Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down (Ashton Irwin Fanfic)

Chapter 23 (Charlotte)

I walked into the little Italian restaurant with Ashton behind me.  I've never been to this place before.  It was adorable, with it's old fashioned style.  There were archways in between each room, vines on the walls, and dimly lit chandeliers.  The cobblestoned floors made it hard for me to walk in my heels.  We reached the podium where people wait to be seated.  A hostess wearing a black dress greeted us.

"Hello, welcome to Portofino's.  Right this way Mr. Irwin," she said as she guided us through the restaurant.  We reached the back of the restaurant where a waiter opened double doors that had curtains on the windows.  We were outside, on a little private terrace, with a path that led to a fountain with trees that had paper lanterns that surrounded the area.  It was breathtaking.

"Thanks," Ashton said to the waiter, who then shut the double doors.  I went up to the railing and looked at the view.  Ashton stood beside me.

"Yeah, the lanterns aren't very Italian-looking, but I figured it get dark out here and there wasn't much lighting," he said looking at the trees.  "Looks okay though, right?"

"It's perfect," I said making eye contact with his dark green eyes.

"Great, I'm glad you like it," he said looking back at me.

We had the typical Italian meal.  We each had spaghetti with bread and olive oil and now we were eating tiramisu for dessert.  It was now dark so the only light came from the lanterns, the candles on the table, and the fireflies that came out.

"Okay, would you rather make out with an ape or lick the floor clean of a public bathroom," he asked licking his spoon.

"Easy, make out with an ape," I said with a breeze.

"Really," he said interested.

"Yup, I have a phobia of public bathrooms," I said laughing.

"They can be pretty disgusting at times," he said spooning more tiramisu.

"Not at times, all the time," I said matter-of-factly. 

"I'm glad that you'd rather make out with an ape," he said smiling.

"Why's that," I asked.

"Because I'm actually part gibbon," he said with a wink.

"Oh nice, did it take you all day to come up with that," I asked laughing.

"No," he said smugly.

"Oh, so you use it on other girls," I said.

"Nope, I'm just that good," he said leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head.  I then took my foot and kicked his chair from underneath the table which made him fall backwards.  We both couldn't stop laughing.

"What the hell did you do that for," he asked still laying on the floor in his chair.

"Do what," I asked coming by his side.

"You're going to pay for that," Ashton started getting up so I squealed, took off my heels, and started running across the green off the terrace.  He started chasing me and I threw my heels at him to buy me some time.

"Ouch, god! Stiletto heels are dangerous," he giggled.  With him being so much taller than me, his legs finally caught up to mine and we tackled to the ground.

"Oh my god," I said laughing.  He was on top of me, smiling down at me.  We just stayed that way for what seemed like forever.  I broke the awkward silence.

"I, uh, better get home," I said.

"Oh, right. Me too. Big concert tomorrow," he said while getting off of me and helping me onto my feet.  He went to grab my shoes.  "We can just exit through that gate," he pointed to a gate past the fountain then led to a small alley that once again resembled the ones seen in Italy.

"Okay," I said putting on my shoes and grabbing my bag.  We walked to the gate and through the alley in silence.

"I had a great time," I said facing him when we reached the streets of London again.

"Me too," he said going back to his shy awkward self.  "Uh, it's dark.  My driver can take you home if you'd like."

"Oh no, that's okay," I said.

"Oh no, really, I insist," he said almost pleading.

"Well, okay. Thanks," I said smiling down at my shoes.