"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Jake asks the moment we reach the front door of my house scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah. You'll pick me up at eight"
"Deal" he replies with a smile.
"I really had a great time with you today! Thanks Jake"
"You are welcome love!"
"I better go now! Its almost six! Bye" I wave him and he pecks my cheeks before leaving. I enter with a huge grin on my face.
"Someone looks happy" Trina chirped
"Where is mom and dad?" I ask scanning the place.
"Not back yet"
"What about Steph and Melissa?"
"They left an hour ago" Trina says with a shrug and drinks a mug of cappuccino. I can see she is slowly recovering.
"So, may I know what has got that huge smile on your doll face?" Trina asks and IÂ smile even wider. I can see she is back to being the Trina I used to know. Specifically, the nosy one.
"I'm sorry Trina but I can't tell you right now! I need to get ready for my date tonight" I tell her honestly and she gapes at me nearly dropping her white mug of cappuccino
"A date? With who?" She blurts and I snigger.
"With Aaron! I'll give you all the details later! Right now, I've gotta run"
I climb the stairs hurriedly into my bedroom and take a hot bath. I really needed it because I had to calm myself and figure out a way of telling Aaron the truth.
I get back into the room in my black bathrobe. I dry my hair and curl it with my curler. I don't know which hairstyle to do so I just tie it into a neat bun on top of my head and leave a few strands in front of my face.
I wear my v neck maroon dress which I had bought just a few weeks ago at the boutique where I met Jake with Melissa's voucher. It was perfect. It had this beautiful lace on the sleeves and it shimmered effortlessly in the light. I grabbed my maroon boots from the closet and slipped them on. Finally make up.
I apply makeup on my face. As apply my mascara I think of how I'm going to tell Aaron. The fucking truth! I sigh exasperatedly and apply my last coat of lip gloss.
I check my nails and they are still black matching my hair colour. I apply a coat of dark nail polish on it and it glitters. I love black!
I look at my reflection in the mirror. My hair looks absolutely flawless on top of my head, the dress looks good on me and it reveals my curvaceous body really well, my boots match my dress perfectly and finally what caught my eye was my face. I looked different. My icy blue eyes glimmered in the dim light and my lips were really rosy because of the lip gloss. My iPhone rings and its Aaron. I release a breath and pick up
"Hey Aaron!" I say sweetly.
"I'm here love" he says and my stomach churns
"I'll be there in a jiffy" I reply and hang up. This is it! I grab my black clutch and walk out of the room taking deep breaths as I descend the stairs to the hall.
"Woaaah! You look good" Trina chimed and I smiled. The front door goes open and mom and dad walk in laughing. Their eyes settle on me and their foreheads knit together simultaneously in clear confusion.
"Trouble!" Trina spits and hides in the couch watching a TV series.
"Where are you going all dressed up like that?" Dad asks.
"I hope you are not going to that party again Nicole! You promised me that--" mom states and I cut her off mid sentence.
"I'm not going to the party mom! Its a date" I say and their eyes grow wide making their mouths form an 'o' shape as if they were about to swallow me whole.
They both burst out laughing making Trina resurface to look at what is going on.
"Okay did I hear you right? A date?" Dad asks through laughs and I knit my forehead in confusion.
"It looks like my daughter finally got hit with a cupid arrow! I thought you will never say that word to both of us! Who is the lucky guy?" Mom says quite amused and bewildered at the same time.
"Its ummm......" I trail off nervously
"Aaron" Trina threw in for me.
"Oh! Is it that scrawny best friend of yours? The one you met in sixth grade? The one with the dark brown hair, green eyes and slim figure?" Dad asks and Trina giggles.
"Yes that guy! Its only that he is much taller and broader" I tell him.
"That's why I saw that sleek white Ferrari at the driveway! I told you we should have checked who was sitting inside honey!" Mom scolds dad and I chuckle.
A sleek white Ferrari? Cool!
