Chapter Four
Truthfully, I had never pictured myself going on a date again with Tobias after college. I had believed that our one year of dating was the beginning and end of our story. I knew our paths would cross again at some point, I'd be lying if I said otherwise. We had too many friends in common for us not to see each other again after college. But I had always told myself that after freshmen year, I was done with him.
But here I was, on a Friday night getting ready to go on a date with him. Christina was sitting in the middle of my bed, cross-legged and scrutinizing my outfit choice. "Switch your blue jeans for black jeans." She suggests.
"Shoes?" I ask, tugging off my jeans and reaching for the black ones next to her on the bed.
She shifts so she can get a better look at my tiny closet and then points. "Red flats." Once I have on my jeans and slide my feet into the flats, she takes a final look at my outfit. "I still can't believe you won't change out of that white blouse. You'd look so much cuter in something blue. Or pink."
I narrow my eyes at her. "You will never get me into anything pink. Ever."
Her eyes flash mischievously and I know I just presented her with a challenge, but I'm spared from her poking more at my sense of style by a knock at the door. She flies off the bed and into the apartment to open it while I quickly run a brush through my hair and then apply a meager coat of mascara.
Tobias and Christina are standing in front of the door, chatting, both of them looking up when I approach. Tobias is wearing a pair of dark jeans with a dark red button up, the sleeves bunched up to his elbows. He looked really good.
Fifteen minutes after we leave the apartment, we pull into a parking lot next to a small tavern. "Seriously?" I ask, looking at him. "You want to go to a tavern?" He laughs, climbing out of the car and then making his way over to my side to open the door. "No fancy restaurant? The ones with multiple forks and spoons?"
He shakes his head and walks close to my side. "I never actually go to those places, unless it's a dinner with the team. Not a huge fan of the small portions and fancy food."
The inside of the tavern looked a lot nicer than the outside. It was clean with pictures of sports teams from back in the day and brands of beers from way back when. There were tall booths set up around the tavern with a large billiards table in the middle.
The hostess greeted us with a smile and then led us to a booth near the windows. We ordered our drinks and then we both ended up ordering burgers.
"So have you improved at pool at all?" He asks me, smirking, after we're done our food.
I quirk an eyebrow at him. "You've got it all mixed up – you were the one who was terrible at pool. It was one of the few things that I could kick your ass at."
Tobias laughs, looking ready for a challenge. "Want to bet?" He nods towards the pool table.
Normally, I would turn him down because he is beyond competitive, but right now? Right now I so wanted to kick his ass at pool. "I'm game."
We stand up, heading to the pool table. Tobias grabs two cues from the wall and hands me the smaller one. He takes the first shot and doesn't make a shot. "Ooh, too bad." I fake-pout, moving to line up with the white ball. I successfully pocket the solid blue ball.
"Lucky shot." He grumbles, moving around me.
"You wish." I laugh. My laugh quiets when he pockets one of his stripes in the corner. He winks at me and I roll my eyes. When I move past him, his fingers brush against my arm and I get goosebumps.
The rest of the game continues as we both manage to keep the score even, until the only ball remaining is the eight ball. It takes a few tries, but eventually he manages to pocket it and ends the game. I place my cue on the table and lean against it, frustrated. I cross my arms over my chest and feel silly for being so hurt over losing, but I had always been good at pool whenever playing against him. Maybe he wasn't the only competitive one.
"Aww, don't look so sad. There aren't many people who could keep up with me during that game." He steps in front of me, placing his hands on my hips.
I roll my eyes. "You just got lucky."
He nods and shrugs once. "Maybe I did. But I still won and I would like to claim my prize."
Fixing him a skeptical look, I say, "I don't remember placing any bets…"
"It was a competition. Normally after competitions, the winner gets a prize."
I tilt my head slightly to the side and narrow my eyes. "And what kind of prize do you think you're getting?"
A knowing smile spreads across his face and he leans past me, placing his pool cue on the table and then places his hands on the table on either side of me, trapping me. He leans closer and I bite the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling. His nose brushes against my cheek when he leans close enough and says, "Ice cream."
He laughs as I shove him away, no longer able to contain my smile.
"Ready to go?" He asks, holding out his hand. I nod and take it, letting him twist his fingers through mine. When we get to his car, he opens the passenger side door for me and then shuts it.
When we get back to my apartment, Tobias jumps out of the car and runs to open my door for me. "Such a gentleman." I smirk, getting out.
"I gotta be if I'm going to impress you." He winks at me, shutting the car door behind me. He places his hands on my hips and steps closer to me. "Are you sure you don't want to spend the night at my apartment?"
Shaking my head, I tap his shoulder a few times. "Some of us have real jobs to get to in the morning."
"Hey! It's my one day off this week before back-to-back games. If I wanted to spend it with you, you should feel honored." I ignore the terrible joke and just blink, fighting a smile. "Well if you're not going to spend the night, the least you could do is give me a goodnight kiss."
Resting my hands on his arms, I glance at his eyes – deep pools of dark blue water – and feel an electric pulse running through my body. I lean up on my tip-toes and press my lips to his. "Goodnight." I say after finally managing to pull away from him.
I head inside before he can try and convince me to go back home with him or before I beg him to stay with me.
