Brave This Storm

“Mommy, you look nice. Where are you going?” Donovan asked.

Mariana jumped slightly, not expecting her son’s voice, but she smiled and beckoned him to come into her room properly. She was just finishing getting ready for her date with Paul, and she couldn’t deny that she was excited.

“Thank you sweetheart! I’m going out to dinner with Paul, remember?” Mariana smiled.

“Oh yeah, I like Paul. He gives good piggy back rides,” Donovan giggled.

Mariana let out a breath of relief that she didn’t know she’d been holding in. She could never date a man that her son didn’t approve of, that’s for sure.

“Will you be back tomorrow, mommy?” Donovan asked.

“I’ll be back tonight. It’s too early for…sleepovers,” Mariana reassured him.

“Will you be having sleepovers with Paul another day?” Donovan asked again.

Mariana couldn’t help but laugh at his childlike innocence.

“Let’s just see how tonight goes, yeah?”

“Okay. But if he’s mean to you, I’ll sort him out mommy,” Donovan said, putting his hands on his hips, trying to act tough.

“I’ll make sure to tell him that,” Mariana giggled.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Mariana squeaked.

“I’LL GET IT!”’ Donovan yelled excitedly.

Mariana smiled at her son’s enthusiasm and picked up her bag, checking her appearance in her mirror one last time before heading downstairs. She was wearing a simple black spaghetti dress that ended mid-thigh, with silver beading in a swirl over her bust that trailed to her opposite hip. It was her favourite dress, and she hoped Paul liked it. She knew he was used to trampy girls, but she wasn’t like that and never would be. She just hoped he liked what he saw.

Paul stood just inside the doorway, talking to Amelia and Donovan, and the sight of him made her stomach butterfly. She was so used to seeing him without a shirt on, or even just with a muscle shirt on, that to see him in a black button-up shirt made him look even more attractive than usual. He had the first two buttons undone too, showing his smooth torso, as well as wearing a pair of grey chinos and a nice pair of shiny black shoes. He looked breathtaking.

When Paul noticed Mariana walking down the stairs, his jaw dropped slightly. He had never seen a woman pull off a skin-tight dress before without it making them look slutty, but Mariana pulled off the outfit with a curvaceous mature look, only making him more nervous that he was before. He was so used to scantily-dressed girls with pin-straight hair and lots of make-up, so for the girl who had already captured his heart to look stunning in a simple dress, little make-up and flowing wavy hair made him smile.

“You look beautiful. Beyond beautiful,” Paul said smoothly, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

Mariana blushed, making Amelia and Donovan laugh.

“You look amazing too,” Mariana said shyly, smiling at him.

“Are you ready to go?” Paul asked, smiling back.

Mariana nodded and turned to face Donovan, crouching down so she was at his level.

“Be good for Grandma, okay? And go to bed on time – no puppy dog eyes to stay up late, mister,” Mariana warned.

Donovan giggled and nodded, hugging her tightly. Mariana hugged back just as tightly before letting him go, standing up again. She gave her grandma a hug too, before walking out the house with Paul by her side. She smiled as he opened the car door for her, making sure she was sitting comfortably before closing her door and getting in the other side.

“I’m sorry for having such a shit car,” Paul apologised, smiling weakly.

“It’s a car, which is more than what I’ve got. I’ve lived in Compton for 5 years, Paul – I think I’ve seen worse than this,” Mariana laughed.

Paul smiled, happy that she wasn’t going to judge him, before starting the engine. He had a good plan for tonight, and hopefully nothing would go wrong. Hopefully.

*

“Here’s your wine. I’ll be back soon to take your orders,”

Mariana smiled and nodded at the waiter, before looking around the expensive restaurant. Paul had driven them out to Seattle to a fancy French restaurant, and Mariana immediately felt out of place. Not only were they the youngest people in here, but they were the most casually dressed too, even though Paul was wearing a formal shirt and she was wearing her favourite dress. And Mariana couldn’t help but notice how nervous Paul looked. He wasn’t comfortable here, that much was obvious.

“So…does anything on the menu catch your eye?” Mariana asked, trying to start a conversation.

“Uh…I can’t actually read any of it,” Paul confessed, blushing slightly.

“You were just going to point to something and hope for the best, weren’t you?” Mariana teased.

Mariana had taken French lessons all the way up to the age of 16, so she had a basic idea of what the menu said.

“Maybe?” Paul offered.

Mariana laughed and took a sip of her wine. But as she set it down, Paul reached out to pick up his menu, knocking the glass from her hand and spilling the wine all over the table.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” Paul groaned.

Mariana just burst out into laughter at the distress on Paul’s face, the wine making an impressive spill on the fancy white tablecloth.