"But I knew you would end up with that kid anyways so without wasting much of your time since you're eighteen and free to make your decisions(long pause), you can go" Dad rants and I smile gratefully and march up to the front door.
"Anyways, you look great honey! Break a leg" Mom hollers after me and I get outside and slam the front door. I look at the time and its twenty one minutes past seven. Wow I really kept Aaron waiting for 21 minutes. Thanks to my parents.
I walk confidently to where the white Ferrari was parked. Aaron stood beside it gazing on his phone. The light from his phone lights up his face a bit and he smiles when he sees something on it. He was elegantly clad in a tuxedo and his hair was gelled down. He hears my heels click clack and he lifts his gaze up. His eyes land on me and he is frozen.
"Hey Aaron! I'm sorry I took so long! Its just that my parents were asking me loads of questions" I apologise and he gives me a weak smile.
"Never mind" he waves it off and I smile. He was such a gentleman.
"You look gorgeous tonight! Thanks for accepting to go on this date with me" Aaron says with small pink on his cheeks. He was blushing. This made me feel bad. I didn't have to do this to him. I need to make this night an unforgettable one for him.
"No need Aaron! Its my pleasure"
He smiles and opens the passenger door for me. I smile and sit in. I sigh the moment he shuts it and comes to sit at the driver's seat.
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Aaron and I held hands as we walked together into a fancy restaurant. You could tell it was an expensive one because the cars alone in the parking lot proved it. When I got inside, my mouth watered at the sweet irresistible aroma of all kinds of food being cooked here.
Aaron took me to a seat near a balcony. It was like a VIP lounge or something because it had few people here unlike downstairs which was a bit crowdy. It had lanterns which were dimly lit and it gave the place a very serene yet romantic atmosphere.
There were two candles plopped on a stand which were lighted on our table together with our crockeries and cutleries in neatly folded napkins.
"Do you like the venue? Or you want me to change it?" Aaron asks staring at me.
"Like seriously? This place is like heaven! I love it here" I reply and he chuckles
"I'm happy you do" he says and I smile gratefully. I thought going on a date with him would mean going to some cheap restaurant but this really got me confounded and impressed at the exact same time.
"Why did you choose this area?"I ask him.
" I have so many reasons why"he spits and I urge him to spill those reasons cause I was dying to know
"1. Down there is way too crowdy for us to have our privacy.
2. I brought you here because maybe you can have an asthma attack from someone's perfume! You know!
3. I wanted us to have some fresh air and look at the stars together while we eat.
4. This is the VIP and sky lounge and I wanted our first date to be special and unforgettable " He rants and I can't help but chuckle. I look up and there is a glass roof on top of us exposing the sky which was getting dark.
"That's so thoughtful of you Aaron"
"Its okay! I did it because of the love I have for you Nikki" he says and a lump forms in my throat. You do not love him. My subconscious mind reminds and I feel my throat dry up as if it has been blown with a hairdryer. I didn't know what to say even though Aaron was looking at me expectantly. I was just tongue tied.
"Good evening! What can I get for you?" A waiter says unexpectedly and I'm glad he came to interrupt the whole awkward situation. He was holding a small notebook and a stylish pen. Then he hands both of us menus and I scan through it to find my taste. The food here was really expensive.
"I would love a mug of Frappucino with extra whipped cream for the mean time. But for the main meal, I would love Honey baked chicken" Aaron orders and the waiter writes them down.
"What about a drink sir?" The waiter asks in his bold yet polite tone.
"I would love red wine" Aaron says with a small smile and the waiter scribbles it and turns to me.
"What about you Miss?" He asks with a smile.
"I would love a steaming mug of hot caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream and cinnamon for the mean time." I say and he writes it down. I can't order too much food cause Aaron is gonna pay the bill so I need to find a cheap main meal.
"What would you want for the main meal Miss?" The waiter asks and I stutter looking for a cheap meal through the long list of meals. I find baked beans to be the cheapest.
"Baked beans" I chimed and Aaron snorted.
