Chapter 4 - What I expected ...

Irina

THE TIME SEEMED TO SLOW DOWN each time I looked at the watch. I couldn’t believe that I was actually excited about this date with Hunter. I should have been disgusted that an old guy was interested in me, yet I found myself daydreaming about his smile and the way he looked at me.

When the time finally came to go to bed, I found myself staring out of my window. It was a clear night and the wind softly blew, making my curtains float as if they were a veil of some sort. We were right in the middle of summer and the days were humid and far too hot, but the nights were just absolutely gorgeous. When I looked at the time, it was already two in the morning and I still hadn’t slept a wink! If I was going to make it through my date without falling asleep, I seriously needed to get some sleep. I made my way downstairs to grab some warm milk and met my mother in the kitchen.

“Can’t sleep?” She smiled and winked and I nodded.

“Yeah,” I sighed. I had a lot on my mind. So much that I didn’t even know where to start.

“Well, why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you.” My mother took out a couple of doughnuts and poured us each a glass of milk while I made myself comfortable watching her.

“He is weird, isn’t he?” I grabbed the first doughnut and popped a piece into my mouth. When I looked at my mother, looking at me, I burst out laughing. “Okay, so the general consensus in town is that they are all weird. I just don’t know much about him and his people and he is so much older than me.” I sighed before taking a sip of milk.

“But you agreed to a second date, sweetheart, which can only mean you felt something. Look, you aren’t agreeing to marry him, so why not give the poor guy a chance?” She finished her milk and got up. Patting me on the shoulder before she hugged me and went to bed. I sat looking at the doughnut she didn’t eat and rolled my eyes. By the time I finally got back to bed, it was four and there was no way I was going to get any sleep.

I put on my yoga clothes, and decided to go for a run. Leaving the house when it was still dark, I popped my headphones in my ears and started to run at a comfortable pace. I wasn’t running in any direction specifically. I just felt I needed to work off some of my frustration. Running had always been how I cleared my mind and I needed it now.

If I was going to get through a second date with Hunter, I needed to clear my mind. He hadn’t done anything to make me feel as if this wasn’t going to work. That was exactly the problem. He had been far too perfect. It was light out by the time I got back home and I had to rush through a shower to make it to work in time. The day passed by so fast this time around.

I was still figuring out some morning stuff when afternoon rolled around already. I had a quick lunch and bought a new dress for my date. I had no idea where we were going and, since I felt so nervous, only a new dress would be able to calm me. I had just finished getting ready and was on my way downstairs when the doorbell rang. I checked my watch and smiled. He was right on time! Opening the door, I knew I had done the right thing in buying the dress when I saw the enormous smile on his face.

“Wow! You look amazing. Hi.” He grinned and I felt a bright blush creep over my cheeks.

“Hi, and thanks. Do you want to come in? I just want to grab my bag.” I couldn’t believe I had left my bag upstairs, but then again, I felt a little lost around him. He made me feel absent-minded and laser focused at the same time! It was really strange! By the time I made it back downstairs, my parents were talking with Hunter and I had to smile.

I knew when I got back, they would tell me exactly what they thought of him. My parents and I didn’t keep secrets from each other. I had gone out on a couple of dates over the years and each time I got back, they would tell me what they thought, but they never told me what they thought I should do. Which I appreciated.

We said goodnight to my parents and this time the men with Hunter were both wearing dark blue button-up shirts and black jeans. I wondered if he had his people wear specific uniforms, but I didn’t want to ask. I didn’t want him to think I was prying into his business. Hunter and his people were pretty private after all. We drove out onto the freeway and I looked at Hunter who was smiling at me.

“I thought I would take you somewhere new tonight. You look so amazing that I didn’t want to waste it on any of the local restaurants.” A shiver of delight ran down the back of my spine. It was surprising. Hearing that he liked what I was wearing made me feel really good. We pulled up outside of a restaurant in the city about two hours' drive from our home town and I wondered how often he ate there.

The hostess greeted us with a friendly smile, but she wasn’t overly familiar, which kind of made it a little confusing. It was clear that my first impression was wrong and that I would have to adjust what I thought of Hunter. The hostess showed us to a booth in the back and a small smile crept over my lips. Okay, not all of it was different to what I thought.