apartment 23 // mitchel cave

22

mitchel's p.o.v.

despite how much i wished it wasn't, today was our last day in washington, d.c. don't get me wrong, i missed the boys back in los angeles, but i really enjoyed just having some alone time with angeline without having to hear clinton complain and be a complete cock-block.

angeline had decided that she didn't feel as if it was necessary to go back to the gallery today, so essentially we had the whole day to ourselves. little did angeline know, though, i had made reservations to go out to eat a few nights before we had left los angeles. i'd spent way too much time researching romantic restaurants on the internet but i had eventually found the perfect one that wasn't already completely booked and looked suitable for a romantic dinner. from what the pictures showed, they specialized in "candle-light" dinners, so angeline was definitely in for quite the treat. she loved that type of stuff.

angeline had insisted that we go swimming earlier in the morning, so here we are, wet a reeking of chlorine. we both sat on a wicker beach chair, sipping on the smoothies that the hotel had given us as a sort of "complementary gift". i probably would have preferred a beer but the smoothie would have to do for now.

we didn't say much to each other as we sat there and to be completely honest, i'd come to be quite comfortable with that silence. i knew that neither of us had to fill the lack of conversation with anything: it could just be. i think i appreciated those connections the most. the ones where we could just sit in silence for hours and be completely comfortable with that. sure, i had an unbreakable bond with my bandmates, but there was something special about my bond with angeline, other than the fact that she was my girlfriend.

i often wonder what would have happened if she never came back to me that day that she told me we were moving too fast with our relationship. that was a year ago. would she have just moved on from me? would she have let me down easy or would she have completely ghosted me? i wondered how long she lived across from me without me even knowing of her existence. imagine how much more time we would have shared together if i had just been a decent neighbor and tried to get to know the people around me. yet, i stuck to my parties and drugs, too ignorant to realize the people who could change my life entirely were right across the hall.

i eventually managed to get angeline off of her chair and to head back up to the room. without making it too obvious that i was planning something special, i told her that she should dress up for a "night out". she didn't hold any argument to that, she was always the type to want to explore new cities and she loved the night time.

we both took turns in the bathroom, me going first, to wash the chlorine the stench of chlorine out of our hair and freshen up a bit. i slipped on a long sleeve white button up shirt and a pair of nicer black jeans before heading out of the bathroom and leaving it for her to get ready.

i waited on the bed as she did whatever she had to do, before hearing the door open and seeing her step out in the wine colored dress with the floral pattern that i had bought for her. her hair was still partially damp as it sat upon her shoulders. she was practically glowing.

"calm down over there." she said with a smirk. i guess she noticed my reaction.

"god, there are so many things i want to do to you..." i said frustratedly.

"looks like you're going to have to wait, mister." she laughed as she sat down on the bed and slipped on her black heels. she stood up once she was finished and adjusted her dress.

"you ready, lover boy?" she asked.

"as always." i replied.

_______________________________

we pulled up outside of the restaurant just in time for the reservation. i planned on keeping this whole thing a surprise until she actually sat down at the table, so this was definitely going to be interesting.

"okay, angeline, i'm gonna need you to cover your eyes." i told her suddenly.

"wait... what?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"don't ask, just cover them." i insisted. she huffed but proceeded to place her hand over her eyes.

"no peeking. now here... grab my hand." i grabbed her hand softly and led her across the sidewalk and into the building. i quickly checked in with the reservations in a hushed tone before leading angeline in the direction that the server was taking us.

"careful steps... angeline, i said careful. there you go... almost there... okay, now sit down." i said to her as i led her to her seat. she sat down hesitantly, keeping her hand over her eyes. i quickly hurried over to my seat and sat down, anticipating this reveal. the setting was absolutely stunning. i couldn't wait for her to see it.

"okay... now you can look." i told her. she slowly removed her hand and looked around as she took in everything that was around her. her face was in complete awe. there was a dozen roses sitting in a vase in the middle of the table with two candles sat at either side. there were small fairy lights decorating the ceiling above us, creating a calm and tranquil mood. i'd managed reserve a separate room, so we were completely by ourselves.

"oh my god mitchel... this is amazing..." she said in amazement.

"i really hoped you would like it. i guess it's my way of celebrating one year of knowing the most beautiful person in my life." i told her with a smile, which made her blush.

"you are too much mitchel..." she said.

"only for you." i replied.

the waiter came back with two glasses and offered us champagne, which we kindly accepted. i watched as angeline took a sip as she searched through the menu. after a few minutes, we'd both figured out what we wanted and placed our order when the server came back. we were then left alone again.

"you know, you've really changed my life." i said suddenly.

"how's that?" she asked.

"before you came into my life, i was reckless as hell. partying, drugs, and alcohol were on a nonstop cycle. then, when you finally showed that you cared about me, something snapped. i then had something to live for. sure, i have my family and my band, but this was different. you gave me hope that maybe i'd get out of that cycle. and now here i am, sitting across from one of the strongest women i know, and i can genuinely say that for once, i am happy." i told her.

"i completely agree. you've given me more than i could ever ask for. i've gotten to experience so many things i wouldn't have even had the chance to experience without you. you truly are a blessing and i don't know what i would do without you. i really love you, mitchel." she said, her tone full of emotion and gratitude.

"i love you more than you'll ever know." i replied.

the rest of the dinner was filled with the usual small talk, except the air felt different tonight. something felt special, but i couldn't quite put my finger on it.

we'd eaten our food and ordered a small dessert that we shared before we paid and left to go back to the hotel. i had noticed that night time on the east coast felt so much different than night time on the west coast. everything seemed calmer and more serene. i definitely enjoyed los angeles and it's daily bustle but it was nice experiencing this for a change.

we eventually made it back to our hotel, despite getting a little "touchy" in the back of our uber. that poor uber driver. we paid him a little extra for having to put up with us.

it definitely didn't stop as we made our way up to our room. angeline led me into the room and to the bed before pushing me down onto it and crawling on top of me, her legs straddling my waist. i placed my hands on her hips, lightly pressing against them.

"because you treated me so well to that dinner, why don't i treat you now..." she said before pulling up her silk dress and ridding it from her body. now, i know i said that the dress was stunning on her, but off? that's a completely different story.

"you really are something, you know that?" i said to her, taking in her whole body.

"i guess i could say the same to you." she said with a smirk as she began unbuttoning my shirt.

and just like that, the whole night was pure bliss.