Now, THIS is the climax I suspect you all have been waiting for. Enjoy this chapter and leave a review when you finish, if you'd like.
It took Leon a week to call the number Ada had scribbled on the paper, due to his characteristic self-doubt. Throughout the week, Leon relived that night at the bar over and over again, every minute of every day, even during training at the academy. He was teased constantly by his buddies who had been there with him, from sly looks to jokes. Leon took it all in stride. Albert was the only person he ever talked to about Ada, and he got an earful of classic, hopeless-romantic lines and sentiments.
After a few days of incessant speeches about the woman in red, Albert finally pulled Leon aside and told him, "Look, we're glad that you've fallen in love or whatever, but you can't go on like this and not do anything about the fact that she gave you her number for a reason. Call her already."
Leon knew that Albert was right, so after a few more days of debating with himself, he finally picked up the phone and dialed the number. Before pressing the "call" button, Leon took a deep breath, exhaling all of the nerves he felt at that moment and turning them into carbon dioxide. He tapped the screen and raised the phone to his ear. He heard the sound of the phone dialing and ringing and waited for Ada to pick up, or ignore the call.
She picked up after two and a half rings, and when he heard her voice for the first time in a week, he almost couldn't speak. "Hello, who is this?"
Leon fumbled over his words for the next few seconds, and after she quizzically asked "Hello?" into the phone a second time, he was able to form a sentence.
"Hey, Ada, it's Leon," he greeted, trying to sound as calm as possible. The butterflies in his stomach settled slightly.
"Oh, Leon! To what do I owe the pleasure?" She somehow managed to sound sexy as hell at all hours of the day. Leon closed his eyes and smiled. He could almost imagine that once again, she was sitting next to him at the bar and they were sharing a round of drinks.
"Oh, I, uh… Well, I can't get you out of my head, Ada… I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a date sometime soon." Leon felt even better now that he had said what he wanted to say. He wondered if Ada's presence simply brought out his romantic side. It was likely. He could have sworn he heard a small gasp on the other line as he spoke.
"I admire your boldness, Leon… Well, yes, actually, I'm free tonight. Are you available?" Her calm voice totally contrasted the current thoughts bouncing off the inner walls of his mind, saying things along the lines of Did she just say yes or You're the luckiest man alive. He took a moment to process what she said, running a hand through his hair and taking a seat on his bed.
"Yeah. Yes, I'm free. Yeah. What time should I pick you up?" Leon's mind was going a mile a minute, thinking of what would happen, where he would take her, what he would wear, when -
"Slow down, Leon," she said, laughing. "You don't know where to pick me up yet." Leon took a deep breath and nodded, even though he realized she wouldn't be able to see it.
"Sorry. I - I guess I'm a bit excited, is all," Leon admitted sheepishly, leaning back until he lay flat on his bed, trying to chill out.
"So am I, Leon," she replied. He could hear a smile in her voice. "I'll text you the address. See you tonight!"
"See ya," Leon parroted, bringing the phone down from his ear.
As he was lowering it, though, he heard her cry, "Wait, Leon!" At the speed of light, the phone was at his ear once more.
"What is it?" He was curious about what would make her have second thoughts about hanging up. There was a beat of silence, and Leon guessed she was trying to phrase what she wanted to say. It was good to know she could hesitate just as he could, that she didn't always know what she was going to say before she said it.
"Don't think too hard on where to take me," she said. Leon frowned slightly, but he realized she had more to say, so he kept quiet. "I know you'll pick a nice place no matter what it is." His frown transformed into a smile, and his concern dissipated instantly.
"Okay, Ada. See you tonight." This time, he brought the phone down from his ear and tapped the "end call" button. He placed the phone off to his right, and stretched out on the bed, then rolling off, realizing he had to pick out some nice clothes and think of somewhere to go.
Leon sat in his car, on the sidewalk outside the address Ada had texted him. She lived in an apartment building several stories tall, which gave him a few minutes to mentally prepare himself after sending her a text that simply read "I'm outside."
He saw her push open the front door, striding towards his car with purpose. As she approached him, he took note of what she wore: black heels, stockings, and a black dress. Leon unlocked his car with his eyes still glued to Ada. Her hips swayed in the way they had when she walked away from him after placing her number in his hand. The dress hugged her hourglass figure tightly, her toned thighs stretching the fabric as she walked.
Finally, she reached his car and bent down slightly to pull the door open. Leon noticed her cleavage as she bent forward, but he directed his gaze downwards when she sat quickly in the passenger seat. "Hello, Leon," she said, setting her purse between her legs. Leon looked up at her at last, noticing a set of dangling earrings hanging from her ears.
