EDITED VERSION: Chapter Twenty-Five

"So, where exactly is he taking you?" Samara questioned from my bed, hugging my pillow while watching me change in and out of over a dozen outfits.

I scrunch my nose at this one. The knitted blue sweater hugged all the wrong places and the leggings were the wrong shade of black. Groaning in frustration and I flung my hands to my sides and turned to my best friend. "I have no idea, he won't tell me."

"Awe, I think that's cute he wants to surprise you!" She mused. When I gave her a look that read I wasn't impressed, she sobered. "Alright, how about I ask Darian to tell me where his brother is taking you and then we can go from there?"

I nodded my head eagerly, desperate to get as much helpful information as I could for this date so I could make sure everything would go perfectly.

Samara left the room and I heard her trying to badger Darian to confess where Nathan and I would be going tonight. After a few minutes of banter, I then heard a loud smack and Darian groaning in pain. I sighed and plopped on the bed looking at my ridiculously messy floor. I was so nervous for tonight, but it was the good kind of nervous. I just want everything to be perfect so I don't mess things up with Nathan right on the first date, that would be both humiliating and disappointing.

My cell phone began to vibrate, causing me to snap back to the present. Without looking at the screen to see who was calling, I answered. "Hello?"

"Stop stressing, princess. Wear that green lace dress you have; you look beautiful in it."

I jerked my head back in surprise at hearing Nathan's voice. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Darian texted me like two seconds ago something about you were freaking out and Samara smacked him for not letting info slide," Nate chuckled lightly and I could hear the smile in his voice as he continued. "See you in an hour, princess."

He hung up on me abruptly, leaving me in stunned silence. Samara came back in and she huffed. "I couldn't get anything out of him."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "No worries, Nate called and told me what to wear."

She arched a brow and laughed. "Are you serious?"

Getting up from my bed, biting my lip and nodding. I went to my closet and searched through my dresses, trying to find the one that Nathan was talking about. Finally, I found it at the back and grinned. I held it up to my body and turned around. "Is it just me or is this a fancy dress for a first date?"

Sam nodded her head and had a giant grin plastered on her face. "This is going to be great."

Again, I stood in the mirror and stared at my date-ready body. My emerald dress made my eyes of the same colour pop, with a little help from my eyeliner of course. My hair was half up and half down, curls cascading down my back. I gave myself a final nod and opened my door hesitantly. I couldn't believe how excitedly nervous I was.

Sam left a few minutes ago, saying something about her parents making her go out to see her "Evil Spawn" of a cousin for a New Year's Eve dinner, so I was alone walking down the hallway to meet up with Nathan. I think Darian was still here, maybe he'd ease the possible awkwardness if he is.

Taking a deep breath as the living room came into view. But rather than both Darian and Nathan being there, neither were. I tried to keep my mind from wandering and thinking the worst. But after a few minutes of standing in the empty living room, my stomach started to sink at the thought of Nathan changing his mind about giving us a shot.

I sat down on the couch and was about to get out my phone and shoot Nathan a text but instead, I heard a knock at the door. I sighed, throwing my phone to the side and got up from the couch. Straightening out my dress and putting on the best friendly face I could, I answered the door. "Hi."

"Hey, princess," Nathan grinned from ear to ear, his hazel eyes looking vibrant as ever. He held onto a small bouquet of white and dark red carnations. "I wanted to be a little fashionably late, just so I could get you these."

He gave me the bouquet of my favourite flowers and I couldn't help blushing uncontrollably. "Thank you, these are beautiful." I smiled at him and opened the door a little wider. "Let me go put them in some water."

Nathan nodded and followed me inside. Once I located an appropriate vase, I placed the carnations inside with a little bit of water and left them in the middle of the kitchen table, leaving a nice new addition to our kitchen. Once I was done, Nathan extended his arm towards me and in the best fake British accent he could muster, he said, "Ready for the best date you've ever had, my lady?"

I laughed at his attempt and hooked my arm through his. "Aren't you the perfect gentleman?"

Nathan chuckled loudly and it sounded so lively and genuine. Part of me wished he would never stop because I've never heard him seem so carefree but unfortunately he did, only to say, "Well, I think I'm quite perfect, wouldn't you agree?"

I tilted my head to the side as we exited the apartment and locked the door. "Maybe, I'll have to see."

"Oh, I see how it is princess," he removed his arm from mine and wrapped it around my waist, bringing me close. He leaned down and I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he said, "I guess tonight I'll just have to prove to you how perfect I am."

