Being Watched

Chapter 11

What to wear? I think as I stand in front of my closet on Saturday afternoon. Andy texted me earlier, saying that we’ll be going out for dinner at a classy restaurant tonight so I have to wear something classy.

I’m still not sure about dating Andy but I said I’ll give it a chance and if things didn’t work out, I can only hope we’ll stay friends.

Last night, after the church meeting, Andy joined Jeremy and me on our walk back home. I thought it was a bit awkward but tried my best to keep the conversation going without any awkward silences.

When we got home, Andy, unlike Jeremy, accepted my invitation to come in for a bit and he got to officially meet my parents.

Unsurprisingly, they loved him and they were okay with us going out tonight. My mom kept on insisting that he stays a bit longer but he left soon because it was already eleven-thirty.

Thinking of Andy made me think of Jeremy as well. Andy doesn’t know that Jeremy is the guy I’m in love with and I didn’t want him to know because that would definitely make things harder and more awkward.

A skirt at the right of my closet catches my attention so I take it out and look at it for a minute. It’s a short grey flowy skirt that I rarely wear but I think it would be perfect for tonight.

I take out of the drawer my black tights and then grab a tight V-neck white sweater from my closet and put them on.

I grab my flat black boots and put them on as well. I glance at my reflection in the mirror and when I decide that it’s okay, I close my closet and move on to fixing my hair.

I smile excitedly when I see my grey bow hair band. It’s one of those things I really like when I see at a shop but after buying them I find out that I have almost nothing I could wear them with.

I’m not really a fan of grey but there wasn’t any other color and it’s just too cute, I had to buy it!

This will probably be the third time I wear that hair band, I think as I put in on my head.

I remove my turquoise watch when I realize that it’s too bright and put on the white one instead.

When I think that I look okay with a minimal amount of makeup on, I walk downstairs with my black handbag and black trench coat in case it was windy outside.

“You look beautiful!” My mom says, smiling brightly.

My dad looks at me and smiles too.

“Thanks,” I say as I sit down on the couch and make sure I have my wallet, keys, and phone in my handbag.

At exactly seven-thirty, the doorbell rings.

Smiling at how punctual Andy is, I stand up from the couch and go to open the front door. 

“Hi,” I say, smiling at Andy.

“Hey,” he says, kissing my cheek.

His eyes travel down my body then back up to my face. I blush when he smiles and says, “You look amazing.”

“Thanks,” I murmur as I check him out too, but unlike him, I’m more discreet.

He’s wearing dark jeans and a light grey Ralph Lauren sweater that hugs his torso perfectly.

“When you’re done checking me out, we have to leave or we’ll lose the reservation,” he says, smirking at me.

“And here I thought I was being discreet,” I joke and he laughs.

Noticing that it wasn’t very cold outside, I leave my trench coat behind. Andy comes in for two minutes just to greet my parents and then we leave.

I roll my eyes when I see Andy’s Audi r8 parked in front of my house.

“Spoiled child,” I mutter and he laughs.

“Well at least you’re not a snob,” I say and he smiles.

In the car, we don’t turn on the radio. Instead, we just have a light conversation about some random stuff.

When we arrive to the restaurant, I feel so out of place! The restaurant is one of those really perfect and expensive places. I couldn’t even read the name of the place! I think it’s French or something.

With wide eyes, I looked around the huge restaurant. The ceiling is high and on the other side of the room there is a wide staircase with a brown and gold railing all the way up to the second floor of the place.

A brown piano is located on the right side of the room and a middle aged man is playing some classical music. Most of the tables are occupied by rich people; the women are wearing beautiful dresses and a lot of jewelry while the men are wearing classy shirts and pants or tuxes and they had their hair gelled.

 The waitress tells us that our table in upstairs so Andy takes my hand in his as we walk up the beautiful staircase. I’m still taking in my surroundings in shock so I don’t say a word till we reach the top of the staircase.

The waiter standing on the top of the stairs leads us to a small table for two. Andy thanks him and then we both sit in the chairs that are covered in a white cloth that matches the one that’s on the table.

There’s a white candle in the middle of the table with a gold ribbon wrapped around it. Next to our plates there are at least three forks, three knives, and three spoons.

“Andy this is too much… Dinner will probably cost a thousand dollars! We should’ve went to McDonalds,” I say.

He laughs and shakes his head. “It won’t cost a thousand dollars,” he says. “And really? McDonalds? What kind of a date would that be?”

I shrug. “They have good food.”

“Good food that makes you fat,” he points out.

“Are you calling me fat?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

His eyes widen and he quickly shakes his head. “No! I-I’m just saying that their food is greasy.”

I laugh at his reaction. “I’m just joking, Andy.”

He scowls at me and I grin.

For the next couple of minutes, we scan the menu but I can’t decide what to order. There are a lot of choices!

Finally, Andy ends up ordering for us.

“What if I don’t like what you ordered for me?” I say teasingly.

“You’ll like it,” he assures me. “It’s really good.”

“Hmm we’ll see,” I reply and he smiles.

“Do you miss your old home?” Andy asks when the waiter brings our drinks. I take a sip of my iced tea and nod.

“I do,” I say. “A lot, actually.”

“I can imagine,” he replies. “Moving sucks but I’m glad you did ‘cause I got to meet you.”

He grins at me and I smile at his cuteness.

“I might go there for Christmas,” I say, recalling the conversation I had with my parents a few days ago. I suggested that we go there for Christmas and they said they’ll think about it, depending on whether they get a long holiday (around two weeks is good).

“Really?” He says.

