Over 3,000 Miles

Under the Stars

          When we walked out of the large glass doors, I noticed a yellow cab parked right in front of us. Luke pulled me towards it, opening the back door and gesturing for me to get inside. Once we were both in, he closed the door and our cab driver looked back at us.

          "Hello you two. My name is Pete and I will be your chauffeur for tonight." He looked to be about middle aged, with a pot belly and hair that was more grey than black. He wore a friendly smile as he greeted us. I giggled as he put his hand up to his head like he was holding the brim of an imaginary top hat, tipping it forward before turning his body so he was facing forward.

        "Shall I drive you to the desired location, Mr. Hemmings?" He asked Luke, looking at him in his rear view mirror as he turned the car on.

         "That would be wonderful." Luke smiled, glancing down at me, lacing our fingers together.

          Once we had started driving, I looked up at Luke, only to find he was already gazing down at me. He gave my hand a small squeeze and I smiled up at him, the same expression being returned.

          "Where are we going?"

          "If I tell you, that will ruin all of the fun." Luke smirked, winking at me. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks as I looked out of the car window. The sun was setting, casting an orange-ish pink glow over the once blue sky. The sun was a fiery orange, becoming smaller and smaller as time ticked on, signalling the beginning of the night. It truly looked beautiful outside and I hoped that the rest of the sunsets I would see on this trip would be just as nice.

          After about twenty minutes of driving, we pulled up to a small restaurant with a grey exterior and cherry red doors. There were fairy lights wrapped around the hedges near the sidewalk and all along the walkway up to the door.

          "Alright you two lovebirds, we're here." Pete looked back at us, taking my attention away from the restaurant.

          "Thank you so much, Pete. We'll see you when we get out." Luke smiled, sliding out of the car, our fingers still entwined. I got out after him, waving a small goodbye at our driver before Luke and I walked into the small eatery.

          Once I had taken a single step into the building, I knew that this place was expensive. All of the waiters were dressed nicely, their all black attire looking similar to Luke's only slightly dressier. There were small round tables scattered about the dining area, with some booths placed along the perimeter. The lighting was dim and cozy, matching the calm atmosphere. There was a small podium at the front where a girl stood behind a computer, smiling at us. 

        "Hi, what can I do for you?" She asked, looking between Luke and I.

        "Hi," Luke smiled. "We have a reservation for tonight." 

        "Last name, sir?" She looked down at the computer, getting ready to type.

        "Hemmings." 

        "Alright," She looked back up at us, grabbing two menus. "Right this way." 

        We followed the girl to a booth near the back of the restaurant, where we sat across from each other. She placed a menu in front of each of us as she smiled. "Your server will be right with you." 

        "Thank you." We spoke simultaneously, making me blush and look down at my menu. The server smiled at us one final time as she walked back to the front.

        I opened the front cover, finding that there were about a million different entrees we could pick from. 

        "Luke," I whispered, as he looked up at me. "There's so much to pick from."