Stefan looked around nodding his head and admired his work. He was pretty pleased with himself for everything he'd gotten done in the last few hours.
He looked down at his watch and saw that it was already 5 o'clock, he needed to get home and get ready if he wanted this night to start on time.

He made his way into the house and up the stairs and noticed Caroline was still in her room. He figured he had about 30 minutes to get ready so he jumped in the shower right away.
Once he got out, he did his hair and quickly got dressed. He smoothed out the arms of his jacket and sprayed some cologne on. He was nervous as hell, but he was definitely ready for whatever this night was going to bring.

Caroline put the finishing touches on her make-up and looked at herself in the full length mirror, she was more than pleased with her appearance for the evening and hoped Stefan would be too. Her stomach did flips, like it'd been doing since he asked her out this morning. She was unbelievably nervous for tonight, but definitely more excited than anything.
She took one final look at herself, grabbed her clutch, and was ready to go.

Stefan was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when he heard her coming down.

His breath caught in his throat and his jaw dropped to the floor when he got his first glimpse of her. He couldn't find words; she was gorgeous, plain and simple.

Her hair was down and curled, she had on a tight blue dress that went to her mid-thigh and made her eyes look bluer than he'd ever seen before. She had heels on that made her legs look a mile long. He felt his pants suddenly become a little bit tighter. He was sure this girl was going to be the death of him.

"Wow…", was all he managed to get out when she finally reached the bottom of the stairs.
"You look….there are no words for how beautiful you look Caroline."

She shot him one of her brilliant smiles, "well thank you, you don't look so bad yourself there, handsome!", she said while taking in the sight of him as well. He really did look so good in his black slacks and his black button up shirt.

He sent her a smile back. "Shall we?", he asked while offering her his arm.
She nodded her head while slipping her arm through his.

They walked outside and Caroline saw a red Porsche in the driveway that she'd never seen before.

"Whose car is this?" she asked with a confused look.
Stefan smiled, "It's mine. But I only take it out for special occasions."
She smiled back at him, "Well, I feel honored, Mr. Salvatore."

They drove through town for about 15 minutes before they pulled up to The Grill.
Stefan looked over at her and saw the disappointed look on her face that they were coming to a place they'd been so often.
He smiled to himself; he couldn't wait until she saw what was actually set up for her.

He went around to her side of the car and opened the door for her.
She started to walk to the front door of the restaurant before she felt Stefan grab her hand, "We're not going in there", he told her.
She gave him another confused look and was just given a smile back in response.

Stefan led her to the side of the building where he opened a different door that just had stairs in it.
They made their way up the stairs and Caroline realized they were going to the roof.

She let out a gasp of complete shock when he opened the door and saw what was in front of her.
She couldn't believe it.

There was a gazebo like structure around the whole roof with twinkling lights hanging from it. There were flower pedals all over the floor and in the middle of everything was a small table set for two. There was a candle lit in the middle of the table and two place settings waiting for them.

Stefan was standing behind her with a huge smile covering his face. He had gotten the response he was hoping for; she loved it.

"Stefan….you did all of this…for me?" she asked with tears in her eyes.
"Of course, a first date is supposed to be special."
"It's just…no one has ever done thing kind of thing for me before. This is amazing."
He placed his hand on the small of her back, "you deserve all of it and more."
She turned around to face him, put her hand on his chest and kissed him on the cheek, "thank you."
Stefan was the one with the blush all over his face now. "It's my pleasure, Ms. Forbes. Come on, let's go eat before our food gets cold!"

He pulled out her chair for her and took his own seat.
The food was great and the conversation was even better.

"Stefan, this has been so wonderful, thank you so much."
I'm glad you're enjoying yourself", he said as he took her hands in his. "The truth is, I want to do this for you every night, Caroline. You've only been in my life a few shorts months, and yet, I feel like I've known you my whole life. You coming back to Mystic Falls has been the greatest thing that's happened in my life, maybe ever. I didn't think I'd ever be happy again after what happened with Katherine. I was so broken after she'd hurt me, I didn't want to believe that there was something better out there for me; someone better. But then you walked into my life and suddenly there was no more dark cloud above my head. I knew the second I laid eyes on you that you were something special, someone to be adored and cherished. You saved me too."

Caroline was sure she could feel her heart about to beat out of her chest. No one had ever said anything so wonderful to her. She was pretty sure that after the other night, and the way that he'd been so attentive to her and taken care of her and told her that she was safe, that she might have fallen in love with him then. But hearing him say this to her, she was more sure than ever that she was in love with Stefan Salvatore.

She knew he would never hurt her, that she would always be safe in his arms. But even with that, she was still terrified. She had been hurt so badly before, emotionally and physically, she didn't know how to completely lower those walls that were keeping her from just telling him exactly how she felt.

"Stefan, this has been the most amazing night that I think I've ever had. You have been so wonderful to me since I got here and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. And I think it's fairly obvious that I feel the same way about you, there's no denying that. But, if we're going to do this, please be patient with me. There are still some things that I'm working through myself and I just don't know if I can jump into this right now. I know it's not fair of me to ask that of you, not after everything you've done for me, but I have to heal 100% before I take this leap."

Stefan held her hands tighter in his. He knew she was still so scared, and he couldn't blame her after everything that she'd been through. But he was going to make sure that she was never hurt again, no matter how long he had to wait.

He looked deep into her eyes, "Caroline, I will be patient for however long you need me to be. I promise you that I will never hurt you, you will always be safe with me. And whenever you're ready for me, I will be ready for you. I will wait for you, because you are worth the wait." He ended his declaration by kissing her on the back of her hand.

"Now, let's finish this night on a good note; it's time for dessert!" he told her with a wink.

She just laughed at him and nodded her head.

She knew it wasn't going to take very long for those walls to come crashing down when it was Stefan who was breaking through them.

So, what did you guys think of Steroline's first date? I hope it lived up to your expectations! Chapter 8 is already in process and will be posted before tomorrow night. Everything from chapter 8 on, is going to be Rated M. Things are going to get steamy veryyy soon!
As always, reviews and comments are appreciated! Thanks everyone!