And it did. Dinner was magnificent. The food was delicious, the wine was tremendous, and the company was fabulous. Any potential for awkward silences was ruined by meaningful eye gazes or laughter or casual flirting. At the end of the meal, Sophie paid the check, but not without an argument from Sian trying to convince her to split the bill.
"Are you out of your mind? I'm taking you out. That means that you are my date and that means that you don't get a say in the check." Sian realizes Sophie isn't going to give in, so she relents.
"Fine. I guess I'll just have to find some other way to repay you" Sian smirks.
Sophie's cheeks turn bright red and she quickly buries her face in the checkbook, pretending to read the numbers very closely.
On their way out, Alice winks at Sophie and Sophie smiles back, mouthing 'thank you' before walking out the door.
"Thank you for dinner, Soph. That was amazing," Sian says wholeheartedly.
"You're very welcome. But the date's not over yet!" Sophie says excitiedly.
"Oh really?" Sian was a little surprised but she should have known Sophie would plan an after-meal date part two.
After helping Sian into the car, Sophie hops in the driver's seat and heads out of the parking lot. After about 15 minutes Sophie parks the car in a parking garage and tells Sian to get out of the car and close her eyes.
Sian doesn't know where they are going, but she trusts Sophie, and without a second thought closes her eyes and allows Sophie to carefully tie a blindfold around her eyes.
Sophie leads Sian outside and onto a boardwalk.
"Okay, ready?" Sophie asks Sian.
"You're not going to kill me, are you?" Sian asks jokingly. Well, half jokingly.
"If I was going to kill you, I don't think I'd answer that question truthfully," Sophie jokes back.
Sian gasps and rips off her blindfold, revealing a boardwalk full of arcade games, carnival rides, and fried food all less than twenty feet away from where they are standing.
"Oh my gosh Soph, I've been dying to go here!" Sian exclaims. She turns around and is met with Sophie's shimmering eyes and trademark smirk.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Sophie replies. Sian quickly pulls Sophie in for a hug and Sophie's body feels like it's on fire. Though it only lasts a few seconds, it was the best hug Sophie had received in eight years.
When Sian pulls back, she grabs Sophie's hand and then turns around, heading straight for the games.
An hour later, Sophie had won Sian a giant stuffed teddy bear from a football game and Sian had won a puppy from a darts game that she happily awarded to Sophie. They decided to go on a couple rides and then shared a waffle once they realized they were a bit hungry. It was getting late and the boardwalk was going to close soon, but Sophie had one last surprise. She tugs on Sian's hand and leads her to the ferris wheel. Sian looks up at it, finally taking in just how big it actually is.
Sophie reads the nervousness on Sian's face so she squeezes her hand lightly.
"Don't worry, I'll be right there with you. Plus, I heard you can see the lights in London from the top!" Sophie says excitedly.
How could Sian say no to that face?
The two girls climb into the carriage and Sian relaxes into Sophie's side with Sophie's arms wrapped around her waist.
The ferris wheel begins moving and both girls simply enjoy the view—both the view of the city and of the woman next to them. Sophie was right, you could see London from the top. It was actually beautiful. And the stars seemed almost close enough to touch.
Luckily for them, the ride stops to let passengers off just as they reached the very top for the third time.
Sian looks over at Sophie who is staring out into the night.
"What are you thinking about?" Sian asks gently.
"Just how lucky I am right now." Sophie smiles and Sian returns her smile.
"Thank you for tonight, Soph. I've had more fun with you tonight than I've had in a long time," Sian confesses. After a moment she adds, "I missed this."
"I missed you too, Sian" Sophie admits. She knows that isn't exactly what Sian said, but she knew she meant that too.
Sian smiles at Sophie's words and all of a sudden heat rises to her face. Sian looks into Sophie's eyes, seeing honesty, love, a little fear, and the slightest hint of pain. Sian's first instinct is to take all of Sophie's pain away.
Sian's gaze moves from Sophie's eyes down to her lips and lets her eyes hover there for a moment. She looks back up to Sophie's eyes, which are now distracted by Sian's lips. Both girls slowly lean in, not daring to breathe for fear they will ruin the moment. Their lips meet and fireworks explode. Literally. Someone set off fireworks at the end of the boardwalk.
Sian smiles into the kiss, breaking it accidentally. But neither girl speaks. Both girls are so happy that words seem superfluous. Sian smiles again, but Sophie fears any movement will break Sian out of this trance. So Sophie stays still until Sian cups her face with her hands and pulls her closer. Finally, Sophie's radiant smile breaks out just as their lips crash together. Sophie deepens the kiss, wanting to remember every detail of Sian's mouth. After a few moments, both girls break the searing kiss in need of air.
"Wow." That's all Sophie could muster.
"You seem to be saying that a lot tonight," Sian laughed.
"What can I say? You turn me into a bubbling idiot," Sophie says proudly.
The rest of the ride is spent in comfortable silence with both girls holding onto the other, secretly scared of losing physical contact.
As they get off the ride, Sophie takes Sian's hand in hers and they begin their walk back to the car.
When they arrive back at Rosie's flat, Sophie gets out of the car first and walks around to the other side to open the door for Sian. They walk hand in hand up to the front door.
"I had a really wonderful time tonight," Sophie says.
"Me too," Sian smiles. They lean in for a chaste kiss and Sophie's heart soars.
But as they break apart, something pops into Sophie's head and her heart sinks.
"Hey Sian?"
"Yeah Soph?"
"Um… I just uh remembered… um… when do you leave?"
"The day after tomorrow…" Sian answers, sadness evident in her tone.
Both girls are silent for a moment and Sophie tries to suppress that lump in her throat. She is about to speak when Sian cuts in.
"Soph," she says to get Sophie's attention. "Look, tonight was better than I could have even imagined. I never expected this to happen. But I'm really glad it did. Can we please just be happy tonight and not worry about anything right now? Please?" Sian asks almost pleadingly. She just wanted to be happy. She didn't want any drama or sadness. She just wanted to live in this moment and be happy with Sophie.
Sophie smiles at Sian's wish. Sophie would be happy living this night over and over again forever, so she was perfectly content living her dream a little while longer. "Yeah, absolutely."
"Good. Because I'd really like to kiss you again..." Sophie's mouth nearly drops open, but she stops herself, playing it off as a very wide smile.
Sophie leans in and her lips capture Sian's in a very passionate kiss. Sophie tries to convey all her feelings to Sian in that moment. Her urgency, her love, her lust, her passion… it all combines in one head whirling kiss that leaves Sian breathless.
"Wow," Sian says.
"Hey, that's my line!" Sian laughs and pulls Sophie into a tight hug.
"Goodnight, Soph," Sian says as she squeezes Sophie's body infinitely closer to hers.
"Night, Sian," Sophie replies, closing her eyes and reveling in the embrace.
Sophie breaks the hug and places a soft kiss on Sian's cheek before turning around and walking back to her car.
"Hey Soph!" Sian calls out.
Sophie turns around. "See you tomorrow?" Sian asks.
"Yeh, see you tomorrow. Goodnight!" Sian can see Sophie's eyes light up, causing Sian's eyes to react the same way. They both smile at each other one last time before Sophie drives off and Sian goes inside.