All Of Me

Chapter Twelve: Date Night

I bit my lip as I stared at myself in the mirror of the bathroom. We had went shopping today and so I bought this dress for tonight with shoes to go with it. The dress was short sleeved, was tight fitting until it flowed out at the waist that reached my knees, and my shoes were basic black pumps. My dress, of course, was purple as it was my favorite color. I clipped my hair back and left my face makeupless (as per usual.) I came out of the bathroom and my dad gasped.

"My baby girl is going on her first date!" He exclaimed.

"Dad, oh my god, stop," I said as he raised his phone and started snapping pictures of me.

"Sorry, I'm just excited for you," my dad replied and I rolled my eyes, smiling.

It doesn't take long after that for Sal to arrive. I smiled and opened the door. Sal's eyes widened in surprise when he saw me and he looked at me from the bottom to the top. He looked nice too with a white button up shirt and black slacks. He held flowers in his hand.

"Come in here so I can take a picture of you two!" My dad yelled from the room.

"Dad, it's a date, not prom," I told him and then I turned to Sal. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's fine, I don't mind," Sal said stepping into the motel room.

Several pictures later and we were finally able to leave. It was silent in the car but not the awkward kind of silent. Every so often I would look at him and he would do the same but we never got caught by the other person. He took me to a small but quaint restaurant. He opened the car door for me and I felt my heart racing in my chest when he took my hand. He pulled out my chair and I sat down, smiling at the small but very redeeming qualities.

We ordered our drinks and peered at the menu. It was quiet and every so often, like we did in the car ride, we would glance at each other. Once we ordered our food, Sal began to talk.

"So, how does a pretty girl like yourself stay single for so long?" Sal asked.

"Well, it's mainly due to the fact that I am extremely shy and extremely picky," I replied, blushing. "The guys I've dated, which is very few, didn't seem to be right for me and I wasn't sure what was right for me. All I know is that I knew they weren't what I wanted. And I'm rambling."

"No, the honesty is refreshing, I like it, but I have to ask you something else and you don't have to answer it but. . . how did you know that you wanted to be with me?" Sal asked.

That was a difficult question because I didn't know the answer to it. I paused for what seemed like a while and I knew that I needed to answer it.

"I know that what I see on TV is not everything that you are in your everyday life but from what I saw was enough to make me really fall for you. You aren't just a piece of meat, like some fans must treat you as. I didn't even know when it happened but one day I was watching your show and suddenly everything you did was. . . adorable; your smile, your laugh, and even your germaphobia. I'm not sure what happened. It freaked me out a little because I knew that if I liked you then you were just gonna be one of those guys that I would never have a chance with and I felt like I didn't deserve you," I finally finished and my cheeks turned an even brighter red. "That was a little too much for a first date."

"No. . . that was a perfect answer, " Sal said with a smile. "It should be me who feels undeserving of such a great woman like you."

He reached across the table, grabbed my hand, and kissed it. I smiled. My head and my heart felt clear. For once in my life I felt like I could be truly happy.