"Why are you freaking out? It's just Regina." Ellie pokes fun of my over anxious nerves while she cuddles further into her new boyfriend, my best friend.

"She's right you know. You've known Regina since the day you were born, she's still the same," Killian suggests as a comforting support tactic but that only makes me more nervous.

"Yeah but it's been so long since we've been close. There's so much awkward tension still lingering between us. It's like we both don't know what to say because we are too terrified we might lose the other person again." I groan inwardly and plop down on the couch across from my friends.

"Just forget about the past. Tonight is a new beginning, a fresh start toward your happily ever after," Ellie explains with a wide toothy grin but the idea of her statement kick started the butterflies in my stomach.

"That isn't helping. Now I'm even more anxious about making sure this is perfect for our future." I rest my elbows onto my thighs and bury my head in my hands.

"Seriously, you're freaking out for nothing," Killian retorts but I don't bother looking up from my self wallowing.

There's a small knock at our apartment door forcing my head to snap up. "Oh god," I groan. "She's here. Of course she's here. Regina is always on time."

"Breathe!" Ellie commands.

I nod and take a deep breath as I rise from the couch. I wobble, like a baby deer learning how to walk for the first time, as I stumble toward the front door. I need to get my anxiety in check if I'm ever going to make it through this date.

My trembling hand reaches for the door and yanks it, a little too aggressively, wide open.

My eyes scan the beautiful woman before me. She is most certainly not the girl from next door anymore, she's a woman. A gorgeous, sultry woman, with thick curves and groomed to perfection. Her thick raven locks fall just below her shoulders, the ends flipping out from her styling it and I wonder how long she spent on her hair. Her makeup is complete with smokey eyes and deep red painted lips, making the scar above her lip more prominent. A tight red dress hugs her every curve, further reminding me she's not the same little girl. Regina always had a tiny frame but now, her chest looks fuller, her hips are wider and those thighs are definitely thicker.

"Emma? You're staring dear," Regina informs me with an evil smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Out of my peripheral vision I notice her hands resting in front of her lower abdomen but they are starting to twitch and I can only assume she's just as nervous.

"Sorry," I meekly reply and wince a little as my hand grips the doorknob even tighter.

"Hey Regina!" Ellie calls out breaking through this uncomfortable situation.

"Hi Ellie. Hey Killian," Regina smiles and leans a little through the doorway but never crosses the threshold.

"Hello love!" Our friend calls out over his shoulder.

"Are you ready?" Regina questions.

"Yeah, lets go. I'll see you guys later."

"Have fun you two," Ellie sings in a teasing manner causing me to roll my eyes and shut the door behind me.

"You look very nice tonight Emma." Those big brown eyes show off her shy and vulnerable side, something I never really saw until she was up on stage pouring her heart out.

"You-god...you look beautiful Regina," I stammer out through a heavy exhale. I mentally slap myself for sounding like a babbling fool. I quickly walk away to hide the blush creeping up my neck.

"I thought we could walk to the restaurant. It's a beautiful night and it's not very far," Regina suggests as she rushes to catch up to me.

"I think that's a great idea."

"Are you going to be okay walking in those heels? I remember you always had a rough time with high heels."

I offer her a weak smile as I push the lobby door open. I can't tell if she's teasing me or just being sincere.

"I have conquered them over the past few years," I confirm and hold the door open for her.

"Thank you," she mutters as she sways passed me. Her perfume invades my nostrils causing my mind to draw blank. The scent is clean, refreshing with a hint of floral but most of all intoxicating. It's not a scent that I usually associate with the brunette which sends my heart into panic mode. She's very different. I'm very different. What if we don't fit together anymore? "Are you coming Emma?"

I release the door and shake my head from all the negative thoughts heckling inside. "Of course," I murmur and rush to her side.

Our heels click against the sidewalk in sync with my heart that's pounding in my chest. Every second that passes by in silence only makes my jaw clench tighter, making it damn near impossible to formulate any words.

