Her First Love

Ch 5

Susan opened her door ready to walk out but was stopped by Zack holding a huge bouquet of roses. She took a step back in surprise “Wow, what’s all this?” 

“Well, I wanted to start the date with all the romantic cheesy things couples normally do. So, Surprise! And also as a thank you for letting me sleep at your club” Zack said while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Susan laughed before saying “you didn’t have to do all this, I already said yes to the date but thank you, I love them.” She walked back to the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. 

“Are we ready to go now?”, she asked. 

“Let’s go” Zack led the way to his car parked on the other side of the street. He opened her side of the door before climbing inside. So far, Susan was impressed by his behavior and she couldn’t wait to find out about his idea of a date. 

They drove for another 20 minutes before stopping outside of this quaint little classy Italian diner. She had always wanted to go there but never found the time. She wondered if maybe Robbie had helped Zack with the idea.

Zack opened her door and held out his hand, as they walked towards Shanes’s, a family-owned classy dinner. It was a perfect blend of a late-night diner and a classy Italian restaurant. They were greeted by a waitress who showed them their table before giving them their menus. The menu had all the classic diner dishes, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and regular Italian meals. Zack ordered a double cheeseburger with gumbo fries and Susan ordered Italian pasta with wine. While they waited for their food, Zack took a hold of her hand, surprising her. 

“What’s the verdict?” Zack asked nervously. 

“So far good, but the night is still young”, Susan laughed. 

“Let’s talk about you. I know you are a bar and a coffeehouse owner. That’s impressive for such a young age. What about your parents?” 

“Thanks, it was a lot of work but I have the most amazing friends who helped me along the way. They are my own family.” Susan avoided talking about her birth family and she hoped Zack would take the hint. “Tell me about your family?” she asked instead. 

“My family, let’s just say their main goal is to embarrass me. My mom, Beth, is the type of woman who is overly excited about everything. She is the sweetest person but when it comes to her family, she is a tigress. I remember this one time when me and my brother, Jared, were in middle school and the neighbors blamed us for wrapping their house in toilet paper as a Halloween prank. It was not us but the Jenson kids down the block and my mom went bat s**t crazy on our neighbor for falsely blaming us. My dad, Josh, is a more mellow person though. They fit together like a puzzle. I couldn’t have asked for a better family.” Susan could see the fondness in his eyes as he spoke about his family. 

“They sound amazing,” Susan smiled. 

“When you meet them, you wouldn't wait to get away.” Zack joked. 

Just as Susan was about to reply, their waitress came by with the food behaving maybe a little too friendly with Zack. Seeing her flirting with her date Susan felt jealous. She gripped her hands beneath the table glaring at the girl. Zack didn’t seem to notice her googly eyes instead he was digging into his fries. Susan stole some of his fries from his hands to claim him as hers. However, Susan didn’t think this through as not only she but Zack was also surprised by her show of possessiveness. Normally, she could care less if this was any other guy, but she felt connected to Zack, which scared her. Susan decided to silently finish her meal before she embarrassed herself anymore. 

Their meal was finished in no time making her regret her decision to eat quickly. She had really enjoyed the home-cooked pasta. Zack paid for their meal before walking them out.

“We can walk for a while and talk. I normally go for a walk after a meal” Zack offered. 

Since she didn’t have anything better to do tonight for 4 more hours, Susan smiled saying yes. They walked over to a small park opposite the restaurant for their night stroll. 

“So, what was that?” Zack started. Susan decided to play dumb, even though she knew he was referring to her little crazy stunt. She glanced at zack to find him smirking. If he knew then why is he asking? Well, two can play this game, she thought before saying

“What? Taking your fries. I like fries and they were warm so I took some. You gotta problem with that?” 

“Not at all, just surprised. For the record, she wasn’t that pretty.” Zack said, making Susan smile. 

Zack took a hold of her hand and they strolled together as a couple through the open playground. “You have any plans for tomorrow? I have tickets to this OSU game? It’s a home game. I went for my masters there and their football team is not that bad.” Zack asked her. 

“I don’t know. Haven’t really watched football before but wouldn’t mind going down to Columbus, some of my friends live there” Susan said. 

“No worries, I am not a huge die-hard fan either, just enjoy it a pass time, we could go tomorrow, and stay overnight so you can meet your friends. What do you say?” Zack asked hopefully. 

“Let me think about it, have to think about the club. Can’t leave without any notice.” Susan replied, sounding sad. She would love to go on a road trip with Zack and it’s been a while she had taken time off from work even for a day. But she needed to make sure her business would still be there when she got back. She will ask Roland and Fiona before saying yes to Zack. “how about I tell you tonight after talking to my managers? How are we going though?” 

“We would drive down early morning, enjoy the scenery, have fun at the game, stay the night in a hotel. Don’t worry I will book the rooms, since I invited you and leave next evening after exploring the city. Does that sound ok?” 

“I would love that. I hope the club will manage without me for a day.” Susan said, sounding excited and worried.