Chapter 7 - I Love It


    Wrong. Astronomically wrong. Extremely wrong.


    It''s been ten minutes and I''m already worried that I''m going to sweat out what little makeup I had on.


    I''ve also had to resist the urge to change about three times, try not to go upstairs and take an amazing


    bath twice, and fight the part of me that just wants to cancel altogether.


    I decided to just sit on my couch with my phone at least 3 feet away from me so I wouldn’t - and


    couldn’t - touch it. My hands were tightly sped together so I wouldn’t touch my hair and face and ruin


    things.


    Ugh, these minutes go by even slower than when I work out, I swear.


    Finally I heard the doorbell ring, and thank God Elijah just got here because if he took a minute longer,


    God knows what I would’ve done.


    Attempting to not seem too eager, I took deep breaths as I slowly walked to the door. I checked through


    the peephole real quick, to make sure it was Elijah, then opened the door, nearly gasping at the sight in


    front of me.


    Elijah stood there with a dazzling smile blessing his face, pearly whites showing and all. He had on a


    dark brown suit that honestly would look horrible on any other person. Somehow he was able to pull it


    off and not look like an old man.


    He still had his gold chain around his neck instead of a tie, and on his wrist was a cartier watch. I


    couldn’t help but wonder if it cost more than my rent for a month. He also had a beautiful si ring on,


    along with a couple others that adorn his fingers.


    Jesus…This man is fine, I couldn’t help but think.


    I smiled at the sight of him, trying to calm myself down.


    “Hi!” I greeted a bit awkwardly.


    “Hey,” he breathed out, looking me up and down. “You look stunning. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting


    for too long.”


    I shook my head. “Oh, no, you’re fine. I just got finished with everything anyway,” I smoothly lied.


    He nodded his head. “Good. Alright, well, are you ready to go? My car is across the street.”


    “Yeah, let me just turn off the light real quick.” I rushed to find the light switch and turned it off before Eli


    led me out to his car. As I expected, it was beautiful, sleek, and expensive as hell.


    It was a ck Ferrari Roma. The only reason I know that is because I like to sit down and tortue myself


    by looking at things I could and would never have. It’s a beautiful car but not exactly my first choice of a


    car, not like I could afford it though.


    He opened the door for me and helped me get in. As he walked around the front of the car to the


    driver’s side, I took a second to gap at the customized inside of the Ferrari.


    The seats were white leather, the carpeting was a night blue, almost ck in color. The interior smelled


    like a mix of Eli and a new car. In other words, I felt as though I was in heaven despite the date just


    starting.


    On the way to the restaurant we made small talk about basic things, like how our week was and other


    simple things like that. For some reason I found it really easy to talk to Eli andugh with him, although


    it might just be because his cologne smells like “rail me.”


    One thing that wasn’t helping me though is the way Elijah drove. He had only one arm on the steering


    wheel and the other was on the armrest thingy, whatever it’s called.


    I was so enthralled in our conversation I didn’t even realize that we had pulled into the valet parking


    space of a restaurant until a valet person opened the door. I stepped out and took Eli’s outstretched


    arm when he came to my side, all white internally freaking out.


    The ce was incredibly high fashion and high priced so I was scared to touch anything in fear of


    dirtying it with my poorness. All of my worries and anxious thoughts dissolved once we stepped foot


    inside the building.


    Jazz music yed softly in the background as I admired the beauty and extravagance of the lobby.


    Huge draping curtains covered the entrance doors that head to what I assumed to be different dining


    halls. Hints of gold and purple were ced expertly throughout the room. As I said, it was an


    expensive-as-fuck restaurant.


    Chuckling at my awe, Eli turned towards one of the servers and whispered something to them. We


    were then guided through one of the entryways and walked through a door on the left side of the


    hallway.


    We found ourselves in a small but elegant room with a simr design pattern as the lobby, but that’s not


    what shocked me. What shocked me was the door leading out to a small balcony that had a candlelight


    dinner scene set up.


    Unable to contain myself, I twirled a little, basking in the scenery. I came back down to life when I heard


    a smallughing from Eli.


    “So I take it you like it?


    “Like it? I love it! It’s absolutely amazing, Eli!”


    He raised a brow. “Eli?”


    I froze. “O-oh, well, yeah, I kind of give nicknames to everyone,” I stammer. “If you don’t want me to call


    you it, though, I’ll stop. I don’t mind.”


    His smile widened a bit. “No, it’s alright. I just haven’t been called that since I was a little kid. It’s nice to


    hear,” he responded.


    I internally sighed in relief before going to sit down at the gorgeous little set up. Eli also sat down in


    front of me, eyeing me the whole time the waiter came to get our orders.


    “Can you order for me?” I shyly asked since I didn’t know what to get and I didn’t want to appear as an


    idiot. He nodded his head and ordered a bunch of delicious sounding foods without even needing to


    look at the menu.


    I guess hees here often, I thought.


    He ended up pouring us some wine while the waiter went to go get our food. Usually I wouldn’t drink


    some but I decided to drink a tiny bit to ease my nerves. We begin talking and the food soon arrives. As


    we’re eating I looked up at the sky and saw the moon peeking through the clouds. It looked absolutely


    picturesque in the way it glowed.


    No, Aisha. Don’t do it. No, no, no-


    “Oh, my gosh! Look at the moon! It’s so pretty!”


    Dammit, girl, why?


    Instead ofughing at my stupidity, Eli looked up at the moon and smiled. “You’re right, it does look


    wonderful. I’m d I booked the balcony for tonight,” he chuckled out.


    “It must’ve been impossible to book this ce,” I said. “The view’s amazing and so is the scenery.”


    “It wasn’t all that hard considering I own the ce.”


    My jaw dropped open at Eli’s words. “Oh,” I dumbly said since I didn’t know what else to say.


    “Don’t freak out about it.” Eliughed. “I just wanted to make sure you had a good night and that we


    could enjoy a private area. I also had a feeling you’d like it out here.”


    “Oh, okay then,” I said, trying to calm my racing heart. “Thank you for that then.”


    . . .


    The dinner went smoothly after that. Eli was actually a pretty funny guy, even though he seemed like a


    low-key serious person. We were sharing jokes all night long, even in the car when he went to drop me


    off back home.


    He rushed to my side when he parked and opened the door. We ended up standing around for a few


    minutes, exchanging ourst words. Admittedly, I gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek before


    rushing back to my apartment. I can swear I heard himughing as I ran to my apartment after kissing


    him.


    Once I was inside my apartment, I heard my phone buzz. I looked to see who texted me and smiled


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    when I saw it was Eli.


    I had a great time tonight. Can’t wait to do it again, the text read.


    Me too. I had a great time. Goodnight, Eli, I responded.


    You too, Aisha.


    Smiling to myself, I prepared to head to bed. The date went really, really well, and I couldn’t wait to see


    him again soon.