Chapter 23- Hey Jealousy
"Pete Wentz's 'Mystery Girl' Revealed"
"Seems like Mr. Wentz has a taste for those southern bells; sources tell us that the girl was a student at the University of Alabama, down south. Along with his southern preference, his taste gets gradually younger. Leila Grint, 21, and Wentz, 28, was spotted coming out of a football stadium of Grint's alma mater. After dumping famous ex-girlfriend, Wentz had been seen hanging out with his band and other girls. Lead singer, Patrick Stump, is known to be in a relationship with Grint's friend, Cara Jonas. They have been seen everywhere. Seems like they have nothing to hide, especially Stump's four year old son, which he had no clue about until just recently. It just seems that if Stump can make a love connection with a close friend of Grint's, than this 'thing' between Wentz and his southern lady is nothing but something. No word on how long they have been dating, but its rumored to have started in early summer. Let's just hope that they make it long than Wentz's last 'serious' relationship."
oo
"What do think about this one, Leila?" Pete asked holding up a hoodie to her.
They were in a closed Clandestine Industries store in Chicago. After they had all made it back to Chicago, save Cara and Patrick who rented a car to go to Georgia to see Cara's family, Pete needed to do some work at his clothing line. Leila surveyed the hoodie Pete held up for her. It was a deep eggplant purple with The Count from Sesame Street on it. Leila couldn't help but smile at him. Though she never really watched that when she was younger, she knew Pete had. And it showed. Leila reached up and fingered the necklace around her neck. It was the exact form of Pete's pelvic tattoo, and the symbol for Clandestine clothing line. It had been a gift for her last birthday, from Casie.
"Two things I love about, one it's purple. And that's one of two of my favorite colors. And two, it's got The Count on it. So I love it!" she laughed.
"You want one?" he asked. She knew he had a knack for loving to buy her things, but she still felt a little awkward when he would just give her something.
"Yeah, but I intend on paying for it," she said, meeting his dark eyes.
Pete sat the hoodie down and walked slowly to Leila.
"I was intending that too," he whispered in her ear, trapping her against a table covered in shirts, pants and hoodies. "But not in cash…"
Leila felt his breath on her ear. It sent a tingling sensation down her neck, all the way to her toes. Leila dropped the shirt she was holding and it fell to the floor at their feet. She wrapped her hands around his shoulders, and pulled him to her. When her lips met his, fireworks went off in her head. Pete's hands found her waist and held it close to his lower stomach.
Pete nibbled on her bottom lip, and taking it in his mouth. Leila placed each of her hands on either side of his face, holding it in place. Pete dragged his tongue on her bottom lip, requesting entrance, which was granted. Their tongues met in a glorious reunion. They hadn't kissed like this in a while, and it felt good to connect with each other this way again. Pete's hands left her waist and into her long brown hair, running them through it, all the way to the tips. Leila pressed hard against him, feeling how much he wanted her. It only drove her more crazy. She turned her around, and now Pete was trapped on the table. He smiled at her beneath the kiss.
He felt her hands leave his face and underneath the unzipped hoodie he had on. Slowly, she slid it off his arms, revealing a homemade t-shirt that they had made all that time ago. She looked down and saw. Leila smiled back up at him, while her hands tucked under the seam of his dark grey shirt. She parted from his body to allow enough space to pull the shirt over Pete's head, showing the tattooed skin of Pete. She surveyed his chest and abdomen with her eyes and hands. Goosebumps erupting everywhere her fingers touched. Suddenly something flashed in his mind. The last time they had gotten this far, she had stopped them. He gently pushed her back, looking into her green eyes. She looked slightly putout.
"Leila, last time we got this far, you weren't sure about 'this'," Pete said, caressing her cheek.
Leila looked up at him. She remembered that night. They had gotten close to going through with it, and she had stopped them. She didn't know if they were ready, if she was ready, to make such a dive into their relationship. But that was then, and this was now. And looked into his eyes, full of concern, she knew that she was ready to take that next step with him. She pulled him to her by his arms, wrapping them around her waist. She brought her lips to his, brushing them over his, but not meeting.
"I love you," she whispered, her lips grazing his with every word, "Kiss me."
