Chapter 2
"What happened there?" asked Numair.
"Whatever it is, he'll take care of it," answered Daine, careful not to say Alexander's name. Even though she's a better mage than he is, she's got to keep the charade going, she thought.
"Now that he's gone," Numair smiled, "do you want to go somewhere a little more private?"
"Sure," replied Daine. "How's the garden sound to you?"
"Wonderful," said Numair. They walked out, arms around each other, to the beautiful garden outside. They spent a whole afternoon there, sitting on the bench together, watching the swans swim in the pond, wandering around just to be together. Numair picked a long, thornless deep red rose for her and wove it in her hair. They ended a seemingly short day together with a kiss underneath the glowing moon and shimmering stars.
Meanwhile, Alexander and Estelle were smiling warmly at each other. Alexander had gone for a more modern-type date and had taken her to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the garden- unfortunately the same garden that Daine and Numair were in.
They sat close to each other, and Alexander had bought a single red rose for Estelle. Estelle slipped one of the roses in a slim, glass vase on the table.
Their dessert came first. "We'll order dinner later," laughed Alexander. They had crystallized rose petals on vanilla ice cream over cake. Alexander took his fork and cut a piece. He lifted the fork to her mouth flirtaciously. She bit down on it. They took turns spoon-feeding each other. Finally Alexander put down his fork. He leaned towards her and put his hands on her waist. She was surprised at the unexpected event but leaned forward to him. Their lips met briefly. So that's my first kiss, thought Estelle drowsily.
They started to kiss more until the waiter arrived and coughed discreetly. They untangled themselves and blushed. The waiter, who seemed to have experienced a lot of these kinds of things, resumed as if nothing had happened.
"The special today is a singed New York strip steak with the house sauce," he said.
"Are you hungry, Estelle?" Alexander asked politely.
"Well, maybe we'll just have some more dessert," she replied. She wasn't really hungry. And she enjoyed having Alexander spoon feed her.
"Another ice cream/cake/crystallized rose petal for you?" asked the waiter.
"Yes, please," she said, and he left. After another session of spoon feeding, they left. As they walked home in the cool night air, Alexander sighed.
"I'll be thinking of you all night," he said. She leaned her head on his arm.
"Me too," she agreed. They reached a fork in the road. He went left, she went right. They waved goodbye, and he blew her a kiss.