New Beginnings

“So what are we doing tomorrow?” Jonathan’s voice floated softly over the phone, his tone slightly teasing.

“It’s a surprise,” Payton replied coyly. “But dress comfortably and warm.”

“So no suits then,” he laughed. “Can I get a clue?”

Payton rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling in her bedroom. She couldn’t stop the smile tugging at her lips. The phone call was pretty much the only good thing that had happened to her all day, and she loved the tranquil peacefulness that settled over her. Idly, she pulled up her quilt to her chin and wriggled her way down amongst her pillows.

There was a slight sense of guilt that drifted over her, after all, she had only asked him out thanks to a rebellious kick thanks to the argument she had with her brother. But at the same time, she was glad that it had happened, otherwise she would have never had the guts to ask out the Hockey player.

“You want a clue huh?” she teased, scratching Noni’s head as she kitten climbed up onto her stomach.

“Be awfully helpful,” Jonathan replied, playing along.

“Well, it will be white and cold,” she hinted.

“And that tells me absolutely nothing at all,” he laughed.

“Alright,” she mused, trying to think of another clue without giving anything away. “It will be cold, but we’ll be seeing something I’ve been looking forward to for months.”

“A Hockey game!”

“….No.”

“Darn it!”

“Just be warm and casual tomorrow,” Payton instructed. “We’ll have a coffee at the bookshop then I’ll drive you to where we’re going.”

**

It was a glorious morning, one of those mornings that made a person want to be up early and out, just to appreciate what a day it was. For a change, rather than the heavy snow clouds Chicago was used to seeing, the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Payton, although she would never admit it vocally, had the urge to skip to the bookshop. It didn’t matter that she had been so stressed the previous few days, she was just so eager to go out and have a good time without having to worry over anything.

Her outfit fit her mood, as well; a pale blue long sleeved shirt was tucked into light blue jeans with a tan coat protecting her from the cold and a pair of brown boots protecting her from the slushy snow. With her hair pulled up into a high pony tail, she was ready to get the day started.

It wasn’t long before she had the shop in her sights. Humming lightly, she tried to spy for Jonathan; however, her plan on taking him by surprise was spoiled by the large amount of people on the streets. Shrugging, she walked straight into the store, absently waving to Nate and climbed the stairs to Lucy’s Café. It was then that she spotted him, coming to a complete stop on the top stair so that she could study him.

He wore a white hoodie and dark blue jeans with a green cap sitting on the table beside him as he took a drink of coffee. His intensely warm brown eyes studied the newspaper in his hand while the other hand combed through his slightly wet hair, spiking it in every direction. Payton couldn’t remember the last time she saw something so attractive.

Unable to hide the blush on her cheeks, she continued forward, smoothing her suddenly sweating palms on her jeans. That was when he looked up, his gaze catching hers. A lazy smile drifted over his lips as he stood up. It was then that she noticed the flowers on the table.

“Hey,” he said simply as she came up to the table.

“Hi,” she replied shyly.

He started, as though he broke out of a spell and picked up the flowers. “These are for you, they’re Zinnias. The lady at the florist helped me pick them out.” He blushed and ran a hand through his hair again. “They mean friendship and attraction.”

Payton stared at the flowers in fascination. The bouquet was a warm mixture of pinks, reds and yellows, the layered petals letting out a wonderfully soft scent as she took them from Jonathan and brought them up to her nose. Her blue eyes peeked out from her lashes as she gave him a coy smile.

“They’re enchanting, thank you,” she said lowly, leaning up and kissing his cheek. Where her bravery came from, she didn’t know, but it was worth seeing the light dusting of red rising up from beneath his skin. “I’m not sure they’ll last in the car though, so I’m going to get Lucy to take care of them until I come back to pick them up.”

“So where are we going?” he asked with a smile as Lucy came to the table with a coffee for Payton and disappeared with the flowers.

“It’s a surprise,” Payton teased back, taking a sip of the deliciously warm liquid. “Can’t tell you yet.”

“I look forward to it,” Jonathan said honestly. “I’m glad that you asked me out.”

“Really?” she looked at him in surprise.

“Yeah, usually I have to do the asking, and I know how much pressure it can be. So thank you for being so brave.” She blushed again, and decided to be honest.

“It’s actually my brother you have to thank,” his expression was that of confusion. “He and I had an argument, and I get impulsive when my temper is raging. But I’m glad I asked you out too.” Jonathan smirked.

“Whatever the reason, we’re here now, so where to now?”

“My car, its parked out the back,” she hedged with a grin, knowing he was trying to trick her into letting some details out.”

“The green jeep?”

“Uh, yeah, how did you guess?”

“I parked out the back,” he replied, “I hope you don’t mind, but I wasn’t sure how long we were going to be out and on the street its two hour parking.” He gave her a sheepish look.

“That’s fine,” she shrugged, “feel free to grab another park there next time, there’s plenty of space.” Jonathan nodded.

“So how come your car is there rather than your apartment?”

“Cheaper parking,” Payton smirked, taking a large gulp of her coffee and finishing it. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”