THE UGLY DUCKLING ©

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

Sunday came fast.  I was growing more and more anxious as the clock ticked 7:55 come night time. Lance would pick me up by eight as we had agreed upon. 

"You okay Lissey?" Dad must have sensed my nerves. He placed his arm on my shoulders and ushered me towards the sofa where we both sat.  I could not deny it. I was beyond nervous, I was terrified.  I have not been on a date since that dreadful day. 

"What if something bad happens?" I inquired. Dad looked at me with a worried expression.  He placed his hand on top of mine as I clutched tightly on the throwpillow to ease my trembling.

"What does your instinct tells you?" he said.

I shook my head in response. Honestly, I really do not know.

"I know it scares you to trust again after all that had happened to us," he pulled me towards his chest, "but you should trust your gut. If you are not ready to do this, tell Lance. If he happens to be a good man, he will understand. A good man has to have patience," I felt as if he meant more with his last statement and I knew what it meant.  He still believes that I should wait for Kurt but even he does not know for how long.  I am too tired of waiting, too tired of the uncertainty if what I am waiting for will really come.  And against my gut feel, I had decided.  Ready or not, I wanted to move on.

Before I could tell Steve my decision, the doorbell rang which almost made me jump off my seat. Dad stood up to answer it.

"Good evening sir," I heard Lance politely said to dad. "Lance Prescott sir, and I am here to take Lissey out but only if you wont mind."

"Call me Steve. Pleased to meet you. Come in, Liz is inside ," dad replied as he ushered him inside where I stood frozen.  Lance came towards me and kissed my cheek causing me to blush.  He acted as if it was a usual gesture so I opted to ignore it.  Steve gave me a warning look and I felt a bit more uneasy.

"Well, Mr. Train, err, Steve," Lance broke the awkward silence, "I think it's best we be going now. Dont worry, sir, I will have her home by midnight if you want."

Steve chuckled, "It's alright Lance, just have her home safe. She's already an adult so I trust she can handle herself."

"Goodbye dad," I kissed him. "I promise I'll be careful."

"Remember to call me if anything went wrong," he whispered.

"Nothing will go wrong," I tried to convince him and myself although deep within I am not really sure.

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"Oh my, this is beautiful Lance," I gasped in awe. He brought me to a private greenhouse adorned with LED lights hanging all over the plants. The moonlight shone brightly and in the midst of all the greenery, an elegant table setting came to view, a small buffet of luscious food almost made me drool.  All the previous tension I felt were blown away, replaced with awe.

"Anything for a beautiful woman like you," Lance, in his gentleman ways assisted me to the table.

My heart flutters uncontrollably.  It was a very grand gesture considering they have only known each other for a few days.

"Lance, err- uhm, why?" she failed in pretending to be at ease.

He smiled, "what do you mean why?"

"I mean, why would you even bother with all these? You hardly know me."

I saw his expression turned serious but his smile never leave his face.  He took my hand that was resting on the table, covered it with both of his and intently stared at me, "I don't believe in procrastination. I know a good woman when I see one and I swore to myself that I will do my best to keep her once I found her. And I believe, I found her. I found you Liz."

Bliss.  That was what I was feeling.  I haven't felt like this since Kurt and I were together.

We shared a wonderful evening. After dinner, we were gazing at the stars cuddling on a blanket he laid on the ground. I felt comfortable with him.  Wanting to thank him for all his efforts, I looked up to his face only to see him staring down at me. We stayed like that for a while, reading each others  expression, peeking through each others souls.  Next thing I know, he had captured my lips in his in a passionate kiss.  I could not help but kiss him back.  He adjusted so I was facing him.  His kiss became deeper, needy, as his hands lowered down to my thighs. I heard him moan. It was all it took for me to panic and asked him to stop.

"P-please, Lance, stop," I pleaded, out of breath, tears brimming in my eyes.  He must not have heard me as he continued to nibble my ear and pulled me closer to him.  I could feel him hard on my thighs, this made me shiver in fear.  Memories came flashing back and, 'Slap!' Lance suddenly stopped, obviously startled, and pulled me away from him, with a questioning look on his face.  I adjusted myself and got up trying to get some courage to speak but no word came out.  I turned away from him. I couldnt let him see me so shaken like this.

He was the first to broke the awkward silence between us. "Uhm, Liz, I- I uhm, I am really sorry. I did not mean to rush you."

I couldnt look at him but I coud feel his gaze on my skin. 

He stood up and hugged me from the back his hand gently massaging my shoulders.  He knew how tensed I was.  I felt his hot breath on my nape and I let out a sigh. "Liz, are you mad?"

I turned to face him, his eyes filled with remorse. I felt guilty.  I wanted his kisses and I wanted his touch but I know a part of me was not ready yet to go that far. I shook my head slightly catching his gaze. I reached out to touch his cheek. "It's okay Lance, it's just that I haven't done this for  a long time. I'm afraid I am not ready," upon seeing his defeated expression, I added, "-yet." His eyes sparked with hope and understanding, "You're pace, Liz, I will wait. I am sorry I rushed you. It's just that, you know, I dont believe in - "

"Procrastination," I finished his statement, and smiled. He grinned back, "shall I take you home?" I nodded. He ushered me towards the exit and locked the place.

"Uhm, Lance," I stopped, "shouldn't we tidy up the place a bit before we go?" I looked back at the greenhouse.  It would be a shame to have it infested with ants and other pests if we leave our leftovers there.

He chuckled. "No need to worry about it really. I already called a friend. He has a spare key to this place and I already asked him to clean up." I felt his hand on te small of my back urging me to walk forward.

"Oh, I see you have got everything covered up to the last bit," I was surprised at how much thought he had put into our first date. I was impressed.

"Not really," and the mischievous grin reappeared but only for a moment. "There are some things where I need to be patient before I can get it all covered, if you know what I mean," he said the last statement teasingly and I immediately blushed. He winked and helped me into his car.

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