Gold

Date Night

    The room wasn’t just a room. It was a home. There was a welcoming living room that had plump couches and pillows, a small but comforting kitchen, a large fancy dining room, and then a little hallway that had two doors. A bedroom and a bathroom. The bedroom was all white and black. I liked how basic it was. I went to the closet and found so many different clothes I could choose from. I figured that if Leo was going to “take me out” tonight then I should dress up. I’ve never dressed up so I was curious as to how this would turn out. 

    After rifling through the closet for five minutes I found a black dress that I loved. Since it’s always a bit chilly in Utopia I decided I would wear a leather jacket and combat boots with the dress. I took a shower and cleaned myself up and then put on my outfit. I left my hair down and then went to look in the mirror. 

    I looked pretty. It was weird seeing myself in a way that wasn’t tough or edgy. Okay, fine with the black dress and leather jacket and boots I still looked edgy but the dress and wearing my hair down was the most glamorous thing I've ever done. My gold eyes were rimmed by long dark eyelashes, it always amazes me how feminine I looked because I never acted it. 

    All of a sudden there was a knock on the door. I hadn’t even realized that an hour had passed. I glanced in the mirror one last time and took a deep breath. My heart was racing. I was nervous and for the first time, I realized it was a good nervous and relished the feeling of the fluttering in my stomach. I walked to the door slowly and opened it just as slowly.

    “Wow,” Leo barely managed to say. He looked me over and repeated himself, “just wow. You’re truly beautiful.” I pushed some hair behind my ear and smiled at the ground. I’m not shy but his reaction made my cheeks burn. 

    “You don’t look too bad yourself,” I grinned as I teased him. He actually looked amazingly handsome. He had on a forest green dress shirt that brought out his eyes and black slacks. He had a leather jacket and combat boots as well, I guess we thought the same way. Leo pretended to laugh and then took his hand in mine.

    “You think you’re so funny don’t you?” 

    “Well in fact I do, because honestly, no one else really is,” I turned my face up to him and smirked. He laughed. His laugh warmed me and I couldn’t help but think how weird it was that I was deriving pleasure from someone else's happiness. I had always been so independent, the only person I had somewhat let in was Ren but I never let him fully. Apart from me wants to let Leo in. He reminds me of myself and I think that’s why I like him so much.

    “I was thinking we could have a sort of picnic dinner. There’s an amazing spot up there. It’s actually my secret spot that I go to whenever I need some peace. We just need to run to the kitchen to grab everything.” He led me to a stairwell and we made our way to the kitchen and grabbed apples and sandwiches and a bottle of champagne. “Is there anything else you want?” 

    “No this is perfect,” I smiled and started pulling Leo towards the door. “Now let’s go eat! I’m starving.”

    “What do they feed you at the Compound?” Leo was trying to make conversation as we started walking up the impossibly high staircase. “It can’t possibly be good tasting, having to feed so many of you Guards.”

    “Yeah the food is usually pretty bland and gross, but it keeps us at our peak. We don’t eat anything unhealthy. For breakfast, we usually eat eggs with a cup of milk. Lunch and dinner always have the same food which is chicken and vegetables.” The vegetables were also so large because they are grown in a lab. The ground wasn’t very friendly after the Great War. 

    “Eww, well you’re really going to enjoy dinner tonight then,” Leo smiled and I smiled back. 

    “I don’t even know if I’ll be able to handle all this food,” I said jokingly but I realized I probably would have some trouble because I’ve never had an alcoholic drink in my entire life so I have no clue how the champagne would interact with me. 

    “Oh you’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Leo and I finally reached the top of the stairs. There was one big blue door and Leo slowly pushed it open. I stepped outside and was amazed by the view. 

    I had read about stars before and I always imagined what they looked like and I think now,  I know what they looked like. The lights from Utopia flickered in the darkness. Sure these flickering lights were on the ground but that’s what stars must have looked like. “It’s beautiful,” the lights flickered and my heart skipped a beat as Leo laughed. “What? What’s so funny?”

    “Nothing, I am just happy I shared this place with you,” his eyes shimmered and I smiled. 

    “I’m glad you did too.”

    Leo walked over to the ledge and hopped up on it, he then proceeded to take out all the food and lay it out. He glanced up and saw me watching him and then motioned for me to come to sit with him. I hopped up next to him and he handed me the champagne bottle. 

    “I forgot glasses, but cheers to the beginning of our friendship,” he said and then I took a sip. It was so sweet and so bubbly. I coughed a little as the bubble stung the back of my throat, I had never had a bubbly drink before. Leo laughed at my coughing and took the bottle from my hands and took a sip. 

    “It’s so bubbly,” I struggled to say. My throat still felt funny. Leo laughed again.

    “You’re so cute,” he said matter of factly. For some reason it caused me to tense up. I have never been called cute and I didn't know how much I liked it. 

    “Cute?”

    “Yes, Kira, you may be a perfect soldier and you may be able to kill another person without flinching but you are cute,” which caused me to laugh. The fact that Leo can find me cute even after knowing all that was amusing. 

    “Fine, you can call me cute but I swear if anyone else does I will slit their throat,” I smiled sweetly and Leo smirked.

    “I’ll make sure to warn everyone to never call you cute unless they want a painful death,” Leo handed me half of a sandwich, “Now try this.”

    I bit into the soft bread and there was a layer of thick creamy cheese. It was so delicious and I sighed as I tasted it. “This is amazing.”

    “You’re amazing,” Leo was watching me with eyes that were filled with, I think, tenderness. I smiled with my mouth filled with sandwich and Leo cracked up.