Pete didn't have to be told twice. Before her last word escaped her mouth, his lips crashed onto hers. His wandering hands found her shirt bottom. He lifted the back and caressed her soft skin that held her only tattoo. She shivered under his touch. She moved her kisses to the hollow space between his ear and jaw bone, sucking and nibbling on it. He let out a soft moan, and she moved down to the dip underneath his Adam's apple. Her finger tips tucked in his pant line. Pete could barely think straight. Leila knew every spot to drive him crazy, and she wasn't letting up. He pulled away a little, and slowly pull Leila's worn black Aerosmith shirt up to her neck, and she pulled her arms out of the sleeves. He placed one warm hand on her lower back, and used the other to throw her shirt across the store.
As Pete reached his hands to Leila's hot pink bra snaps, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Someone was outside the door… with a camera. Pete's heart dropped. He looked down at Leila, who was unaware of what Pete had seen.
"Shit!" he said, pulling Leila close to him and hurrying to the front counter and knelt them both down.
Leila had no clue what had gotten into Pete. All she knew was that she was ready to be with him, and he was all of sudden freaking out. With the mood broken, she felt very vulnerable without her shirt. She went to get, but was pulled down by Pete's hand.
"Don't get up," Pete said in hushed tones.
Leila was slowly beginning to worry about what was upsetting him. His answer sent shills down her spine.
"We were being watched," he said in more of a groan than a voice.
Leila's eyes widen to the size of saucers, and her heart began pounding. Pete said they had cameras. She wondered how much they had seen, and caught on film.
oo
Cara pulled the white Honda Civic into a driveway that held so many memories for her, good and bad; but thinking back on it, it held very few bad times. She felt a warmth spreading through her just by just being here. She shut the engine off, and got out of the car. Popping the trunk, she reached for her luggage, but before she could reach it, Patrick knocked her hand away, and lifted the luggage for her. She smiled at him, waiting for him to get his out, and shut the trunk. She was still thankful for everyday that he was in her life. So many things had brought her here. Thinking back on everything she had been through, and what they had been through together, she realized that she didn't want to ever live without him next to her. Cara reached out a hand and pulled Patrick to her by his neck, placing a light kiss on his plump lips. Just as they were getting into it, a squeaky voice interrupted them.
"Ew, daddy! Not outside, people can see!" Micah said, holding his stuffed Spider-Man that he had to carry every where.
Patrick pulled away from a blushing Cara, and laughed at his son.
"True, son," she said, smirking at Cara, "but in my defense, she started it."
Cara glared at him, and smacked his arm, which made Patrick laugh even harder. Micah was looking between a red Cara and laughing Patrick, giving up on understanding the ways of adults, he shrugged his shoulders and picked up his small bag and waited for them to head to the door. Patrick took Cara's suitcase and his and looked to her. Slowly, Cara turned and headed towards the door, smiling despite herself. Even then, she could feel her heart growing the man walking behind her.
Cara reached the door, and pulled out her keys. Inserting the right one, she twisted the door knob and swung the door open and they walked into the house. It had a homey feel to it, the house did. The front door opened to a hall way that led to the living room. It was a spacious room with dark brown couches and cream colored carpet. The curtains were a burnt orange color that matched the pillows on the couches. A big coffee table stood in the middle of all the furniture. To the right of the living room was the kitchen and dining room. Both in tiled floors, they had a more contemporary feel; with all the appliances stainless steel and dark green counter tops. The dining room table was made of a lighter wood with intricate rot iron steel designs, with matching chairs.
Cara walked to the living room, showed Patrick where to sit the luggage and she walked into the kitchen to find her Aunt Cyndi at the stove.
"Hey Cyndi," Cara said. Cyndi jumped and dropped the spoon she was holding.
"Lord, Cara, you scared me!" she said, hugging her tight. Cara hugged her back, noticing she smelled of spaghetti sauce.
"To answer your question, we are having spaghetti for supper," she said laughing.
Patrick and Micah walked into the kitchen, joining Cara and her aunt. Cara saw where her aunt was looking at and turned around.
"Cyndi, this is my boyfriend Patrick. Patrick, this is my Aunt Cyndi," Cara said.
"Nice to meet you Patrick," Cyndi said, giving him a hug as well. Cara smiled.
"Cyndi, this is Micah, Patrick's son."
She looked down and surveyed the boy. He looked just like his father, from the strawberry blonde hair to the blue eyes. Cyndi knelt down to the little boy.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. I have heard so much about you," she said to Micah.
