The Lost One

Chapter 21

Genny took me to the bathroom, told me to take a shower, gave me a robe, and said to go into our room afterwords. I went through with all of her instructions. When I went into the room, Genny appeared and held a dress up to me. "Perfect."

Then, Genny and Carla dried and curled my hair. I sat perfectly still and quiet, not saying a word. I tried earlier, but Genny wouldn't tell me anything. When my hair and makeup was done, they left the room and I put the dress and shoes on. It was a knee-length, black cocktail dress with matching two-inch heels. I thought I was going to break my neck on the way down the steps.

Reaching the bottom, I saw Kale in a black suit with no tie, standing in front of the door. He was talking to Tomas. When Tomas looked up at me, Kale did too and smiled before meeting me at the end of the stairs. "You look beautiful." He said quietly before taking my hand and kissing it.

I smiled, my cheeks feeling rosy; continually denying the fact that I was blushing. He led me to the front door. "Where are we going?" I asked as we did. Kale smiled. "Out for dinner." He glanced at Tomas as I tucked my arm in his. "Everything is ready." Kale nodded and escorted me outside.

In the driveway, there was a limo. I looked at Kale, my eyes wide. "What's all this?" My voice gave away my surprise. He grinned at me and led me up to the limo. "You didn't think I worked with my father for free, did you?"

Opening the door for me, he ushered me inside before climbing in himself. It was...expensive. There were glasses, champagne, mints, a tv, and radio. While the limo drove, Kale had his arm wrapped around me and kept smiling at me. I kept looking away, trying not to blush. It felt like he was staring at me, and the dress. He's probably trying to imagine me without it.

I froze at the thought, it stuck in my head now. Now I really didn't want to look at him. Why did I feel so embarrassed?! "We're here." I looked over, and saw we were driving up to a fancy looking restaurant. A man in a nice jacket opened the door, letting me out first before Kale. When Kale got out, he took my arm and led me inside.

A man was at a podium in the front. "Name please?" He said, not looking up. "Hello Berney." Kale answered, smiling. The man looked up, surprised at first, and then smiled as if he'd just won the lottery. "Oh, Kale. How are you? Is you're father here with you tonight?"

Kale just shook his head, even though it sounded a little rude to me. "No, I'm here with her tonight." He said warmly, smiling at me. The man, Berney, nodded. "Come with me." He led us up a couple of stairs, to a section that said "Private Area". Kale helped me into my seat before sitting in his. I'm starting to get a little used to his chivalry, and here I thought it was dead.

"What can I get the both of you?" Berney asked as I was looking at the nice table. It was covered with a deep red table cloth and had a rose between Kale and I. "Just the usual, please." Kale answered. Berney nodded and walked away.

I raised an eyebrow at Kale. "What's the usual?" He smiled. "You'll see." I quietly sighed, giving up. It was obvious this night was full of surprises that he wasn't going to tell me. Looking back at him, he was smiling at me. I smiled back. "I have a question for you." He said seriously.

Nodding, I said, "Okay." His smile grew warmer and softer. "Do you love me?" Needless to say, I was a bit taken back by the question. Then I smiled and answered back with the same question. "Do you love me?" Kale slightly frowned, still smiling. "You can't answer a question with a question."

I felt I was winning this battle and smirked. "I believe I just did." It stayed quiet for a moment. "Well, do you?" I asked as a waiter came with two glasses and poured water into both. I started drinking when I heard Kale's answer. "Yes." I stopped drinking and stared at him, shocked he gave me such an honest and serious answer.

"I love you Ellain." Hearing those words caught my breath. I wanted to deny the fact, because of how cliche it sounded, but it was true. "Do you love me?" He asked again. Before I could answer, our food arrived. Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti and meatballs. "Enjoy." Berney said before walking away.

Looking back at Kale, he sighed before lightly smiling at me. "Let's eat." I nodded, still unsure of what to say or do. Halfway through the meal, I put down my fork and sighed. "Kale...I..." He looked up at me, waiting to hear what I had to say.

"So many things have happened to me and I've hurt a lot of people." I looked down at my lap, finding the right words. "I've always left a wall between me and everyone after that night. I thought I'd never have a normal life." I couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Sure, since I met you, it still hasn't been normal." Looking up at him, I smiled.

"But, being with you, I've been more happy these past few months than I've ever been in my entire life." He smiled and reached for my hand. I let him hold it for a moment before slowly pulling away. "At the same time, though, I don't feel like I fully deserve you. I come with a lot of baggage, you know."

He nodded and smiled, taking my hand back. "And I'm prepared to help you carry it all." Right then and there, I wanted to kiss him. It felt like I needed to kiss him. I guess he could tell and called a waiter over. "Check please." The waiter nodded and came back with the check. Kale paid and we left.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he led me to the car. He smiled as the door closed. Leaning in, he granted my wish as he kissed me softly on the lips. Pulling away he looked at me for a moment. I leaned in and kissed back, my lips feeling the spark that came with each kiss we shared.

Kale put his hand to my cheek, and instantly the warmth it held went to my face. I wrapped my arms under his and up to the back of his head. His hair was so soft, yet slightly spiking. We continued to kiss as the car drove. I was starting to be grateful at the fact that the windows were tinted and there was a privacy glass between us and the driver.

Suddenly, Kale pulled away and smiled, probably at the fact that I was nearly breathless from all of that. "I want this night to be absolutely perfect for you." He said warmly. I nodded. "It's been the best so far." I honestly said. That made him smile more before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an envelope.

"It's completely up to you if you want to go or not." He seemed to stress the you part. I opened the envolope and saw a key card. "What's this?" I asked, holding it up to him. Kale smiled warmly. "It's a room key to the penthouse suit at one of the hotels my father owns." Suddenly, I realized what he meant.

I was so surprised, but on impulse, I smiled and nodded. Just from my wordless reply, his face lit up so much, I thought he was going to explode. He leaned in and we both started kissing again, although this time, it was more passionate and...hot; temperature wise. My entire body felt ten times warmer than it normally was.

Seeming like forever, yet before I knew it, we were at the hotel, walking into our room. It was nice and reminded me a lot of the dorms at the school. We stopped kissing after we got out of the car and hadn't even held hands on our way up. My heart felt like it was pounding a thousand times per second.

Kale closed the door as I walked in and looked around. The bed was big, king-sized, and was covered with a lot of pillows. When I heard the door close, I turned around and looked back at Kale, who was taking off his jacket. Suddenly, I began to feel a bit nervous, so I looked towards the bathroom. "I should probably take a shower first."

He walked over to me, lightly taking my hand in his. "You're fine just the way you are." I could feel his eyes looking down at me. I continued to look away, anxious and nervous at the same time. I wanted nothing more than to hold him, but...He must have sensed my doubts because the next thing he said made me look up.

"You're still nervous." I nodded, hesitating. "I...just..." I looked down again. "I don't know if I'll be...good enough." "Hey." Kale lifted my chin with his hand. "You're absolutely perfect. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Don't doubt yourself." The last part he said with a slight forcefulness.