Chapter 35
It was freezing in his truck, and I was too proud to ask him to turn the heating on. We had been driving for about an hour and it didn’t seem like we were stopping anytime soon.
I was wrecking my brain trying to find something to talk about. Was it a little awkward? Yes, did I still feel nervous? A little. Sighing I rubbed my hands together.
“Cold?”. He asked.
I nodded. “Are we nearly there?”.
“Nearly but you might want to move closer cause the heating’s busted”.
A laugh fell from my lips. “Is that a line you use on all the girls?”.
“Maybe”. He smirked.
Oh, I didn’t like the feeling that appeared in my stomach. Was I jealous? Chewing the inside of my cheek I turned my focus to the window. We were way out of town, and I wasn’t sure how I felt being this far from home.
My stomach growled and I felt the heat spread over my cheeks and right to the tips of my ears.
“Hungry?”. He laughed.
“A little”. I was starving. I hadn’t eaten for hours.
“We’ll eat soon I promise”. He reached over taking my hand in his and laced our fingers together. “Man, you’re freeing”. And just like that he placed a kiss upon my knuckles.
I felt everything he was talking about. I had crazy feelings for him. He made my body tingle all over and butterflies dance in my stomach. Most importantly he made me feel safe.
Like he was becoming my safe place.
Maybe it was time not to care what anyone else thought and just go for what I wanted. Swallowing the lump in my throat my body relaxed. He was just holding my hand it wasn’t a big deal.
“I’m glad you dressed warm”. He spoke.
“Why?”. I frowned as the car started to slow down.
“Cause the dates outside princess”.
“Outside?”. I glanced out the window at our surroundings as the car came to a stop.
“There’s a reason I brought my truck tonight”. He exited the vehicle and walked behind it.
What was he up to?
Following suit, a shiver rocked through my body as the cool air hit my face. It sure was a cold one tonight. The temperature had definitely dropped, and I was glad I wore my thick coat.
“Fire, stars and a fucking 5-star picnic”. He grinned.
I couldn’t hide my smile. Don’t get me wrong I was a little taken aback because I didn’t know what to expect for a first date with Franko. But this, this was perfect, and, in my eyes, he nailed it.
“Better than a stupid football game huh?”.
“Yeah, yeah”. I grinned. “Did you bring a blanket?”.
“Course”. He winked.
“Do you even know how to start a fire?”. I asked.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
“Is the sky fucking blue princess. Course I do”.
We didn’t move far from the truck, but he picked a nice spot for us to eat some food and light a fire. I lay the blanket on the ground before taking a seat and taking my shoes off.
I loved that the picnic was burgers and fries. It was exactly what I expected. I pulled the food from the basket while he attempted to light a fire.
“Are you sure you’ve done this before?”. I asked.
“Aye darling give, it a minute”.
I watched closely while taking the food from the basket.
“See”. He smirked while lightly blowing on the now small flames that were there.
“Perfect”. I grinned.
“Eat up I know you’re hungry. I’m going to get another blanket”.
So, I did. I unwrapped my burger and emptied my fries onto the wrapper. This is not what I was expecting as a first date. I thought it would have been a party somewhere or a visit to the clubhouse but no.
He brought me to a secluded area to gaze at the stars. He had thought of everything, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it all. Was he trying to get lucky by bringing me here? Had he brought anyone else out here?
“Deep in thought princess?”. He draped the blanket over my shoulders before sitting down beside me.
“A little”. I smiled. “You should eat something”.
“What you thinking about?”.
“Why you brought me out here”. I didn’t want to ruin the mood, but he said so himself he doesn’t date, doesn’t go on dates and yet he put all the effort into this one.
“Cause it’s a date”.
“Yeah, but out here?”.
“You don’t like it?”. He frowned.
“I do but-…”. I paused.
I didn’t want what I wanted to say to come out the wrong way. This date was perfect I just wanted to know why he chose this spot. A picnic under the stars. It just didn’t feel like him.
“You were expecting something different?”.
I nodded.
A laugh fell from his lips. “Did you want me to take you to a party? Maybe drink some liquor, hang out with my friends?”.
“No, god no. Why would you think that?”. I would never want to hang out with the people he surrounds himself with.
“Then what seems to be the problem?”.
“Nothing it doesn’t matter”. I should have kept my mouth shut and said nothing. We were having a good night; I was having fun and me, and my big mouth just deflated the mood.
“You’re different Aubrey and I wanted to do something you’d like. Show you I ain’t messing around when it comes to you”. A sigh fell from his lips. “Come on I’ll drive you back to the diner”.
Well now I felt like the biggest jackass going.
“I like you way more than I should. I can’t stop thinking about you, I want to see you every day but I’m terrified”. It was time he knew the truth and just how much I was falling for him.
“Terrified?”.
I nodded.
“I’d never hurt you”. He took my hand in his. “And the reason I brought you out here is because this place is special to me, special to my family”.
Now I felt really bad.
“I ain’t got the best reputation when it comes to girls but you’re not just some girl. I really like you Aubrey and if you just give me a chance, you’ll see that”.
“I want to Franko, but you have to understand it’s not as easy for me to say yes. If my parents found out I was even here they’d throw me out”.
“You gonna let them control you for the rest of your life?”.
“No”. I frowned.
“And you came here tonight without them knowing right?”.
Chewing the inside of my cheek I nodded.
“Then fuck it babe. Why can’t we just hang out some more and see what happens?”.
“Like another date?”.
“Aye darling that’s if I don’t fuck it up again”.
“You didn’t you haven’t. If anyone has ruined the date, it’s me. I just don’t want you thinking I’m leading you on. I have to be careful Franko because I don’t have anyone other than my parents”.
“Nah princess you’re part of my family now”. Kissing the top of my head he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Got loads a people looking out for you”.
As much as I wanted to believe him, I still had this little voice in the back of my head telling me to keep my guard up. But I ignored it and just enjoyed the moment of us being together.