Chapter Eight
When David and I walked outside, we noticed that the weather was actually not too bad. The sun was shining, but the wind still had remnants of an icy chill, so we decided to drive. Once we were on the road, I turned to David, a puzzled look on my face.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"It's a surprise" David said, winking at me.
"I should have known. You never tell me anything" I sighed, then pretended to wipe away a tear.
"You'll love it, I promise." David assured me, glancing over to flash me a quick smile before returning his gaze to the road. After several minutes passed, we arrived at what appeared to be a small convenience store. David instructed me to wait in the car a minute, and he got out and ran quickly into the store. There was a glare on the windows from the sun, so I couldn't tell where he had gone or what he was doing. A brief moment later, I could make out his silhouette through the glass. He paid, then walked out, returning to the car. I eyed the bag in his hand, then looked up at him.
"What's in the bag?"
"Like I said, you'll see" David replied with a smirk as he turned to shove the bag in the backseat. After a moment, we were off to our next "super secret" destination. I knew no matter how much I asked, begged, or pouted, he would not give in to me. I knew, however, that one day I would figure out how to crack him.
After a bit more driving, we arrived at the same café we had gone to a few days before. We walked inside to find the same waitress we had last time wiping down a table. She looked up and smiled, greeting us cheerfully.
"Hey, guys! Welcome back! Just take a seat anywhere and I'll be right with you." We nodded and walked over to a booth in the corner, and seconds after we settled in, Ashley was at our table. She smiled at us again, pulling her small notepad out of her apron pocket.
"Do you know what you'd like, or do you need a few minutes?" she asked.
"We will have two caramel hot chocolates, with extra whipped cream." David told her, his classic boyish grin appearing on his face. This time, I wasn't surprised that he knew I preferred my hot chocolates with caramel in them. Ashley wrote that down on her pad and walked away, leaving us to talk amongst ourselves.
"Looks like someone was a little happy to see you" I teased.
"What? No, she's just being nice" David said with a chuckle. "It's her job to be friendly." I knew he was right, but something about the situation didn't sit well with me. I felt like Ashley was being a little more than "just doing her job" nice. For all I knew, though, it could have just been my imagination. I was never the jealous type, but that could change quickly if someone tried to take my David from me, especially a perky, blonde someone.
"I know," I sighed, not entirely sure if I actually believed that I thought it was okay. If I was right, and Ashley did ever make a move on David, she wouldn't know what hit her. Ashley returned a moment later with our hot chocolates, asking if there was anything else she could get for us. We declined, and she walked away. She came back a while later and offered free refills on our drinks, which we gladly accepted.
"So, do you two have any fun plans for the weekend?" she asked casually.
"Well, I'm going to drag Kallie to the Applebees this Saturday and make her do karaoke.
"WHAT?!" I gasped. "Are you freaking kidding me? There's no way I'm ever doing that!" I whined. Ashley laughed, shaking her head.
"Oh, I love karaoke!" she chirped. "Maybe I'll see you there" she said, winking at David as she walked away. I watched her leave, then slumped back in my side of the booth.
"Are you alright?" David asked, seeming worried.
"I think our waitress is hitting on you" I said sadly, causing David to burst out laughing. "How is that funny?" I asked, slight anger appearing in my voice.
"I'm sorry" David said. "It's just, I don't normally have random girls hitting on me, and besides, if anyone did, I know you'd bury them before I had a chance to turn them down." I sat up in my seat and folded my arms, nodding.
"You're darn right I would" I muttered. David laughed again, shaking his head.
"You know you're the only one for me, right? And that nothing and no one can take me away from you. Not even New York" he said softly, reaching across the table to grab my hand. He squeezed it gently, and I smiled at him.
"I know, and you're the only one for me." I assured him.
"I love you, Kallie" he whispered.
"You're amazing" I whispered back. I wanted to say I loved him too, but the time wasn't right yet. I knew in my heart that it was close, though.
Ashley returned a moment later with the check, and David paid right away. As we got up to leave, Ashley called out to us.
"Have a great one, guys. Maybe I'll see you at karaoke!"
"Over my dead body" I muttered under my breath.
"Did you say something?" David asked.
"Not at all" I chirped, smiling at him. He didn't question me any further, so we headed off to our next destination.
"Now you get to find out what's in the bag" David teased. I had completely forgotten all about it, but now I was curious again. We arrived back at David's apartment, and after we walked inside, he headed straight for the kitchen. I followed closely, peering around his tall frame to see what he was doing since I was too short to look over his shoulder. On the counter, I noticed three things: a box of graham crackers, a a few chocolate bars, and a bag of marshmallows.
"S'mores stuff?" I asked. David nodded in response.
"You said you were craving them, so we are going to make them" he said. My eyes lit up, but seconds later my brow furrowed in confusion. "How are we going to make them?" I glanced around, and when I didn't see a fireplace or anything in his apartment I grew more confused,
"I'll show you" David said, turning toward the stove. I turned too, cocking my head to the side. Were we going to use the stove to roast the marshmallows? David answered my silent question by turning on one of the front burners on the gas stove. He then got two forks out the the drawer next to the stove, sticking marshmallows on both and handing me one.
"Good idea" I said.
"I thought you would like it. Be careful near the fire, I don't want you to get hurt" David warned. I nodded, then stuck the marshmallow in the flame. After a moment, it caught fire I pulled it out and David chuckled, leaning over to blow out my marshmallow.
"Hope you like 'em extra crispy" he teased. He roasted his next, and it came out perfectly golden. "See?" he boasted, sticking the marshmallow out towards me. "This is how it's done."
"Well," I began as I proceeded to reach out and swipe David's perfectly roasted marshmallow from his fork. "This is how I do things" I teased, extending my fork out to him.
"I was going to let you have mine anyway." The both of us laughed, and we continued to build our s'mores. Once we were finished, David turned off the burner and opened the window to let some fresh air in, and the gas from the stove out. Afterwards, we retreated to the living room and sat on the couch, setting our plates on the table. David hunched over slightly and clasped his hands, setting them in his lap. He looked over at me, and I could see some emotion in his eyes that I had never seen before. I wasn't sure whether I should be worried or not, so I decided to ask.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just wondering if you're okay. You seemed a little upset when we were out earlier" David explained.
"I was, but not at you. I just felt like Ashley was crossing a line she shouldn't have, and I didn't like that. I don't like feeling like I could lose you…"
"When do you feel like that?" David asked, reaching out to stroke my arm.
"Almost every time we're out, I notice all these other girls checking you out, and they're super pretty. Way prettier than me." Before I could continue, David leaned over and softly kissed me. He pulled away after a few seconds, keeping his face inches from mine as he began to speak.
"You never have to worry, Kallie. Ever. I don't want any other girl but you." he explained, causing my eyes to well up with tears. One began to trickle down my cheek, and David gently wiped it away. "Don't sell yourself short. You are gorgeous, Kallie. I don't understand why you can't see that."
"I'm trying to" I said, sniffling. "I want nothing more than to see myself the way you see me. You don't know what it means to me to hear those words coming from you. I…" I stopped and took a deep breath, and I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest.
"You what, Kallie?" I opened my mouth to speak, allowing another shaky breath to escape my lips.
"I…love you."