“Paul, it’s…”

“Shit, why did I have to go and do that?!” Paul whimpered.

“Paul, I…”

“And now I’ve ruined everything! I wanted this to go well and now it’s gone wrong!”

“PAUL!” Mariana squealed.

Paul broke out of his worried trance, looking into the eyes of the girl sitting opposite him.

“It’s fine, you didn’t even get any on my dress. Don’t worry so much,” Mariana giggled.

“But…”

“Don’t. Why don’t we just get out of here?” Mariana suggested.

“What about the date?” Paul winced.

“This place isn’t really you, is it?” Mariana mused.

“Well…no, but I thought you might like it,” Paul admitted.

“It’s amazing in here, Paul, but my expensive days are long gone. Besides I think every couple in here are giving us the stink eye,” Mariana laughed.

“I thought it was just me that had noticed the glaring,” Paul mused, “But where should we go instead?”

“I have an idea,” Mariana smiled.

One hour later, Paul and Mariana were walking hand-in-hand down on La Push beach, their shoes and Paul’s socks abandoned at the edge of the parking lot. They’d gone to a diner on their way to the beach and had eaten cheeseburgers and fries and a milkshake each before deciding to walk on the pebbles and sand for a while.

“I’m sorry about ruining our date. I’ve just…I’ve never wanted to impress any girl as much as I want to impress you,” Paul admitted.

“Well maybe you shouldn’t try so hard. Maybe I prefer a down-to-earth honest guy who just acts like himself,” Mariana mused.

“Someone like your ex?” Paul said softly.

Mariana bit her bottom lip and looked down at her feet, not knowing what to say. Juan had been her perfect idea of a man, but she couldn’t rule out all men for the rest of her life because of this, right? Paul sighed, not meaning to upset her.

“Look, I know your ex was the best thing to happen to you apart from Donovan. And I know that I’m far from perfect. I just want you to know that no man for the rest of your life will ever care for you more than I will. You’re already starting to change me, Ana, and I promise to try to be the man that you need. I’m not trying to replace your ex because I know I can’t – but I could be good for you Ana. I could be what you need in this fresh start,” Paul said softly.

The warm words that fell from Paul’s lips went straight to Mariana’s heart, and she couldn’t stop the tears that filled her eyes. Paul immediately panicked and cupped her face with his hands.

“What’s wrong? Was it something I said?” Paul asked.

Mariana laughed and sniffed, shaking her head.

“It was what you said, but there’s nothing wrong. I didn’t think I’d be able to move on from Juan, especially not so quickly. And I’m not saying I’ll be able to commit to a full relationship because I have Donovan to think of…but you’ve shown me you deserve a chance, Paul. You may not be perfect, but you do deserve a chance,” Mariana said softly.

“I won’t let you down. I promise,” Paul grinned, struggling to hide his elation.

“I never placed you as someone who would be able to speak so romantically either,” Mariana teased.

“Yeah, well…” Paul trailed off, blushing.

Mariana laughed again and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, before starting to run down the beach.

“Afraid of a little chasing, Parker?” she called over her shoulder.

Paul grinned at how free Mariana looked – her hair blowing freely in the wind, her bare feet running and the wide smile on her face. If he had to do some chasing to get her, then he would. There was no way he was letting her go.

“You don’t know what you’ve let yourself in for, Ramirez!” Paul called back.

Mariana squealed as he quickly ran after her, squealing again as he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. Paul smiled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, before letting her feet drop back to the ground, and he smiled even more when she didn’t let him go.

“Thank you,” Mariana said softly.

“What for?” Paul smiled.

“For an amazing date. For being a gentleman. For understanding about Juan. For…everything,” Mariana chuckled.

“Anything for you, Ana. You and Donovan won’t be getting me out of your lives too quickly now,” Paul said happily, resting his forehead against hers.

Mariana looked up at him, subconsciously wetting her lips with her tongue out of habit. Paul saw her tongue darting out nervously, and took the chance to press a slow, gentle kiss to her lips. Mariana froze in shock, making Paul pull away with a frown.

“S-Sorry, I just…”

Mariana pressed a finger to his lips, shaking her head.

“Don’t apologise,” she murmured.

Paul inhaled sharply as she pressed her lips back to his, kissing him slowly. He rested his hands on her waist, not moving them but letting the warmth of his skin spread through her body as their lips moved in a slow sweet harmony, neither of them rushing, just enjoying the other’s touch. Mariana smiled and leant up on her toes to deepen the kiss slightly, before pulling away.

“Now that made this the perfect date,” Mariana said shyly.

Paul grinned and pecked her lips once more before taking her hand in his.

“Can we do this again some time?” Paul asked hopefully.

Mariana didn’t even have to think about it.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she nodded.

What scared her was how much she’d like it.