My hands were shaky as I buttoned up my shirt. That's normal, right? I've never taken a girl out before. This is around about the time when you get a pep-talk from your Dad and he tells you to 'hold the door for her' and 'be respectful'.

But instead of a father figure I've got Becca. And to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.

"So, are you gonna get down on one knee or..?"

She lay on my bed, admiring the silver ring I bought this afternoon.

"Give me that." I snatched, ignoring her teasing while I slipped the small pink box into my pocket. "I'm not proposing, I'm just asking her to be my girlfriend, that's all."

"That's all." She mimicked. "It's a big deal, T. You're asking your best friend to be your girlfriend!"

"You're really not helping with the nerves, Bec." I complained.

"Sorry, sorry." She raised her hands in surrender.

It's almost six-thirty and I need to pick her up soon. I left Becca in my room while I went to the bathroom to fix my hair and brush my teeth. The cuts and bruises on my face were visible, but my hair and small band-aids did a good job of hiding them.

The smell of my cologne filled the bathroom and when my watch read six-forty I knew I had to leave.

"I'm going to go pick her up." I informed Bec who has made herself quite comfortable. "Can you cover for me if Mom asks why I'm not home? I want to tell her about Cami myself."

"Got it." She smiled. "Good luck, you look great."

"Thanks."

I slipped my wallet and phone into my pocket. "See you later."

I pretended I didn't hear her shout "use protection" while I left the house, locking the door behind me before getting into my car.

*On my way x*

I started to panic a tiny bit more after sending that text, while I headed down the street. She's obviously going to say yes, right? She's practically, already my girlfriend, unofficially. Although I've tried to convince myself otherwise, that one part of me thinks I'm only ever going to be 'a friend' in her eyes.

The nerves must have made me speed because I got there faster than usual. I sat in the car for a few seconds, double checking that I didn't forget anything and trying to pull myself together.

I sang affirmations in my head while I walked up her porch's front steps.

After three knocks on the door I waited a few seconds. It sung open and I was greeted by Zoe with her hair tied up and her uniform on.

"Hey, can Camila come out to play?" I joked, acting like we were twelve year olds again.

"Bring her home before the street lights are on." Zoe warned, with a smile on her face.

Our giggles and awkward jokes came to an end when I spotted Camila at the top of the stairs.

Her blonde hair was curled loosely around her bare shoulders, with her face enhanced lightly with makeup. Her lips were red, matching her ruby dress that fit her shape perfectly. My eyes trailed down her bare legs to her heels, watching as she made her way down the stairs.

"Hey."

"Wow. You look amazing."

"You do too." She smile with rosy cheeks.

"See you later." She hugged Zoe.

"Be good, you two." She winked. The grin across her face let me know she was okay with this, which made it all a little bit easier.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

The door closed behind us I placed my hand on her lower back, helping her down the steps because I know she can't walk in heels.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?"

"Nope. It's a surprise."

I opened the car door and she carefully stepped inside, smoothing her dress down while she placed her bag at her feet.

I sat in beside her, twisting my keys in the ignition before heading towards the hotel.

"No hints?"

"Non. We'll be there in twenty minutes, tops. You can't wait."

"Fine." She complained with a smile.

I took my eyes off the road too many times, but it's hard to not be distracted by her.

With every glance I noticed something new, like the way her eyes glistened from the street lights, or the silver chain that hung from her neck and how the charm ended at the start of her cleavage. The way she flashed her dimples when I told her how pretty she looked.

"You told me that already."

"I don't care, I'm telling you again."

"Well thank you."

We pulled up in the hotel's parking lot, and she realised where we were going. "I should've guessed." She smiled, letting me know I picked the right place.

We walked up the front steps and I gave my name to the elderly woman at the door. "Right this way."

We took our seats at a white cloth, candle lit table and she handed us the menus. "You two enjoy your evening."

We both thanked her at the same time, and her eyes fell to the menu, pretending to pick something, which we both know she won't be able to do.

"What are you having?" She asked, lowering her menu to look at me.

My eyes fell to the page before me and I scanned for something Camila would like. "They have pizzas, pastas, steak..."

"Steak sounds good."

My eyes flicked straight to hers. Did she just make a decision?

"That was quick." I smirked.

"I'm getting better." She shrugged with a giggle.

After a couple minutes of casual conversation the waitress took our orders.

"So- how was shopping?"

"Really good. We got our nails done too." She held out both her hands across the table to show me her white and silver nails.

"They're pretty." I admired them, knowing the ring will match them nicely.

"Thanks. So what did you do this afternoon?"

"I moved most of my stuff out of Dad's house."

"Oh." She sounded surprised but sympathetic. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I actually like living at Mom's. I know we won't live as close anymore but-"

"Sh." She cut me off. "It's like ten minutes away. I'm glad you're with your Mom again."

"Thank you."

"Besides, you could live in a different state and we'd still find a way to see each other daily."

"True." I smiled.

*

"You're joking!" Camila giggled, pressing the back of her hand to cover her mouth.

"Sh! But nope, I'm being serious." I smiled, trying not to disturb the people around us.

"Oh my god."

We were both almost finished our meals and the restaurant has started to clear out. There's still an elderly couple sat across from us. The woman has given me some soft smiles and I've gotten a couple nods from the man. At first I thought I might've known them but now I think they're just being nice.

I still haven't asked Camila but there hasn't been a suitable gap in the conversation. The whole night has felt so normal, and I don't know if that's good or not. It feels like we're just going out for food like we used to. But I don't want that anymore.

"Can I ask you something?"

Our cutlery was placed down on our empty plates and her chin rested on her hands. "Anything."

I took a deep breath and reached into my pocket. "I'm not going to give you a soppy, 'you're my best friend' story..." I giggled nervously, pulling the box out and bringing it into sight.

"Even though you are. But- I want you to be more than that."

Her hazel eyes were like puppy dog's and her lips parted slightly.

"Camila, will you be my girlfriend?"

I almost threw up my meal with the nerves. My hand took the lid off the box and she broke our eye contact to look at the ring.

"Theo..." I took the ring out of the box and she stretched her hand across the table.

"Is that a yes?"

"Hm, I don't know..." she joked, unable to hide her smile. "Obviously it's a yes."

"Thank fuck." I muttered, sliding the ring onto her middle finger, making her laugh out loud.

I couldn't stop my smile and tried to look anywhere but at her because I knew I was smiling like an idiot. My eyes locked with the elderly man's and I was greeted with a small thumbs up.

"You ready to leave?"

"Yeah." She grinned, admiring her ring while I dealt with the bill. She tried to butt in and offer to split but I won the argument this time.

"How'd you know my ring size?"

"I just know everything." I shrugged to hide my lie as we stood up from the table.

"Zoe?"

"Yeah." I admitted, making her giggle.

"It's perfect, thank you."

I grabbed her hand and we left the restaurant, making our way towards the stairs.

"The doors that way..." She pointed out.

I led her to the stairs, pulling out our room's keycard to show her. "We're not going home yet..."