~Chapter 7~

All I could do was stand at the bottom of the stares, just staring. It was almost like looking into a mirror because Adam was just as frozen as I was. We were all alone in the world, just the two of us. There was no sound save for our speeding breaths.

There was a strange buzzing that brought me out of my reverie. "Well, I guess we are going to go ahead to the restaurant, you two are more than welcome to join us. Let's go Brian."

How long had she been talking?

I wasn't able to move still. Apparently neither was Adam. We both just stood there looking at each other for another few minutes until Amanda and Brian had pulled out of the driveway.

Then we unfroze.

"You look fantastic."

"I can't believe it was you all along." Why did that sound like an accusation?

I was completely incredulous. How could it be him? I thought he didn't date anyone from school?

"It really is a long story and I would be more than happy to share with you over dinner. Are you still interested in going to the dance with me?"

Honestly, I was completely thrilled that he wanted to take me to the dance. But I was still a little upset about being kept out of the loop so I came across a little more sour than I had intended to.

"You promise to explain it all to me?"

"I do promise."

"Well then, let's go."

I instantly regretted being short with him, because I knew that he was just as shy about dating as I was, but once again, I was still a little mad.

We got into his black Saturn, I knew it was a Saturn because the emblem on the front said so, and started to drive to the restaurant. I honestly had no idea where we were going since I never bothered to ask, so when we drove out of city limits, I was a little confused.

I looked over at him and he knew exactly what I was going to ask because he answered without me saying a word.

"I thought it would be better if we didn't to go a restaurant in town. It is going to be crowded and I thought that maybe you would like a little more privacy that what we would get there."

"Thank you."

We drove in silence a few minutes longer before he turned the radio on and started to listen to some music. It was so quiet that I couldn't make out more than the music.

We pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and quietly walked to the front door. I had to admit I was a little more than self conscious as we walked into a small restaurant outside of Twin Peaks.

The restaurant was not only small, but also delicate looking with the fine china and gorgeous décor. This small place looked exactly like you would expect to see of a large restaurant in a big city such as New York. A little piece of heaven in the middle of no where.

"I didn't see the name of this place. What's it called?"

He looked over at me with a mixed look of anxiety and pleasure on his face.

"This is Monsieur Delarue. Remember the book club that Amanda spoke of last week? The guy who owns this restaurant is also the person who ran the book club."

Before I could respond, the hostess walked over and asked "dinner for two?"

"Please." Adam responded politely.

The hostess motioned for us to follow her and showed us to a table in a small corner. There was no need to ask for a table away from a crowded area because the entire restaurant was set up so that it was intimate at every table with low lights and soft, comfortable seating.

"Your waitress will be with you momentarily." She smiled sweetly before walking away back towards the front of the restaurant.

"This is such a nice place. So quiet and relaxing."

"Christian is a very nice and accommodating person. He knows what people would really like to have and tries to give it to them."

"Hello. My name is Kandis. Can I get you a drink to start off with?"

Adam looked over at me telling me to go ahead and pick what I wanted to drink.

"I'll have a coke please."

"Two cokes. Thank you."

The waitress walked away without a backwards glance.

"Ok, so who is Christian?"

Chuckle. He almost laughed and it was possibly the most amazing sound there was. It was so sweet and honestly a little sexy.

"Christian is Monsieur Delarue. Well, the second that is. His father was a world renowned chef in Paris…" What had I asked?

"…so when his mother past away, he moved to Paris to live with his father and study under him. But Christian loved living the small town life, so he moved back home and opened this restaurant."

"So, did you bring all of your other dates here?"

"Actually, you are the first person I've had dinner with here."

"Oh…" Well, I wasn't expecting that.

"So, if I remember correctly, the deal to you coming to dinner with me was to get me to tell you the truth."

Had we already hit the point of no return towards the serious conversation?

Was I really ready to have this conversation. True, I liked him, a lot, but what if he didn't feel the same way? What if he only took me out because Amanda made him? Could I live with that truth?

He was still looking at me after a minute or so. What did I say? And if I wanted to get the honest truth out of him, would he give it? What would I ask first?

"Well, I guess you don't." Was he feeling as awkward as I was?

"I just don't know what to ask first honestly."

"Well, I guess we could start off with what you asked me at the house."

"Yeah, I think that would be a good place to start."

Before he could go into his explanation, our waitress returned.

"Have you had a chance to look over the menu?"

I flipped open the menu and scanned through it quickly, "Um, I guess just give me the sesame chicken on Caesar's salad."

"And what can I get for you sir?"

"I will have Chicken Portobello."

