CHAPTER 4

Dear Diary,

I can't believe what a wonderful night that I had. You won't believe what happened to me. It all started when Eli came to pick me up. He came in and I had already changed into my denim skirt and black top and was sitting at a table... (Anything with "~" around it is in the diary)

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned and saw that he too had changed into jeans and a white T-shirt and a light blue button down shirt over it. "Hello!" I said. "Hey! Are you ready to go?" I nodded and grabbed my stuff. "Bye Mary." "Bye Isabel!" Then she mouthed "Call me!!!" I rolled my eyes, then turned to walk to Eli who was opening the door open for me. "Thank you!" "Your welcome. So, how are you?" "I'm fine, thanks. And yourself." "I'm good. So, what do you want to see?" "Doesn't matter. Anything's really okay." "That's cool. How about we decide when we get there?" "Okay." We got to his car and he opened my door for me and made sure that I was in before he closed it, then he went over to his side of the car. He got in and started the car. The radio played "Hey Baby!" by No Doubt and I softly sang along as we drove to the theater.

We got to the theater and stood in front of the listings. "So, what should we see?" He asked me. "How about "Lord of the Rings?" We both looked at each other and said "Too long." We laughed, "Okay," I said, "Kate and Leopold." He looked at me, "Isn't that a chick flick' ?" "Hey! Yeah, so?" We laughed again. "Okay, fine we'll see that movie." "Thank You!" "But, next time, I'm picking the movie."

~I was stunned, "Next time." There's going to be a next time? YES! We got in line, as we got our tickets he wouldn't let me pay. He said that since he asked me out he was paying for the movie. We next went into the lobby and he asked me if I wanted anything from the concession stand...~

"No, I'm good." "Are you sure?" "Yep. I'm good." "Okay.

~So, we went into the theater and found seats. We got there just in time because the movie was starting. Every so often I couldn't help myself from looking over at Eli. I began to think that it was odd because he hadn't even tried to put his arm around me. I mean, isn't that what guys do in the movies? Anyway, the movie ended and we walked to the lobby...~

He was the first to speak, "So, did you like it?" "I did, very much. Did you?" I asked hopefully. "Well, for a chick flick it was good." I laughed "I like your laugh." I stopped laughing. "You do?" I asked shocked. "Yeah, it...it...I can't explain it, but it makes me feel good, you know?" I smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad I'm able to do that." We walked outside and sat on the bench outside the theater. There was silence. Then we started to speak at the same time. "I"..."I" We laughed, "I'll go first." he said. "I'm having a good time." "Me too." I said shyly. "So, what do you want to do next?" I stood up, "What time is it?" "About 7" He stood and we started to walk to the car, "Dinner?" "Okay where?" he asked. "You pick, I picked the movie." "Alright, how about the diner?" "Sounds good." We got in the car and were off.

~The car ride to the diner was pretty quiet. We didn't talk just listened quietly to the music in his car and the faint sound of him singing along. When we got to the diner there was hardly anyone there. We sat at a table and looked through the menu.~

"So, kids what do you think you'll be having?" Asked the waitress. I looked up from the menu and said, "Water please." "The same." Eli said. "I'll be right back" said the waitress as she walked away.

~I looked back down at my menu so that I wouldn't have to look at Eli. He was so cute, and so nice. Why in the world would he want to go out with someone like me? Maybe there's something about me that I just don't know about. I was lost in thought that I wasn't thinking about if Eli was even there or not. So, obviously he had other things on his mind. Like talking.~

He moved the menu from my hands and took it away. "Either you have a hard time deciding what you want or you're avoiding talking to me." I laughed nervously. "Is it that obvious?" "Afraid so." I looked about uncomfortably then looked at him and said, "Look, can I let down my guard for a second?" He looked at me awkwardly, "Yeah." I sighed, "I haven't really gone out..."

~Before I could finish what I was saying the waitress can back and spilled the water all over me. All I could do was just sit there stunned. For what seemed like hours, which was only seconds. I quickly got up and excused myself to go to the bathroom. When I got in there, because it was a single bathroom I took off my shirt and rung it out. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I used the hand dryer to attempt to dry my shirt off. As I was doing that there was a knock at the door. And a voice.~

"Isabel?" It was Eli. I cleared my throat, "Yes?" "I was wondering if you wanted to borrow my shirt while yours dried." "Really?" I asked, "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I've got two on." That's right I thought he was wearing the blue one over the white T-shirt. I took my shirt and covered myself and cracked open the door; "Won't you be cold?" "Nah, I'll be fine." "Okay. Thank you." He gave me his shirt, "No problem." I closed the door and sighed and smiled. I put on the shirt and looked in the mirror and thought, I look pretty good in his shirt. It fitted a little baggy and the sleeves were a bit long that I had to roll them up, but other then that, it felt good. I left the bathroom with my shirt in hand and walked to the table. Eli looked up at me and said, "I think it looks better on you then it does on me." I smiled, "Nah, I think it looks better on you."

~For the rest of dinner everything else went pretty smoothly. I talked and laughed about everything. I told him about how my parents weren't really around all that much and how all I really wanted was a family who was there, and he countered with the argument that having a family like his wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. However, having his younger stepsister there to talk to was pretty good, sometimes. It wasn't until three hours later that we realized that we had talked for that long. We paid and went to the car and drove back to the coffe shop. When we got there we walked over to my car. We were leaning against my car when we talked about how much fun we had tonight.~

"I had a really nice time tonight Eli." "Me too. I don't know when the last time was when I had a really nice date with a really nice girl." I laughed. "Are you hoping to score a goodnight kiss with that comment?" He looked down at his feet then at me again, "Yeah, is it that obvious?" I couldn't help but laugh, "No, not at all. But if it helps, I'm hoping that you kiss me." We were both silent for what seemed like an eternity. Just as I was about to say something Eli put his hand on my cheek, then leaned over and kissed me. We parted and I smiled and kissed him right back. After what seemed like a lifetime in heaven we parted and he said, "Can we do this again?" I looked up at him and said, "What, kiss?" He chuckled and said, "Yes, that and go out. I had a good time." "Me too. And yes, I'd love to go out again. And then you can also have your shirt back." "Why don't you keep it. Just in case." I looked at him and smiled. "Okay."

~I gave him my number and he opened the driver door for me and I got in. I started the car and rolled down the window, we said goodbye and he gave me one last kiss. Then I went on my way home. So diary, as you can see I have indeed had a wonderful night. I can't wait for him to call me so that we can go out again! I write again soon. Love, Isabel~