Should I hold her hand? Should I continue this awkward not touching thing? I swear I can feel the tension like a brick wall between us.

"I think you will enjoy this place I chose," Regina finally breaks through the silence but I find myself struggling to find anything intelligent to reply with.

"Cool."

Cool? Cool! Dammit Emma, get your head out of your ass! It's just Regina...

"I don't know if you know this but your town has some of the best restaurants which provide open mike nights. I love coming here to sing. They usually have smaller crowds and everyone is always so responsive."

"I only ever saw you preform that one time, but everyone adored you," I admit and finally allow my eyes to drift to her face so I can gauge her reaction. Her flawless face smiles shyly and I can tell she's trying to fight a wide goofy grin.

We fall silent again and I rack my brain to come up with something to talk about. Why is my brain blank? All I can focus on is the unbearable silence. How far is this restaurant because I need this silence to end.

"Here we are," Regina announces causing my head to snap up. I freeze and suddenly I don't feel so well. Regina opens the door for me to enter but I can't find the strength to move forward while my head spins. "Emma? Are you alright?"

"Uh...yes." Do I tell her the truth or do I try my best to play this off?

"What's wrong?" She innocently asks and I can clearly hear the hurt in her voice.

"It's no big deal."

"Emma," she sternly says my name hoping I will confess.

"Seriously it's fine. It's just, this is the place where I had my first date with Walsh. You know when I saw you preform." I swallow thickly as my mouth completely dries up.

Regina exhales rather loudly as embarrassment washes over her face. "I'm so sorry. We...we can go somewhere else. I didn't know. There's a couple of places like this in town and I never thought to ask which one you saw me at. God, Emma I'm so sorry."

"No, no, please stop apologizing. It's really no big deal. Come on, this place has good food anyways and their wine is top notch." I wink playfully to help ease the tension but Regina's face falls and she looks like she might be sick.

I step inside the restaurant and fake my best smile for her sake...for our sake. Regina informs the host on our reservation and then we proceed toward our table.

We both slide into our seats while the host places or menus down in front of us.

"This isn't the same table is it?" There's a hint of humor in her voice prompting me to push out the breath I was holding onto for dear life. I smile, a genuine smile this time as I peek through my eyelashes to look at her.

"No," I reply playfully causing a small smile to dance across her lips. My eyes drift back to the menu as I figure out what I would like to order. Wine. I need a lot of wine in order to relax.

The waitress stops in front of our table with her hands behind her back and a plastic smile across her face.

"Good evening, I'm Alice and I'll be your server for this evening. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Moscato," I blurt out a little too quickly.

"Water is fine," Regina replies catching my attention. The waitress nods and steps back from our table.

"You don't want a drink? I know your mother has cut you off but I'm more-"

"No Emma, that has nothing to do with my order." Regina shifts in her chair expressing her anxiety about something I'm not sure of.

"Then, what?" My eyebrows pinch together in confusion because Regina always enjoyed a drink when we went out together.

My date clears her throat and fiddles with the corner of the menu. Her eyes are casted down and she's squirming anxiously in her seat.

"I," the tiny word drags on for what seems like forever before she continues, "...don't drink anymore." My brows crinkle even more, perplexed by her admission.

"What do you mean? I saw you drinking champagne at my party. In fact, you were pretty hammered," I joke around with a little laugh but she's not laughing, so I snap my mouth shut.

"Yes, that was a mistake." She rolls her eyes as frustration soon takes over. "Big mistake," she mutters and picks at the edge of the menu again. "I was sober for a year and a half before that." I watch intently as her face turns into a scowl and I can only imagine how much she's scolding herself right now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Ummm let me grab the waitress I'll change my order. I don't want to drink in front of you," I babble on as panic courses through my heart. Now I'm the one apologizing like an idiot. My head is frantically scanning the area for the blonde waitress so I can cancel my order.

