A/N- Yeah... it's been a while. Sorry about that (I've also made a few small changes to the previous chapter).
Chapter Seven
Albert arrived at 8:11. But he came bearing flowers and a nervous smile. So Rose didn't mind.
The restaurant he took her to was small, but intimate in a quiet and cozy sort of way. It was the kind of place most people walked right past without even noticing it was there. Rose thought it was wonderful.
And she couldn't help but smile to herself when Albert spent the first five minutes of their date hiding behind his menu. It didn't surprise her in the least that he feigned indecision to avoid meeting the eyes of the woman sitting across the table from him.
Soon a waiter came by to take their orders. And their menus. Albert found himself staring at the tablecloth now that he had lost his first line of defense against Ms. Alvarez's gaze.
"Albert?"
He couldn't help himself. He glanced up, and she was looking right at him, smiling beautifully. It was stupid; of course it wasn't really happening, but Albert could have sworn his heart stopped. And that's when it finally sunk in. Sitting across the table from him, maybe three feet away, was Ms. Alvarez. They were on a date. He actually asked her on a date, and she said yes. And she was sitting right across from him, looking even more beautiful than she ever had, and–
"Albert."
He realized he had been staring. Suddenly his cheeks felt warm; he cleared his throat and looked away. "Yes?"
He snuck another glance at his date and saw that she was still smiling.
"I was just going to say that you've been awfully quiet," Ms. Alvarez said with a small laugh. "It's a date, Albert. We're not at the office. You can relax a little, if you want."
She was right. We're not at the office, he reminded himself. Just take a deep breath, and...
He gave Ms. Alvarez a small grin. "I'll try."
Time seemed to slip away from them; before long, Albert found himself standing in front of Ms. Alvarez's apartment (she had insisted he walk her all the way back to her door; just taking her back to her building apparently wasn't good enough). The date went well, in his opinion. By the time their food had arrived, Albert didn't feel quite so nervous anymore. And Ms. Alvarez definitely enjoyed herself; even now she was smiling and laughing happily.
But now it was time to say goodbye. So Albert said good night, and turned to walk away. He didn't get far before a hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks.
"You're not really leaving without kissing me good night, are you?" his secretary asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. Albert felt his cheeks grow hot again. It was only their first date...but she really did look as though she was expecting a kiss.
So he bent down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, before he had a chance to talk himself out of it. He was sure his whole face was flushed pink, and he knew for a fact that his heart was racing. Ms. Alvarez just smiled at him.
"Good night, Albert."
