A Little More You (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter 11-Part 1

A/N: I split Chapter 11 (First Date) into two chapters for length...thank you to everyone who is reading and voting, I hope you like it!  Outfit inspiration is in external link.

All Jon's text said was "business casual, and bring something warm."

That wasn't helping Mati, who, along with the help of Tess, currently had both of their closets strewed across the apartment.

"What about this sweater in the living room?!" Tess shouted.

"I was thinking button down in your room!" Mati shouted back.

"What kind of a guy uses business casual as a description for a date?! You guys going to talk stocks and the price of offshore drilling?" Tess whined.

A dork named Jonathan Toews. Mati smiled to herself, though she wasn't really sure what to make of business casual either.

It was quarter to six. Jon would be here in just over an hour. Mati had to get ready, make herself look presentable, and shoo Tess out of the house before she had a meltdown over Jonathan Toews standing in her doorway.

No pressure.

Finally, the two settled on an outfit. It was a dark grey wash chambray button down with a light grey sweater over it, paired with a pair of pearls, dark wash skinny jeans, and a pair of black ankle boots. Her hair was in loose waves. She was just finishing up the last touch of her red lips when she heard a knock at the door, followed by an "I'll get it!" from Tess.

Shitshitshit Mati thought frantically.

It's not that she wouldn't tell Tess about Jon but she didn't want her to be blindsided like this.

Mati jogged into the living room just as Tess opened the door to reveal a very handsome Jonathan Toews, dressed in a button down and dark jeans, holding a bouquet of roses. Tess's jaw dropped as she turned around to face Mati.

"When were you planning on telling me that HE was your date?!" She exclaimed.

Mati gave her a sheepish look.

"Eventually?" She shrugged.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, sorry Jonathan, uh Mr. Toews, come in I don't mean to be rude I uh" Tess stuttered.

Jon laughed. Mati shot him an apologetic glance.

"You must be Tess. I'm Jon. It's nice to meet you finally-I've heard a lot about you."

Tess once again turned to Mati.

"Ohmigod you've talked about me to Jonathan Toews?!"

Mati nodded.

"She has. Only good things of course." Jon smiled at Tess.

Tess, still tongue tied, just shook her head.

"Uh, well thank you for the flowers Jon, I'm gonna put these in a vase and shall we go?" Mati suggested.

Jon nodded

Mati put the flowers in a vase, grabbed her new pea coat (bought at the demand of Tess who refused to let her leave the apartment on a date in her Carhartt barn coat), and walked to the door to meet Jon.

"Bye Tess see ya later."

"Bye Tess, it was nice to meet you, hopefully I'll be seeing more of you!" Jon told her as they closed the door.

"Sorry about that" Mati apologized. "I told her I had a date, might not have mentioned it was with you, and she's like a diehard fan."

Jon chuckled lightly.

"It's okay. She seemed nice."

They reached Jon's Range Rover and once again, he opened the door for Mati.

They both buckled up and took off for their unknown destination.

"So where are we going?" Mati asked.

Jon grinned.

"To eat the best kept secret in Chicago."

"And where might that be?" She inquired.

"It's a secret. You'll love it though. I promise."

They chatted most of the way there, until Jon turned down a dark road on the outskirts of the city. They pulled into a gravel parking lot, along with a handful of other vehicles.

In front of them was a brick building with a wooden patio on the side of it,that was strung with Christmas lights.

"Welcome to Tucci's Winery." Jon gestures towards the building.

They got out of the vehicle and walked toward the entrance.

"Reservation for Toews" Jon told the host.

"Right this way sir."

He walked them to a table in a back corner. Jon helped Mati out of her coat and the host handed them a wine list and menus.

"Your server will be with you shortly."

They both looked over the menu. Jon set his down within a minute and Mati glanced up at him.

"Know already?"

He blushed.

"We come here a lot as a team. I usually get the chicken parmesan. Too good to not get it."

"Ooh that does sound good." Mati agreed.

Their waiter came over and took their order. He brought a bottle of chilled white wine and poured them both a glass.

________________________________________________________________

"So tell me more about the mysterious Mati Ross." Jon said, as they sipped their wine.

"Mysterious?" She laughed. "I don't know if there's anything good to tell."

"Everyone's got a story." Jon told her.

"Okay, well in that case, my story was written by an elementary school kid who forgot their homework was due the next morning."

Jon chuckled.

"Oh it can't be that bad."

"It's not. Just boring. But I'll tell you anyway."

So she did. She told him about home, and growing up with her two younger sisters, and about her parents. She told him about moving to Nashville, songwriting; leaving out the touring and singing, how she was just going to college to make her family happy. She skimmed over the less than pleasant parts for now. Someday she would tell him but this was not the time.

Jon was captivated.