Always Beautiful (11 page)

“Can’t I just put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt?” I asked. I grabbed my favorite pair of dark jeans and an old band t-shirt from my drawer. Hannah shook her head. “That’s too basic Lucky. This is a date. You’re not just going to be hanging out at a pizzeria.” She said. I rolled my eyes. “New flash, we could be. I have no clue remember?” Hannah furrowed her brow at me. “Don’t you want to dress it up a little? You know, make him want you.” She said with a wink.

My hands began to feel clammy at the mention of making Zeppelin want me. This was my first date in a while and if that wasn’t bad enough, I was afraid of what might happen. I know that Zeppelin said he wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want, but what if he kissed me and I decided I did want something more. Should my clothes be easy to remove? What about my underwear? I had some really cute Victoria’s Secret stuff, but what style would he like. I began to feel a panic attack coming on when Hannah grabbed my arm and shook me. It wasn’t like me to be this nervous and I was overwhelmed.

“Lucky, you look pale. Are you feeling okay?” She asked. I shook my head, ridding the thoughts that had consumed me. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, I looked at my best friend. “I need help.” I said meekly. A slow grin spread across Hannah’s pink lips. “That’s why I’m here Lucky. Don’t worry. I’m going to make you gorgeous!” She vowed. “Trust me. I’m a pro at these kinds of things.”

Yeah, I didn’t doubt that considering the many dates she had been on compared to the handful that I had under my belt. Tamping down any lingering nerves, I let her continue to rifle through my belongings, trusting her to work whatever magic she could.

An hour and a half later, I was standing in front of my full length mirror that hung on the back of my door. Hannah chose a dark purple top for me that flowed to my upper thigh with a pair of black, cropped leggings. My feet were decked out in flat gladiator sandals which were also black. My chestnut hair was curled loosely and I wore black eyeliner and a light plum shadow on my eyes. I had to admit that I looked pretty damn good.

“You’re stunning doll!” Hannah beamed like a proud parent as she stood behind me. I met her eyes in the mirror and smiled. “
You
are, thanks friend. You rock!” I said. Hannah shrugged, “I know.” She giggled. Laughing, I turned around and pulled her in for a hug. “Seriously, thank you. Without you I would be a bundle of nerves and probably have ended up in sweat pants.” She squeezed me gently before backing up. “I’m happy to be here Lucky. Ugh! I’ve missed you so much, I’ve missed this.” She admitted. I felt the beginnings of tears forming in my eyes. Blinking them away rapidly, I looked at my best friend. “Let’s never be apart for that long again.” I declared. Hannah nodded. “Deal,” she extended her hand to me and we coiled our pinky’s together.

Hannah left about fifteen minutes before six, but not without demanding that I call her the minute I return home from the date. I sprayed on my favorite perfume and did a quick check of my hair and clothes. Almost six o’clock on the dot, I heard Zeppelin’s GTO pull in to the driveway. Letting out a breath, I grabbed my purse off the dining room table and rested it on my shoulder. The doorbell rang and I slowly made my way to the door, trying to quell the fluttering in my stomach. Why was I so nervous? Maybe it was just the thrill of getting to see Zeppelin again. I definitely had it bad for him, there was no use denying that.

I pulled open the door and was met with the best looking guy I had ever seen in my entire life. Sapphire eyes, brown hair that was gelled in a perfectly disheveled way. Full lips tilted upward in a smile showing a small amount of perfect white teeth. My gaze traveled lower and I nearly gasped. Zeppelin wasn’t dressed in his usual jeans, boots, and a t-shirt. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. You could only see the tail of the dragon that covered his left arm and in his hand was a small bouquet of white iris flowers. My eyes traveled lower to his dark grey slacks that fit him perfectly before moving back up to his eyes.

“You look amazing Angel.” Zeppelin said as he did his own perusal of my attire. Smiling, I thanked him and lifted a sweaty palmed hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. “These are for you.” He handed me the flowers. “Thank you. Do you want to come in for a minute so I can put these in water?” I asked. With a brief nod, he followed me in to the house. I couldn’t find a vase. I wasn’t surprised, this was a man’s house after all, but I did locate an empty liquor bottle to stow the flowers in.

