A Twist of Fate ↠ Scott Hoying

9. Beautiful Plus One

The butterflies in my stomach only intensified as I got closer to the door. It's not a date. It's not a date. I kept having to tell myself. Don't be so nervous, it's not a date.

I finally got up the nerve to open the door and Scott was smiling down at me. He was wearing a simple black suit and tie and I thought it could quite possibly be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep," I said, trying not to stare at him too much.

He motioned for me to go in front of him and he followed me down to the parking lot.

He lead me to his car and opened the passenger door for me. "Why, thank you sir."

"You're welcome, m'lady."

I blushed, and thankfully I didn't have to reply when he plopped down next to me and said, "thank you so much for going with me, it means a lot."

"No problem. I said I wanted to help, right?"

"That you did," he smiled. "And hopefully you can help impress my soon-to-be boss."

I was suddenly nervous again. "How do I do that exactly?"

"Oh, you know just tell him how absolutely amazing I am."

My nervousness must have shown on my face because his smile dropped and he looked at me with concern. "I'm kidding, Scarlett. Lighten up!"

I sighed in relief and he gave me a strange look, "Am I really that scary?"

Why yes, yes you are. "No, I just really want you to get the job and I don't wanna mess it up."

He took my hand, "Tonight is supposed to be fun. Just forget about the job thing, okay?"

I nodded, "Okay. I'm sorry for being so weird about this."

"Don't be sorry."

We rode in silence for a while then. He never let go of my hand.

We pulled up to a building with a ton of cars already in the parking lot.

Scott got out and opened the door for me again, taking my hand and leading me out of the car up to the entrance.

It was a large dining hall filled with tables with pretty white table cloths and candles. I was surprised to see what looked like a dance floor towards the front of the room.

I looked at Scott, "What kind of dinner party is this?"

He shrugged, "It's more a party with dinner apparently."

I laughed and he lead me to the table he was assigned to, where two people already sat.

Always a gentleman, Scott pulled out my chair for me before he sat in his. Then he motioned to the two guys. "Scarlett, this is Avi," he said, pointing to the guy across from me who had shaggy brown hair and a beard to match. Avi smiled at me and said hello in the lowest voice I think I've ever heard. Scott pointed to the guy across from him, "And this is Kevin." Kevin gave me a friendly smile and said hello as well.

"Nice to meet you both," I smiled.

"What's up with the dance floor thing?" Scott asked them.

Kevin shrugged, "Entertainment, I guess."

Then a larger man with a stern face and an expensive businessman suit came out with a microphone, thanking everyone for coming.

"I assume that's the soon-to-be boss?" I whispered to Scott.

He nodded.

"He looks... Intimidating." I told him.

He smiled, "Definitely. Which is why I had to bring such a beautiful plus one to back me up."

I blushed, "What does that have to do with anything?"

His smile grew, "Nothing. I just wanted to see you blush again."

I turned away, trying to hide the fact that my face probably looked like a tomato by now. Why must he be so perfect?

A little while later, the food had come and soft music had started playing. Some of the couples were already dancing gracefully across the floor.

I tried to focus on my food and not Scott but was that even possible? And what was going on with him anyway? He was obviously flirting but does he really like me? He couldn't possibly. Why would he pick me out of all the other 7 billion people in the world?

I'm definitely over thinking this. I just don't want to get my hopes up and watch them fall again.

My thoughts of Scott were interrupted my none other than Scott. He set his napkin on the table and stood up, offering me his hand. "Can I have this dance?"

I smiled, taking his hand and letting him lead me to the dance floor.

He held me closer than I had expected, pulling me in and circling his arms around my waist.

We didn't talk much, but we didn't need to. Somehow it was a comfortable silence and I felt incredibly at peace for the first time in quite a while.

Too soon, the song ended. What felt like sooner still, the night was coming to a close and before I knew it we were standing outside my apartment door.

"I hope tonight wasn't too bad," he said.

"Are you kidding? I had a great time!"

His eyes lit up, "Really?"

I nodded.

He took a small step closer to me, "In that case, maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"Are you asking me out on an official date?" I teased.

"I guess I am."

I couldn't help but smile, "Yes."

"Until then, goodnight Scarlett," he said before kissing me on the cheek and walking away.

I bit my lip, not even knowing how to feel. Is this seriously happening?