"Ok. Would you like a loaf of bread brought to the table as well?"

"Please."

As soon as the waitress walked away, he turned back to look at me. Of course this made me extremely self-conscious, well, more than usual.

"Well, remember last week when you came over to watch a movie with Amanda?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, she saw the way we looked at each other and she knew. Well, she knew before you even came over how you felt, but she saw the same in me I guess last week."

"But how did she know how I felt? I didn't even know how I felt. I still don't even know how I feel."

"Amanda is very perceptive. Always has been. Especially when it comes to me." He looked down as he said that, like he was ashamed.

"So, why me? Why not some other girl, like Stephanie.?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to this. I didn't get the impression from him like he was a challenge seeker, but who knew?

"Honestly, I think most people our age are immature, materialistic and vain. Especially Stephanie. But you, you never fit into any of those categories. I'm sure Amanda already told you that I don't like drama. Personally, I feel that you should only be with someone for the right reasons. Not just for image or the fact of saying 'I have a boyfriend or girlfriend.' I guess in that respect I am alone."

Wow, that was honestly the longest speech he had given.

"No, you are not. I am sure there are many people who feel the way you do. I know I do."

He looked up in surprise at me admission.

"So, when did you first know? I mean, how you felt?" Would he tell me the truth?

"The first day of class, when you shook my hand. In that moment, I felt like the world was gone and that you were the one thing holding me in place in a whirlwind of chaos."

He was so poetic and sweet. Why did he have to be so perfect?

"Wow, so I made quite an impression huh?" A joke? You have got to be kidding me.

"Yes, you did. And since then, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. I know, that sounds both cheesy and stalkerish, but it's the truth."

"Well, I honestly don't know what to say to that."

"You really don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Great, what do I say to that? Ok. I know you just put yourself out there, but I'm going to just sit here and let you feel stupid.

"I have a confession of my own. Actually, two. One, I am not good at expressing myself and I tend more often than not to just hide my feelings. And two, and I am putting myself out on a limb here, I feel the same way as you. I don't know what will happen or what would come of it, but I can't help how I feel."

It took a moment for what I had said to register, but then it was like his face just lit up. He looked just like a ten year old kid who realizes that he had just gotten the toy he wanted for Christmas. I wasn't sure how I felt about that comparison. Maybe he would be disappointed in the result, I wasn't much of a prize.

"Ok, I have a Caesar salad with chicken and a Chicken Portabella. Is there anything else I can get you two?"

"No, I think we are good." He replied, without looking away from my face.

"Hmm. This looks good." I unrolled my cloth napkin and started to eat.

"Thank you so much for joining me for dinner." He said in-between bites.

I had food in my mouth so I just smiled in response. Truly, I didn't know what to say.

After a few minutes of silence and eating, he looked up at me.

"You are being extremely quiet. Is something wrong?"

"No, I am fine." I looked down at my lie.

"Liar." He said with a smile playing on his lips.

Was I that much of an open book?

"Well, I just don't know what to say. I mean, every time I am around you, I can't seem to form coherent thoughts or say anything worth hearing."

"Everything you say is worth hearing."

"See, like that. You are just so sweet and thoughtful. I just feel that I don't deserve your truthfulness or anything else that you have to offer. And now I'm going to stop rambling."

"Would you like to know the truth?"

"What, that you are even more perfect than you are actually acting?"

Chuckle. "No. I am not perfect. And with any other person, I am not so easily out-spoken. Usually I don't talk much at all, at least not with that many people. But you. You just seem to take down all of my barriers and reach into my soul and pull the words out. It's like, whatever I may be thinking, you just have this power of me that makes my mouth spill the words."

After thinking about what he said for a moment, I looked inside myself. I could feel the pull myself. The need to say exactly what I was thinking and feeling, just to make him happy. It was a very frightening discovery, but so natural in its response.

I sat there for a moment just feeling the pull, finding that the pull had been there since I had first laid eyes on Adam two weeks ago. But it went deeper than that. I was like it was there all along, only to be awoken by the person the pull was meant for. It made me excited.

"Wow."

"Exactly." He beamed.

"Funny thing, I didn't even pay attention to that until you said something."

"I've felt it since we first saw each other. Maybe the reason I'm better at expressing myself is that first, I've had a chance to accept what this is, and two, I am more at peace with what it is and accepting of the fact that it only happens with you."

We sat there for a few moments more, saying nothing but looking into what seemed to be each other's sole.

We both jumped a little when the waitress came back and asked if we were ready for the check or if we needed anything else.

"No, I think we are ready to go."

