Chapter 2 – First Date
Hannah couldn't remember the last time she'd been this nervous for a date. "It's just Mamrie. Get it together Hart." Hannah muttered to herself as she put the final touches on her outfit- tight fitting black jeans, a blue button up and a black vest. Her short blond hair was blow dried into shape and her make up lightly done, with just enough eyeliner to accentuate the blueness of her eyes.
Meanwhile Mamrie was freaking out. She was going on a date with Hannah freaking Hart. Mamrie had called Grace in a flat out panic four hours earlier because she didn't know what to wear, she didn't know how to act and what the fuck was she doing? Being the good friend that she was, Grace had immediately rushed over to help calm her friend down. She and Mamrie had ended up going shopping because "Hannah's already seen me in all of my clothes, Grace! I can't show up looking average. I have to blow her mind." Grace had given up trying to convince her friend that Hannah wouldn't care what she was wearing and had dragged her to the shops instead.
So Mamrie was ready. Her hair hanging loose down her back, her make up just right, her curves hugged by a knee length flowery dress in yellows and oranges. The colours of bananas and carrot onesies, two of Hannah's favourite things. It had to be a hit right? "Mames, just breathe." Grace told her nervous friend; "She's going to love you. You look gorgeous. Hannah won't be able to keep her eyes off you. She has a hard enough time not looking at you already, you know." "What?" Mamrie asked, looking up at her friend in surprise. "I've seen her looking at you, Mamrie. You might not have noticed, but I see everything." Grace reassured the red head, who was now smiling to herself. "Heels or flats?" Mamrie asked, holding out two pairs of shoes. "Go with the flats." Grace said "You know Hannah hates feeling short."
Hannah took a deep breath before ringing Mamrie's doorbell, nervously clasping the bunch of flowers she'd bought against her chest. A few moments later the door opened. Hannah took in her beautiful friend, "Wow," she managed to breathe out; "Mamrie, you look so beautiful!" Hannah held out the flowers, a smile lighting up her face. Mamrie blushed taking the flowers, "Thanks, Hannah. You don't look too bad yourself. These are lovely, I'll just go put them in water, then we can go."
The car drive was silent until Hannah glanced across at the other girl, seeing that her hands were nervously clenching and unclenching. "Nervous?" Hannah asked softly. "Yeah, kind of." Mamrie let out a self-conscious chuckle, glancing over at Hannah. "So am I." Hannah admitted, "Let's just try to relax, okay? It's not like we haven't been out for a meal together before." Mamrie let out a breath and nodded; "So where are we going?" "Well," Hannah said "I'm taking you to the best Italian place in town. I don't think you've been there before; it's really quaint and small. But you'll love it. The food is to die for!" Mamrie loved how animated the younger girl became when she talked about something that excited her. "Sounds good, Han."
The restaurant was indeed small, but cosy and romantic. There were candles on the tables, and the staff all seemed to know Hannah by name. Mamrie marvelled at how the small girl managed to befriend everyone she met, somehow even getting onto first name basis with the Italian owner, Roberto. "I'm guessing you come here often. How come you've never brought Grace and I here before?" Mamrie asked once they were seated at a table in the corner. "Oh, I just, well it's silly really, but I've just always thought of this as my place. I usually come here alone. You know I love watching people and eating out alone gives me the perfect chance to do that." Hannah blushed slightly as she glanced up at the red head who was listening to her intently. "Well thank you for sharing this place with me, Han, it's really lovely."
The date went well. The food was indeed to die for, just as Hannah had promised; and as the evening progressed the two girls relaxed in each other's company, soon falling into the easy conversation they usually shared. Except that now there was an added facet to their interaction- stolen glances, lingering eye contact, butterflies when their hands brushed reaching for more bread. Hannah felt more self-aware than she usually did around the older girl and she somehow didn't mind it. It had been so long since she'd let herself feel like this for someone, these butterflies, the rush when the other girl laughed at something she'd said, the nervous smiles they exchanged intermittently. Hannah couldn't remember when last she'd felt this happy. Mamrie could make her laugh without even trying. They spent a good ten minutes shooting puns back and forth with each other, Hannah loved it.
They both decided they were too full for pudding after the generous helpings of pasta and pizza they'd shared. So Hannah paid and they headed back towards the car. Halfway there Hannah stopped, putting her hand on Mamrie's arm "Mames, I don't want the night to be over just yet. Walk with me a bit before I take you home?" Mamrie nodded, linking arms with the smaller girl. The two girls walked arm in arm down towards a nearby park where they sat down on a bench. Hannah glanced across at Mamrie, who was looking up at the night sky. She glanced down at where the other girl's hand was resting on the bench. Taking a deep breath, Hannah gathered up her courage and slid her hand into Mamrie's. She immediately felt Mamrie respond with a soft squeeze and glanced over to see a soft smile playing on Mamrie's lips. Hannah felt a smile threatening to explode across her own face as she looked up to also study the night sky.
"Hey, look a shooting star! Or it could just be a plane I guess?" Hannah exclaimed pointing, "Whatever it is, make a wish." "I wish for a million more nights as perfect as this one." Mamrie whispered smiling at the girl sitting next to her. "What Mamrie said." Hannah replied, looking up at the stars again, before looking back into sparkling green eyes. Both girls had unconsciously moved closer together. Mamrie reached over to cup Hannah's face with her hand, "Thank you for tonight, it really was better than I could've dreamed." Mamrie leaned forward, pausing just before she reached the other girl's lips. Blue eyes stared into green, and Hannah leant forward to close the gap between them. Their lips met in a tender sweet kiss, parting softly to give way to a gentle battle of tongues and teeth. Finally they broke apart, lips swollen and hearts full. Both of them broke into ear splitting grins as they looked at each other. A giggle escaped Mamrie's lips as she grinned; "I just kissed a girl and it was wonderful! Hear that world," she raised her voice, standing up and twirling with her arms out stretched "I kissed a girl and it was wonderful!" Hannah laughed at the red head's obvious elation. "It was pretty great. You're pretty great…" Hannah stood up, pulling the taller girl down for another kiss. Mamrie smiled into the kiss, which made Hannah smile too and it was all kisses and smiles and smiling kisses. They eventually broke apart, panting. "We should probably head back, it's getting quite late." Hannah said, intertwining her fingers with Mamrie's as she lead them back in the direction of the car.
When they pulled up outside Mamrie's house, the red head turned to Hannah and asked "Do you want to come in?" Hannah shook her head; "It's not that I don't want to keep being with you, I just, well to be honest I know if I come in I won't be able to stop myself from getting carried away." "Maybe I want you to get carried away." Mamrie interrupted, winking cheekily at the other girl. Hannah blushed and said "And I want that too, believe me. Just not yet. I want to do this right, honey. I don't want to rush into anything that we'd regret later on. I want everything to be perfect. So I'm going to walk you to your front door, and kiss you goodnight like a gentleman. And then I'm going to go home and when I get home I probably won't be able to resist texting you about how wonderful I think you are, and then tomorrow I'll probably want to call you as soon as I'm awake. Okay?" Mamrie smiled, "Okay. You're adorable little one." She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Hannah's lips, who for once didn't mind being called little, before opening her car door. "Come on Miss Chivalry, walk me to my door."