~Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Hope it was worth the wait.~

I'm not sure why I'm so excited to go to dinner with this girl I barely know. I mean, she seems like a really cool chick and all, but the way she handled the whole Carmen thing was just a little off-putting for me, you know? But, maybe it is like she said. It was only a matter of time before they were done.

I get my groceries home and unloaded, making sure that at the minimum the perishables are put away.

I text Maddie trying to see if she'll give me a good feel for what happened.

After laying it all out for her, she replies with, *I'm so excited for you! She sounds super bad-ass!*

*You sure? I don't want to go out with someone who is just going to disregard everything we had at a drop of a hat.*

*Trust me girl, it's fine. This is Carmen we're talking about. It's not like she broke the girl of her dreams' heart in a cruel and unusual way. She told Carmen how it was and how it was going to be.*

I guess that was true. *Thanks Maddie. I'm gonna get ready for my date now!*

*Ooooh ok! I'll be home soon to help you get ready!*

Why is it that she sounds more excited than I do.

I get a text from an unknown number, and once I read the first few words I know exactly who it's from.

*I'll pick you up for dinner at 7:30pm. I know you didn't give me your number, but I have my sources. Hope that time works for you, but we can adjust it if it doesn't. Let me know.*

*That time is fine for me. I'll see you then. You need my address?*

*Yeah, thanks. I'll try harder to stalk you less ;)*

I give her address and check the time. Just as I do, Maddie walks in the door. It is 4:30pm, so she's right on time for once.

"Ok, so I've been planning your outfit in my head the whole way home. I'm thinking mini-skirt with crop top and flats. Yeah?" She barely took a breath for that statement.

"Maddie, I was thinking something much more casual and less jump my bones. Super nice jeans, a top you pick out that's not too slutty, and some comfy tennies. I'm pretty sure we're not gonna fuck on this first date." Because I have definitely fucked my date on our first outing before.

"Yeah that's probably for the best Ash. Sometimes you can't stop yourself." She winks at me because she's playing around, but being very serious at the same time.

It takes forever to get ready because Maddie can't make up her mind about which shirt goes with what shoes and also matches my jeans. Then she insists on doing my make-up for me since, as she put it, I'm to lazy to do anything more than the bare minimum.

It's almost 7:30pm now. My palms have started to sweat, and I resist the urge to touch my face. Maddie forces me to stay in the room until Spencer gets here, that way I can make a grand entrance. She's such a sucker for the cliché. More so than I am.

The doorbell rings, a couple of minutes past the half hour. Interesting that she would arrive "fashionably late". I hear Maddie answer the door, and I hear Spencer say she was here to pick me up. Ok, if I wasn't sweating before, I am now. Maddie calls for me to come out of the room now.

I open the door and slowly walk out towards the living room. Looks like Maddie took her out of direct eyesight (to be even more dramatic, I'm sure). I see the smile on Maddie's face as I appear in sight, and Spencer turns around to face me.

"You look great." I hear her mumble quickly.

I look at my feet while blushing and answering a thank you.

"You ready to go?" I nod that I am. "Good, because you are going to just love what I have planned for you." She's got this shit-eating grin on her face again. The one that says she knows she's right.

We walk to her car, her on my left. She opens the door for me, and I happily jump in. Rushing around to the drivers side, she gets in and starts the car.

"So, where exactly are you taking me?"

"You know where I'm taking you." Again with the cryptic. How nice.

"Ok, well pretend I don't have any idea. How would you explain it to someone who has no idea about either of us."

"I'm not ruining it. But, nice try though!"

So, we make our way around town. I honestly think she's doing this on purpose to punish me for trying to get answers from her. Finally (10 minutes or 30 hours later, it felt like forever!) we end up at what I'm assuming is her house.

"Is this your house?"

"It is." She states simply, as if I should have known this already.

It's an old Victorian, 3 stories and that awesome old school look. I'll get more into that later. The inside was meticulously decorated, with everything seeming to have its place and every place seeming to have its things. She takes me back into what seems like a bedroom.

So, in typical sarcastic fashion, I make a comment. "Planning on getting me in the bedroom already are you?"

She smiles and simply states that that's for later and we're just passing through. She turns towards me, catches me checking her out (oops!), and gives me a quick wink.

She looks so good, that it's ridiculous. The shirt she's wearing is in punk style, loosely hanging off her shoulders exposing just enough skin to be a tease but not enough to give anyone a good look. The pants she has on have a couple of small holes in them, but are tight to her curves so who gives a fuck. Her make-up is on point with what seems like every flaw gone (maybe she just doesn't have any flaws, that bitch!). Her boots were just mid-shin, and she quickly took those off to expose her perfect little feet.

I followed suit and removed my shoes. I noticed she had seats set up at the coffee table so that we were sitting down crisscross style instead of at a table or something. It seemed more intimate to me.

"Please sit, I'll bring the food out." I follow her directions and take the seat of my choice, so that I can watch her walk away. Damn has she got a fine ass, better than mine.

She's quickly back with a couple of pots of food and places them on the potholders she already had set out. She takes one more trip out to the kitchen and grabs one more pot and serving utensils. The table was already set up with the bowls and eating silverware.

"What did you make for us this evening?"

"I've made a simple salad with fresh eggplant parmesan for the main course. I hope you like it…" She trails off before looking down shyly at her feet.

"Will you serve me?" I ask simply to try and make her feel more comfortable. She smiles a simple smile before giving me some salad in the bowl and some eggplant on the plate. She gets her own plates filled after mine, and looks back at me with a cocky grin now present on her face. She must know she's a good cook. I take my first bite of the eggplant and it melts in my mouth.

"Oh my gosh, this is so good, where did you learn how to cook like this?"

"My dad. He was the best cook I knew."

Did she just say she knew, like past tense. "What do you mean you knew your father? Did something happen to him? I mean…. I don't mean to be rude and I'm not trying to disrespect…"

"Ash, it's ok. You don't know and I want to talk about him. Just maybe after dinner. I want to talk about you right now." If I wasn't blushing before, I am now.

"What about me?"

"Everything.