards so we all were not extremely busy.

  I had taken into consideration our situation to plan our date perfectly. I knew Dani was worried which is understandable. I will not deny that it worries me too because I would not want our date to be the cause of her losing her job. I want to treat Dani the way she deserves to be treated and did not want this to be just a date to a restaurant and then call it a night. This date is going to be a whole experience that I believe she will enjoy and be comfortable with plus not be over crowded and risk the chance of seeing people she might know or that knows both of us.

  The days following Dani accepting a date with me seemed to quickly fly by which caused my excitement for the date to grow even more. I had a great Thanksgiving with my family and even though I had not been able to see Dani, I had text her wishing her and KK a Happy Thanksgiving and to let her know I would pick her up at 6:30 Friday evening. She wished me one as well and even let me know that she was looking forward to our date. She asked a few times what the plans were but I did not budge and give her any hints. I wanted this date to be perfect and something that Dani would enjoy since I planned it around things that she likes.

  I'm standing in front of my mirror as I put my shirt on. For our date I opted for gray dress pants, black loafers and a long sleeve black button up shirt. I leave the four top buttons undone to expose my chest, tuck my shirt in and roll the sleeves up about ¾ ways. The day before Thanksgiving I went and got my hair cut and decided to go with an undercut since I mostly wear my hair in a bun anyway plus I wanted something a little different. With my hair up in a bun, exposing the undercut, I put on my rings and necklace, double check myself again in the mirror then spray my Versace Crystal Noir perfume on. I grab my keys, the flowers I ordered for Dani, yes her two favorites, and I'm ready to go.

  My mom's are actually having a date night tonight as well so I do not have to worry about being asked any questions concerning who I'm taking on a date. I haven't mentioned anything to them yet because I am waiting to see how everything goes between Dani and I first. Obviously they know and have known that I had a crush on her but they do not know anything else. I was worried if I told them I would jinx my date with Dani and it would be a disaster which I definitely didn't want to happen.

  I walk outside to my Wolf Gray Kia K5 GT and make the short drive next door to Dani's. I get out of my car, with flowers in hand, and walk up to the front door of Dani's house. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves then ring the doorbell.

  The swings open revealing a very stunning Dani in a green and black sequin wrap mini dress that ties at the waist and is cut low at the top showing just the perfect amount of cleavage. I swallow and I can't stop my eyes from traveling down, checking the beautiful mother out all the way to her black heels. As my eyes travel back up I notice Dani's sparkling green eyes traveling back up my body from checking me out. When our eyes meet I watch her swallow then she releases a shaky breath. "Taytum, wow. You look... really, really good. Sorry for rambling, I'm just... nervous."

  I smile as I hand the flowers to Dani. "Thank you Dani and you look absolutely stunning. So breathtakingly beautiful and you have nothing to be nervous about, it's just me." I take in Dani's makeup and she has minimal to no foundation on, which she doesn't need anyway because she is gorgeous as is, smokey eyeshadow that makes her eyes really pop and look so alluring. She has on a white gold necklace that rests against her flawless looking skin and her hair is loosely curled in waves that fall down her shoulders and back.

  Dani takes the flowers and steps aside for me to enter her house. When I step inside I get a whiff of her perfume and it's different from what she normally wears. I will have to find out what perfume she is wearing because it smells so good. She kisses my cheek "thank you sweetheart, these are beautiful. Let me put these in water then we can head out." I take a deep breath, breathing in her perfume again as I follow the sway of Dani's hips as she makes her way to the kitchen with the flowers. Once she is finished with the flowers, she turns towards me and realizes I am already looking at her. "What?" Dani asks as she stops directly in front of me.

  "You're so beautiful, you know that right?" A beautiful smile graces Dani's face as she looks at me.

  "Thank you, you flatter me Taytum. So are you going to tell me where we are going?"

  I hold my arm out for Dani to take which she does and gives me a questioning look since I did not answer her question. I glance at her "It's a surprise so you will have to wait until we get there. Then I will fill you in on the evening's plans." We make our way to the door so we can head out for our date. Once Dani locks the door behind us, we walk to my car and I open the passenger door for her.

  "Thank you, sweetheart." Dani says with a smile as she gets in my car. I close her door then walk around to the driver's side and get in. Once we are both in the safety of my car and buckled in, I drive us to our destination for our date. On the way, Dani and I carry on light conversation as I have soft music playing to hopefully help calm both of our nerves.

  When I pull into the parking lot of our destination, Dani looks at me with raised eyebrows and a smile on her face. "The Botanical Garden? Is our date here?"

  I smile at Dani as I unbuckle my seatbelt. "Yes, our date is here but it's actually in the Culinary Garden area." I swiftly get out of my car and make my way around to the passenger side to open her door. After I open the door for Dani, I hold out my hand for her to help her out. She gladly takes my hand and gives it a light squeeze as I shut the car door and lock my car. I offer Dani my arm which she accepts as she wraps her arm through mine with a smile on her face.

  "I wanted a nice date for us and something you would hopefully enjoy. There's a jazz speakeasy with live music, cocktails, wine and food. Our diner for the event is Goat Cheese and Pecan Frisée Salad, Cajun Shrimp Po Boy and Graham Apple Trifle with Bourbon Caramel Sauce. Plus we will learn how to make Sazeracs with fresh botanicals directly from the Culinary Garden. It's a smaller event that only had 50 tickets available so there will not be a lot of people which I figured was more ideal for us."

  As we are making our way to the Culinary Garden, Dani tightens her hold on my arm and gives it a little squeeze as she is looking around the Botanical Garden. Besides the Jazz Speakeasy, the entire Botanical Garden is decorated in lights which makes it even more pretty in person. Once we reach the Culinary Garden, I give my name for the reservation for the event and we are seated.

  After placing our drink orders of wine for Dani and water for myself, I watch Dani look around. She turns her attention back to me and places her hand on top of mine. "I can't believe you chose this for our date. It is beautiful here and this is absolutely perfect. Thank you for this, I love it."