"Emma stop," Regina says in the most soothing tone forcing me to turn my attention toward her. "It's quite alright. You can have a glass of wine in front of me. It won't bother me, honestly, I don't even want to drink after blowing my sobriety."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

The waitress arrives just then and before she can even set down a glass I'm shaking my head.

"I'm so sorry to do this but I forgot I can't have any alcohol. I'll totally pay for the glass, it's my fault but can you just take the glass away?"

"Are you sure?" The waitress questions as I'm already nodding my head. She turns her attention to Regina and points at the white wine. "Would you like-"

"No, no my friend-girlfriend, uh friend doesn't want it either," I stutter out prompting the brunette to bow her head most likely in embarrassment.

"Alright, can I get you something else?"

"Water is fine, thank you so much." The waitress smiles politely even though I'm sure she wants to toss that drink in my face.

My body explodes with a burst of heat, I swear I feel like a volcano that just erupted. I sweep my hair to one side in an attempt to cool down my neck that's beading with sweat. I exhale a slow shaky breath and clench my fists to calm my nerves.

"So I drove you to drink?" I'm not sure if I meant it as a joke or a prompt for conversation but it slipped out before I could register it. Regina's head snaps up to meet my gaze and I hate that I can't read her expressions anymore.

"Quite literally," she curtly replies. "Twice." I gulp down and sit on my hands to calm their quivering.

"God Regina, I'm so-"

"A water for you," the waitress interrupts while placing the glass down in front of me. "Are you two ready to order?"

"Yes, I'll have the lasagna please," Regina orders looking as calm as ever while I'm a fumbling mess.

"Meat sauce or marinara?"

"Marinara please."

"And for you?" The waitress questions and I realize I never really looked at the menu.

"I'll have the same please," I answer and hand over my menu.

There's a palpable tension building between us as we sit in silence. I trace my finger over the ice cold glass of water, smearing the condensation around.

"I behaved poorly when we broke up. I didn't really know how to cope without you. I did some stupid things that I'm not proud of. I allowed the darkness to consume me but I eventually found my way out," Regina admits while straightening her posture, not wanting to appear weak during this confession.

"So the singing?"

"That was a tool I used to express my feelings instead of drowning myself in alcohol. It has really helped."

"Well I'm really glad that it helped you. I am so sorry I ruined your sobriety."

"Emma, that wasn't your fault. I have only myself to blame. Again, I handled your proposal poorly."

"God Regina when I saw you slam back a champagne flute after I said yes, the first thing that crossed my mind was, I would be doing the same thing if I saw you get engaged. So, you're not alone. I would've drank every bottle available."

Again, we fall into more silence. Why is this so damn hard? It never used to be this way, we always found things to talk about. Now, I can't even think of one topic, not one?

Our food soon arrives and I am so thankful for the people singing on stage to make our silence a little less awkward. By the time we finish our meal, it's blatantly obvious we haven't spoken in a very long time.

"I'm sorry, this is horrible," I blurt out not being able to take one more second of quietness. "This date was awful. I'm so sorry. God what happened to us?"

"I think we are over thinking this. I think we are making this date so much more then it needs to be," Regina answers without skipping a beat.

"This isn't us," I claim as I lean forward in my seat.

"No, I suppose it isn't." Regina nervously curls a chunk of hair behind her ear and looks away from our table, like something interesting just happened across the room. I sit back in my chair and sigh.

The waitress comes by with our check and clears our plates as Regina and I both reach for the bill. Our hands are both gripping each end as our eyes slowly rise to meet each other's.

"I asked you out," Regina defends.

"You're a law student, I'm a teacher," I weakly counter.

"Please Emma, let me do this for you." Her eyes soften and I feel how much this would mean to her after how many times she denied us going out in public. My hand releases the check and she smiles gratefully in return.

Regina pays for our dinner and again in silence we exit the restaurant. The warm evening air wraps around my body like a blanket. I gaze up at the night sky and frown when I notice the lack of stars from being in the city, nothing like home. All those memories of Regina and I sitting on her roof staring at all the stars cuddled into one another flash before me.

