Healing Together

Chapter 4: Exceeded

(Continued)

“What earrings should I wear, what earrings?!”, I said to myself.

*ding dong*

“Damn it”, I said while quickly putting in my diamond studs.

“I’ll get it, Meg!”, My ain’t called from the living room.

I took a deep breath while standing in front of my mirror, hoping that the night would go perfectly. I knew that I’d be the most nervous Sen had ever seen me. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself though; everything was so new to me. I’ve never been on a date before.

“I’ll be right down!”, I yelled.

Still, looking in my mirror, I wondered if the grey dress I had on was too much or just right. I personally felt like the dress wasn’t too dressy, it was more like an everyday dress... But then again, Sen never told me where we were going so then I began stressing over the fact that I could also be underdressed.

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” I said to myself before heading downstairs.

As I was walking down the stairs, I noticed Sen fixedly staring at me. I couldn’t help but look down. Not that it was any surprise to me, but he looked extremely handsome. I noticed that he had gone to the barber and freshened up his hair... which made me smile because I realized that he was taking our date seriously.

“You look gorgeous.”, he said once I made it downstairs.

“Thank you, you don’t look too bad yourself.”, I responded.

He smirked and turned over to my aunt, “What time should I have her back?”

“Don’t stress it, just have fun you two!”, she said while pushing the both of us out the front door.

“Bye aun-“, before I could finish my sentence, she closed the door and began turning the locks.

Sen laughed, “take my hand, let’s go.”

I did as he said and we began walking. After a while, I noticed that we were doing a ton of walking. I looked at Sen and gave him a look but kept quiet.

As he continued looking straight ahead, he laughed before saying, “What’s wrong? You think I’m plotting to kill you or something?”

“I don’t think you’re going to kill me, Sen.” I said defensively.

“Well, then you’re definitely skeptical about something.”, he responded.

“No, I’m okay.”, I said.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”, he said.

A couple minutes passed by and I began to wonder where the hell Sen was taking me. My patience was getting lower and lower, but I continued walking. I knew that Sen had good intentions but it was hard for me to think that at the moment. I just expected us to reach our destination another way, but I guess that’s what I get for assuming. I should’ve acknowledged the fact that he planned something for us but instead, I was complaining about walking to the destination instead of arriving by car.

Selfish thinking, Meg.

“Okay, Stop.”, Sen insisted.

I looked around and didn’t see anything but trees and an empty road ahead of us. “Umm... okay.”, but I listened to him and stopped anyway.

“Now stand in front of me with your back facing me and close your eyes.”, he said.

“Okay”, I said as I followed his exact steps.

He placed his hands over my eyes, “no peeking!”.

“Okay, I won’t peek.”

“Alright now start walking, slowly”, he said.

He then continued to instruct me on which way to turn as he guided me to our destination. After only thirty seconds of walking, he stopped me in my tracks...

“Don’t open your eyes yet... I just want to say that you look absolutely beautiful. Well, you always do... I just- I’m happy that I get to spend this night with you. This is just part one though. Now open your eyes.”, he said.

Seconds after him telling me to open my eyes, I still had them closed. I was so excited yet so nervous to see what it was. Although he told me that it was only part one, I knew it was still special or else he wouldn’t have had me close my eyes.

“Uhh, you can open your eyes now, baby.”, he reassured me.

And so I did...

Oh my... oh my gosh.

My eyes widened and I immediately jumped into Sen’s arms, hugging him, “Thank you so much, this is beautiful!! Sen, you didn’t have to! You didn’t ha-“

He laughed while hugging me and rocking me back and forth, “Yeah yeah, come on beautiful. We gotta get going.”

Before I could say anything else, tears started falling from my eyes. I was so overwhelmingly happy and thankful. Sen had gotten us a beautiful white horse and carriage and it felt like I was in a dream. I couldn’t believe it. It was so beautiful and to think that it was all for me really made me tear up. I would’ve been just as happy and just as thankful if we would’ve just seen a movie but this really made me feel special. I couldn’t believe that I was actually the girl who was getting fancied. I always dreamt of things like this but I never thought that it would turn into my reality.

After seeing that I was crying, Sen wiped my tears and leaned in closer to me with his forehead touching mine, “Don’t cry, this is just the beginning.”.

I nodded, “Thank you, Sen.”

“Let’s go, we’re gonna get on it now. It’ll take us around 10 minutes to get to where we need to be, okay?”, he said while grabbing my hand.

I nodded again.

We walked up to the carriage and I fell in love with it all over again. The seats were a velvet color and the horse was so so beautiful.

“Hello Megan, this is for you.”, the coachman said as he handed me a bouquet of roses.

I smiled, “Thank you so much.”

Sen took my hand, and helped me into the carriage, “Watch your step... there you go.” He then got inside himself and sat down next to me.

I looked up at him and placed a kiss on his lips... “Sen, I don’t know how I can thank you.”