He reached into his back pocket and took the money out and handed it to her. I looked up at the clock on the wall only to realize what time it was.
"Oh, wow. The dance started half an hour ago."

"I guess time flies when you are having fun." Such an old and kind of corny statement, but it seemed so fitting for the situation.

"Well, then shall we go?" He got up from the table and came around to help me up.

Again, when our hands touched, it was almost like Heaven had come to Earth and rested in his hand.

We walked out of the restaurant with me holding his arm, just like they did in the earlier part of the century.

The drive to the dance was relatively quiet. I was thinking inwardly, going over our conversation at dinner and thinking how completely my life had changed in just a few hours. I really didn't seem like it was that pivotal of a moment in my life. But it went beyond a boyfriend, if that's what he was. It was like I had found my soul mate.

Just this revelation would have been enough to have my head spinning as it was. But it was even more than that. It wasn't just that I had found my soul mate, it was that he actually wanted me the way I wanted him.

We were just about to pull into the school when he broke out laughing. Since we had been quiet for the last twenty minutes or so, I couldn't fathom what he thought was so funny.

I waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn't I felt the need to ask. "Would you mind sharing the joke with me?"
He looked over at me and just pointed into the dark. It took me a moment to see what it was as we passed, he must have seen what he was pointing at as we pulled in and the light hit. It was Stephanie getting out of her car with a sour expression which had turned furious as she took in his car, with me in the passenger seat.

"I can't believe I had forgotten completely about her. She is going to freak out on me, then kill me." I wasn't really scared of her, but she was pretty scary.

"You will be fine. I'll just have Amanda run interference. Although, she may figure it out that Amanda was the one who set us up, so she may just direct her fury at Amanda."

"You shouldn't say that like it's a good thing."

"I told her that if she kept it a secret from her that Stephanie would be a little more than mad. But she thought it would be funny just to get her goat. They have a very weird "friendship". Amanda only became friends with her to see which one was more spiteful. I would really hate to be on the receiving end of either one of them, but mostly Amanda."

"That's only because you live with her."

"Quite possibly so."

We got out of the car and walked slowly toward the gymnasium.

Slowly because my feet wouldn't let me walk any faster than that. I was completely petrified. Not of Stephanie. But of the rest of the class.

I have never been good as the center of attention but here I am, walking into the school with the most adorned guy in the world.

As we walked through the double doors I visualized the students turning around to look and gawk at us as we walked to the table like they did in the movies. I saw people pointing and laughing, whispering like we weren't even standing there. I was about to turn around when I processed what they were saying.

"Wow! Look at Amanda. She looked wonderful."

"She is so hot. Is that Mark Pfeiffer who graduated last year?"

"I think it is. He is so lucky."

"Can you possibly not stare at her like she is a piece of meat."

I didn't see any of the people who made these comments because I do saw what they were looking at.

I had turned to go back out the door and saw Amanda standing there, looking like a Greek Goddess in her shimmering blue dress with her flowing blonde tendrils.

She saw me looking at her and winked at me as she passed us with her date. She had planned her entrance perfectly so that she could take the attention away from Adam and me.

Adam casually directed me to a table on the outside of the ring of covered tables to take our seats.

We had barely sat down when Melissa came over pulling Chase behind her. She sat down next to me with a million questions in her eyes, bouncing between Adam and me.

"Um, how would you like something to drink Marie?" Adam asked. I could see he was going to be polite enough to give us a few minutes.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you."

"I'll go with you." Chase said as he stood up.

As soon as they disappeared out of sight, Melissa bombarded me with her burning questions.

"I can't believe you came to the dance with Adam. Stephanie is absolutely reeling in the ladies room right now. She is so livid."

"I honestly didn't know until he showed up at the door. Amanda refused to tell me who my date was." I admitted.

"Well, you are absolutely lucky. He truly is gorgeous."

"I thought you liked Chase?" I asked. Did I really sound a little bit jealous?

"Oh, I do. But a girl can dream can't she." She said dreamily.

"So, how did dinner go? Do you like him? Does he like you?"

"Umm…" I didn't know what to say or how to answer.

"Ok, so they had fruit punch and tropical punch. I got one of each. Which one would you like?" Adam asked as he sat back down to me.

I gave Melissa what I hoped looked like an apologetic smile and turned to look back at Adam.

"I'll have the fruit punch."

"Here you go." He said as he handed me the white and blue paper cup.

"Ok, well I guess we are going to go dance. We'll see you two later." Melissa hinted.

Great, just what I needed. This night was going to wear me out.

I turned back to Adam to see him staring at me.

"What?"

"Nothing, just looking."

"Do I have something in my teeth?" I asked self-consciously.

