Lessons Learned I

That Friday came too soon for my taste. For some reason, I found that I was rather nervous about going out with Adam on a 'date' date. I had a creepy feeling about him, but I had been preaching to myself over and over to let my guard down a little. After all, what was life without risks?

It was about five minutes before Adam was supposed to drop by and pick me up. I hadn't dressed up too much; I decided on wearing a simple black skirt with a matching top. I watched myself in the mirror as I brushed my hair.

I stared at Lee's reflection in it as she was right behind me on her bed. "You think I'm making a mistake?" I asked.

She sighed. "Well...I can't really answer that. Just stay cautious. And whatever you do, don't go back to his place. That's never a good idea until you can really trust him. If anything goes wrong, you need someone to talk to, or anything, just call me. Give me the address and I'll be there as fast as possible."

I sat my brush down, then turned around and smiled at her. "Thanks. I don't really know where we're going yet."

"Well, call me with the location just in case. Keep in mind that I grew up with three brothers, so I can kick any guy's ass."

I laughed. "Actually, he's going to be picking me up here, so I'll ask him when he arrives. You'll hear for yourself."

"Kay, sounds good."

There was a knock at the door. I glanced at Lee, then walked over to the door and opened it.

There Adam stood. "Hey," he said. He handed me a lily flower.

"Hey, Adam." I smiled at him. "Thank you." I took the flower from him and kissed his cheek.

He smiled. "Ready to go?"

I glanced back at Lee, who was studying him carefully.

"Um, sure. Where are we going?" I asked.

"That Italian restaurant downtown. The one near the Space Needle," he replied.

Lee raised her eyebrows and apparently jotted this down on paper.

I nodded my head. "That's cool. I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"I'm all set. Let's go!"

I smiled a little and glanced back at Lee. Then, Adam and I left.

We arrived at the restaurant and got seated. To my surprise, the place was really nice.

"Fancy..." I mumbled, looking around.

"Yeah. I had to reserve seats. Something about a Bar Mitzvah or something."

I giggled a little. "That's odd."

"Yeah, no kidding."

A guy -- the waiter -- walked over. He had a really weird way of walking.

I looked up at him.

"Are you folks ready to order?" he asked.

Adam looked at me; I looked back at him. "Yeah," I said.

"Yeah, I'll take your spaghetti and meat balls...oh, and your garlic bread. It's the shit!" Adam rudely jumped in.

"Okay...and to drink?"

"Coke."

"Okay. For you, Miss?"

"Um...I'll have the same, minus the Coke. I'll have a water," I replied.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be back shortly with your drinks." He took our menus and walked away.

Adam's just lost major bonus points with me, I thought. Not letting me order first?! It's a common gesture when you're out on a date. Geez. It doesn't matter, but it's just the principle of the thing...

He watched some girl walk by. I sighed and looked down.