"Hey," he whispered. He looked into her eyes, those sparkling green orbs, that told him so much, her gaze announcing, You're lucky that I'm looking at you. "You look nice, he added, speaking slightly louder. She smiled seductively.
"Thank you, Leon," she replied. He was frozen by her stare, hands turning white from how hard he was gripping the steering wheel. "So," Ada began, inspecting her nails, "where will you take me?" Her words snapped Leon out of his reverie, and he started the car to maneuver out of the spot he had parked in.
"You'll see," was all Leon said by way of response. His eyes were now on the road, making it easier to not implode from the effect of Ada's sexy stare.
"I love a good mystery," Ada purred. Leon gulped. It was still hard to believe Ada was in his car, showing excitement about the date he was taking her on, talking to him in such an intimate way that she made him lose control on the inside. The light at the intersection he was approaching turned red, and Leon turned back to Ada, placing his hand on the divider between the seats.
"So how was your week?" He asked. As much as Leon liked to avoid small talk, he didn't want to bite off more than he could chew. The light turned green, and Leon pressed his foot down on the gas, turning back towards the road once more.
"It felt quite mundane," she replied. "I'm usually engaged in my work, but I couldn't stop thinking about the sweet guy at the bar who bought me a drink." From his peripheral vision, Leon could see Ada smiling enticingly. He himself was grinning ear to ear, unable to contain his glee at what she had just said.
"Really? What's your profession?" Leon had resolved with himself earlier that he wanted to get to know her above all else during this first date, so naturally, he jumped at the opportunity to ask about her life.
"I'm a psychologist," she replied. Leon raised an eyebrow. Now that's not something you hear every day, he thought.
"Wow," he breathed. "What's that like?" He imagined Ada sitting across from a client, legs crossed, chewing on a pen as she listened to them speak, offering observations in that trademark voice that simply oozed sex. Hot, his subconscious mused.
"It's very interesting, actually. My training sometimes carries over outside of work, and I catch myself analyzing other people without realizing." Leon was very interested now. He was getting more than he had asked for with that question, and he was glad. "Oh, and by the way," she added, causing Leon to perk up again, "If I start analyzing you, Leon, please stop me. I've been told it can be quite irritating."
Leon smiled and glanced over towards her. She was already looking at him, and he remembered how hard it was to speak in front of her for a moment. "Don't worry about it, Ada," he reassured her. He looked back at the road, steering to the left, and said, "We're here, actually."
They looked together at a modest-seeming restaurant, that had old-timey neon lights that spelled out "Metropolis Café." Ada seemed interested. "Ooh," she cooed. "This looks nice." Leon pulled into a spot that was on the next block, pushed his door open, and stepped out into the warm evening. He didn't hesitate to walk around the front of the car and pull Ada's door open as well. She smiled and reached out for Leon's hand. He took hers and helped her out of the car. She stepped onto the sidewalk, standing mere inches away from Leon. His breath hitched as she stood to her full height, her lips inches away from his jaw. "You're quite the gentleman, Leon," she whispered onto him, causing him to shiver slightly. God help me, he thought.
He took a small step back and stretched his arm out for her to take, asking "You ready?" She replied with "Of course" and obliged him, wrapping her left hand around his right arm and resting her right hand on it.
They began to walk towards the restaurant in silence, both nervous about what would happen inside. Leon felt confident with the beautiful woman at his side, but he was still nervous about not being able to maintain her interest. Oh well, he thought. We'll see.
"No way," Ada said, laughing. Leon was telling her his best story, and he was getting the desired effect and more, including some hand touches and loud laughs just like the one he had just heard.
"So the sergeant comes out of the break room and at the top of his lungs, he just yells, 'Who brewed this cup-of-shit coffee!?'" This was the end of Leon's tale, and he laughed uproariously along with Ada at the long-awaited climax. The two had been talking nonstop for the entire night, and they had filled themselves with several glasses of wine. He had told her about his status as a cop-in-training, at which she'd made a joke about his "heroic attitude."
"That has got to be the funniest story I have ever heard, Leon," Ada said, smiling brightly and lightly resting her hand on his. Leon smiled back. He was having the time of his life, and he hoped she felt the same way he did. He had never been able to get lost in conversation the same way he had with Ada tonight, and this only increased his attraction to her.
Leon pulled his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and peeked at the time. It was 9:04 p.m. He stuffed the phone back into his pants and looked back up at Ada, who was gazing intently at him. "Well," he said, "are you ready to head out?"
Ada retracted her hand from atop his and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Whenever she did this, Leon found himself transfixed by the way she flipped her hair back while lightly running her hand across her cheek. "Sure," she responded. Leon immediately turned towards the nearest waiter and signaled for the check. Leon quickly considered what they could do after leaving the restaurant. He could take her home, or he could take her back to his place, or they could go someplace else. He chose to ask Ada what her thoughts were.