"No, just looking at an angel." He was so sweet.

All I could do was smile because my heart was in my throat.

A slow song started just then, prompting him to ask, "Would you like to dance?"

"I am not a very good dancer." I stated plainly.

"It's ok. I am. Besides, all you need it the right partner."

He took my hand and gently pulled me from my chair and onto the floor. At first I was a little skeptical because I really couldn't dance and I doubted any skill on his part would make that much of a difference.

But after being on the floor for half a song I started to see what he meant. We were dancing, and it actually looked decent. We didn't swirl around like they did in the movies, but we created our own little dance of small movements. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was enough for me.

We danced through a few more songs before we heard a commotion coming from the back of the gymnasium. A few raised voices and a group of people huddled in the corner drew our attention and our curiosity.

As we walked to the back, I saw Melissa standing there with Chase, watching the scene unfold.

"I can't believe you did this to me." I heard a voice say.

"Oh please, don't be so melodramatic." Was that Amanda?

I ebbed closer to the front of the group with Adam right behind me, to see Amanda standing there with Stephanie, who was fuming mad.

"You betrayed me. I told you how I felt about him and still you went behind my back and set him up with someone else? And a new girl on top of that?" she practically screamed.

"Stephanie, the only reason you like him is because he is the only person you have ever known who doesn't fall at your feet. Get over it. He doesn't want you."

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

Amanda rolled her eyes as Stephanie finally looked around the circle of people who came to watch the fight. As she spotted me standing with Adam, she came charging in our direction.

"And you, I knew you would be trouble from the first moment I saw you. You are nothing and you don't deserve him. I promise to make your life a living hell for this." she yelled into my face.

She looked over at Adam with fury on her face, then whirled around and walked towards the front door.

I turned around to face Adam to see his own reaction. He was standing there with indifference on his face.

"Should I be worried?" I asked.

"No, you shouldn't." I heard from behind me.

I turned around to look at Amanda, who at that moment at a smile on her face.

"You really shouldn't enjoy getting her goat like that Amanda." Adam chided her from behind me.

"Oh, I don't. But this was something that she needed to get through her thick skull. Or did you want her chasing you for the rest of your life?" she countered.

"Well, no. But…"

"But nothing. Even after I told her on Friday that you weren't interested in her, she was still deluded enough to think that should would stop by the house after we left to pick you up. Trust me when I say this, she will never give up unless the proof is shoved right into her face."

"Ok. But I hope you know what you are doing. She looked pretty pissed."

"Really Amanda, should I be worried?" I said again.

"No, she will probably hate you forever and most likely spread rumors about you, but what does it matter?"

Great! Now I have an enemy. Just what I needed.

"Well, I need to go find my date. I'll see you two later." And before I could get another word in, she was off in the direction of the refreshments table, where her date was waiting on her.

I turned back to Adam to see him looking at me again.

"Are you ok?" He asked me.

"Sure. If you mean having a senior hell bent on making my life hell ok."

"Well, as long as you are fine." He joked back.

We both laughed for a minute before he asked me, "Are you ready to go back to the dance floor, or would you rather go outside for a few minutes and cool off?"

I looked around to see people still standing there looking at us and whispering.

"Let's go outside."

Without another word he took my hand and led me out the back door of the gym.

As we exited the door, I felt a swift breeze of cool air blow past us into the warm gym.

We walked in silence for a few minutes until we reached a picnic table in the courtyard. We sat down together on the cold cement bench, still without talking.

I felt a shiver go up my back, which of course caught his notice.

"It's cold out here, maybe we should go back inside. You don't have a jacket on."

"No, I'm fine. I'm not ready to go back in yet." I replied hastily.

"You sure?" he questioned.

"Of course." I replied as another shiver went through my body.

He stood up and took his suit jacket off and draped it around my shoulders.

"Thank you." I said as he sat back down.

"Starting to feel better?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Almost…" I said. He started to sit forward again to make me more comfortable until he saw me lean over toward him. He caught my drift and put his arm around me.

We sat there for a while more without saying anything, just happy to be with each other.

"So, have you had fun tonight? Overall I mean." He asked me as he rubbed my arm.

"Yes, I have. A lot more fun than I thought I would have had. Thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"To be honest, you are the only reason I had fun tonight. I don't think I would have had fun with anyone else but you." I admitted.

"I would not have come for anyone else but you. When Amanda first brought this to me, I told her no because I didn't want to really accept what I felt. It honestly scared me. But after she wouldn't let up, and trust me she brought it up all the time, you were all I could think about. And then I knew that there was no way I could sit at home while you came to the dance. Because I have no doubt that she would have found someone else to go with you. If only to push me and make me jealous."