"Nate where are we going?" I asked. I couldn't see anything whatsoever because he had blindfolded me with his tie as soon as we got in the cab. He even went as far as writing the directions on a piece of paper just because he didn't want to risk me hearing the way there. Now that I think of it, the cab driver may or may not be very concerned as to what's happening.

I felt Nathan's hand on my thigh as he said, "You make it very hard to surprise when you ask where we are going every five seconds. Patience, princess." I rolled my eyes under the blindfold, praying I didn't ruin my makeup. "I promise you, you will like this and if you don't, I'll be very surprised."

"You seem very confident about this," I mused.

Nathan patted my thigh a couple of times before he said, "Oh, princess. It may be the first time I've ever really dated but I do know what to do when it comes to the ladies."

I had no doubt in my mind he winked after he said that. Rolling my eyes, I nudged my elbow into his arm. "Oh, shut up."

"We're here," Nathan said. He quickly got out of the car and opened the door on my side, gently grabbing my arm to help me out.

As I got out, the cool air hit my face instantly and I felt my cheeks start to redden. I could hear that we were still located in a relatively populated area because I could hear the cars passing by and people chatting as they walked along the sidewalk. While Nate and I walked, I felt a strange smell hit my nostrils, after a few moments I realized what it was. "Are you smoking, Nate?"

I heard Nathan exhaled heavily, flick something to the ground, and then pop a piece of gum in his mouth. "Not anymore."

"Seriously?" I laughed.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "What can I say? I'm nervous."

"The almighty Nathan is nervous?" I mused, nearly tripping as I did so. I really wanted this blindfold off, I probably looked crazy walking down the street like this.

Nate caught my arm before I could go down completely and sighed. "Excited nervous. Can you try not to kill yourself while walking?"

I turned my head to face him even though I couldn't see him and grinned. "Not likely."

A few minutes of walking later, Nathan let go of me and placed both hands on my shoulders. He was so close I could smell his evergreen cologne and his minty breath. "Alright, we're here."

He untied the blindfold and I took in my surroundings. As soon as I saw the almost vintage-looking red and gold sign, I knew we were at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. I cocked an eyebrow and looked at Nathan and said slowly, "Nate, what are we doing here?"

"Going on a date," he responded with a wink. I simply stared at him dumbfounded as he tucked his hands in his dark suit pocket and pulled out two tickets. Handing one to me, he said, "I know how much you like the Wizard of Oz, so I thought this was the next best thing."

I looked at the ticket and gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. I can't imagine how long it had been to save for this. Looking up, I saw Nathan biting his lip nervously and I quickly threw my arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. "I can't believe you would get us tickets to Wicked. How did you know I've never seen it?"

"Darian," he chuckled as he hugged me back, just as tight. He pulled me back and gave me a genuine smile, causing me to blush at the sight. "Apparently you guys compared notes on which musicals were your favourite and he freaked out because you've never seen this one?"

Nathan put his hand on the small of my back as we started to walk inside as I giggled, remembering the day vividly. "Yeah, he was outraged. But in my defence, he's never seen Hairspray live but he's seen Shrek the Musical live, now that is outrageous."

"That's the one where John Travolta cross dresses, right?" He asked with his eyebrows scrunched slightly as if he were thinking on and hard about which musical it was.

I patted his chest lightly and laughed. "Sure, I guess that's right."

As we got into line, I took in my surroundings. We were only in the lobby yet the setting was beautiful. There were two staircases that as they descended, merged into one. It reminded me of the Titanic and I started giggling at the thought of Nathan pretending to be Leonardo DiCaprio--which he'd quite honestly do.

The man scanned our tickets and directed us to our seats. We were directly in the middle of the front row and I couldn't stop gaping at the set. There were so many intricate details that not many people would notice had they not been sitting so close.

Breaking me from my thoughts, an announcement started about keeping your phone off and that recording is prohibited. The lights then went from dim to dark. Nathan gently grabbed my hand as the curtain opened and he whispered in my ear with a grin. "Something wicked this way comes."

I laughed quietly and gave Nate a stare. "How long have you been waiting to say that?"

He tilted his head in deep fake thought and grinned even wider. "Since I bought the tickets a month ago."

I dropped my mouth open and stared at him dumbstruck. I can't believe he'd buy tickets to this before we even confessed our feelings for one another. My heart fluttered at the thought. I opened my mouth to say something but Nathan placed his index fingers on his lips and then pointed to the stage. "Enjoy, princess."