Micah could sense the calm and love in her voice and smiled at her. Cyndi stood back up and went back to the pot on the stove.
"Charles, Tyler and Chase will be back in about an hour. Why don't you go get settled in and cleaned up for dinner," she said without turning around.
So, Cara led the way to upstairs bedrooms. Micah was going to share bunkbeds in Chase's room. Chase was Cara's youngest cousin. He was twelve and agreed to share with Micah. Cara and Patrick were going to have to share a room, not that they were going to complain. Once they got Micah settled in Chase's room, Cara went to the room that she was going to share with Patrick. It was her room from when she lived there. Patrick shut the door behind him, and looked around, surveying it. Pictures lined the robin egg blue walls, from her old band days to nights out with friends. Her double bed in the middle of the room had a coffee brown, gold-stitched comforter set, which complemented the hard wood floors.
"I love your room," Patrick said. Cara smiled sheepishly at him.
She didn't know why she felt awkward about Patrick being in her bedroom. He had been in hers in Alabama, and she had been in his in Chicago. It wasn't like she hadn't been alone in a room with a bed, but it was something different now that it was her old high school bedroom. It must have shown on her face, because he crossed the room to where she stood. Reaching his hand to her face, cupping her cheek, he looked into her eyes. Cara rested her head on his hand, closing her eyes. She felt his lips graze hers softly. Letting out a small sigh of desire, Cara's hand found the back of his head pulling him into a full kiss.
Cara saw flashes of everything that had happened between them during that kiss. From the concert, to their first date around the school campus and her birthday party. Then Micah popped in her head. At first, he scared her. She didn't know what that held for her in Patrick's life. She tried pushing him away, to focus on his child, but that didn't work; Patrick let her shut him out of her life like that. He had proven to her that he was able to balance life as a father and life as a boyfriend. Cara had even grown to love Micah very much. Try as she might, she couldn't picture her life without the two of them in it.
Cara wrapped both hands around Patrick's back, pulling at him. Patrick lost his balance when she pulled him, and they fell against the wall. They hadn't kissed that passionately; Cara realized that she liked being this close to him. She needed him in more ways than him in her life.
"Cara! Dinner's ready! And the rest of the family's here!" Cyndi yelled from downstairs, ending the moment between them.
oo
"What the…" Leila said, throwing the newspaper across the room. Pete walked out of the kitchen in his parents' house in Chicago. He looked at Leila over his glass of Coke.
"Caught in the Act!"
"Pete Wentz and girlfriend, Leila Grint, were caught getting pretty cozy in Wentzs' clothing line store, 'Clandestine Industries', in Chicago. As you can see from the pictures above, Wentz has most definitely moved on from his ex. Once he knew they were being watched, he ducked them behind the front counter, and came out thirty minutes later, but snuck out the back. His car was seen speeding away from behind the building shortly after. We wonder what else is in store for this new couple. Engagement? Marriage? Perhaps a bouncing bundle of joy? We will definitely keep our eyes on this hot couple!"
Leila was red in the face, pacing around the room with her hands in her hair. He had to admit that she was really cute when she was that mad. He noticed a strewn newspaper on the floor. Setting his glass down on a coaster on the coffee table and picked up the paper. The smile that was on his face quickly disappeared. The more he read, and saw, made his as angry as Leila looked. But there was nothing he could do.
If he had learned anything from being in the spot light is that you have to work hard for a personal life, and even that's a stretch. It was very difficult to keep your temper under control with hundreds of cameras are in your face. And sometimes he found himself slipping and wanting to go off on someone, but he knew that wasn't the right choice. Pete looked back to Leila. He was worried about how she was going to take it. She had never before experience life in the limelight, and he was on edge about it. With her strong willed and quick temper, he would easily see her nailing a cameraman.
Pete stood up from the chair he had slouched into when he picked up the paper, and walked to where Leila stood by the window. He placed both hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. Then he wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her back into his chest. He smelled her raspberry shampoo as he pressed his cheek into her hair. Leila instantly relaxed in his arms. She couldn't believe the pictures that they had took of them. It felt like a total violation of her personal life. But it wasn't something that she didn't expect. She knew that she was the girlfriend of the unofficial poster boy of Fall Out Boy. She knew that; she just had to find a way to adapt to it.
