The Bird and the Worm

“Brian, I still don’t understand the need for the bandana to be tied across my eyes,” I complained, turning my head assumedly towards him, and he laughed at me, touching my face. “Is this date that much of a surprise? I mean, you already bought me a ring and flowers and fed me chocolate. This day honestly couldn’t get any better…”

He sighed, and I could hear that he was much closer now. “Shush,” he said, and his lips touched mine. “I love you, and I love your voice, but please.” He kissed me again, his fingers sliding along my neckline. My skin tingled beneath his touch, and he turned the car on, folding his hand around mine and chuckling softly to himself. “I just want you to be surprised when you see where we’re going.” His smooth lips met my cheek, and then we were in motion.

I let my lips spread into a smile, since I wasn’t allowed to talk, and gave his hand a squeeze, using my hand to straighten out the chocolate-colored dress he’d bought for me and stretching my legs in the roomy foot space. He seemed content with this, and he drove in silence.

We were probably on the road for about half an hour before we reached our destination (the first of a few, Brian had said), and for this one, he decided not to pull the bandana off until we were at the door. I glanced around, trying to figure out the name of the place, and folded my hand into his as we walked in together. He led me to the front counter, giving my hand a squeeze, and said in an unfairly smooth voice, “Table for two? In your best corner, if you could.”

The hostess glanced at him, and then she turned her eyes on me, attempting to decide whether or not I was deserving of the man beside me. I smiled at her, and she picked up two menus, turning and leading us to a secluded corner that boasted a magnificent view of the ocean. I took the sight in first before sitting down, and because of the angle of the table, when Brian sat down, he was right next to me, which meant I could hold his hand again.

“Where did you find this place?” I asked him. “It’s so…extravagant, and it’s right on the shore. The search had to take you forever.” He flashed a smile. “Brian.”

“What? Matt told me about this really great place that would be magnificent for an epic first date, and I took his advice.” His thumb ran softly over the back of my hand, and his lips spread into my favorite irresistible, lopsided smile. The twinkle in his eye from before had come back, and I smiled back at him before switching my gaze over to the ocean. “I thought you would appreciate the view.”

“You are quite possibly the most romantic man I’ve ever met.”

The lopsided smile remained as he leaned closer. “Shh. You might ruin my reputation. Word has it I’m supposed to be a bad-ass.” I giggled. “So let’s keep my romanticism on the down-low, alright?” I nodded. “Alright then.” He gently pressed his lips to mine, and I had a chance to kiss him back for about three seconds before he pulled back, glancing toward the waitress that had just appeared.

“Can I get you two anything to drink?”

Brian glanced over at me. If I’d been 21, he could have ordered white wine, but since I had only just turned 20, he smiled up at the waitress and said softly, “If you could bring the two of us a Coke or something, that would be great.” I bit my lip. This was something that the waitress didn’t quite understand, but she nodded, scribbled something on her notepad, and then walked away, presumably on her way to bring us drinks. Brian squeezed my hand. “You look amazing, by the way.”

“So do you, stud,” I returned. “I should be able to see you in a tux more often.”

“It’s not really a tux, love.” He gestured towards his chest. “Button-down shirt.” He tapped his leg. “Dress pants.” His foot nudged mine. “Black shoes.” I bit my lip and nudged my foot towards his, my exposed toes brushing along his ankle. He would have most likely shivered at the contact if there hadn’t been a black sock hiding his skin. “What do you think you’ll have here?”

I licked my lips slowly, my eyes forcing themselves away from his gaze, scanning over the menu in front of me. “The lobster sounds appealing, with just a touch of garlic butter, or the king crab. I can show you my awesome shell-breaking skills.” I winked at him, and he laughed softly. “What about you, mister Haner?”

A breathtaking smile graced his features. “I think the lobster sounds like the best bet.” I nodded in agreement. “Alright. Come here.” I raised an eyebrow at him, but obliged, my elbow on the table and my free hand supporting my chin. He leaned forward as well, and just when I thought he was going to kiss me, he instead caught my bottom lip between his teeth, pulling gently, his tongue flicking out and caressing my skin. I resisted the urge to release a slight moan, and he smiled before releasing my lip. “You had something on your mouth.”

“You got it, right?” I teased.

“Yeah. It’s gone now. Because you have a boyfriend with skills.” The word ‘boyfriend’ always sounded so solid and perfect when he said it, and it was ridiculous.

“Your drinks,” a waitress said, obviously not willing to interrupt but doing her job, setting the drinks before us. “Are you two ready to order?”

I glanced up at her. “I am, but I’m not sure if he is.”

“Are you kidding? I was born ready.” He turned his attention to the waitress as well. “I’ll have the lobster, with a salad on the side with Italian dressing.” She nodded, and he stroked my hand while she wrote down his order.

“And you, miss?”