“Yeah,” I reply then add teasingly, “Only if your dad gives my parents a two-week Christmas vacation.”

He laughs. “I can talk to him and make things work if you want.”

“There’s still another month and the half before Christmas,” I say. “It’s still too soon.”

“True,” he says. “But if you need anything you can always talk to the boss’s son.”

He winks at me and I chuckle. “Thanks,” I say, giving him a smile.

The waiter comes with our plates. He places two identical plates on the table and my stomach rumbles at the smell of the chicken.

I take a bite of my chicken and nod in appreciation. “Mm good choice; it’s yummy,” I say.

“See? I told you!” Andy says proudly, making me laugh.

A few minutes of silence pass then something comes to my mind and I ask Andy, “Why won’t you take over your dad’s business someday?”

He looks surprised at the random questions but eventually shrugs and says, “I don’t like it. It’s my dad’s thing, not mine. I want to be a doctor.”

“Doesn’t he try to convince you to change your mind?” I ask. I mean they’re company is really huge and successful. Any person would want their child to take over such a company.

“He does but now he accepts that it’s my choice and my future,” he replies.

“I guess you’re right. But what will happen to your dad’s company in the future? Who will take your dad’s place? You’re an only child.”

“I don’t know,” Andy replies. “I have a couple of cousins that are interested so I think they can take his place.”

“Oh that’s good,” I say and he nods.

“What about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?” He asks.

I bite my lip as I think it over. “I’m still not sure…”

“What subjects do you like at school?”

“I like Economics and Sociology,” I reply and he grimaces.

“Economics and Sociology?”

“They’re interesting!” I protest.

“Whatever you say,” he replies, smirking.

“As if Biology is better,” I say.

“It is,” he answers.

“Whatever you say,” I mimic him and he rolls his eyes.  

 We stay quiet for a bit, just eating our food silently and listening to the sound of the music in the background.

“I used to play the piano,” Andy suddenly says.

“Really?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah, I played for ten years,” he says.

“Why’d you stop?” I ask.

“I don’t know, I thought it wasn’t cool anymore and I felt like my parents were forcing me to do that so I quit,” he says. “I still play sometimes because I have a piano at home but I don’t take courses anymore.”

“I want to hear you play some time,” I say.

“I’ll play something for you someday,” he replies and I smile.

“I tried piano lessons once,” I say, wincing at the memory. “I was the worst piano player in the world.”

He chuckles and asks, “Why?”

“I couldn’t use both of my hands at the same time! It’s so hard and I use to mess up all the time,” I reply and he laughs loudly.

“You’re not a multi-tasker, are you?” he jokes and I shake my head.

“Nope,” I reply. “So I can’t play any instrument.”

“So what’re your hobbies?” He asks and I shrug.

“I like reading, running, and ice-skating,” I reply.

“Oh ice-skating sounds cool,” he says.

“It is,” I reply. “I used to go ice-skating with my friends back home a lot.”

“I’m not sure if there are any ice-skating arenas around here…” he trails off, thinking.

I shrug. “If I ever find one, I’ll go.”

A few memories of ice-skating with my friends back home flash in my mind and I smile slightly.

“What’s your favorite book?” Andy asks.

“I like Pride and Prejudice,” I say. I never answer the same thing when people ask me what’s my favorite book because there are a lot of books that I like and I just say the first one that comes to my mind.

He nods. “I’m not much of a reader. Books bore me.”

“That’s probably because you haven’t found the right ones yet,” I say.

“Maybe,” he replies indifferently.

We finish dinner but we don’t order desert because we’re both too full. After another half an hour of talking and joking, we decide to leave since we are getting tired.

“Do you want to go to church with me tomorrow?” Andy asks during the drive back home.

I think about it for a bit but then shake my head.

“Maybe next week,” I say.

“Are you serious or are you just saying that to shut me up?” He asks and I laugh.

“No, I’m serious,” I say. “Next Sunday, I’ll go.”

He smiles proudly and nods.

When we arrive to my house, he parks his car in the driveway and gets out. He walks me to the front door and I look up at him when we get to the door.

“Thanks for tonight,” I say, smiling. “I had a nice time.”

“Me too,” he replies, his green eyes boring into mine. He looks a bit uncertain and it doesn’t take a genius to know what he’s thinking. And I’m thinking about it too.

Should he kiss me?

Do I want him to kiss me?

At this moment, my brain decides to think of Jeremy and instantly I feel so guilty.

I’m not sure if I feel guilty because I’m in love with Jeremy yet I still went out with Andy  or because I was thinking of Jeremy while I was with Andy or even because it felt as if I would be cheating on Jeremy if I kissed Andy (which is really stupid because he doesn’t even know that I like him!).

I force myself to stop thinking about Jeremy as I look into Andy’s green eyes.

He moves his face closer to mine and stops just a few inches away as if waiting for my permission. I stay still and wait. A couple of seconds pass and he finally presses his lips against mine in a very brief kiss.

He looks into my eyes intently again and before he can say anything or even leave, I grab his face and pull his lips back to mine. He doesn’t complain at all. He just grabs my waist and pulls me closer to him, deepening the kiss.

When we pull away, he smiles at me, his green eyes twinkling.

“Goodnight Stephany,” he whispers, kissing my cheek before leaving.

I unlock my front door and go up directly to my room, thanking God that my parents are already asleep because I wasn’t in the mood for talking.

I thought that by kissing Andy, the guilt will go away but it didn’t and it’s getting really confusing!

Why am I feeling guilty?

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Hello everyone! :)

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