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Chapter 15

The date

Tris' POV

I take one final look in the mirror, turning around. Why am I doing this? Because you like him. I take a deep breath, wishing for my beating heart to settle down. Tonight can go either two ways, really, really good or really, really bad. I grab my purse and jacket on the way out of my room.

Thoughts on how tonight could play out continue to flood my mind. I wonder if I will be driving, obviously he doesn't have a car here. I wonder if he even knows where to go. Or if he plans to stay here…

I walk down the stairs slowly while holding onto the railing. The last thing I need right now is to trip and fall, humiliating myself in the process. No doubt breaking my ankle, if not my neck. Trust me… leave it up to me and it can be done. Especially in front of an audience. Heels or no heels.

My eyes land on Tobias almost instantly. The room is filled with all the guests already sitting down to eat. But not him. No, he is standing, his arms cupped in one another waiting ever so patiently. My heart flutters, he isn't wearing anything too dressy, black jeans and a black and gray flannel, but he wears it very well. He is so handsome.

"Hello," I greeted him, feeling awkward.

"Hi. Wow, you look… amazing." He says, sounding somewhere between surprised and proud.

"Woo Tris, looking good girl." Zeke says, louder than ever from his table. I notice that the whole room has gone quiet, just staring at Tobias and I.

"Yeah, Tris, you clean up nice." Uriah says, nodding his head while biting his lower lip. I chuckle just as Marlene slaps him upside the head, calling him a moron.

"Love those shoes, girl." Christina says, pointing at my black flats. A part of me knows that she is teasing me, after all isn't she the one always telling me how I have the legs for heels.

"Um… thanks," I say, turning my attention back to Tobias.

"Shall we?" Tobias asks, placing his hand on my lower back to guide me. I smile, moving my feet ever so carefully again. I swear my legs turned into jello the past few minutes.

My eyebrows crease when I notice both my mother and Hana waiting for us at the front door. What are they doing? Are they coming with us?

"The lights will guide the way." My mother says to Tobias, her smile is wider than I have seen it in such a long time. I think as far back, before my father's accident. A smile that I have missed dearly. Wait, she knows about us?

"Thank you for everything Natalie, Hana." Tobias says, addressing them both.

"It was our pleasure, Tobias. Please enjoy your evening." My mother says. She glances my way before she continues, "you both deserve it." I feel my cheeks heat at her words, no doubt my face is probably the color of a tomato right about now. "Here… You both need to bundle up." She says, reaching for warmer clothing. I move my arms ever so slowly, I swear a turtle could move faster at this point, slip my arms into a heavy coat and get a hold of some gloves. I slip my feet into snow shoes that have been left to the side for us.

"The lights will guide you," my mother said…. And she is preparing us for what could be a long walk in the snow…. I smile, excitedly as I can just imagine where we are heading to. It could only be one place on the property that is lit at night… and is safe to be in with weather like this… The Chasm, no doubt, my favorite place on the property.

We head out, walking slowly and carefully in the snow. Thankfully Caleb must have shoveled the pathway earlier or else we would be ankle deep in snow.

My feet slip slightly on the path. Tobias kindly takes my hand, helping me along the way. We walk for what feels like forever in complete comfortable silence. It's something that I have struggled to find with people in the past. I have always had that need to speak, make some kind of small talk… but with Tobias silence feels comfortable, not awkward in the least. Every so often I feel Tobias' gorgeous blue eyes on me, I glance up smiling when I in fact catch his eyes on me. He seems so different from the man I met outside of the airport. Definitely someone I wouldn't mind being around. No wonder Zeke, Uriah, and Shauna spoke about him so fondly growing up.

'Woah!" I scream out, feeling my feet beneath me slip, my body being thrown to the side. Tobias is quick on his feet, letting go of my hand and encircling me with his strong arms. I hang on for dear life, shutting my eyes so tightly expecting to slam onto the ground. Only that never happens. Tobias keeps us both balanced, with hardly any effort.

"You alright." He says, breathlessly. I swallow past the lump in my throat, feeling the electrical sparks on every inch of my body that he is touching.

"Yeah," I say, clearing my sudden foggy voice. "Yes, thank you." I whisper, my breath heavy as they match his. Our lips are just inches away from each other. I glance down, wondering what they taste like.

