"So where are you taking me?"

Kyle chuckled at Stephanie's question, feeling unusually light and happy as the two of them walked out the front doors of the Royal Academy together. They were holding hands with each other as they walked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Where would you like to go?" Kyle smiled at her. Their fingers were laced together as their hands swung slightly between them in a playful manner. Kyle thought that the warm, soft feeling of Stephanie's hand in his own and the sound of her cute laughter was better than anything in the world.

Seriously, what is this girl doing to me?

"I don't care. Surprise me," Stephanie said, giggling as she bumped her arm against his. "I'm a foreigner, remember? I don't know this city."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Kyle said with feigned realization. "There's actually a nice pub a few blocks away called The Metropolitan if you want to go there? I'm sorry, I didn't exactly have anything planned for tonight."

"That's okay," Stephanie smiled up at him, the expression in her eyes making Kyle feel about ten feet tall. "I'm fine with wherever. If you like this place, I'm sure it's fantastic."

"Oh no, now I've raised your expectations," Kyle joked, shaking his head. "You're going to hate this place now, I just know it."

Stephanie laughed again, causing Kyle to laugh as well. "You're too much, Kyle Lancaster."

"And don't you forget it."

They walked out the front doors of the Academy and down the sidewalk, still holding hands while making small talk. Kyle couldn't believe what Stephanie had said to him earlier: that she wanted him to ask her out to dinner tonight. He almost wondered if this was all a dream, but as he held Stephanie's hand, running his thumb along her soft skin an hearing her soft giggle in his ear, she felt like the most real thing in the world.

Honestly, how did I live my life until this point without knowing her?

However, the thought that Stephanie wouldn't be staying in London forever dampened the happiness he had been feeling in the moment. She was going to be going back to America soon, or if she got that violinist spot in the string quartet, she would be going on tour around the EU. In addition to that, Kyle would likely be starting up another world tour once the summer and his masterclasses at the Academy were over with.

It was ironic that Kyle hadn't even wanted to come to London in the first place, and now... now he never wanted to leave, as long as Stephanie was here. Fate had decided to mock him, apparently.

He decided not to dwell on it, at least for the moment. Today, he just wanted to enjoy his time with the girl he really liked.

Kyle and Stephanie turned the corner on the street where the pub they were going to was. The London streets around here were rather crowded this afternoon, and Kyle couldn't help but notice more than one person glancing over at him and Stephanie, expressions of interest on their faces. Kyle instinctively clutched Stephanie's hand a bit tighter in his own

"OH MY GOD!!!" a girl standing a few yards away suddenly screeched excitedly, causing Kyle and Stephanie to jump in surprise. The girl began hopping up and down in place while pointing at Kyle, practically in tears. "Ohmygod, Kyle Lancaster! I love you SO MUCH!"

A few of her friends also noticed Kyle, and they all gasped before talking excitedly with each other, pulling out their phones while moving towards him. Kyle and Stephanie both froze as several other people gazed at Kyle with obvious curiosity.

"Is this bloke famous or something?" a guy with a cockney accent asked his friend, gesturing to Kyle.

"Sounds like it," the other guy said, shrugging.

"Ohmygod – please, can we get a selfie with you?" Several of the girls now approached Kyle, looking desperately eager as they held up their phones toward him.

"Er..." Kyle hesitated, glancing over at Stephanie, who was shrinking back a bit from all the attention being bestowed on them. "Sorry, no. I'm not doing any selfies right now."

"Oh c'mon. Please? I am such a big fan!" one of the girls insisted, still moving toward him with her phone out. "Just one picture?"

"I'm sorry, we have to go," Kyle said firmly, glancing over at Stephanie. She looked at him, and he tilted his head over to where they had just come from. She nodded in agreement, and the two of them quickly turned and hurried away from the crowd.

"No, wait!" one of the girls called after them. "Where are you going?!"

"I have to get a picture with him!" another girl cried. "I can't believe he left!"

"Jesus, can't you dumb birds tell he was on a date?" the guy with the cockney accent snickered at the girls. "Leave the poor bloke alone, will ya?"

Their voices faded as Kyle and Stephanie hurried away, finally turning the corner and getting out of sight. Stephanie leaned up against a nearby wall, looking a bit dazed.

"Wow, I can't say I was expecting that," she laughed a bit breathlessly, looking over at Kyle with amusement. "Do you deal with that a lot?"

"Sometimes," Kyle grimaced, peeking around the corner to make sure no one had followed them. "And my most ardent fans always tend to be women, unfortunately."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me," Stephanie said sardonically. "You are pretty easy on the eyes, Mr. Lancaster."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Ms. Ryan," Kyle smirked at her, though her compliment made him happier than he wanted to admit. "So since that pub is probably out of the question, what would you like to do for dinner?"

"Well, after all that, I don't really want to go somewhere public right now," Stephanie said, grimacing. "And Lydia is probably over at the apartment right now. So what about your place?"

Kyle blinked, feeling a bit surprised. "You want to come over to my house for our date? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?" Stephanie asked, gazing up at him. "I mean, if you don't want to..."

"No, it's fine," Kyle said quickly. "I'd love to have you over. I actually do live nearby, but I don't think I've gone grocery shopping in recent days. We might have to order takeout."

"I'm fine with that," Stephanie said honestly, moving forward to take his hand in her own again. "I just want to spend time with you."

Kyle felt an ache in his chest he couldn't quite explain as he stared down at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. Without a second thought, he cupped Stephanie's face with his hand and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. Stephanie immediately kissed him back, neither of them caring if passersby happened to see them engaging in PDA.