"You are not eating that! Cross that out waiter! Change the order Nicole!" Aaron says in a bold tone.
"But that's what I crave for" I lied
"I know what you are trying to do but don't worry! Its my money" he states and I huff.
"Miss, main meal please?" The waiter asks and I trace a bit of impatience in his tone.
I look through the menu again.
"Aaron please let me order the baked beans!" I say when I don't get any other food on the menu.
"Waiter, she will have Risotto as her main meal" Aaron says and I'm dumbfounded. The waiter scribbles it.
"Drink please?" The waiter asks
"Red wine" I say with a snort and he scribbles it down.
"Your orders would be ready soon" he says and vanishes.
"Why did you do that?" I whisper bark at Aaron.
"Do what?" He asks furrowing his finely dark eyebrows at me.
"Ordering for me! I wanted that Baked beans so much" I lie.
He chuckles slightly
"Nikki! Have you forgotten I know you so well? I know you like the back of my hand! Remember we have been friends since sixth grade" he states obviously
"So what?"
"I know how you grumble whenever you are given baked beans! You hate it but all the same you eat it! I know you were just ordering it because it was the cheapest food on the list! Plus, I know your favourite food is Risotto but you didn't want to order it because you thought it was too expensive! Do you think I will bring you to an expensive restaurant if I cannot afford it?"Aaron rattles and I just gape at him
" I saved for this Nikki! Its always been my dream to bring you here and have a date with you! Please don't ruin it for me"Aaron pleads and I nod numbly. He smiles and I smile back.
"I just didn't want you to spend so much on me" I admit feeling bad
"Honestly, money doesn't matter when I'm with you Nicole" he admits and I feel my cheeks warm up. I was blushing.
"Here are your starters" the waiter interrupts and lays our steaming mugs in front of us.
I looked at my hot steaming mug of hot caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream and cinnamon in front of me. It smelt so good and it had an art of design on top of a heart. I smiled.
"Looks good?" Aaron asks out of the blue and I nod.
"Mine too. It has a bunny's face on top" he says and I chuckle taking four sips of the hot liquid. It tastes just like the way it smells and I love it.
"Well mine had a heart on it" I tell Aaron and he smiles taking a sip of his Frappucino.
"Do you remember how we became friends in sixth grade?" Aaron asks me and my lips tug upwards as I draw back the scenes from my long term memory.
"How can I forget it Aaron?" I state and he chuckles. I take a sip of my drink and squint to remember.
"Hi!" Someone says and I whirl my head to look at a scrawny boy hovering on top of me with dark brown hair and crystal green eyes.
"Errr hi" I drawl in my small squeaky voice.
"Can I sit by you? I don't have a place to sit" he says.
I look at the empty desk beside me and nod numbly. He sits next to me and class begins.
"I forgot my pen at home. Can you please lend me one?"he asks shyly and I just nod taking a spare one from my pencil case and handing it to him.
" thanks "he said and began to write notes.
" what's your name?"I asked him
"Oh! I'm Aaron Smith" he said in a cheery tone. "And you are?"
"I'm Nicole Anderson"
"Can we be friends?" Aaron asked.
"Sure" I say and that's how we became friends.
A smile crept on my face then I remembered I was in front of Aaron himself.
"I'm guessing you remembered" Aaron says with delight filled in his tone.
"Yes I do. Aaron Smith"
He smiles at this. He knew I've never called him by his full name and he got the message.
"I also remembered that small moment! I still have that pen you gave me" he says and I gasp astounded.
He reaches out for something in his pocket and brings out the blue pen I gave him waving it in my face
"Remember this?" He says with an amused smile.
"I do!" I reply and snatch it touching it with my hands.
"You kept it all this while?" I ask
"Yes cause I knew one day I'll need it and that is today"
I look at the pen for one last time and gave it back to him
"That's so sweet" I tell him and he smiles taking a gulp of his Frappucino. I also take a gulp of my macchiato too and it is finished in my mug.