"So," Leon began. "Do you want to go home, or do something else?" He watched her ponder his question, looking up at the ceiling and back at him.
"I have a place in mind," Ada said, smirking. Leon's curiosity was piqued by her vagueness.
"Where's that?" He asked.
"You'll see," she said, still smirking. Leon smiled, remembering how he had kept the location he was going to take her to hidden until they arrived, and realized that she was only doing what he had done earlier.
The waiter came with the check, Leon paid, and they walked out of the restaurant, Ada once again latched to Leon's arm. At the moment that they again entered the evening, Leon remembered his nerves from earlier and was surprised that he had even felt them in the first place; he felt much more at home with Ada now than he had before they shared dinner.
They entered his car once again, and Ada told him to drive to the outskirts of the city, periodically giving him directions on where to turn. The roads they were traversing were dark and lined with trees. Leon joked as they were climbing a steep hill, "You're not taking me here to kill me, are you?"
She chuckled and replied, "Of course not." Soon enough, they seemed to have reached the top of the hill, and Ada stopped him at the mouth of a clearing. They stepped out of the car simultaneously, walking slowly out onto the grass. From their vantage point, they could see the entire city, in all of its shining glory, skyscrapers and bright lights shining radiantly from a great distance away.
"Wow," Leon whispered. "I've never seen this before." Ada sidled up to him and took his hand in hers. He looked down at her as she gazed out at the magnificent view. Her hair reflected the soft shine of moonlight and her eyes twinkled, and this was the most beautiful Leon had ever seen her, when he could hardly tell there was any makeup on her face.
"It's my favorite spot in this entire area," Ada whispered back. She turned to look at Leon before she asked, "Do you want to… sit down?"
"Won't you get your dress dirty?" Leon asked. Ada sighed and punched him in the arm lightly.
"On the car, dummy," she said lovingly. Leon looked back down at her and smiled. He turned around and led her back to his car, his hand gripped tightly by Ada, both laughing quietly as he pulled her gently. He let go of her hand to hop up onto the hood, and she followed suit. When he looked down at the ground, he noticed that she had discarded her heels. He thought nothing of it, instead appreciating that she felt comfortable enough to do so, even though it was more likely it was hard to walk on grass in heels.
Leon reached for Ada's hand once more and looked at her. She matched his gaze, and she seemed so calm, a small smile on her lips as she looked into his eyes. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he said quietly. She squeezed his hand.
"Oh, stop," Ada said, waving her other hand to the side as if literally pushing away his compliment. However, she was smiling a bit wider. This made Leon's smile a bit bigger as well. "You're the sweetest man I've ever been with," she added as an afterthought.
Leon was a bit surprised by this statement. He hadn't thought of himself as with her, per se, but now that she brought it up, he realized that he wanted so badly to be with her. Before making any assumptions, though, he wanted to make sure that she meant what she said.
"Am I… with you?" Leon asked haltingly. Those old nerves were back. "Do you want to be with me?" Her smile was as big as he had ever seen it on her face, and he was suffering from the suspense she was imbuing the situation with.
"Yes," she cried. "I want to be with you, Leon. If you'll have me." Leon's jaw dropped slightly, and he felt the beginnings of tears in his eyes. God, Leon, keep it together! Ada's eyes were now glistening, and he assumed she was experiencing the same thing. Suddenly, as if second nature, he brought his left hand to her face, leaned in towards her, and kissed her passionately. She reciprocated, bringing her hand up, away from his that rested on the hood of the car and resting it lightly on his shoulder. He leaned further into her, and she made no effort to resist. They continued to fall slowly backward, lips still locked, until they were stopped by the warm metal of the car. Finally, Leon pulled away from her, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb, over hair that had fallen on her face during their kiss.
He smiled and she smiled back at him, and they laughed, wiping away tears that had almost fallen. Leon knew then that he would remember this moment for the rest of his life. "I want to be with you too, Ada," he finally admitted. "Like you wouldn't believe."
They lay there for several minutes, studying each other, without saying a single word. The warm night air embraced them as they shared this moment, stars glowing mellowly in the sky, and the entire moment was so perfect, as if it had been planned for millennia. Leon had never believed in a higher power, but he supposed he owed his fortune to whatever, or whoever, had caused this to happen.
I'm the luckiest man in the world, he thought - no, he knew.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it! This particular chapter might be my favorite I've ever written. I think I really got what I wanted out of this narrative, and I hope you readers did too. Please leave a review! Those would be much appreciated. Until the next fic!