Chapter 5

He walked me out through the diner. I waved at Laura as I passed her. She winked at me and mouthed 'get in there'. I blushed and mouthed 'shut up' back. She smirked at me as we left the building. Shane led me to an expensive looking sports car.

"Is this yours?" I asked quietly. I could only dream of owning a car like that.

"No, it's my hire car. I flew over, so I couldn't take the Lambo." Christ, now I was jealous. Was he showing off for my benefit?

"You know, there no need for you to show off. I don't care about superficial things. You could show up on a bike and I wouldn't give a damn."

"I'll keep that in mind." He chuckled. He opened the door for me. I slid in, thanking him before he closed the door. Even though he could have only had the car for a matter of days, it smelt distinctly of him. I could smell the cologne he wore, mixed in with his own smell, which consisted of sweat and oranges. An odd mixture, but it just screamed Shane. And, to be honest, I kind of loved the smell. That didn't mean I loved Shane though. He got into the car and turned the ignition.

"So, where are we going?" I asked as he pulled out of the car park.

"You're just going to have to wait. Man, you're impatient."

After five minutes of playful banter he stopped the car. I looked out the window and noticed that we had pulled up right outside one of the most expensive places in Vegas. Shane opened my door and I started making excuses.

"Shane, we can't go in there. It's far too expensive, and I'm not dressed properly." He chuckled and grabbed my hand. I felt a shock run through my hand, right down my spine; a nice shock.

"Don't worry." He pulled me down a street close to the restraint. I was getting slightly scared now. Where was he dragging me? "I'm taking you to this city's best kept secret." We came to a dimly lit building. Shane opened the door for me.

I stepped into the most romantic place I'd ever seen. And I mean that. Everything was by candlelight. The tables, walls and most of the furnishings which came into view were red. the floor was littered with rose petals. I obviously wasn't the only person to think this place was romantic, as the couples already in there were very close to each other. Shane grabbed my hand and led me over to the maître'd. Wondered why I'd never heard of this place before. The maître'd was a thin, petite, woman who looked about thirty.

"Reservations under Gray." Shane stated. The woman quickly looked up and smiled.

"Shane, how nice to see you again. We don't normally see you on this particular night of the week."

"Well, you know why that is Marcie. Thankfully I finally found someone who agreed to go on a date with me whilst I was here, so I could come see what the deal was." I blushed as I knew he was talking about me.

"Oh good, I was beginning to worry about you."

"No need Marcie," He said with a smile. "Although I'm glad that someone cares. You guys out-do yourselves with this. You should do it more than once a week."

"Well, we're thinking of also doing it on a Saturday. You know, date nights."

"You should definitely do that."

"Anyways, you're at your favourite table."

"I know, I did book it."

"Hey, I'll have no more of that lip Mr Gray. You may be my favourite customer, but that doesn't mean your treatment is any different." She led us to a table, lit only by candle light. Shane had quite an odd relationship with this woman. I had to admit, I was curious. Shane pulled out a chair for me to sit on. He was being such a gentleman. I muttered a quick 'thanks' before he sat down himself.

"Right, here are your menus. You're lucky, Angela is working tonight." Who was this Angela? And why was I feeling jealous for this woman I had never met?

"Wow, I haven't seen her since she had her child." The jealousy disappeared as quickly as it came. I felt like a right gooseberry.

"Well, you'll see her soon enough. Enjoy your night." She scurried off back to her podium.

"Sorry about that. I should probably explain myself." He said as I opened my menu.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"I feel like I owe it to you. So, I've been coming to this restaurant for years now. The guys and I have come here every time we're in this town whilst touring, have done since the very beginning. That's how I know everyone. It's one of my favourite places. So that's why I thought that I'd take you here. But this is only the beginning of our evening."

"Wow, when you go on a date with someone, you really go all out." I smiled up at him.

"Well, I don't get the chance that often. Which is why I only take out girls worth the effort." I blushed and returned to looking at the menu.

I was worth the effort. No one had ever said that to me. And I don't just mean guys, I mean everyone.

I looked at him after I had made my selection. There was a small smile playing on his lips, and his eyes sparkled in the candle light. He looked much happier than when I had first met him. Why was that? It could have just been the break from his destructive life. Anyone would be happy if they got a certain amount of time away from that. It couldn't have possibly been me. Yes, he had become happier after meeting me. But he had been spending time with me and I've always been told that I'm a downer. So it couldn't have been me.

After our food was ordered we began to launch into proper conversation.

"Thank you for saying yes, Mitchie."

"It's my pleasure. How could I have said no though? You would have been in the diner asking me until I said yes probably."

"You're right on that hunch. But how could I let the girl with the prettiest eyes go?" I looked down; trying to hide the mild blush which I knew covered my cheeks.

"They're just blue."

"But they're so much more than that. They're stormy grey near the pupils and as they get closer to the whites, they get bluer, until you get to the edge where they're a deep blue. And they're so different for someone with your hair colour." That was true. I was a brunette with blue eyes; not a very common thing. "But it's not just your eyes. As a whole, Mitchie, you're beautiful."

"No, I'm not. I'm just your average girl-next-door. Nothing much special about me."

"I hate that you've been made to believe that. It means people have said that to you." I nodded. "the kids at school and your parents?" I nodded again. I was amazed that he was able to work out some of my past without me even saying much. "You do realise that they were just jealous of you? Who wouldn't be? You're gorgeous. Never doubt that." I moved myself around the table and kissed him on the cheek softly. He smiled at me and sighed contentedly.

"You aren't so bad yourself." I told him.

He was doing everything he could to make me think he was perfect. I forgot about the alcohol, and just thought about how amazing he was making me feel. He made me feel more confident in myself than I had felt for years (out with my second job, of course).

We drove up a small hill away from the city. Shane parked the car in a small space which looked out over the city. It was incredible.

"This is another favourite place of mine. I like to just come out here and look at the lights. They're always different every time I come here. Either there's something new, or something missing. This place never stays the same. But I love to look at the lights because it makes me think of all the people down there. It makes me think of why they're here. I want to know about every single one of them."

"I feel like that with the customers in the diner. I'm glad that I'm lucky enough to get to know one of them." I said whilst blushing for the millionth time that night. He just had that effect on me.

"Thank you, I'm glad that you agreed to sit down." My blush deepened before I continued to survey the bright Las Vegas lights. I heard Shane take a quick breath.

"Mitchie?" he whispered. I turned to look at him. He was gazing at me intently. He was closer than he was previously. I could feel butterflies in my stomach.

"Yes Shane?" I moved slightly closer to him. We were both leaning in quite closely.

"M-m-may I kiss you?"

AN: DUN DUN DUN. Yes, I left you yet another cliffie. The last chapter was suckish, I know, hopefully this makes up for it. Haha, now you want to read more, don't you? I have 101 reviews, I love you guys, I never thought I'd get that many for so few chapters. This is dedicated to Laura because she got me to the 100 mark. Hope you've had fun with dog boy, Laura haha. R&R