History

Thursday evening found Savannah running around her house, searching under couch cushions and through draws of painting supplies for her purse. She was wearing a blue sundress with a jean jacket thrown over it for extra warmth on the cooler spring evening. Now all she needed was her small bag that held her wallet, cellphone, keys and everything else she could possibly need that was small enough to fit.

"Ah ha!" Savannah held up her old, paint smeared leather bag triumphantly. From under the bed where she found it the young blond her the buzzer ring, signaling someone was at the main door of her dorm. "Shoot!" Carefully Savannah hoped over her piled canvases, books and paint brushes to the door. Just remembering to lock it before scurrying down two flights of stairs to the front door.

"Hi," Patrick greeted her, pulling her into a hug. She nearly fainted on the spot, Oh gosh, Savannah, pull it together she thought he's just another of your species, just a boy. But with one more whiff of his manly cologne, she was back in a daze. "You look beautiful," Patrick commented as he opened her door for her.

"Thanks," Savannah smiled. She had put some extra thought into her outfit for this date, maybe it was a little fancy, after all the last time she wore this dress was to her cousin's wedding. But Savannah couldn't remember the last time she went on a date, let alone with someone she so deeply wanted to impress. "You look quite dashing as well."

Patrick turned and winked at her, pulling something from the back seat of his SUV. "I got you these," he handed his date a small bouquet of white and red carnations. He had picked them up with Jonathan after his more romantic teammate had told him red carnations represented admiration and affection, while the white ones said pure love and good luck. They were sappy, he knew, but he wasn't the only one trying a little harder than usual on this date.

"Oh Patrick, wow," Savannah gushed, no one had gotten her flowers before. "Thank you, really they're beautiful."

"Like you," Patrick couldn't help but tell her. This girl is turning me into a ball of butter he shook his head to himself.

Savannah blushed scarlet and mumbled a 'thank you' quietly. They rode the rest of the way chatting comfortably, both being quite talkative people. Patrick wanted to surprise Savannah with where he was taking her and Savannah spent most of the ride begging for a hint, but it was to no avail. Finally Patrick pulled up in front of a small French restaurant set up to look like a Parisian cafe. It had a small garden in back that was protected from the street, with a bubbling fountain and round, metal tables. The hostess seated them at a table near the fountain and away from most of the crowd that was already at the restaurant.

"I've never been here before," Savannah told Patrick after the waitress had handed them menus.

"Neither have I," Patrick admitted. "But Jon highly recommended it so I trust that it has good food."

"Well, he looks like a man with a healthy appetite and good taste," Savannah laughed. "You two are close?"

"Too close," Patrick smirked. "What about you and your sister?"

"Yeah," Savannah said airily, she wished she was able to see her sister more, but both of them were two busy for there own goods. "She's the best big sister a girl could ever ask for. I really look up to her."

"I have three younger sisters," Patrick said. "I hope they think of me that way sometimes."

Just then the waitress came to take their orders, both of them laughed as the other struggled to pronounce the French dish they asked for. Savannah surprised Patrick by ordering a dish including frog legs for her main course, while he opted for a croque monsieur and the daily soup.

"It's a secret love," Savannah said about the frog legs. "I hope it doesn't totally gross you out."

"No," Patrick said, truthfully it didn't. "I just didn't expect it."

"Okay," Savannah said, looking almost as if she didn't quite believe him. "When I was in Paris studying art for a summer I fell in love with the dish. I haven't found a place in Chicago that makes them quite as good as the cafe there, but I jump at every chance I get to eat it."

"You jump?," Patrick laughed at the unplanned pun she had made, since of course frog legs were well, used for jumping.

For the rest of the night both told each other about their hobbies that for Patrick had turned into a career, and for Savannah what she hoped would become a way to support herself. She shared stories and memories that explained best why she loved art, painting things herself, and observing other people's work. She also had a passion for history, which was what she was going to the Art Institute for (she was majoring in art history), the blond was truly inspired by all the fantastic painters before her.

"Many of them were all so depressed but maybe that's why their art is so wonderful," Savannah told Patrick. "It was their escaping the real world, things they were so sad about, or something."

He smiled and nodded, loving the way she talked with so much passion. It had been a long time since he'd been with a girl, other than family of course, that actually wanted to just talk to him and was, frankly, deep enough to hold a meaningful conversation. It was refreshing to him to listen to someone else talk about themselves, instead of just speaking about himself to reporters and girls he met at clubs, who really didn't give a hoot what he said.

"I'd love to be a painter myself, but I also think I have so much to learn about the past's great artist, that could make my painting better," she concluded. "Sorry, did I talk too much? I tend to do that," Savannah blushed.

"No, no," Patrick said honestly. "I love listening to you talk."

"Oh, goodness," Savannah turned an even deeper scarlet. "You're going to be the end of me."

"Why? because I love to compliment you?" Patrick inquired.

"I'm going to get a big head," Savannah warned and they both cracked up, making other people in the garden turn their heads to watch the young couple.