After what felt like an eternity, Kyle pulled away, gazing down at Stephanie with a soft look in his eyes. "Ready to go?"

Stephanie smiled back up at him, her cheeks tinged pink. "Let's do it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyle hadn't planned for visitors today, but he was at least thankful he wasn't generally a messy person, therefore Stephanie didn't have to see his home in total disarray. While on tour, he had found out pretty quickly that being in close quarters with other people on a messy tour bus tended to be a disaster, so he had basically trained himself to be clean and tidy no matter where he was.

Kyle now led Stephanie through the front doors of his house, and she stopped in her tracks, gazing around her in awe.

"Kyle, your house is beautiful," she said in awe, staring around at the open concept living room with the white couches, coffee table, and the beautiful baby grand piano near the patio doors. "Seriously, I would kill to live in a place like this."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that," Kyle said in amusement, slipping off his shoes and making his way over to the kitchen. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure," Stephanie said, also taking off her shoes and making her way over to his kitchen island.

Kyle poured a glass of white wine and set it down in front of Stephanie. "It's a chardonnay, I hope that's alright."

"It's perfect, thank you," Stephanie smiled, picking up the glass. "I think I prefer this to the pub, actually."

"Really?" Kyle smiled, pouring himself a glass of wine. "Actually, I think I might prefer this too."

"Cheers," Stephanie held up her glass, and Kyle lifted his too. "To our first date."

"The first of many, I hope," Kyle flirted, clinking his glass with hers. Stephanie blushed as she smiled too, taking a sip of her own wine.

Kyle then asked about Stephanie's audition this morning, and she went into how the process went and what she had to do. Kyle listened, feeling legitimately happy that Stephanie was taking a chance and auditioning for the string quartet, especially considering how hesitant she had been to get one of her fine tuners removed. Her confidence as a musician had gotten so much better since she had first come to London, and Kyle couldn't help but feel exceptionally proud of her.

During a lull in the conversation, Stephanie glanced over at the piano near the patio doors, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. "That piano is beautiful. I hope you'll play something for me on it sometime."

"I'll play something for you right now," Kyle smiled, setting his wine glass down and walking over to the piano. "Got any requests?"

Stephanie giggled as she got up and followed him to the piano. "I don't care. Surprise me."

Kyle's piano bench was more of a stool that could only fit one person, but when he sat down, he scooted over slightly so Stephanie could perch herself on the corner of it. Kyle wasn't upset at the position, since Stephanie's body was now pressed up against him.

"Alright, let's see..." Kyle murmured, placing his hands atop the piano keys and wracking his brain for a piece to play. His mind automatically cast to some of the more difficult compositions he had performed in recent years, knowing those would undoubtedly impress her, but for some reason he didn't want to play any of those. He immediately thought of another piece, however, and in his heart he knew that it was the right one to play.

He played the first few notes, the tone soft and delicate, before moving his hand down lower on the piano to play the sweeping arpeggios. The beautiful notes seemed to just flow out of him, and Stephanie watched him play with rapt attention. After a few moments, Kyle felt her lay her head lightly on his shoulder as she listened, and he couldn't help but smile slightly as he continued to play.

Once he finished, he brought his hands off the piano, and he felt Stephanie smile against his shoulder. "That was beautiful, Kyle. I've never heard that piece before, though. Was it Chopin?"

Kyle shook his head, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. "No, I actually wrote that piece a couple years ago. I call it Onirique, which is French for 'Dreamlike'."

Stephanie's eyes widened as she stared at him. "You wrote that? That's amazing! Have you ever performed it?"

Feeling a bit deflated, Kyle shook his head. "No, never. My listeners are generally more interested in me playing music by famous classical composers. There was one instance where I had commissioned a professional composer to write an original piece for me to perform in Hungary, but aside from that, I don't really perform originals."

"Well, I think you should do it," Stephanie insisted, gazing up at him with so much sincerity it almost hurt. "You're so talented, Kyle. And you've helped me so much in the past few months to realize my musical abilities – I want to do that for you too."

Kyle smiled at her, affection for her filling his chest. "Thank you, Steph. Although, to tell the truth, I almost never play Onirique anymore. You're the first person I've ever played it for."

Stephanie stared at him, her expression stunned. "You've never played that piece for anyone before? Not even Chloe?"

Kyle shook his head, smiling slightly at her. "Nope. Only you."

Stephanie continued to gaze up at him, and he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was struggling to tell him something. Instead, she reached up to gently cup his face in her hand, brushing her thumb along his jawline; without saying a word, she was able to convey her feelings for him with a single touch.

Kyle then leaned forward and pressed his lips to Stephanie's, and she immediately responded, her hand on his cheek sliding up to tangle in his hair. Kyle reached forward and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer so he could better feel her body against his.

"Steph," Kyle whispered after several moments, pulling back slightly and resting his forehead against hers. He felt the strain of his arousal, and he chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "Ms. Ryan, you make it very difficult to not be a gentleman around you."

Stephanie blinked up at him. "Then don't be," she whispered seriously.

Kyle stared back at her, his heart thundering in his throat as he realized what she was saying. "Are you sure, Steph? Because I don't want you to think that I'm rushing you..."

"No," Stephanie said right away, shaking her head. "You're not rushing me, Kyle. I'm ready – I promise you, this is what I want."

The sincerity in Stephanie's voice was clear, and Kyle wasn't sure how else to respond other than to press his lips to hers once again in an exuberant kiss, which she happily reciprocated. The next moment, Stephanie all but dragged Kyle to his feet, and the two of them practically tumbled over each other in their haste to get to the bedroom, giggling in excitement at what was to come.