Hazel's

December Seventh (Part Two)

We stepped into the restaurant, her hand in mine. There were many people with us in the restaurant that I couldn’t help but feel proud of the fact that I had such a beautiful girl on my arm. For the first time, I felt confident surrounded by strangers. I couldn’t help but steal a couple looks at her as we made our way to a small candlelit table in the back corner of the full restaurant. I pulled out her chair for her and she smiled at me knowingly before sitting down.

“So, you have to tell me what it feels like,” I asked her grinning.

“What what feels like?” she asked me with a confused look on her face.

“What it feels like to be the most beautiful girl in the room, of course”. She blushed and took a sip of her water before locking eyes with me. I winked at her and she giggled quietly.

“So, what looks good here?” she asked, flipping through her menu.

“You,” I answered back teasingly. She rolled her eyes and playfully slapped my arm.

“But Spencer, seriously, this menu is so expensive. Are you sure this is okay?”

“Clair. Tonight is for you. Of course it’s okay. Get whatever you want, okay?" She looked back at me with a shy smile and nodded before looking back down at her menu.

The waitress came by and took our orders. Before she left, I whispered in her ear that it was Clair’s birthday. She smiled and nodded before walking off like nothing had happened. Clair looked at me curiously with a raised eyebrow.

“What was that about?” she asked, knowing what I had told her.

“What? What was I talking about? Nothing. I was just telling her about how beautiful I think you look tonight. Well, I mean, you’re always beautiful, but wow, tonight you just… I mean… I” Clair cut me off by placing a finger to my lips.

“I know what you mean, Spencer. Thank you,” she whispered, kissing me on the cheek softly.

~ . ~ . ~

"Happy Birthday to you," sang the entire restaurant as a large slice of chocolate cake with a lit candle in it was placed directly in front of Clair. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, but her eyes were filled with excitement and joy. Applause surrounded us as she blew out the candles. She glared at me, knowing that I was the one that had set it up, but then smiled and put it between us as we devoured the rich dessert.

When the bill came, Clair reached over for it but I snatched it away before she could see the price.

"Hey. Remember what I said? Tonight is all about you, so just relax". She rolled her eyes but then looked at me gratefully and grabbed my hand.

"Thank you Spencer. Seriously, I don't know what else I can even say to thank you for this. I really appreciate it". I smiled back at her and slipped my credit card into the check, handing it to the waitress when she came over.

"I honestly don't know why you're already thanking me," I started. "You haven't even gotten your present yet". Her eyes lit up and she bounced up and down in her chair.

"What? You also got me a present? Oh Spencer, you really didn't have to! I feel so bad you're putting yourself through so much trouble for me!"

"It's not trouble when it's for someone I care about," I insisted. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box, wrapped in lavender paper. The lady at the store swore that Clair would love it. Clair opened the card and smiled as she read the note I wrote for her. She then proceeded to rip the paper off the box, revealing a bracelet box. Inside was a small silver gold anchor bracelet. The last few times we had walked around campus, she always dragged me over to the small jewelry shop on the western side to show me this bracelet that she was absolutely in love with. I had been saving up enough money to get it for her, and the look on her face convinced me that it was definitely worth saving up for.

"Oh my - Spencer. I... it's beautiful!" I took the bracelet out of the box and clipped it around her left wrist. She smiled and we both watched as it shimmered in the candlelight. I took her hand and we walked back to the car. Once we were both buckled in, I headed back to the sorority to drop her off. I had just pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition when Clair looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Clair, are you okay?" I reached over and wiped away a loose tear from her left cheek.

"Spence, I just wanted to say that I'm really appreciative of what you did for me tonight. It really shows just how amazing you are, and I'm so lucky to have you in my life. I really like you, Spencer".

"I really like you too," I said. She smiled and turned to open the door when I suddenly grabbed her and pressed my lips to hers passionately. I don't even know where it came from, but it was rough and exciting to the point where I didn't want it to end. Her left hand took mine and placed it over her left breast. I moaned and sucked in a deep breath of air as she kissed my jaw and trailed kisses down my neck. It was heated and thrilling and I felt myself losing control. Her lips came back up to mine as out tongues battled for dominance. She was so beautiful, and I was so terrified of the idea of losing her. Her hand lowered to my right upper thigh and I tensed up. She pulled away and looked at me concerned,

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Wha- me? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just..." I tried to think of a way to say what I wanted to say without making myself look too stupid and prudish. "Not ready for that sort of thing yet..." I faded out.

"Oh," she said, looking slightly disappointed. I panicked and tried to think of something else to say before completely ruining the moment.

"But I mean, if you want to, we can do whatever you want. I mean, it is your birthday..." I faded out again. I was extremely uncomfortable in the situation due to the fact that she was the first girl I had ever kissed. I had never been intimate with a girl before considering the fact that Clair was my first real girlfriend.

"Spencer. I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do, okay? If you're not ready, I respect that completely. Relationships are about cooperation and patience, so if you want to wait, I'll wait for you," she said confidently. I smiled at her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"You know Clair, you really are something special," I said, slowly closing the gap between us.

"I've been told," she responded, enclosing my lips with hers for the second time.

~ . ~ . ~