27. The Date (Part 1)
"He asked you on a date and you're not freaking out about this?"
Sophia sat on Libra's bed and painted her toe nails in a blood red color. Libra had kept the information from Sophia and Jack until she had been able to process it and that happened the next day. She recalled how she had stood there, gaping, in silence yesterday for what must felt like forever but eventually she had silently nodded and accepted his invitation â then he'd told her he would pick her up around 7 pm tonight. All of last night she'd spent in bed with her eyes wide open feeling nervous as hell. Her first date wouldn't be with some random guy but with Dillon Holden â a guy she'd never thought she would even see again.
Libra was still heavily confused why he had asked her out and a little doubt had grown in her mind. She wondered if this was all just one elaborate prank that he was conducting, it wouldn't be the first time, and as soon as she had accepted he wouldn't even show up. There was no way of proving that would happen of course but there wasn't any chance of proving he wouldn't do that either.
"Can we please not make this into a big deal, I'm not even sure I'm going." Libra mumbled and fiddled with a black dress that she'd stripped of the hanger.
Dr. Fine had been ecstatic to find out Dillon had asked her out and informed her that just the fact that they were getting along was a 'swell sign' to that Libra had simply rolled her eyes and bit her tongue. He had of course informed her to be careful and this wasn't anything she had to do; to take things slow but also dare to try new things â dating was a new thing.
"Is it because of the whole prom thing, still? I mean; the fact that it's still unresolved and Dillon might know who did it." Sophia spoke softly like she always did while they talked about each of their issues - almost like they would come back to haunt them if they spoke loudly.
"I hope he would tell him if he knew anything at this point; but who knows, right? I just don't see how this date will go over smoothly; we don't share any interest and we can't really talk about the past either. Everything is just so confusing and I think it's better ifâ"
"Please shut up and stop panicking," Sophia blew on her nails and waved her hand hastily in front of her feet, "you are going on this date and that's the end of it, if only to find out what he knows about that night. If Dillon is actually a good person now then maybe you will get along just fine." She finished.
Libra shrugged her shoulders and held up her final choice for an outfit to which Sophia applauded as well as giving her two thumbs up. She couldn't help but to feel normal somehow and relaxed more into the idea of going out on a date. It was tough to remember that she wasn't exactly the same as in high school anymore; she was older, more mature and more daring than ever before. Things were actually progressing faster than she'd thought and perhaps Dillon Holden had a little something to do with that.
I guess I'm going on a date.
Dillon showed up at her door at exactly 7 pm and as soon as she opened the door she knew he hadn't had any plans of standing her up. He was dressed in his navy blue chinos that he'd paired with a white polo shirt, his loafers made him look like a true rich boy. Libra could swear she had seen him in those loafers before, in high school, but decided to not think about it â he looked undeniably good. But Libra had spent time on her outfit, too, and could see in his eyes that he was pleased. She was wearing her faux leather pink skirt paired with a white blouse â the blouse she had worn once during summer break and Melanie had insisted she'd bring it.
Her black heels felt a bit unsteady but once she saw the admiration in his eyes she relaxed and draped her jeans jacket over her arm and grabbed her small black clutch in her other hand. Without a word they headed for the staircase, she relaxed more when she realized he remembered about the elevator.
"You look absolutely stunning." Dillon said once they began walking down the first flight of steps.
Libra blushed, "You look good too. Do you want to clue me in on where we're going?" She couldn't contain her curiosity.
Dillon smiled and shook his head no and didn't budge until they were on the street walking close to each other. Libra had let her hair fall on her back and for some reason it felt extra heavy right now, almost like a hand on her back. She knew her mind was playing tricks on her due to Dillon's presence but she refused to let it show too much â she needed to calm her nerves.
"I'm glad you accepted my invitation," Dillon broke the silence between them; "I probably would've died of embarrassment otherwise." He chuckled nervously and Libra knew instantly that he was serious.
"You still haven't told me where you're taking me tonight, so consider yourself very lucky." She joked and took a sigh of relief when he laughed at her, shaking his head at her words.
Maybe they would have something in common after all and even if they didn't this could be her only opportunity to truly get to know the new Dillon â and he could get to know the new Libra. They ended up chatting casually for another 15 minutes until Dillon stopped outside of, what looked like an Italian restaurant.
"I have to go first; I have a little bit of a surprise for tonight." And then he grabbed her hand and led her inside the restaurant.
The quaint little restaurant smelled of parmesan cheese and freshly baked pasta and it was almost full, too. Libra hoped that Dillon had made reservations but recalled him talking about a surprise, so she kept quiet and followed him blindly deep inside the restaurant. She walked passed couples having dinner, a large family of five eating pizzas while the kids painted with crayons on the napkins and then they reached the kitchen where the smells of garlic began hitting her strongly.
"Where are we going? Are we eating in the kitchen?" She said with a worried tone and wondered if they wouldn't be a bother.
Dillon turned to her and shook his head no, "Just follow me and go with the flow, I know what I'm doing."
They kept going passed the kitchen to a small staircase that led down to a private section of the restaurant. Down there she could see six tables and two of them were already taken, two couples that all gave them a warm look when they took a seat at their table.
"Dillon," she gasped as he pulled out her chair, "what is going on here? How did you manage all of this?"
"My father knows the owner and he helped me make a reservation," Dillon mumbled as if he was ashamed, "is this okay?"
Libra wanted to laugh at him when he said that but suppressed it quickly. She could never have imagined that the first date she ever went on would be this special. He had gone out of his way to surprise her and seeing the environment around her, with the candles and the bouquets on each table, she couldn't deny that she wasn't absolutely blown away.
"This is more than okay this is amazing. I can't believe you went through all that trouble just for..." she hesitated and looked down, "thank you is what I meant to say â this is perfect."
Dillon let his hand slide over the table and caught a hold of hers. His was warm and firm once their skin touched and she felt the butterflies awake when his thumb moved back and forth over her hand.
"You're welcome Libra. Now; let's have the best Italian food in Chicago, I recommend the deep dish pizza."