"It's going to be fine, Lei," Pete whispered, staring out of the window. "We'll find a way to cope with the words, and handle the flashes. We've been through battles worse than this," he said, tightening his grip on her shoulders. She knew he was referring to what drama in New York. "All that matters to us, is us."
oo
Casie placed her hairbrush down on the bathroom sink. Putting her compact powder in her make-up case, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was smiling. For the first time in a long time, she was really smiling. And Andrew was the reason. She remembered the last time she was this happy. It was when she first met Parker. But Parker never showed her the attention that Andrew did. It was almost like his purpose in the world was to make her happy. If she wasn't happy, he wasn't happy. She had never felt this pampered by anyone in her life; not even when she was with Parker.
And when she went through her alcohol problem, he never left her side. And when she was released from the hospital, he opened his home to her. Even let her have his oversized bed, and slept on the couch. She could see something in his eyes that she never did in Parker's. Even time he looks at her, she got chills.
What was more important to her is that her friends loved him. Leila would not let him near her if she didn't trust him. Also she knew about his family. The Wentz family was one that she could see herself being apart of. They were fun and crazy. They were always there for each other.
A knock at the bathroom door brought Casie back to reality.
"Casie, hun? Are you ready to go?" Andrew's voice asked through the door.
"Just a minute!" she yelled, looking back into the mirror.
She laughed at herself. She was getting way ahead of herself. Catching herself thinking about her "future" with Andrew was a little fast for her. For right now she was going to enjoy the time there were spending together; including the date he was taking her on tonight. Casie ran her hands through her hair again and headed for the door.
oo
Cara led the way downstairs, with Patrick and Micah at her heels. She was excited for Patrick to meet the rest of her family. She hit the bottom of the stairs and heard unmistakable giggle for her cousin, Chase. A smile came to her face as her Uncle Charles came into view. She sped up her walk to meet him, and gave him a hug.
"Ah, it's so good to see you!" she said still in the hug.
Charles released her, "Well, when you're jet setting everywhere in the US, I would imagine it feels good to relax… Where are you going when you leave here, Egypt?" he laughing.
Cara smacked his shoulder and smirked at him. She turned back to Patrick, who was standing behind her. She looked for Micah, and heard him in the kitchen with Cyndi. Smiling to herself, she held her hand out for Patrick. Taking it, Patrick walked up to her side.
"Charles, this is Patrick; my boyfriend," Cara said, smiling at Patrick. Patrick held out the hand that was not occupied by Cara's, and he shook hands with Charles. "Patrick this is my Uncle Charles."
"It's finally good to put a face to a name; well in your case it wouldn't be that hard, but it's still good to meet you," Charles said.
"The pleasure is mine," Patrick said, blushing a little at the celebrity reference. A loud noise came from the living room and Chase ran through the living room, with another boy running right behind him, trying to catch up with him.
Patrick had to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked down. Cara laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Chase and Harrison," Cara explained.
Just then, Cyndi came out of the kitchen with a huge pot of steaming noodles.
"Charles, could you bring out the garlic bread and spaghetti sauce, please?"
Charles left the living room and heading for the kitchen. Cyndi placed the pot on a square potholder and looked to Cara.
"Could you go tell Tyler that dinner is ready please?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer, she walked back into the kitchen for silverware. Cara pointed to a chair for Patrick to sit at, and turned heel and left to go back upstairs.
Walking down the carpeted hallway, she reached a door with pictures tacked on the outside. They were Tyler and many friends of hers. Raising her left hand, she rapped on the door lightly. There soft footsteps coming from behind it, and the door creaked open, and a shortly teenage girl that resembled Cara strikingly much stood there with a cell phone to her ear.
"Hey, let me call you back, okay?" she said in the phone and threw her phone on her bed. Turning around, she flung herself at Cara, giving her a bear hug.
"Nice to see you too," she breathed, laughing.
"Well, when you fly off everywhere and not see me, I have to get my 'Cara' fix while I can," she said smirking. Cara went to open her mouth to respond, but Tyler cut her off.
"If I was flying off with Patrick Stump, I'd go anywhere he asked me too… I'm not blaming you!"
Cara blushed, but laughed all the same.
"C'mon… Cyndi says dinner's ready."
Cara followed Tyler downstairs and back into the kitchen. A new addition had been added in her absence. A tall and lanky man with blonde hair stood at the foot of the couch. Cara stopped in her tracks. The tall blued eyed man stared at Cara, making her shrink a little. She hadn't seen him in three years, but he looked just the same. He smiled at her in that debonair way, flashing his white pearly teeth. He was dressed in a swimming shirt and shorts, his hair wet indicating he was just back from the pool. It was George. He walked over to her, hugging her. As he pulled away, he placed a soft peck on her cheek.
