A Girl with Pursuits

Chapter Two: What Comes Next

After a 45 minute drive through the bustling freeway's of LA, Noah and I finally made it back to our shared apartment. He hadn't been there in so long, but I was ecstatic for him to be back-- I hadn't gotten used to the quiet. I parked the car in the garage, we hopped out, grabbed his things, and headed up. As soon as I unlocked the front door, Noah scanned the apartment in astonishment and let out a relieving sigh. "I am so happy to be back."

I giggled at his reply, "Well you must be hungry. Why don't you go clean up and then we can head out for dinner?" He shook his head in agreement and made his way into his room. I heard the shower turn on. I made my way to the living room couch and plopped myself in front of the TV, channel scrolling while I waited for him. After about 20 minutes, he was ready.

"That was quick," I retorted. 

"Sorry I don't need an hour to get ready," he chuckled. I shot him an annoyed, but playful grin. "So, where are we off to?"

"I think we should celebrate! How about The Ivy?"

"That's expensive," he complained. 

"I don't mind, it's my treat," I contested. 

"I can't let you do that, Adeline!"

"Please, I just got a stipend from my financial aid, I can splurge just this once," I said. I looked at him with fragile puppy dog eyes. "Pleaseeee." I begged.

He grinned and shook his head slightly. I got up from the couch, grabbed his hand and my keys, and led him out the door. On the way to the restaurant, Noah called to make reservations. We were there within 20 minutes and seated after about 10 minutes of waiting. It was a pleasant nice, just getting to catch up with Noah. His stories about his summer abroad were plentiful and rich with history and splendor. It made my heart happy that he was so content with the decision he had made, the only thing he regretted was leaving me here. But, the more I thought about it, the better it was because maybe we wouldn't have had that moment in the car if he hadn't left. We sat there for a good 2 hours catching up, acting more so like an old married couple then a new couple. As we finished up, I asked the waitress for the check. 

"Oh," she replied. "It's already been taken care of." She smiled, handing Noah back his card. 

I looked at him with astonishment and bitterness. "How? I said I was going to... What?" I said perplexed. 

"I slipped it to her when we first walked in," he said. "I wanted to pay for our first official date."

I choked up. The thought was sweet but I felt as though I was taking advantage of Noah's generosity. Instead of fighting him, however, I decided to just be grateful. "Thank you, Noah. That was very sweet and you didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it," he said bashfully. He scooted out his chair and I did the same. He reached his hand out to me and I took  it. We held hands as we made our way out of the restaurant. We decided to wander around for a bit, looking at the various shops in the area, our hands remaining intertwined the entire time. 

By the time we had returned to the apartment, Noah was exhausted; it was about 9 A.M. in Greece. I had said my goodnight to him and we made our ways into our respective rooms. I was just about to change as soon as I heard a knock at my bedroom door. I opened it confused and found a sleepy Noah holding a small white box. He handed it to me and said, "For you."

I didn't know what to say. Noah urged me to take the box after I had been staring at it for quite some time. I sheepishly grabbed the box and gestured him to come over and sit on my bed with me. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and slowly removed the lid the to unveil a necklace. It had a gold chain and gold round piece--very simply. Yet, as I examined the necklace in more detail, I noticed something was engraved in the back. I looked at it closer and realized there was a date. '9.8.2008.' Our first day of high school, the first day we had met. I looked at him with amazement. "Why--" I started.

"I know that you know it's the first day of high school and that was the first day we had met," his voice trailed off. "But for me, that was the day I fell in love with you." Tears began to pool in my eyes. "When I was in Italy, I met a jeweler and had this made. Happy birthday, Adeline."

I looked at him and wondered 'How did I get so lucky?' I smiled and the tears began pouring over, he smiled and pulled me in close to his chest, kissing the top of my head. "Thank you," I said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." We sat there in each others arms for a bit, then he grabbed the necklace and place it on me. He looked at it for a long while then decided he should get some sleep. He got up slowly and whispered a good night to me before he left my room. I sat there, in the dimly lit room, for quite some time, processing the days events. I was completely and utterly infatuated.