It was suppose to be a romantic evening. Flowers, a fancy restaurant, and even a dress he hand picked for me himself. It was Navy blue lace and reached mid thigh. I wore it against my will, along with the stupid nude colored heels he insisted on.
Mike showed up on my front porch that night with a bouquet of flaming scarlet roses, and though they were beautiful, he knew I preferred soft pink peonies.
"Dang Swan, look at you!" He raised his eyebrows repeatedly. I couldn't hold back my laughter at his goofy greating.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Newton." I winked, teasing him for adressing his date by her last name.
"Well, ready to go?" He intertwined our arms. We began to walk away when Charlie strolls through the door. He looked at Mike with a meaningful, but stern expression.
"Eleven o'clock. Understand?"
"Y-yes Chief Swan. Eleven." Poor Mike. He let out a shaky breath after Charlie watched us a moment longer before heading back inside.
The restaurant Mike made reservations for was quaint, but classy. It smelled amazing and had a very intimate atmosphere. Candles decorated the white linened tables, while dimly lit bronze light fixtures hung randomly across the high ceilings.
"'La Bella Italia'. I thought this place was perfect for you." I raised an eyebrow, so he continued. "I don't know, it's just warm and beautiful and it has your name!"
"Oh,"was my genius response. After a moment of uncomfortable silence passed, the hostess finally led us to our table. I couldn't help but notice how Mikes eyes strayed downward from her golden locks, to her long lean legs.
"Here you are." She gestured for us to sit. "Your waiter will be here shortly." The pretty hostess smiled before leaving us. I was purposefully preoccupied with the wrinkles in the table cloth, a poor attempt to look busy, when Mike touched my hand. I looked up nervously.
"School hasn't even started up yet, but I've somehow managed to snatch up the most gorgeous girl in our class." I let out a snort at his ridiculous claim. "I'll really have to buy my mom a good mothers day gift this year to thank her for hiring you!"
I've been working at the Newtons outdoor supplies store for about the whole month of June now. I saw the ad in Charlie's newspaper, and given my profound lack of cash, I decided to apply. Who knew I'd get hired?
"One, you should always get the best gift you can for your mom," I started with a stern look. "Two, I'm definitely not 'gorgeous'." A hot blush spread across my cheeks just saying the word!
Before he could argue our waiter arrived. "Good evening. I'm Owen and I'll be your server tonight. Now what can I get you to drink beautiful?" His hazel eyes gleamed with mirth.
"Uh..coke."
"Alright. Wanna hear our specials? Unfortunately I'm not technically on the menu, but I can make some arrangements." He gave me a wink and I giggled. Mike cleared his throat loudly.
"Um, you still haven't asked what I wanted to drink." Mikes eyes tightened slightly. I was surprised. He was normally so laid-back. I assumed Mike would have enjoyed our waiters cheesy joke.
"Sorry, man. Got distracted. You know how it is. So, what can I get ya?" Owen the waiter appeared apologetic, but I picked up on the taunting tone in his voice. I realized as the night continued that Owen was more of a pig than a joker.
Mike handled the arrogant server quite impressively, only responding with a tight lipped smile. The rest of our time spent there was pleasantly uneventful. Mike was ever the gentleman, opening doors for me, and being almost obnoxiously concerned if I was warm enough as we walked through the parking lot to his car.
He helped me in, then locked the doors. The loud click made me jump slightly. The longer our night lingered on, the more unsettled i began to feel. I chalked it up to nerves from my first ever date, but perhaps it was intuition. Goosebumps rippled down my arms the farther we traveled from the city lights. This paranoia was preposterous, but there was a blurry significance his stamped on smile held that was only visible through his eyes.
"Thank you for dinner, Mike. I had a great time." I smiled warmly at him. He surprised me by snorting.
"Yeah, im sure you did." He muttered.
"'Scuse me?" My voice was caked with genuine confusion. I was taken aback by the sarcastic edge in his voice.
"I'm sure you did enjoy your little flirt fest with a waiter," He breathed deeply through his nose, while I looked on him with wide eyes. "Yeah, I saw the way you two were looking at eachother. I mean, come on Bella! You were freaking undressing him with your eyes. Right in front of me!" He chuckled darkly, as if in disbelief. "Ugh, Bella. You're sucha slut." The words were whispered, slow and clear. He dragges his hand down his right cheek.
"Um, okay. Wow." I was at a loss for words. This boy, who I've only worked with for about a month, is criticizing me like he knows who i am! It would seem that he had no interest in what I had to say anyway.
"Shut up! Sluts don't get to speak!" Mike snarled the words, spitting them in my face. He grabbed my jaw with one hand, looking at me with hate filled eyes. More angry words spilled from his mouth, but I was distracted by the car beginning to stray to the other side of the road.
Bright lights began to approach. "No!" I shrieked, while grapsing the wheel, swerving it to barely miss the truck. The driver honked loudly at us. "Mike, you need to pull over! Now!"
"Fine." He turned into a heavily wooded drive, only driving a little ways in before parking. We sat in silence for a while, the only sound being his heavy breathing, and occasional mumbles. For a moment it seemed he forgot I was right next to him. I was looking out the window when I felt his hands slither up my arm, almost timidly making his way to my face. Mike rested his hands call me there for a moment, then proceeded to knot them in my hair.
His lips crushed mine, forcing an entry for his tounge. I couldnt help but gag on the after taste of garlic in his mouth, from whatever Italian dish he got at the restaurant. I pushed him away first, protesting during the short moments our mouths were apart, but he wouldn't budge. I yanked his hair as hard as I could, then slapped him. My breathing was short, rugged gasps. I can't look away, but the longer I stared, the more my bottom lip began to quiver.
He stole my first kiss."Don't ever touch me again." I warned bitterly.
I jumped out of his car, and began to run into the darkness.