"Hi, George. I didn't expect to see you," she said, at a loss for words.
"Well, if you don't want me here, I can leave," he said in slow deep voice.
"No, no… that's not what I meant. It was just unexpected, that's all. It's good to see you, though," Cara said, her cheeks turning pink.
Patrick watched the whole event unfold before him. He saw how Cara clammed up upon seeing George. He eyed the taller man, and looked back to Cara. He had never asked her about her past relationships. He felt stupid to think that he was her first boyfriend. Obviously she had had others, but he never thought about it. Patrick felt many things all at once. He immediately didn't like him, just on principle. He could still make Cara flustered and that wasn't good. He also felt intimidated. This man was everything he wasn't; tall, good looking, athletic. His confidence decreased when he realized that he was Cara's ex-boyfriend.
"All right, let's sit down and eat," Charles said, bringing out a pitcher of iced tea and a coke for Cara; she didn't like tea.
Dinner was a crazy affair. The conversation ranged from local events with the family to sports and to fashion with Cara and Tyler. Patrick was really quiet through most of the dinner. Everyone seemed to skate around the fact that he was a "rockstar". And frankly, he was happy with that. He didn't want that to come between his personality and how he was viewed. Especially with Cara's family. But he knew that the subject was going to come up; it always did. Sure enough, when dessert rolled around, the dreaded subject fell upon him.
"So, Patrick, what was the name of your band again?" Charles asked.
Cara choked on her drink, sending her into a coughing frenzy. When she recovered, she glared at her uncle. He looked back at here with raised eyebrows.
"What? It's just a simple question, Cara."
Patrick patted her hand under the table, braced himself, and looked at Charles.
"It's Fall Out Boy," he said in a strong voice.
George's head popped up from the last bit of spaghetti on his plate. It clicked in his head; this Patrick was "Patrick Stump". He knew he had looked familiar, but didn't see that coming. His Cara was dating a "rockstar".
"How successful are you?" Charles asked him, accepting a plate of double chocolate cake from Cyndi.
Tyler looked at her father as if he had just grown two heads.
"Dad… really? Have you never heard their songs on the radio?" she exclaimed. When he shrugged his shoulders, she scoffed. "Oh my gosh! 'This Ain't A Scene', 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs', 'Sugar, We're Goin' Down'?"
Charles still looked clueless, and Tyler just rolled her eyes, "You're hopeless."
Cara looked to Patrick. His cheeks were growing progressively redder. She had had enough with the talk about Fall Out Boy, and just wanted the conversation away from Patrick's job; she knew it made him very uncomfortable.
"Can we talk about something else please?" Cara asked, but it was more along the lines of begging.
"Well, I just want to know more about the man that's dating my niece, Cara, is that a crime? Wanting to know your family is loved and well taken care of is not something that should throw a man in jail for?" he said, picking up his fork.
"I agree with Cara," Cyndi said suddenly. She had been watching Patrick shift in his seat, and know that this was not a fun topic for him. "I'm sure he has to answer a lot of questions to strangers all the time, and this shouldn't be that time."
Cara looked thankful at her aunt. She knew no one would ask Patrick another question about Fall Out Boy. However, Patrick spoke up.
"If I can say this, Cara will always be taken care of, and will never be in the position to go without. If anything ever happened to her, she would get the best care I could get her. As far as material things goes, she doesn't like me to buy her a lot of things, and I obey her wishes. She doesn't want me to prove my feelings for her with gifts and flowers. And as for loved… I love your niece very much, and there's nothing that could ever change that. And if you want to know about Micah, well, his mother brought him to me two months ago out of the blue. I didn't even know I had a son until then. But it was been one of the best gifts I could have ever received. It's really important to me that Cara and Micah get along well, because they are very much a part of my life, and I need them both. Micah absolutely adores Cara, and not to speak for her, I'm sure she would say the same. That just thrills me to no end. And if there are any other non-Fall Out Boy questions you have, please ask them. But there's not that much about Fall Out Boy that I could tell you that you don't already know."