"Seriously? You would have been jealous?"

"Of course I would have. After I let me true feelings for you come through, it was impossible to imagine you with anyone else."

"Feelings?"

"Yeah, just these feelings I've had since we met. But I was scared of them. One, I didn't know what they were. It was just a strange desire to be with you. And second, it was the strength of that desire. It was like an elusive pull toward you. I couldn't help it. It was strange that I'd only known you for a few days and I felt that strongly. But I didn't know what it was, so I suppressed it, until Amanda made me face it." I felt him shrug.

"Well, at the risk of sounding corny, I am glad she made you face your feelings."
"Me too. You ready to go back in?" He asked. I guessed he was getting cold as well.

"Honestly, I am just ready to go."

"Oh. You want to go home." It wasn't a question.

"No, I just don't want to stay here anymore."

"We can go for a drive if you want."

"That sounds good." I said.

We got up and started for the parking lot.

"Maybe I should tell Amanda that we are leaving. Just so she doesn't get worried." I told him.

"We can do that."

We walked back into the gymnasium and found Amanda easily enough. There she was with her date on the dance floor, making everyone else look completely ridiculous while she danced like a professional.

She looked over at us as we walked into the gym with a knowing look. But instead of her walking over to us, she just waved her hand quickly and looked back toward her date.

"Well, that was quite a good-bye." Adam said as we walked away.

"Eh, she is just trying to enjoy herself."

"Yeah, that's it." he laughed.

We walked to his car, talking about nothing in particular. As we drove out of the parking lot, I looked down at the clock.

"Wow, it's already 11." I said.

"I guess time flies when you are having fun."

"True, it does." I said truthfully.

"Maybe I should just take you home instead of going for a drive. I honestly hadn't realized how late it was."

As much as I hated for the night to end, I was exhausted from my early start and I knew my mother would be up waiting for me.

"Yeah, my mom will be wondering where I had gone off to. Don't want her to think I had run away."

Honestly though, until I looked at the time, the world seemed to stop existing outside of Adam. I hadn't thought about my mom anyone else for that matter since earlier tonight. How long had we sat on the bench outside the school?

We pulled into my driveway and he turned the lights off.

"Thank you for coming with me tonight. I really did have a lot of fun." He said.

"Thank you for the invite." Not ready for the date to be over and go inside, I lingered in the car.

"Umm, would you mind doing something with me tomorrow?" He asked timidly.

"I would love to. If you want, you can give me a call tomorrow afternoon and we can hang out or something."

"Yeah, I have a place I want to take you."

"Sounds like a plan." I said.

He leaned over to give me a hug which I received generously. I turned my head slightly toward his as he hugged me, to be met with his lips, since he had turned to give me a kiss on the cheek.

The kiss was like nothing I could have prepared myself for. It wasn't aggressive like those kisses you see in Hollywood. Not at all. It was the most perfect thing in the world. Like his lips were meant for mine, a perfect fit.

His lips were soft and warm, giving and taking. My lips moved in complete unison with his, like they were destined to have met. Two halves of a whole, ripped away from each other too soon, only to be put back together in a moment of pure ecstasy.

It ended all too quickly with both of us out of breath. Not from exertion of the kiss, but the power of it.

"Uh…" That was all my mind could come up with after that. How pathetic.

"Can I be honest with you?" he asked.

"Always." I said breathlessly.

"That was amazing."

He took the words right out of my mouth. But before I could say anything, I saw the front porch light come on and my mom was opening the front door.

"I better go in." I said lamely.

"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow."
I got out of the car and waved good-bye as he pulled out of the driveway and then drove down the road.

I walked absently to the house and in the front door.

"How was the dance honey?" she asked as she shut the front door.

"It was really good mom. I am really tired. Can we talk in the morning?"

There was no way I was going to be able to give my mom a play by play right now when I was completely befuddled.

"You ok honey?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah mom. I'm fine. I'm just really tired. Had an early start this morning to a long day. I'm just ready for bed."

"Ok sweetie. Go on up to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

She gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. I walked up the stairs but I didn't feel the steps. I didn't even process what I was doing, but my body moved of it's own accord. Once I got into my room I fell back on my bed, completely dressed and thought back about what had just happened.

"I can't believe we kissed. It was absolutely perfect and all I could come up with was 'uh'? What's wrong with me?"

I laid there for a for a little while longer thinking of everything that had happened today. It was the perfect day. Nothing had gone wrong and now I had the most perfect person who cared for me.

Life was perfect.