“So what are we doing?” I asked as I placed the bottle in the center of the dining room table. Zeppelin shook his head and grinned. “I’m not telling you. I think you will like it though.” He said. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You think so?” I wondered skeptically. Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind the pizza parlor as Hannah mentioned earlier. Just being able to hang out with him was good enough for me.

“Come on, we don’t want to be late.” Zeppelin said as he grabbed my hand and led me out the door. I quickly locked it behind us and followed him to his car. He even opened the car door for me and waited for me to get settled before closing it and heading to his own side. He started the car and began backing out of the driveway. “You won’t even give me a little hint?” I asked. “Nope, I did run it by Dixon though if that helps.” He admitted. I raised a questioning brow at him.

“He thinks you’re going to love what I have planned.” I began shaking my head. “I hope so or else I’ll no longer be happy about losing that bet.” I teased. Zeppelin glanced at me briefly and then focused on the road. One hand was resting comfortably on the steering wheel and the other curled around the gear shifter. I noticed how comfortable he looked, as if he was an extension of his car. It fit him so well.

“Did you lose on purpose?” He asked with a wide grin while navigating through traffic. I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Yeah right, you think I would give up a chance to drive this bad boy?” Zeppelin shrugged, “Probably not.” “Thanks for not letting me win by the way. It was a fair race.” I said. “You’re damn good Lucky. I wasn’t easy on you at all.” He admitted. I nodded. “Like I said, they don’t call me Lucky for nothing.” “What’s your real name?” Zeppelin asked as he changed lanes and entered the highway. Where the hell were we going?

“Lucille Marie Harris.” I stated in a mechanical tone. There weren’t many people that knew my entire given name. I watched as Zeppelin’s mouth tipped up slightly after I spoke. “I was named after my grandmother on my dad’s side.” I explained. Zeppelin nodded. “It’s a good name.” “What about you…What’s your full name?” I wondered. He turned to look at me. “Zeppelin Thomas Rhoades,” He stated simply. “Why did your parents name you Zeppelin?” I asked. He replied with a shrug, “My dad is a die-hard Led Zeppelin fan. If I was a girl they were going to name me Kashmir.”

My mouth popped open and I turned my entire body toward him. “No way…” I said. Zeppelin laughed. “It’s true, you can ask them. You wouldn’t think it considering they are both lawyers and pretty straight laced, but I swear it’s true.” “Interesting,” I muttered. “I like the band too, but I would never name my kid after them.” I nodded in agreement. “Be thankful it wasn’t Scorpion or Leppard.” I said and then giggled. “Or Queen,” “Mercury, now that’s a pretty bad ass name.” He said referencing the lead singer of the band Queen, Freddie Mercury. I couldn’t deny it. I liked the sound of that name too.

“What’s your favorite type of music?” I asked as we sped down the highway. I tried looking at road signs, but it didn’t help. I had absolutely no clue where Zeppelin was taking me. “I honestly like a little bit of everything, but my favorite is rock. Nothing beats blaring some Slipknot or Avenged Sevenfold.” He said. I nodded and grinned. “I was listening to “Scream” last night when racing you.” I told him. Zeppelin cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at me.

“Are you joking?” He asked. I shook my head. “Nope, I really was. I always listen to music when I race.” Turning his attention back on the road, Zeppelin merged in to the left lane. “That’s funny because I was listening to “Bat Country”.” He said. “What?” I shrieked. “Are
you
joking?” Zeppelin shook his head. “Not at all Angel, how crazy is that?” “Huh…Well so far this date is going rather well.” I observed. We liked the same music; we raced to the same music. No wonder I liked him. We had a lot more in common than Jeremy and I ever had and I still had a lot to learn about him.

Taking an exit, Zeppelin merged off the highway and drove around to a parking lot across from a building that looked sort of like a stone cottage or lodge. Though it was beautiful with its sloped roof and vibrant green moss stains on the shingles, my attention went elsewhere. The most breathtaking waterfall I had ever seen flowed magnificently in the background. Multnomah Falls. I knew this place, had been here before when I was younger and my family came up to visit Dixon and his parents. Somehow I had completely forgotten about it.

The falls started at the top of a large and rocky cliff, flowing down into a larger pool and then down a smaller cliff in to a sort of pond that turned to a creek throughout the forest. A foot bridge allowed tourists to hike up a concrete path, across it and up toward the top of the falls. This time of evening, with hardly anyone around and the sun hitting it at the right angle, I was in awe. I felt Zeppelin’s hand slide over my thigh and squeeze gently. I turned my head, meeting his smiling blue eyes.