When he finished talking, the table was silent. Cara was smiling at him with sparkling eyes, and Cyndi was smirking at Charles in a very "I-told-you-so" way. George was just staring at Patrick, no emotion on his face. Tyler was trying to silence a giggle; he uncle just got put in his place, politely. Charles was watching Patrick carefully, and then smiled at him.
"Well, there you go," and that was the end of that conversation.
oo
Casie let Andrew close her car door, and waited for him to get in on the other side. The car door creaked open and he slid in. He pushed the key into the ignition and turned it over. Casie buckled her seatbelt, and Andrew reached over and pushed the glove compartment open, taking out a deep blue silk ribbon.
"Before we leave, I'm going to blindfold you," he said with a smile on his face. Casie looked up at him, "The best part of a prize is a SUR-prize!"
Casie giggled and let him tie the soft material around her eyes. It went instantly dark. All her other senses heightened at the loss of her eyesight. Andrew waved a hand in front of her eyes to make sure she couldn't see anything. She felt the jerk of the car pulling out of the space, and reach a steady rhythm.
"Am I going to like where you're taking me?" she asked.
"If I didn't think you wouldn't like, would I be taking you there?" he said smirking as she tried to hit his shoulder, missed and hit the back of the chair. Andrew took the hand that hit the chair in his, massaging it. They held a normally conversation until Casie felt the car slowing down and finally pulling to a stop. Her heart was racing to see where he had taken her. Andrew let go of Casie's hand and turned the car off. She heard a door slam shut and soon hers opened. She felt him grabbing for her purse and waited for her to unbuckle her seat belt and took her hand and helped her out of the car. Casie tried to listen to her surroundings to know where she was at. But all she heard was cars driving by and a distant trickle of water into a fountain. Andrew closed the car door and locked it.
"Are you ready?" he asked her. Casie could hear the excitement in his voice, which only made her heart pound more. She nodded, and she felt him get close to her, and his hands fumbled with the knot of the blue ribbon. As the ribbon fell from her eyes, Casie took a minute to let her eyes adjust. They were in the heart of the city. Tall buildings were on all sides of them. Casie looked to building in front of her. In big steel letters above huge glass doors it read, "Museum of Contemporary Art". Casie's breath caught in her throat. She had really wanted to go here, but never had the time. She looked over at Andrew, who was watching her carefully.
"Do you like it?" he asked a little sheepishly.
Casie placed a light kiss on his lips, her eyes glowing. Taking his hand, she pulled him to the front doors.
"C'mon Andrew!" she said.
Letting her pull him along behind her, he laughed at her enthusiasm. When they got the front doors, Andrew got in front of Casie, and paid their entrance fees, and let Casie walk into the museum.
Casie had never seen such amazing art up close before. She went from exhibit to exhibit, looking at all the pieces in each gallery. Andrew, who was also very interested in art, held conversations with Casie about what they thought each meant and what their meanings were; what could have inspired it. Soon, Casie had to use the bathroom and left Andrew waiting for her outside. As she looked into the mirror, she noticed how pink her cheeks were, and she was still smiling. She couldn't but feel giddy to the point of letting out a small giggle. Andrew had this totally amazing date planned out for them, and it was going great so far. Straightening the hem of her skirt and running her hands through her hair, she left the bathroom. Andrew stood up from the bench and walked to her.
"Andrew, I loved this very much, thank you!" Casie said, hugging him and kissing his cheek. Andrew smiled wickedly at her.
"How about we go get something to eat?" he asked, hooking her arm in his and led her to the door. Giggling, she nodded and they went back to the car. Shortly after they got back in the car, Andrew pulled outside what looked like a very elegant restaurant. Andrew parked the car in front of the building and got out to open Casie's car door. He turned and handed his key to a young man with a white shirt and red vest, and he took the car to the parking lot.
"Valet parking? Wow, this place must be very high class," she said, taking Andrew by the arm.
"You deserve the best," Andrew said, entwining their fingers together. He walked through the front doors and they were met by another man who seemed to be taking their coats. Being the late summer, they didn't wear any coats and just bypassed him on the way to the maitre de.
"Name sir?" he asked politely.
"Wentz, Andrew," he answered.
"Ah, here you are! Antonio will lead you to your table. Enjoy!" he said, handing another man in a white button down shirt and black slacks two menus.
He led them to a table near the back. It had two long white candles in crystal holders, and small vase of royal blue flowers in the middle of two table settings. Andrew held out Casie's chair for her before he sat down. Casie hung her purse on the back of the chair, and turned around to face Andrew. Antonio handed them their menus.
