Turning Tables ---Going Under Construction---

Second First Date

I sat outside the restaurant for my first date with Xander since we were in high school. Per Sasha's demands, I put on a tight black dress that reached just above the knees. It was uncomfortable but I knew it would work on him. It had on our real first date. 

I was a lot more rebellious back then. I told my parents that I was staying at a friends house and Xander picked me up at a nearby park. He had the same disheveled look to him. I jumped into the pickup truck he and his dad had rebuilt and we spent the first 10 minutes just kissing each other. 

No other date had been as freeing. We went walking through downtown Golden, visiting all the shops and dancing in the streets. He told me my little black dress and golden hair made me look like a fallen star that took form just for him. It was cheesy and stupid, but back then it was the most amazing thing that had ever been said. 

Finally, I got the courage to slip out of my truck and walk into the restaurant. It was a nice little Italian place that he recommended. Live Jazz music could be heard from the parking lot as people wandered in. As I reached the doors someone in a white button up and a tie opened the door for me. 

I was directed to a table by the fireplace where I could see Xander. His hair was actually managed for once, not a stray in sight, and he was wearing a blazer and blue button up versus his usual t-shirt. He had put a real effort into the evening. 

When he saw me he got up and came to hug me, his scent the same even if he looked different for the night. "Hey, JJ." He just looked at me for a minute before motioning to the seat across from him. "Did you find the place ok?" 

"Yeah, It isn't too far from me."

We looked at each other in awkward silence for a moment. It was sad to think that he was once my best friend... the easiest person to talk to. Even in the last week, it didn't seem as difficult because it didn't seem real. This date was real. 

His quick laughter broke our silence. "Sorry, I just didn't think you would be..." He trailed off for a moment, looking me up and down the best he could. "You look amazing. Did you want some wine?"

"Red, please." Maybe with a glass or two, I could pretend this wasn't the weirdest date I had ever been on. 

When the waiter came over we ordered a bottle of Merlot and an appetizer. "So," He started. "What have the last six years been like?"

I thought about it, about what I should say when I really had to answer this question. "After high school, I went to college and got a BA in creative writing and English. I've published a couple of Novellas." That wasn't a lie, but I wasn't going to tell him how badly they sold. "I have an apartment near Downtown and work as a waitress at one of the bars."

He nodded along politely, taking sips of his wine. 

"How has it been for you?"

"Well, as you know I moved. We started off in New York, but I got to travel to a few different states and even Europe and Australia. I moved back after my parents decided to retire early." He paused as the waiter came back with our appetizer and took our dinner orders. I took a bite of a stuffed mushroom as he continued. "I went to college for business and accounting."

The look on my face must have said how shocked I was. 

"It was my father's idea and I wasn't the one paying the tuition checks. I learned a lot though and will be able to use it to something I really like. Maybe own a ski lodge in the mountains."

"I could see that." When he was younger he had wanted to be a professional snowboarder, but he always listened to his parents about the bigger things and they didn't want 'sports' for him. It was a hobby that he was allowed, but every other moment was dedicated to learning a trade. 

Xander reached across the table and took my hand. "You always thought I could do more."

It didn't feel as weird when he held my hand as it had when we were at the creek and he had held me, and this seemed even more intimate. The fire crackled beside us and the music playing in the background. It was straight out of a movie. 

The rest of dinner went smoothly. We talked about our families, our friends, and the places we had been. The dinner was coming to an end, our dessert was finished, our bill was paid, and everyone was leaving the restaurant. "Do you want to grab a nightcap?" He asked with some mischief in his eyes. 

"Why not." It hadn't been the worst night and it was weirdly nice getting to know Xander again. "Where too?"

"I know the perfect place."

To keep our destination a surprise Xander had me leave my car in the restaurant parking lot and blindfolded me. I considered momentarily running away but decided it was unlikely a trick. It wasn't a long drive but it consisted of a lot of turns and I thought I was going to be sick until we stopped. The car rocked as he got out and walked around to help me out of the car. 

"Watch your step."

"I could if you would take the blindfold off."

He took both of my hands and walked me a few feet and placed my hands on a short fence. Then the music started to play in the background. It was coming from a speaker and playing a cheesy love song. Finally, the blindfold came off and I knew where I was. It was my favorite place in maybe all of Colorado. Look out point. In most stupid teen movies it's a place where kids go to hook-up/get brutally murdered. But this place was where you could see all off Golden and beyond. It was like seeing the world as a toy set, with moving parts and lights. I was the biggest thing around. 

"You remembered."

"Of course I did." He took my hand as the music played and held me close, swaying us on top of the world. "I've never forgotten a thing about you Jade. I've never stopped thinking about you."

As he spun me around and held me in his arms I forgot why I was doing this, any of this. Then the thing that always pops into my mind did again. Him, below the bleachers at graduation, kissing another girl like he used to kiss me. If he had never forgotten a thing about me, how had he failed to mention why we had ended in the first place. Failed to apologize once... even when it happened. 

"I never stopped thinking about you either." Whenever a guy failed me or didn't add up, or just existed... there Xander was in the back of my mind. Never once did he leave it. 

He took my words the way I meant him too though. He heard the heartfelt girl who wanted her high school sweetheart back in her arms. 

As the music slowed he leaned in, our noses touching, his breath hitting my lips. My heart did start racing all of a sudden, maybe from at least a year with no intimate contact. Without thinking I leaned into him and we kissed. Despite everything, he was an amazing kisser.