He looked down at me and gazed into my eyes, “shh, stop saying that.” He then took his index finger, lifted my chin, and kissed me.

He began taking my breath away for the third time and I didn’t mind it at all. Our kissing started getting more and more passionate until I broke away from it.

“What’s wrong?”, Sen asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

“Nothing at all, everything is perfect. I just didn’t wanna get too Rated R in here.”, I jokingly responded.

He laughed, “Why not? I thought you were down for anything, mama.”

I slanted my left brow in disapproval, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing baby, I know you’re a good girl. I’m absolutely fine with that.”, he answered before moving in closer to my ear and whispering, “I’m also fine with you being the opposite of that... just for me.”

I turned my head and squinted my eyes at him, “What makes you think I’ll give you that part of me?”

“I don’t know. I’m just hopeful that our relationship could get far. I’ll wait until you’re ready. s**t, I’ll wait until marriage. I just wanna be with you and only you.”, he explained.

I laid my head on his shoulder, “You won’t have to wait that long.”

He took my hand and kissed it, “We don’t have to rush anything... Are you cold?”

“No, I’m okay.”, I responded.

“I see you shivering baby, here...” he said while taking off his jacket.

I looked at him and smiled, “You are so sweet.”

“Stop it.”, he said while flashing his charming smile.

Sen wrapped his large denim jacket around me and kissed me on my forehead. Afterwards, I laid my head back on his shoulder while he caressed me during the whole ride. I began thinking to myself about how perfect he is; it almost felt unreal. I didn’t really believe that my life could be this good to me, so I began questioning myself...

Am I really worth all of this? Am I worthy of a sweet, caring, gorgeous man? ... Or is this all too good to be true? Of course I want this to be authentic and real... but is it? Is my life finally treating me well for once? I don’t know... All I know is that I’m happy. I’m happy and in lo- ... Wait. Love?

“Megan, baby. . . Megan.” Sen said while slightly shaking me.

“Y-yes?”

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?”, he asked.

I batted my eyelashes at him, “Yes, I’m alright. I was just caught in my own thoughts, that is all.”

“Okay good, because we’re here.”, he responded as a smile appeared on his face.

I looked around to see where we were...

“Come on, take my hand.”, Sen said.

I took his hand and he helped me step out of the carriage. He then led me to the horse and began petting it.

“What’s the horse’s name?”, he asked the coachman.

“His name is Levi.”, the coachman answered.

“Thank you for bringing us here, Levi... Megan is going to pet you now.”, he said before looking at me.

I smiled, “What if I didn’t want to pet him, huh?”

“I knew you wanted to.”, Sen responded.

He was right. I placed my hand on Levi’s head and began petting him. I’ve never been this close to a horse before. I’ve been to the zoo once when I was five, but it wasn’t as great of an experience.

“You’re so beautiful. Thank you, Levi.”, I said before leaning in and kissing his head. “Bye bye now.”

“Thank you, Mr. Davis!”, Sen called out to the coachman after we walked away.

“No problem, kiddo! Have fun you two!”, he called back.

Sen took my hand and started leading me up concrete stairs.

I’ve never been over here before and I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my whole life. . .

We continued walking up the stairs and I couldn’t help it, but my eyes were glued to Sen. He looked so thrilled. If anyone else were to look at him, they would immediately be able to tell that he was excited... And seeing how excited he was to show me what he had planned next, warmed my heart. I really got to see another side of Sen; he is actually an adventurous guy. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. It was a new feeling. All I’ve been feeling were new feelings ever since I met him. I felt more at home with him than I’ve ever felt throughout my entire life. I loved it.

“Last step and... tada!”, Sen said while chuckling. “That was a corny way to - uh... whatever. We’re here.”

I looked around to see a beautiful garden staring back at me, “Aww, this is so pretty!”.

“I’m glad you like it... come on, follow me.”, he said.

I followed him to see a White Canvas Tent, decorated with string lights and flowers all around it. It was extremely beautiful. Sen then took my hand and walked me inside where I saw a dinner table for two.

I turned to Sen and smiled at him, “You did all of this for me?!”

The answer was an obvious yes but I couldn’t help it. I was still processing the fact that I had just rode in a horse and carriage... Seeing the dinner table made me think about how much thought Sen had put into our date. I never would’ve thought that my first date would consist of so much but he made it happen.

“Yes. I did all of this for you and I’ll do more, Megan. Now come sit down with me.”, he said.

An hour later...

Sen and I ate a delicious meal and talked for a while. I thanked him multiple times just so he could know how appreciative I was of everything he had planned out for me. I could honestly say that he did a great job with pleasing me, although it wouldn’t have been that hard to do so. I felt very loved and my heart was full. My first date definitely exceeded my expectations and I was so grateful.

“When did you plan all of this out?”, I asked.

He smirked, “That doesn’t matter, love.”

“I really want to know. Pleeaase?”, I begged.

He laughed, “I thought of the idea on the same day that I asked to take you out.”

