Chapter 28: The Date


    Liza looked at the ce before her in amazement, as Steve nced around ufortably, his smooth


    and slick mask melting away and being reced by a man trying to impress the woman he liked. Steve


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    had shown up at Liza''s house with potted roses in his hands and a handsome smile on his face, sharp


    at 7:00. He was wearing ck jeans with a forest green button-down, which somehow matched


    perfectly with the color of Liza''s dress. His hair was messily styled and the way he presented the potted


    roses to Liza with a flourish, no one would have assumed that he was the author of a bestseller. Liza


    looked at him and her heart fluttered, not with excitement but with uneasiness, as to what was toe.


    Liza had taken the flowers from him and had handed them to Mnie, who had gushed over how cute


    they look, effectively embarrassing Liza and making her feel like a sixteen-year-old teenager going to


    prom instead of a 28-year-old grown woman. Steve had opened the door with her, with a cheesy bow


    making her burst out inughter and the uneasiness that Liza had felt slithered away making a ce


    for a warm fuzzy feeling which Liza was yet to recognize. They drove infortable silence with


    asional bursts of chatter and after an hour or so, they had finally arrived at their destination.


    Steve kept shifting his nce, tapping his foot looking every bit as nervous as he felt and Liza couldn''t


    help but find it cute. Their destination was in a secluded part, a little way from the highway but still full


    of life. People called it ''Literature Lane'', which could only be described as a festival of literature. There


    were huge banners of books and below those banners, people were enacting scenes from books or


    were reciting them, she also a book discussion group somewhere. The books were from almost all the


    genres, from ssics to contemporary, philosophical to young adult, and by the way, Steve was


    avoiding a corner she suspected that there was erotica as well. The whole ce was decorated with


    silver and blue fairy lights. Ornatemps hung low from the rows of fairy lights which twisted and met


    each other to form a huge chandelier-like structure in the middle of the tent-shaped ce. It felt like an


    otherworldly experience.


    "Do you like it?" Steve asked nervously. "I love it" Liza replied honestly. Steve let out a sigh of relief


    before his nervousness vanished away and he returned to his true smart-ass self. "I knew that you


    would like it. Didn''t I tell you that it would be the best date ever?" he asked with a smirk on his face.


    Liza rolled her eyes and retorted back "Hold your horses, Steve. We are just getting started with a


    date." and then both of them delved deep into the ce called Literature Lane.


    Liza and Steve roamed around tillte at night, trying various foods based on books, clicking pictures


    with various characters, and even dressing up as one. Liza hadughed so much, that her insides hurt


    and she almost begged Steve from being his dorky self. She had always thought of Steve as a


    handsome author, who was yful at times but was always sophisticated, however, the date had


    man who dressed up as Rapunzel.


    Currently, they were sitting at one of the many candlelit tables at a ce in Literature Table called


    ''Orenjee'' eating a variety of fancy dishes which were described as ''White asparagus withvender


    infusion, dragon carrot risotto, Sweet Pea sorbet, Green Garlic Gnhi with red mustard leaves and


    Cremeux with passion fruit.'' Apanying then was a bottle off wine and though Liza usually resisted


    Wine and all its near rtives, she loved the taste of this one. "The wine feels like bottled stars don''t it


    ?" Steve asked, hoping that Liza would catch on to his reference, after all the whole ce was themed


    after it, from itsvish decor to the small pool beside it with fake elm trees, shedding seeds like pale


    rose petals.


    Liza''s eyes suddenly lit up as she caught on to Steve''s reference and replied with mirth dancing in her


    eyes "It sure is. How did you find this ce?" she asked. Steve coughed a bit and suddenly looked


    ufortable."I just found it" he replied. Liza narrowed her eyes and asked "Do you bring all your


    dates here?" she asked, her tone now holding a certain sharpness that tasted bitter on her tongue. Liza


    hadn''t meant to sound sharp, nor had she wanted to pry into his dating life before her, however, her


    heart which had already suffered once, implored her to ask. Steve''s eyes widened, "No, that''s not it. I


    have never brought anyone here before you." he spoke in a rush. Liza felt guilty on seeing the rushed


    expression on Steve''s face, he had done his best to make the date special and even though she


    wouldn''t go as far as saying that she was ready to be in a rtionship with him, she knew that she liked


    him as more than a friend. He made herugh. did silly things with her and he even shared her passion


    for books. Not to mention that he looked like a runway model.


    On all the previous dates that she had gone on with other men, Liza had always ended upparing


    them to Jonathan but with Steve it was different. Jonathan hadn''t even crossed her mind when she was


    with him. Liza looked at Steve''s hand which was resting on the table between them she wondered if


    she would feel tingles on her skin, if she touched his, hesitantly she reached out and ced her left


    hand over his, Steve was shocked at the sudden touch but he weed the warmth which flowed


    between their skins. Liza squeezed his hand there were no tingles, no fire, just warm energy flowing


    between them. With soft light lighting their faces, she loved the tenderness of the moment. Liza leaned


    forward, over the table, and as the ssical piece being yed in the background ended dramatically,


    she ced a light peck on Steve''s cheek, knowing that something was there, lying down patiently,


    waiting to be sparked.