Summer Rain

XVIII ~ Safe Haven

{I Know Places - Taylor Swift}

... grab my hand and don't ever drop it, my love, they are the hunters, we are the foxes...

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June 22nd

          First dates are historically one of the most awkward social constructs ever to be endured. They are the testers. The experiments. The final draw when the stakes are high. We fumble and try not to say the wrong thing. We blush and fail at acting suave and sophisticated. We worry about making the first move, praying that the other participant will take the lead. It either works out, or it doesn't. But when you know the person who stands before you, the final draw looks more favourable. When you no longer feel the need to test the water and can look at the person honestly and know that it makes sense to be together. That is when the fun really begins.

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        "You at least have to let me pay half of the cheque, I mean it's only fair!" I begged Elliot as he shook his head, rejecting my proposal point blank as we sat opposite one another in the corner booth of a bust restaurant in the city after driving together when the sun was low in the sky. 

     Empty plates littered our table as I tried (and failed) to suppress the constant smile that was persistent in emerging throughout the entire date to this point. The oblivious eyes of other diners at their respective tables as they ignored our existence filled me with so much relief as I felt at peace away from the prying eyes of those at the country club, who would not have been able to withstand the revolutionary idea of Elliot, an employee, having dinner with me, a guest.

       Elliot and I kept to the shadows at the club, feigning ignorance in one another's presence as though we were nothing but acquaintances, to save us from the speculation, gossip and wrath that would incur by both Elliot's boss and my Father. Sitting in the restaurant, his hand draped over mine on the table, felt like a rebellious act and yet something so right that it seemed silly to want to hide it. After tonight I knew I would find it hard to hide how happy this curly-haired boy was making me.

    "You're not paying. No girlfriend of mine will pay for dinner on a first date. I mean unless you insist, I mean I'm all for equality and don't want to go all 'caveman' on you." Elliot rambled as I giggled behind my napkin, the sound of hearing him call me his girlfriend making goosebumps litter my skin.

    "Shhhh," I laughed at his awkwardness. "If you want to be Mr Romantic, I'll let you pay. But only this once!" I winked flirtatiously at him.

      The night had been nothing but smiles and a calmness that spread through my body with every minute we spent away from the Country Club and away from every expectation that weighed us down.

    "C'mon." Elliot stood suddenly from the plush of the booth, throwing some cash down that would cover the bill with a generous tip. "I want to take you somewhere." The glint in his eyes excited me as I gripped his hand, and we exited into the night air.

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        My mind flickered to the buzz of life that undoubtedly would have been continuing at the Beaumont's club in our absence. Would Mom and Dad notice my absence? I had been MIA since last night, so there was a genuine possibility of a search party scouring every inch of the perfectly trimmed lawn and pristinely cleaned rooms and cabins of the club in my name. However, my phone had remained silent and was clear of messages every time I checked it. I was free for tonight.

        Strolling through the streets of the city, hand in hand with Elliot was absolutely heavenly. There were no puppet strings, no staring eyes and no worries about the structure that we were cursed within the club as it vanished in the bustling nightlife. We were just two people, and we were happy.