I began blushing and lifted my shoulders up to my cheeks, “Aww, really? That’s so sweet!”

“You’re adorable, stop it.”, he said.

“You are so romantic. You made this night very special for me, Sen.”

“Why are you talking like the night is over already? It’s only 7. We have plenty of time to spend together.”, he responded.

I smiled, “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Still, sitting across from him, I grabbed his hand so that he could move closer to me. He stood up, grabbed his chair, and pulled it closer to mine.

“This is what you wanted?”, he asked in a low, raspy voice.

I put my hand on the side of his face and let out a small “yes” before pulling him closer and planting a kiss on his lips. Once our lips met, he pulled me closer. Both of our breathing became heavier and heavier as our kiss went on. He placed his hand on the back of my neck and then ran his thumb against it affectionately. He then pulled me off of my chair and placed me on his lap. I looked down and gazed into his eyes; my heart was racing. Looking up at me, he placed his hand on my inner thigh and kissed me. Again, our lips intertwined and our racing hearts were beating together as he slowly rubbed his hand up and down my inner thigh. Feeling completely content, I placed my right hand on the back of his head while resting my left hand on his shoulder. The kiss deepened more and more until Sen untied his lips from mine and made his way down to my neck. I tried calming myself down but as he was kissing my neck, my eyes rolled to the back of my head.

Trying to contain myself, I noticed that Sen’s phone was lighting up on the table... he had three text messages. They were all from someone named Lo... just like last time. They read:

(1): Need you earlier tonight.

(2): You never got back to me on what you did with that work.

(3): Call me now.

What the hell... that seems pretty suspect.

I gently pushed Sen off me and got off of his lap, “Your phone is going off.”

He picked up his phone and read the messages, “Oh, umm... I gotta call someone real quick baby. I’ll be right back.”

I watched Sen walk away and step out of the tent. I didn’t know what has been going on with him, but something seemed odd. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions though.

I guess the messages didn’t seem that bad. Calm down, Megan... Calm down.

Ten minutes pass and I was still waiting for Sen to finish up his phone call. I didn’t want to be rude and interrupt his conversation but I was kind of confused. I wanted to know what was going on. Not that it was any of my business but I would like to know exactly who I’m falling in love with... and something seemed off about those text messages.

I stood up and walked outside of the tent to see Sen still having a conversation over the phone. “Sen, is everything okay?”, I whispered.

Sen turned his head to look at me and nodded, “Okay...Alright, I’ll be there.” He ended the call.

“Megan, baby, you were worried? Aww.”, he said before walking up to me and hugging me.

Without hugging him back, I broke away from his arms and shot him an angry gaze.

Confused, he looked down at me and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“What is going on? Are you hiding something from me?”, I asked.

“What? No. I’m not hi-“

I interrupted him and picked up his hand, “Sen, please don’t lie to me this early in our relationship... what is going on? You can tell me.”

He hung his head down low, “That was my uncle... I left him home to watch my mom. She’s not doing well. I’m sorry but I- ... I have to take you home, Megan.”

Is he lying? What he’s telling me does not relate to the text messages at all.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that Sen. Don’t apologize, come on, let’s get going.”, I responded.

Sen hugged me, “I’m really sorry that our date had to be cut short like this. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

He took my hand and started jogging. We jogged all the way down the concrete stairs and stopped in front of a black car. He then took out car keys from his pocket and pressed the unlock button.

“Who’s car is this?”, I asked.

“It’s mine, love. I had my mans drive it here for us.”, he said while opening the car door for me. “My last idea with you was to go to a drive-in movie tonight... we’ll do that eventually.” He said before driving off.

“Aww, okay. I like this car by the way.”, I responded.

He smiled with his eyes on the road, “Thank you.”

“Sen, thank you for everything tonight. I appreciate everything you did for me. You put so much thought into this date; this has been the best the night I’ve ever had. Even though it was cut short, you managed to make my first date even more special than I expected it to be.”

He looked at me quickly, before turning his head back to face the road and said “First date, huh?”

My face heated up from embarrassment as I put my head down, “Yeah... this was my first date. I never even dated a guy before.”

He put his hand on top of mine, “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about, mama. It’s just surprising to me because you’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you.”, I said.

The rest of the ride home was silent but not awkward or anything. Once he pulled up in front of my house, I looked at him and began wondering why he didn’t mention anything related to the text that I saw... but I didn’t say anything about it.

“What’s that face?”, Sen asked.

I snapped out of my thoughts, “Huh? Oh... nothing. I’m just going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, gorgeous. I had a great time with you.”, he said.

I blushed, “I had a great time too.”

Sen leaned in, pulled my face closer to his, and kissed me, “I’ll see you soon.”

I unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the door and hopped out of the car, “Bye bye.”

I’ll just forget about the messages, maybe I’m overthinking it. What I should be focusing on is how great that kiss was after dinner... He really does something to me.