Sweet afternoons

Chapter six

Before I knew it, the week had finished and Saturday had rolled around. Since agreeing to go out with Andres, I hadn't been able to go a day without thinking about it. I hadn't been on a lot of dates. There were a few men I had met in the bakery that had asked me out, I had only said yes to two of them and both times the dates hadn't gone well. I just remember feeling uncomfortable and wanting to leave after only 15 minutes.

I hoped that things wouldn't go the same with Andres. I had far more feelings for Andres than I had with either of the other men I had been on dates with. But that didn't mean that the date was going to go well. My nerves were getting the better of me, making me think of all the negative possibilities. Nate wasn't helping either.

"He better not be like Michael, that guy was so sexist. And I don't want to have to pick you up again," He said, sitting casually on my bed as I was putting makeup on. It was only half an hour before my date with Andres, and Nate had thought it would be the perfect time to drop by and say hello.

"What are you even doing here Nate?" I said with slight annoyance. Picking up my jacket from beside me, I stood up to check my outfit in the mirror.

"Moral support?" He joked before sitting up on the bed. "Plus, he needs the dad-talk." Nate's voice grew serious as he stared at me with an intense look. He had always been overprotective of me, despite being so much younger. Telling him about my past and how people had treated me before seemed to have sparked something inside of him and after that moment he began acting like an older brother.

"The dad-talk? Do I even want to know what that is?" I asked, adjusting my dress slightly. I still wasn't completely satisfied with how I looked but felt like I had done a decent enough job at dressing up. From Nate's sceptical looks at my outfit however, I felt like perhaps something was wrong with my outfit. "Do I look weird?" I asked Nate.

Nate shook his head. "It's not that you look weird? I'm just worried that maybe this guys' going to get too handsy. That dress isn't very long, you know?" I laughed at Nate's words and punched him playfully.

"I may not know Andres very well, but I feel like I can trust him to be respectful and not do anything inappropriate," The sigh that left his lips after I spoke told me all that I needed to know; He didn't like the idea but he was going to put up with it, for my sake.

Opening his mouth to speak again his words were cut short by the ring of the doorbell. Before I could even think about moving, Nate had rushed down the stairs towards the front door, opening it before I had a chance to move. I could hear soft mumbling sounds from two distinctly male voices and soon found myself frozen where I stood.

All of my nerves hit me at once and my breathing became frantic. I was not ready for this. I hadn't had a date in so long, what if I did something wrong? Or made a bad impression? Everything that could possibly go wrong flashed through my mind in an instant.

With sweaty palms I took a deep breath, hoping it would calm my nerves and beating heart.

"Lena?" Nate stood before me, his worried look still eminent on his soft features. "Your date is waiting for you," he smiled this time, like he knew something I didn't and the smile finally reached his eyes "You look beautiful."

All of a sudden I didn't feel so scared, in fact, I felt as if I could take on anything. I had been totally reassured by Nate's words and didn't hold back one bit as I encased him in my arms. "Thank you," I whispered to him, a hundred times over, before making my way to the door, ready to face my date.

Andres was dressed elegantly in smart, black suit trousers and a crisp, clean white shirt. I could have easily mistaken him for an Angel and felt myself swoon at the thought of going out on a date with this man. A blush made its way to my cheeks as Andres' eyes took in my dolled up appearance.