Chapter 9- First date disasters

That night of my first date with Chris I was as high as a kite- who was I kidding- I'd always liked him and now I knew he liked me- this date made "us" seem so official.

Dressed in a summery/formal (but not too much of both) which, for those who want to know, was purple, I was ready to go. I'd just waved off Laurie, who'd called me suggesting we get ready together (she was wearing a rather racy black backless dress). I was so anxious as I went to answer the door to him.

"Wow," he breathed. "You look pretty."
"You too," I smiled, and he raised an eyebrow at me. "I mean you look handsome, not pretty!"
"So…ready for the surprise?" He asked after we'd been walking for about five minutes.
"Go for it," I smiled, excitedly.
"I booked us a table at…" we turned the corner.

I face my two options: the park or…Luigi's. Damn it. I closed my eyes, wishing this wasn't happening. "Wow! You got us a table at the park!"

"No…Luigi's." he looked puzzled. "Was that not clear?"

"Of course it was, I was just messing around. This is great!" I feigned excitement.

Inside, Laurie and Gordie hadn't arrived yet. Luigi himself led us to a table right in the centre of the restaurant.

"No!" I cried, receiving strange looks from both guys. "Could we have one of those secluded booths- for privacy?
Chris smiled as we were led to one, where I made sure Chris wasn't facing the door. After we were seated, Chris took my hand. "So…you really do look beautiful."
"And you look…crap!" I cried, as I saw Laurie and Gordie come in.

"I look like crap?" He asked, shocked.

"What, who looks like crap?" I asked, trying to get back into the conversation while keeping my eye on those two.

"I do!" he said again.

"You look like crap?" I asked, confused.

"Um…yeah, you just said I did," he looked at me.

"Yes, I told you that you looked beautiful then you said 'you look like' then said 'CRAP' really loudly," he explained.

I laughed nervously, realising how it had sounded. "I didn't mean to say you looked like crap! I started to say you looked handsome then when I looked at the door I swear I thought I saw my parents! So I said 'crap'- but seriously, dude, the resemblance was freakin' uncanny!"

"Oh, okay," he laughed. "You know, you're a little strange- but in a good way!"

"Oh, thanks," I laughed sarcastically, flicking him on the forehead.

"Sorry," he put on puppy dog eyes.
"You're forgiven," I said, standing up. "Ladies Room- be right back. Um…while I'm gone, can you really study this menu- find the best stuff. I'm talkin' eyes on it all the time, k?"
He gave me the "you're insane" look again.

I rushed to Laurie and Gordies' table and crouched beside it.

"Hey Holly!" Lauried squealed. "Wait! Holly! What are you doing here!"

"More importantly, where's Chris?" Gordie looked panicked.
"Over there," I pointed. "I'm so sorry, this was his big date surprise for me- I had no idea!"

"It's fine, should we go somewhere else Gordie?" Holly asked, reaching for her coat.

"No," I butted in. "Me and Chris'll go- I want you two to have a good time! Listen, when we leave, turn your heads and look out the window, okay?"

I sauntered back to our table. "Chris, I gotta be honest with you."
"What dya mean?" He asked.

"Im not really into dinner dates. I'm sorry, it's just I think it's awkward, overpriced and that eating in front of someone you like is seriously unsexy," I stumbled.

"So…you wanna do something elsse?" he asked.

"I do," I mumbled, apologetically.

"Thank God!" he exclaimed, loosening his tie. "I only brought you here because I thought you'd want to go somewhere fancy. Truth is, there was actually somewhere else I wanted to take you tonight- but I thought you'd find it immature!"

"Where?" I asked.

"Another surprise," Chris said, standing up and grabbig my hand.

"Okay, " I said, excitedly. "And hey, you know what, as we leave let's walk really fast to the door keeping our eyes staring straight ahead the whole time!"
He cocked one eyebrow at me.

"…for fun," I smiled.

"He laughed. "Weirdo!"