Christina's awake and lounging on the couch, curled up underneath a blanket with a knowing smile covering her face. I lean against the front door, not able to hide my smile. "I was going to say the date went well, but you came home."
I roll my eyes and move to sit at her feet on the couch. She sits up, pulling her legs under her, keeping the blanket on her lap. "It did go well, really well. But I don't spend the night after the first date."
"But any other night…?" She raises her eyebrows quizzically.
Laughing, I run my fingers through my hair. "He knows that I want to take things kind of slow and he's surprisingly not pushing the boundaries." Shrugging, I lean back against the arm of the couch. "He's proven to me that he has changed."
"I told you one date wouldn't hurt." She jokes and I kick her shin playfully.
"But in all seriousness, Chris, I am actually glad that you talked me into seeing him again." She smiles a wide smile, proud of herself no doubt. "I actually had fun with him tonight."
She leans forward, eyes wide with curiosity. "Where did you go? What did you do?" The questions were endless with her and we spent a good few hours talking. Thankfully, the entire time we talked it wasn't all about Tobias, but a good portion of it was. I tried to change the subject on her a few times, bringing up Will and asking how they were doing and what Will's plans for a career were, surprised to hear that he planned on joining the Army Reserves. She didn't seem too happy with him joining the military, but she was still so proud of him for willingly putting himself on the line.
And then she takes me by surprise by saying, "We talked about marriage." She bites her bottom lip nervously and it was a surprising thing to see her worried. When I asked her what she meant by that, she said that when he brought up joining the military, he said that if they were married and he was stationed somewhere besides Illinois then she would automatically be allowed to follow him and they would have a house on base. Will didn't want to leave her.
Around midnight, we decided to call it a night, both of us having to get up early for work tomorrow. Christina was dealing with one of her own clients and I had to run into work to get a few things done for Max.
The following morning, I was up and ready to head to work by eight, right as Christina was getting in the shower. I wished her luck and then headed out the door.
The day dragged on since I didn't have much to look forward to tonight. Tobias was currently in New Jersey for a game tonight against the Devils and wouldn't be home until later tonight. He would occasionally text me throughout the morning, up until he told me he had to go – to get dressed for the game. I wished him luck and promised that I would be waiting for him to get back.
I would've made plans with Christina for the night, but she didn't know how long she would be with her client and she had also promised Will that tonight would be a date night for them.
So I was left alone after work, all by myself. I took the free time to clean around the apartment - sweeping the floors, dusting, wiping the counters down in the kitchen and then cleaning the stove. But even after cleaning the whole apartment, it wasn't even dinner time by the time I had finished.
Around six, after I had showered and dressed in a pair of black leggings, white tank top and a red flannel, I headed out the door. I headed down the street to a small café, ordering myself a burger to go. Tobias texted me while I waited for the food, letting me know he was on his way back to Chicago and would let me know when he lands.
I headed to his apartment, after paying for my meal, and let myself in. I made myself comfortable on the couch, turning on the annoyingly large flat screen TV and flipping through the channels before starting in on my dinner.
I don't know what time I fall asleep – sometime in the middle of Jurassic Park – but I'm soon woken up by the sound of the front door opening and am surprised to realize I'm sitting in complete darkness. The lights switch on and Tobias is shutting the door.
He drops a black backpack on the floor and smiles. "Hey."
"How did the game go?" I ask him, watching as he makes his way towards the couch. He plops down next to me and pulls me against his side. "Did you win?"
Yawning, he nods. "We won three to two. I got boarded a few times and my shoulder hurts, but other than that the game went amazingly well."
I extricate myself from his arm and cover my nose. "Well it's great that you won, but I think you need a shower. You smell terrible."
"You don't like the smell of sweat?" He asks, narrowing his eyes at me. "And here I thought that was my best quality." I roll my eyes and then he's pulling me against him, wrapping his arms tightly around me so that my face is buried in his chest.
Squealing, I shove my hands against him, trying to get out of his hold. "Tobias! Stop it, you seriously stink!"
Standing up, he grips me by the wrists, pulling me up with him. He bends down and lifts me up over his shoulder, fireman style. "If I'm taking a shower, so are you."
"I already showered!" I'm gripping onto the bottom of his shirt as tight as I can. "I don't need another one!" Although, after being trapped in his arms his smell probably got all over my clothes. Great.
Tobias doesn't put me down until we're in the bathroom. Once he does, he captures my face between his hands and presses his lips against mine. I guess his adrenaline over winning the game hasn't passed yet. His lips are warm and strong against mine and I grip onto his biceps for stability.
Once he breaks the kiss, he leans into the shower and turns it on. "You know we're not together, right?" I'm breathless and he's moving to stand back in front of me, his hands going to my hips. "I mean…we've only been on one date."
"I never said we're together, but I mean it's not like we haven't dated before or had sex." I know he's right. He knows I know that he's right – and so does my body. "Just take a shower. You smell." He smirks, holding out his hand.
Rolling my eyes, I take his hand.
Okay, I know that this took forever to get up and I apologize, but I have not been very creative lately...just stressed with trying to prepare for the next semester of classes and work and finding a second job.
However, the next chapter may take a bit to be posted because I am getting my wisdom teeth out in two days and don't really plan on doing anything but sleeping after the surgery.