"We should get going…" Tobias insists, straightening us up and unwrapping me from his strong arms. I try to shrug off the sudden electrical shocks that I'm feeling. It's freezing out here, but right now… I feel a thousand degrees warm. I let a slow breath out of my lips before starting my feet once again. We take our time walking, a little more carefully than before as we make our way. The one thing I am regretting at this point is the walk back.

We stop, feet away from the steps of the gazebo's entrance. I can't help the smile that plays on my face. This place has been everything to me growing up. It was that place to run away to when I got into it with my parents, or when Caleb and I were at odds with each other, the place that Zeke and the others snuck out with me so we could catch up on what had been happening in the past year, the place that Zeke and Uriah grieved for their father the first Christmas after he passed. So many memories of so many nights spent here… it's heartbreaking to think of the time I have left with it. And even more heart warming that this place will hold another memory for me… The memory of tonight… whatever that turns out to be.

It's the best place for it really… It's private, but open. Warm because of the heaters and fireplace, but you can still enjoy the snow and fresh air. It can be both magical and romantic with all of the twinkling lights and candles. I couldn't think of a place more perfect than this for our date.

"I hope you don't mind. I kinda had some help tonight." Tobias comments.

"I figured as much," I say, smiling up at him. I swear my heart skips a beat when his smile meets his eyes. He is so damn gorgeous.

I gasp as we walk up the four steps into the gazebo, there is a small table in the middle with two chairs sitting on the opposite side of each other. There is a white tablecloth, along with tall candles and the table is set for two. Off to the side is a small rolling cart filled with different assorted desserts for us to enjoy. It's something that I have seen my mother make time and time again for couples that are celebrating special occasions privately. But never have I ever experienced it first hand.

"Wow, Natalie and Hana both out did themselves." Tobias comments as we make our way further in. He gently pulls out a chair for me and waits for me to take it. My stomach jumps as he pushes me in. And they say chivalry is dead.

"Thank you, Tobias," I say.

"You're welcome." He replies. I wait for Tobias to sit down himself before lifting the warmer on my plate, eager to see what is underneath. I take a deep breath, loving the scent of the sirloin steak, garlic mashed potatoes and a side of green beans.

"Oh wow. Now this is awesome!" Tobias says, agreeing with both my nose and my stomach. "Is red wine okay?" He asks, gesturing to the bucket of ice with an unopened bottle of red wine sitting in it.

"Yes, of course," I say, suddenly more eager for the wine now than the food. I need something to help calm me down. As if reading my mind, Tobias begins to unscrew the cork of the bottle. I'm impressed at how at ease he is with it, it's obviously not his first time around a bottle. We eat our dinner in peace, enjoying each other's company as we indulge bite after bite.

"I love chocolate." Tobias mentions, staring off at the dessert cart.

"More than Uriah?" I ask, laughing as I say his name. If you know Uriah… He would kill anyone that comes between him and his chocolate cake.

"Hey, now there is a difference between Uriah and I… I love chocolate. He loves chocolate cake, especially your mom's." He says, picking up a plate full of my mom's assorted chocolate truffles. "Growing up… that's all he ever spoke about by the way… Natalie''s cake this and Natalie's cake that…. Yet they never brought any of it home for me to try." He says, offended towards the end. "Although after being here… I'm sure he did sneak some home and hide it all for himself."

"Probably," I say, I definitely see that happening. I pop one of the chocolate truffles into my mouth. I close my eyes, savoring the taste of milk chocolate and caramel bursting into my mouth. My eyes fly open, just as my heart stops again when I feel Tobias' gentle but rough touch wiping the excess chocolate off of my lips. I forget to breathe as I watch him lick off the chocolate from his fingers. He moans at the taste, not sure if it's me or the chocolate that he is enjoying. I feel heat deep inside me, threatening to ignite all over my skin.

We talk about random things for the rest of the night, enjoying each other's company as we indulge ourselves with the best, sweetest things. As the night becomes even colder than we could imagine we move closer to the fireplace, cuddling up under a blanket. We talk about nothing and everything at the same time wanting to know more about each other. Our ins and outs. Although we are open… it feels that parts of him are still closed off. His walls are still blocking him from telling me everything. I can't imagine what that could be.