"Shall we like to try a house wine tonight?" he said, smiling between the two.
Casie looked to Andrew for her answer.
"You can order anything you want," he said, his eyes focused on her.
"In that case, I'll have a glass of Chardonnay, please?" she said, looking up at their waiter.
"Will, you bring a bottle of that, please?" Andrew said to Antonio. He smiled at Andrew.
"Yes, sir! Pronto!" and he flittered off to the kitchen.
Casie gaped at Andrew, and he just looked back at her.
"What? I want you to have everything you want tonight," he said, reaching across the table and taking hold of her hand. The waiter came back with their bottle and poured them both a glass before sitting the bottle on in the ice bucket. The waiter helped them choose what they wanted for dinner, telling what he thought was the best dishes. Finally, they decided with Casie having the Five Cheese Ziti, and Andrew having Capellini Pomodoro. The waiter left them alone with their orders taken. Casie sipped in her glass of wine, loving how smooth it went down. She looked up at Andrew, who was still looking at her.
Sitting her glass down, she said, "Is there something on my face or something? Is there a frog in my hair?"
Laughing, he said, "No, why do you ask such a thing?"
"Because you have been staring at me all night," she said, blushing. "Why?"
"Oh, that's an easy question… It's because you look so beautiful tonight. Not that you don't any other time, because you do, it's just shining through tonight," he said in a low, husky voice.
The tone of his voice sent shivers up her spine. The way he was looking at her sent goosebumps on her skin. Andrew leaned over the table and his face was bathed in candle light.
Taking her hand in his, he said, "Casie, I can't tell you how much this past month has meant to me. When I first met you, I knew I had to be with you. I soon saw how sad you were. Pete told me everything that you had been through lately, and I wanted to take your pain away. You were trying to drink away your pain, and I knew that if I was there for you, you could see your way through. There was no stopping what was to happen at the wedding; it was too fast in motion. All I had to do was be there for you. And you let me. I learned more about you; and the more I learned, the more I felt myself falling for you."
The whole time Andrew was talking, Casie gave him her undivided attention. She could feel her heart in her throat. The words coming out of his mouth soothed the cracks in her heart that Parker left. She didn't know how Andrew could say that he didn't have a way with words; she knew that Pete was not the only Wentz with magical words.
"What my ramblings are really leading to is this one fact: I love you, Casie. Now, I don't want you to say it back, because it hasn't been that long since your last serious relationship. Tell me on your own time; when your comfortable."
He surprised her yet again. She pushed her chair back, and walked to Andrew. Kneeling down in front of him, she placed a hand on each cheek. Slowly, she brought his face to hers, their lips meeting. When her lips met his, she knew that this is where she was supposed to be. There was no one else for her; Andrew was her everything.
oo
Patrick walked out of the bathroom with damp hair dripping on his gray t-shirt. Throwing his dirty clothes on his suitcase, he saw Cara on the bed, with her laptop between her legs. Upon seeing Patrick, she closed her computer, putting on her floor and patted the space in the bed next to her, for Patrick. Smiling, he slid underneath the covers next to her. Cara reached over and turned out the lamp, and cuddling up next to Patrick, laying her head on his chest. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he nestled her nose in her hair, coconut aroma filling his nostrils.
"You've been very quiet since dinner was over," Cara said to his chest.
"Who's George?" Patrick asked her, trying to sound indifferent.
Cara lifted her head off his chest, and looking into his eyes. The moon was shining through the cracks in the blinds, illuminating his eyes.
"That's what's bothering him? He's worried about George?" Cara thought to herself.
"Patty Cakes, listen. George and I may have dated in the past; but that is just that. The past. When I saw him here tonight, I got nervous at what you would think. Not about me, but you. You're so down on yourself; and it makes me sad. You are everything that I need, and more. I would change nothing about you, Patrick. Nothing. You would not be who you are today, if something was different about you. I am totally in love with you, and no one can ever change that," she said, shadowing his words from dinner. She leaned up and placed a hard kiss on his lips. She released him, and placed her head back on his chest.
Patrick stared up at the ceiling, Cara's words reverberating in his head. His heart jumped up in his throat. Placing a soft hand on her head, he ran his fingers through her hair.
"I love you, too Cara."
-note from the author-
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!