Skinny Love

Chapter 42

Sam basically threw me out of the car as soon as we arrived at the restaurant. The only thing she told me was to say that I had reservations for Noelle Peterson. I smiled at the thought of his last name hooked to mine. 'One day' I thought to myself. So I did exactly that. I walked in the doors and I noticed how fancy this place was. Bubble lights lined the ceiling, it was fairly quiet for a restaurant and I was greeted by a woman politely asking for reservations and a man taking my coat.

"No, no it's okay. I'll just hold my coat."I told him. The woman typed in my name and guided me to the table. I looked around wondering where Nat was. We turned a corner and suddenly we walked out of the bubble of the public and into a private little room set with a table that had white linen and a candle and a bouquet of roses. There he was, standing beside the table, a grin on his face and he was in formal attire? He was actually wearing a suit. A full on suit. I couldn't believe it.

"I must be dreaming," I said as he pushed my chair in and then sat across from me. "the Nat I know only wears jeans and flannel."

"I thought it probably wasn't suitable for this." he gestured as if to say 'this fancy restaurant date.'

"What are we here for? We could have just gone and gotten tacos and a movie, you know that right?"

"How dare you, I put a lot of work into this!" he smiled, we were both laughing. I bit my lip to hold from the huge toothy smile that was about to break through. "How was your day?" he asked.

"Hectic. I was basically thrown into the glamour of my sisters world for a day."

"I'm sorry?" he laughed. "But you look great."

"I told them to hold off all the makeup, I barely wear any anyway but you know my sister... And she made me get my hair curled and nails done. I've never done that before." I took a sip of the water glass on the table.

"I've ordered for us is that okay?" he said as I sat my glass down.

"Sure, I wouldn't have know what to get any way."I giggled, I was nervous. My mind was starting to wonder. Why this fancy restaurant? Was he going to propose? Was the reservation a hint? We hadn't been together long, what was he thinking? I mean if he did propose I couldn't say no, I love him. I. Love. Him. Say it again for the people in the back.

"I love you."I said aloud. I gasped a little but he smiled back at me.

"I love you, Elle." A waiter interrupted us he sat down a bowl each in front of us and a basket with french bread.

We talked. We ate.

"August gave Mark a hard time last night, he had to go buy formula in the middle of the night and ended up leaving with a new car seat, swing, and clothes."I laughed. "She's got both of you wrapped around her little finger." I shook my head laughing.

"You know we're doing all this a little backwards, don't you think?"

"A little."I say.

"I thought it was supposed to be, go on a date, fall in love, get married, have kids, but no. You Noelle decided to change all that."

"Well I wouldn't say I decided for it to be this way, but I wouldn't change it."

"Neither would I." he leaned forward. "You two girls are the only people that truly matter to me, you know that?" he said "I didn't think this would ever happen to me."

"What?"

"Falling in love." I looked down. I was flattered, I didn't think I'd ever really fall in love with the right person, let alone two people. I might love Nat but August was my one true love. I loved her unconditionally, forever.

"So, dinner wasn't the only thing I planned for tonight. " we were walking to his car, the restaurant behind us, the sky dark and the outside lights were on.

"Oh really?" I asked. After a while I stopped wondering about how the night would go and just let it happen, what ever happened happened. That was that. His arm was around my waist, he guided me to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for me. He sat in the drivers seat and held out his hand.

"Ready?" I grabbed his, our hands interlocked, I said "Yeah."

He stopped at an ice cream shop before heading home. He got chocolate as always and I got cookies and cream. I kicked off the heels and ate my ice cream with my knees to my chest. I smiled as Nat tried to spoon his while driving and I fed him instead and laughed. I dotted his nose with the ice cream and he wiped it off with one finger and smiled. He had driven in the direction of the house but we were no where that I recognized. I frowned.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"We're almost there, you'll see." and he didn't lie. We were almost there, within minutes we pulled into an apartment complex. My first thought was that we were picking up August but this didn't look like Marks apartment building. Nat parked then turned to me and smiled. I smiled back from habit.

"Let's go." he jumped out. He ran to my side and I was frantically pulling on the strappy heels. "Oh forget the heels you don't need them. Come on." he pulled me up and out of the car and to the door of the building. We entered the elevator, he pushed a button and stood in front of me. "You trust me, right?"

"Always." I told him.

"Okay, I'm going to cover your eyes alright?"

"Okay?" The elevator dinged and he covered my eyes before the door opened. We walked together."Keep your eyes closed." I heard keys and then a door and behind my eyelids I could see a light being turned on. "Okay you can open them." He uncovered my eyes. Before me was a basic barely furnished apartment. I turned to look at him.

"Who's apartment is this?"

"Ours." he smiled and gestured around. "It's where I've been if I don't take up another shift at work, I was getting it set up for us."

"Oh my, are you serious? This is ours?" I looked all around me. "Oh my gosh."I started crying. "Nat, you have no idea how happy I am, this is, this is a dream come true. I love you so much! I love it so much!" I kissed him hard on the mouth.

"Come in, come look around. " he pulled me in.