“I’ll have the king crab, salad, French dressing.” My eyes couldn’t keep themselves away from Brian’s. Our gazes met again, and he smiled at me. This moment was almost so cliché that normally, I would have vomited (figuratively) in disgust. But he was just so beautiful, and his eyes were vulnerable, and he was so perfect, and he was mine. I smiled to myself as I came to that realization. Great. I felt smug now.

The waitress finished recording my order, and then she walked away.

“I love you,” I said softly, those impenetrable chocolate eyes staring back at me, just oozing sappy, romantic, unspoken crap.

“I love you too.”

I ran my teeth over my bottom lip as I watched him, and he seemed perfectly content with holding on to my hand. This was sweet to the point of being sickening, but I didn’t care. All the people that would have scolded Brian for being so open with a girl that had won a random contest, walked onto his tour bus with him, had sex with him a couple of times, and then waited for him for five months, but none of those other people mattered. He loved me.

He fucking loved me.

We were, for the most part, silent as we waited for our food. He spent his time stroking my hand, and I spent mine staring into his eyes…and seemingly molten chocolate stared back at me.

When our food did finally arrive, I was forced to release his hand, but he compensated with a gentle kiss to my lips and my cheek as soon as the waitress had walked away. His smooth lips were heaven against my skin, making a faint red tinge my face as I worked harder than usual to crack the shells of the crab legs. He simply sighed in content and rested his hand on my leg, his thumb, always obsessive with stroking my skin, moving effectively along my thigh. His touch was sensational.

I had no idea how I’d lived without such love in my life before now- I should have met Brian five years ago instead of five months ago. I never would have been so depressed and down about my life if I’d known him then. This was surely how things were always supposed to be for me- I was finally being allowed to know what being truly cared for actually felt like, instead of the secondhand version of watching Gina be treated well.

He was too devoted to me for having spent four days physically at my side.

But that didn’t matter.

We finished our food in a content silence, only drifting into light conversation as we waited for the bill, and in a very gentlemanly fashion, Brian smoothly picked up the bill, fished the payment and a tip from his wallet, and then rose, taking my hand, and leading me to the car.
Now that I was paying attention, I could hear the gentle rush of the ocean water as it collided with the shoreline, and I didn’t complain when the blindfold was tied over my eyes once again.

“I have another couple of surprises for you,” he explained in a rough whisper, and I didn’t protest. I simply waited for his hand to close around mine once the car was started, and I was silent once more. I could only imagine the possibilities now. If he’d come up with the idea of taking me to an exquisite seaside restaurant, I couldn’t even begin to think of what would come after that, because I thought he would try to make each event of the night much more significant than the one before it.

We drove for forty minutes this time, but as the blindfold was removed, my eyes found a store with a cutout of what was supposed to be a gleaming diamond, and confusedly, I let Brian take my hand and lead me towards the store, watching him curiously as we walked, astounded by the things he was coming up with. I had no idea what he was planning this time.

A man that seemed to be in his fifties greeted us, shaking Brian’s hand and smiling at me, and I raised a quizzical eyebrow at the both of them.

Brian smiled. “This is the girl I was buying the ring for today,” he said, and the man’s smiled changed into something more sincere. “And now I think she needs earrings or something. Anything. I’d hate for her ensemble to be incomplete.”

“Of course, sir. And what, may I ask, is your name, young lady?”

“My name’s Heather,” I said, still figuring out Brian’s plans.

“Well we have a glorious collection of earrings over here, if you’d like to take a look.” I nodded, and he gestured for me to walk in front of him. I looked up at Brian, and he nodded, so I let go of his hand, walking in front of the kindly man, letting him direct me towards the cases of glistening earrings.

At first, I was intimidated by the price tags, so I glanced back at Brian. He shrugged, and I barely heard him as he said, “Anything, and I mean that.” I bit my lip, nodding, and turned my attention back to the jewels. There had to be something that would match anything formal I’d ever wear. My eyes scanned over the entire selection, and then I found a pair that was very simplistic, but there were sapphires glistening in the middle of the charm that hung from them, and I touched my finger to the glass above it.

“You like those?” I nodded. “Just a moment, then.” The man moved behind the counter, removed a ring of keys from his pocket, and unlocked the door at the back, pulling out my selection. We walked back to Brian after that, and then to the checkout counter. Brian slipped his credit card onto the counter, his other arm around my waist, holding me to his side, and his lips met the top of my head.

“The last stop’s better, I promise,” he murmured, and when the man behind the counter gave him his credit card back, he swiftly signed the receipt, slid it across the counter, and then led me towards the door to the man that had sold me my jewelry. “I just want tonight to be perfect,” he said as we reached the car. “I didn’t want to mess up our first actual date.”

I smiled at him, touching my hand to his face. “It was perfect when you came home with
those flowers, Brian.”

He had nothing to say to that. He tilted my chin up, gave me a short kiss, and then let me climb into his car.

Again, he tied the blindfold over my eyes, started the car, and slipped his hand into mine.
I was anxious this time. There had to be a climax. I just wasn’t sure what it would be…