"I have an idea," Regina whispers next to me breaking me from my distant memories. I sigh and drop my gaze to the sidewalk below.

"Maybe we should just head back to my place," I suggest not wanting to continue on with this horrible date or take a chance on making the evening even worse.

"Oh come on," she laughs and slips her hand in mine. "No more hiding out," she insists and tugs on my hand for me to follow her.

We walk hand in hand through the busy city and already I'm feeling more at ease from her comforting touch. All my muscles relax and the pressure on my chest slowly lifts away.

"So, how are Ellie and Killian doing? This is her first boyfriend right?" Regina questions in a tone that sounds a lot like when we were teenagers, bringing me back to all those gossiping conversations in the gym locker room.

"Well, yeah I guess so. She's gone out on dates but never had a steady boyfriend. They seem to be getting along really well. They seem...comfortable."

"So can I assume she's a virgin if she never had a boyfriend?"

"You would assume right," I let out a small chuckle and scoot closer to the brunette. "She never even kissed a guy until senior year of college."

"Shut up!"

"No seriously, she was so terrified that she built this huge thing up in her head. It wasn't until I came home wasted one night and kissed her just so she could get over her irrational fear."

"You didn't!" Regina shrieks as a small giggle breaks from her lips.

"I did!" We both laugh together and now all my anxiety has drifted away. "It was the night I saw you singing. I was hammered and I came home all upset. I just grabbed her face and kissed her and told her to just be over it now." We both broke out into a fit of giggles as we walking through town.

"That's hilarious Em." My heart stops from the old familiar nickname. I missed her voice whispering that name into the dark as our limbs were tangled together. It feels like home.

"Where are we headed?" I ask once I notice we are at the edge of town.

"Here," she states before she pulls my hand toward a small park. She drops my hand as she slithers her body onto a swing. I grin like an idiot and slide into the swing next to hers.

"A park?" I laugh out while slowly pumping my legs.

"What better way to break through that awful tension than getting back to our roots?" She flashes me a corky smile before she jerks her body and pumps her legs to catch up to my height.

"I suppose you're right," I admit as I lean back and watch as my feet wiggle against the midnight sky, the creaking of the chains reminding me of my youth. "I don't think we can jump off in these dresses though."

"God, even in jeans I wouldn't jump off now. I'd most likely break a leg." We both laugh at the terrifying thought that we are in deed getting older.

"The last time I remember being on a swing, was the end of freshman year, I believe?" My voice rises a few octaves higher as I contemplate the year in my head.

"Oh god," Regina groans next to me and although I can't really see her face all too well, I know she's rolling her eyes at me.

"You didn't 'see' Neal standing there, talking to me, right? Isn't that what you claimed," I tease with a stupid grin plastered across my face.

"What?" She questions all innocently but I know Regina.

"I'm just saying, you would've had to turn your body in an awkward way in order to kick him in the head like you did," I accuse with a smug smile.

"Well he shouldn't have been standing there."

"He shouldn't have been standing there or he shouldn't have been flirting with me?" I ask leaning back so I can try and catch her reaction.

"Does it matter?" Regina snaps back but I know she's being playful.

"It does. It really does."

"I don't appreciate when people try to take what's mine." My pumping slows down allowing my swing to sway slowly before it comes to a stop.

"Was I yours then?" I question knowing we hadn't started fooling around just yet.

Regina's swing slows down as she rests the side of her head against the thick chain. She peers up at me with the most innocent and adorable expression I've ever seen grace her face. Ultimately sending my heart into overdrive.

"You've always been mine Emma," she whispers filling my heart with so much love.

I grip the chain below her head and pull her swing toward me. I connect our foreheads and smile as I peer down at her beautiful face.

"Always," I mutter before I lightly press my lips into hers for the softest kiss we've ever shared.