One Tough Love

Downtown Shenanigans

I was getting ready to go on my date tonight with MJ. Not knowing what he had in mind, I kept my outfit casual. I put on a simple little black sleeveless dress with a pair of high heeled booties. I put on a set of black bracelets and I curled my hair. While I was keeping it simple, I decided to just go with a natural look and wear little to no makeup.

After I was done getting ready I went into the living room and saw Marissa sitting on the couch deep in thought. I knew something was bothering her because she hadn't said anything to me since we left the diner earlier.

"I don't think you should get involved with him." She quietly said.

Slightly confused, I asked, "Why?"

"Because something about him doesn't seem right and I-"

I immediately cut her off. "Look, you can't judge him based on what happened between him and Clarissa..."

"I know but-" she began, now standing up.

"I'm going on this date to learn more about him and get a feel for his personality.. that's what you do on dates. So let me do that and I'll come to my own conclusions about him, okay? K." I said, grabbing my leather jacket. I swiftly put it on and started for the door.

"Well, be safe." She responded, sitting back on the couch. I sighed, told her I will and left.

I made it out right in time to see a black Escalade pull up in the driveway. A big burly white man got out the driver side, walked around and opened the back passenger door. Out stepped MJ wearing a white tee under a long sleeve, unbuttoned shirt tucked into some black slacks. His hair was the same as when I saw him last night; curled and pulled back with a few loose strands falling around his face. He walked over and handed me a single white rose. I looked at it, puzzled as to why white.

"I decided to give you a white rose because it represents purity, innocence and new beginnings and so forth." He explained, as i smelled the rose but kept my eyes on him.

"New beginnings?" I asked.

"Yes. I'd like to think of this as the beginning of something...... special." He smiled, revealing his pearly whites. He was honestly a gift from the gods. He looked good from head to toe, inside and out and I'm pretty sure he knew it too.

"Let's get going." I said smiling.

He led me back to the car and let me in following suit. The driver backed out of the driveway and we rode in silence for a few minutes. I couldn't take it anymore so of course I started a conversation.

"So what do you have planned ?" I asked, interested in where we were going.

"Downtown," He answered. I hadn't noticed until now that he had been staring at me the whole time. He looked me up and down before making eye contact with me. "I figured we spend the evening out on the town. Grab some food, check out the scenery; just get to know one another. If that's ok with you.." He trailed off.

"Yeah that's sounds perfect!" I said genuinely excited.

I haven't been downtown since my senior year about 3yrs ago and we had a blast!! Downtown Austin is always poppin, especially 6th street. It was beautiful at sunset and the night life was always exciting. There's never a dull moment when you're down there.

This was actually perfect for MJ and I to get to know one another. I honestly couldn't have picked a better spot.

After about 20mins, the car came to a complete stop and we got out. He grabbed my hand and led the way. We walked for at least a block and a half before coming to a cute little Italian restaurant named Sophia's.