LOST

Chapter 7

Ella’s POV

“I’ve been wanting to do this since I picked you up tonight,” he smirked, pulling away from the kiss, and I blushed.

“Okay, this date is going better than I expected,” I thought to myself, gazing at him with puppy-dog eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that if you don’t want me to kiss you again,” he said, moving closer and whispering in my ear.

If I had a dime for every time I blushed at his words, I’d be rich right now. I chuckled to myself.

“Just eat your food, Arthur,” I said with a soft laugh.

We got back to our meal, laughing and chatting. Arthur was great company, and before I knew it, time had flown by.

“I could stay here all night with you, but I think I should take you home now. It’s already past midnight,” he said, and my eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you serious?” I asked, and he nodded.

Goodness, how did time fly so fast? I thought to myself.

“Well, a bottle of the best wine and great company can make time seem insignificant,” my subconscious replied. I rolled my eyes at how often the voices in my head were right.

“So shall we?” Arthur smiled, extending his hand to me.

He took my hand, and we walked out together. I noticed we were the only customers left in the restaurant. The waitress who had served us was still standing by the door, possibly waiting for us to leave. When she saw us, she quickly lowered her gaze to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

“Sorry, dear, I think I left something on the table. I’ll be just a minute,” Arthur said, and I nodded.

As soon as Arthur walked out, the waitress pulled me close. Shock and confusion filled me. The look in her eyes was full of fear, and I had no idea why.

“Run!” she whispered urgently.

I froze, about to ask her why, but before I could, Arthur walked back in. The waitress quickly let go of me and lowered her gaze, and we walked out together. I pushed her words from my mind and focused on the date again. Arthur was a gentleman as always, opening the car door for me and helping me inside.

He soon joined me in the driver’s seat, and we were on our way to my apartment. The ride was quiet but comfortable, not awkward. Arthur moved his hand over to mine, interlocking our fingers. He smiled at me, his eyes full of contentment, and my heart fluttered.

A few minutes later, we arrived at my building. We made our way to the elevator.

“You shouldn’t have bothered coming up with me,” I said, glancing up at him.

“No, Ella, I wanted to. I have to make sure you got back in one piece. After the look Alex gave me, I knew she’d kill me if anything happened to you,” he smiled, his gaze never leaving mine.

We stood there, locked in a gaze that made everything else fade away. Then the elevator bell dinged, breaking the moment. We both nervously coughed, blushing.

Arthur walked me to my door, and I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt a wave of disappointment that the night with him was over.

“Thank you for dinner, I had a great time,” I said softly, looking at the floor.

“Eyes… behave,” he teased.

Arthur moved closer, his hands wrapping around my lower back as he lifted my chin to look at him. “Tonight was everything I hoped it would be and more,” he whispered, and I blushed, trying to hold his gaze.

“You’re really special, Ella,” he said before lowering his head and kissing me gently. The kiss was soft but intoxicating, and when he pulled away, I craved more.

Arthur smirked, running his fingers over my bottom lip. “So should I be expecting a second date, now that this one went so well?” he asked.

I smirked, a wave of confidence washing over me. “We’ll just have to see about that, Mr. Logan,” I teased.

Arthur’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Okay, that’s not a no, so I’ll take it,” he laughed.

We said our goodbyes, and I walked into my apartment. Locking the door behind me, exhaustion hit me like a wave.

“Okay... my bed has my name on it,” I muttered to myself as I made my way to my room.

The room was dark when I entered, and to my surprise, Alex was sitting on my bed with her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

“I see the date lasted for hours, so I guess it went well,” she murmured.

Confused, I wondered what was going on with her.

“Yes, it was amazing… better than I expected,” I said as I slipped off my shoes and flopped down on the bed next to her.

“Yes... Yes... tell me everything!” Alex squealed, her serious demeanour melting away.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yep, this is the Alex I know.”

“Wait, I thought you had a stern look a minute ago. What happened?” I asked, sitting up and looking at her.

“Christ, Ella, can’t I be an overprotective friend anymore?” Alex said softly, her gaze falling.

“I knew it,” I rolled my eyes. “Come on, tell me everything!”

“Alright… but when I say everything, I mean every single detail,” Alex said, leaning forward eagerly.

“Alex... Why? I’m so tired. I just want to sleep,” I grumbled.

“You can’t sleep when I’m deprived of my daily dose of gossip,” she countered, giving me her best pleading look.

“Damn, Alex... you know I invented puppy-dog eyes, so that wouldn’t work on me,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Alex opened her mouth to protest, but I stopped her. “I promise tomorrow, okay? I’ll tell you everything, but right now, I need sleep.”

Alex sighed dramatically, knowing she wasn’t going to win this time. “Fine, I’ll let you off the hook,” she muttered as she left the room.

“Peaceful darkness at last,” I whispered to myself as I lay down in bed. My mind drifted, and I fell asleep, dreams filled with memories of the night and, of course, Arthur, who was slowly becoming my prince charming.