“You look beautiful when you smile like that.” He said. I hadn’t even realized I was smiling. “This place is gorgeous.” I said. Zeppelin nodded. “I figured we could have dinner here at the restaurant. I have the perfect table for us.”

In a daze and still reeling from the breathtaking scenery, I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. Zeppelin came around the back of the car and placed his hand in mine.

We walked up to the lodge which didn’t only hold a restaurant, but also a gift shop/museum on the other side. As we entered the lobby of the restaurant, a man greeted us with a warm smile. Zeppelin told him that there was a reservation and we were immediately led to be seated. My gaze wandered around the interior. It was just as beautiful inside as it was outside.

The main area that we walked through had many tables with chairs around them with white walls and dark colored trim around a vast amount of windows. There were even windows on the ceiling and gothic style chandeliers hanging from dark wood beams. Passing though that room, we entered a smaller room with stone walls and a fireplace that matched the walls. I thought me might be seated here, but was surprised to find we were heading toward a door that led outside.

It was intimate and quiet out here on the patio. The tables had candles flickering in the center and there was a perfect view of the falls as well as the sound of the water rushing down. Being that it was mid-June it wasn’t terribly hot and perfect for dining outside. We were seated at a table tucked in the corner of the patio and Zeppelin pulled out my chair for me before seating himself. I was definitely impressed with his gentleman tendencies tonight.

The host handed us each a menu and explained that our waiter would be with us shortly. We both thanked him and he wandered back inside. I held up my menu and began to browse at the selection of dinners. This wasn’t cheap and that made me all the more nervous. I began to chew on my bottom lip as I perused for the cheapest thing.

“You can get whatever you want Angel.” Zeppelin said softly. My eyes glanced up at him. He was looking at me over his menu, a smile playing on his lips. “It’s all kind of pricey. Are you sure?” I asked. Zeppelin nodded. “I promise. What looks good to you?” He asked. I looked over the menu again. “The Top Sirloin sounds pretty good.” I said after a few minutes. “Then get it. I’m going to have the prime rib, it’s amazing.” I nodded. “Okay.” Our waiter came to the table a few minutes later with glasses of water for each of us. We told him what we wanted to eat and Zeppelin ordered us a couple of local beers.

“Am I making you nervous again Lucky?” Zeppelin asked. He folded his arms on the table and searched my face. I shook my head slowly. “No, I’m just…still in awe at this place, being here with you.” I admitted. Zeppelin cocked a brow. “How do you mean?” He asked. I shrugged and twisted my fingers in my lap. Taking a deep breath, I began explaining.

“It’s all just been kind of physical with you since we met. I mean, I sort of thought at first that we might just hook up or something that night after the fight and then it would be the end of it. I haven’t been on a date in quite a while. I guess I’m just not used to doing things backwards.” “I like you Lucky. Like I’ve said before, there’s something about you. I don’t really date either. I mean I’ve had a few girls here and there, but nothing serious. Don’t put too much pressure on this okay? It’s dinner with two people that are attracted to each other. There’s no expectation.” He said.

I think what he was trying to say was meant to calm me down, to help me ease up and to just enjoy our time together tonight. For some reason, I didn’t really take it that way. I was hung up on the fact that he said there was no expectation and that he never really dated. Was he just a typical player then? Why would he wine and dine me for the sole purpose of just having my company? I groaned internally at my thoughts. Seriously, why did I have to analyze everything? I thought about Hannah again and how she told me to lighten up. I thought about what Zeppelin had said last night about how he preferred living in the moment.

I decided to ignore my mind and just run with this. Follow my feelings, enjoy the moment and stop trying to plan ahead. It was easier said than done, but I needed to relax. With a small smile, I looked at Zeppelin. “Sorry, I tend to over analyze.” I confessed. “Well stop.” Zeppelin chuckled. “You said last night that spontaneous was your middle name and you lived in the moment. Do you have any plans at all, for anything?” I asked. Zeppelin shrugged. “I would like to say that I have some plans, but I’m just not sure how things will pan out.” He replied before taking a sip of his water.