***

I sat with my mouth hung open and my hand resting on my chest. I couldn't part my eyes from the stage, I didn't want to accept the fact that it was over. The people around me stood and began walking to the multiple exits but I simply sat there, as it had never ended in the first place.

After a few minutes of me gaping at the stage like a child who is devastated a Wiggles concert is over, Nathan shook my arm gently. "Audrey, are you okay?"

"Hmm?" I sounded, not bothering to avert my gaze.

"You know it's over, right?" Nathan asked slowly. I couldn't read his expression because I was too busy staring at the abandoned stage but I could hear the concern laced in his question.

I nodded my head lamely as he stood up and held out his hand. "Let's go eat, princess. I'm starving."

Twenty minutes later, Nathan and I are sitting in the seats of some lavish restaurant. Nathan was sipping on his whiskey, a drink that I recently learned he loved, while I sipped on some red wine that I didn't bother to know the name of, simply because the waiter recommended it and I have zero clue what is considered good--according to Nathan.

"So, I take it you enjoyed the musical?" Nate asked as he placed his empty glass on the table and signalled the waiter for another.

I nodded my head enthusiastically. "It was amazing! Honestly, I thought it may ruin the Wizard of Oz for me but it made me appreciate it even more."

Nathan gave me his award-winning grin. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was scared you were going to hate it."

Thinking about what he had said at the theatre, I cocked my eyebrow and tilted my head with a sly smile on my face. "So, you bought these tickets a month ago?"

Nathan's eyes went wide as if he had forgotten he had admitted that to me. Nervously, he tapped his fingers on the white table cloth. I've never seen him this awkward before. It's really quite adorable. "Yeah, um after the thing with you and Kieran I uh-"

He winced as he scratched his head like he was debating what to say. "After you and Kieran broke up, I mean, I talked to Darian about how I felt. He thought it was a phase or a little crush that I'd outgrow but um, I didn't." He refused to look in the general direction I was in, instead, he focused on something behind me and continued talking. "I thought I would do the unthinkable and ask you out and then Jude beat me to it. But then, your date sucked and then Darian told me about you not seeing Wicked so I thought I'd save up and take you. If you said no to the date, I was just going to play it off as a way to celebrate New Year's Eve or something."

It was silent for a moment and Nathan still refused to look at me. I reached over and grabbed his hand gently and gave him a reassuring smile. "That was very sweet of you, Nate. As for going out with Jude, I should have never done it. My heart wasn't in it and he was right, I had feelings for you, even then, I just didn't know it for certain."

"Hey," he said, "Don't sweat it. Honestly, I knew Jude was going to ruin the date."

I laughed at that. "How did you know that?"

Nathan gave his usual smirk and leaned back in his chair. "He doesn't know you like I do."

He ended his sentence with a wink and I rolled my eyes. "You sure are something else, West."

"Awe," he began, "You know you love me, Holland."

When he said that, my heart fluttered at the thought. Could I fall in love with Nathan? I studied him as I pondered the thought. His hazel eyes were captivating and the way his plump lips moved as he smiled and smirked was enough to make any girl swoon. Plus, he's a boxer, which wasn't a big deal, but it was still nice. It made me feel safe. Not to mention, he has really amazing hair. Like, sometimes I'm tempted to run my hands through it, just to feel the softness of it. But aside from all those physical traits, his heart is what would either be my prosperity or demise. He was so gentle and so kind underneath all his flirtatious and sarcastic remarks. He stood up to Kieran and helped me end things with him for good. At this point, I didn't know where I'd be without Nathan.

Did I love him now? It was too soon to tell.

Could I ever love him in the future? I've never been more certain about anything in my entire life. And what a scary thought that was.

Nathan studied me back, a grin started to form on his face. "Like what you see, princess?"

I nodded my head and sipped my wine. "Absolutely."

Nate held his hand up to his chest in fake astonishment. "Did you just compliment me?"

"Mhm," I giggled, giving Nathan a smile, I said, "Well, you're always complimenting me and since we're on a date, I thought I'd return the favour."

His eyes twinkled as he studied me some more. If it were any other person, I probably would have squirmed under his gaze. But it wasn't just any person. It was Nathan. So instead of squirming, I just smiled as he did so.

After a moment of silent appreciation, he grabbed my left hand and brought it up to his soft lips and kissed my knuckles. "I hope it's not too soon to say that you make me feel like the luckiest guy in the world, Audrey Holland."