The place was gorgeous: it was a big restaurant with Christmas-like lights on the walls, and the atmosphere was beautiful.

I looked around for a little bit and admired everything, taking in each beautiful thing that I could, until I saw "someone" shake their hands in front of my eyes.

"Earth to Y/N! Are you here?" Her voice echoed in my ears as I was coming out of my trance.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just...beautiful here, thank you for bringing me, really." I told her softly and she smiled at me.

"Of course, only the best for you. Come on, let's go in, I'll introduce you to Elijah." Ari took my hand into hers and we both walked in, it was completely empty.

"Ari, why is no one here?" I asked, trying not to sound rude. It was a beautiful place, so it was a little weird that no one was there.

"Well...I might have asked him," she started, pointing at a man walking toward us, "to "fake close" so that we could be alone."

I was left speechless, and also realized that I could never break this girl's heart.

Oh, I was going to regret agreeing to this.

Not for her, Ari is amazing, and even though I initially couldn't see myself dating her, my vision was starting to change. Yes, I would still need time, but I was sure that it was going to happen sometime soon.

It had to happen. I couldn't spend my life chasing someone who doesn't know what they want in their life.

I was going to regret this because I knew it was going to be hard for her if this didn't go the way she wanted it to. If she did this for our first date, who knows what she'll do in the future?

"Ari, are you crazy?"

"Just a little bit." She muttered.

"Ari! It's so great seeing you again after all this time!" The man who I supposed was Elijah greeted us, hugging Ari.

"El, I missed you!" She exclaimed before letting go of the hug and taking my hand again. "Elijah, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is Elijah!'

"Nice to meet you!" He smirked and held his hand out for me to shake.

"Likewise."

"If you're ready I can show you to your table." We both nodded at his words and we followed him to the table that was right in the center of the resturant and well lit by all the lights. It really was the best.

We sat down and to be honest, I was kinda scared as to what this meant for her: I agreed on going on a date with her, but what if it doesn't work out? What if she just wasted her time?

"So, Elijah is getting everything ready, I hope you don't mind I ordered for the both of us, only his best meals." Ari's words caught me off guard, again.

"You didn't have to do all this, I seriously cannot believe what I'm experiencing right now."

Maybe that came out a little more aggressive than I intended it to be, earning me a weird look from the woman in front of me.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

How do I fix this?

"See, what I meant by that was that this is so beautiful that I never thought someone would actually do it for me, I've just seen it in movies, you know? It didn't really come out how I wanted it to." As soon as I said that Ari's smiled again and I mentally congratulated myself because that was a decent save.

Kind of.

"Don't say any of that, you deserve it. I just want the best for tonight."

Elijah came with our first meal and honestly now I could see why Ari and her family have been coming here for ages: just the way the food was placed on the plate was already perfect, and I couldn't wait to try it.

"Like it?" Ari jokingly asked when she saw my face as soon as I took the first bite.

If I ever were going to regret this date, I surely wasn't going to regret the food.

"Are you kidding me? This is the best thing I have ever tasted!" I tried to keep my composure as much as I could, trying not to get too excited.

It's all about the little things.

A text from your best friend.

Someone looking out for you.

Walking with headphones blasting your favorite songs.

Trying a new meal.

It didn't take us both much time to let Elijah know we were ready for more, and he gladly told us everything would be there shortly.

Silence fell upon us both and it was getting quite uncomfortable, so I needed to do something about it, Ari had already done so much in less than an hour.

"So, how did you find out about this place? Tell me about it. You seem to have a good bond with Elijah." I questioned her, she seemed happy at my question.

"He's my godfather. My dad and Elijah both worked together for a long time in a library before he opened the restaurant. Cooking was always his passion, and after a while, he had the courage to start his own business, my family supported him through it all. I always visited them at the library, where I started reading, writing reports on books that I had read...that's where it all started." Her voice was tender, which told me she really kept all these memories close to her heart.

"I love that, I'm glad he followed his heart and started doing what he loved the most."

Ari couldn't even answer me.

Elijah stormed in with our next meals all in his arms, I honestly would have dropped them in a matter of seconds, I didn't know how he did it.

"Here it is, I hope you'll like them as much as you did with the first one!"

"We sure will!" We both said.

We were there for more than an hour, between talking and eating all of the goodies in front of us we lost track of time.

I got to know Ari even more, and even if I needed more to understand if this could evolve into something, we definitely were on the right path.

"Shall we go?" Ari asked me and I nodded in response. She took my hand and went to find Elijah who was cleaning up the kitchen.

"Where all are the guys? Did you fire them all?" She joked.

"Nope, just wanted to make everything with my own hands for my beautiful goddaughter. I sincerely hope you two had a great time!"

"I sure did, I'm happy Ari took me here."

We both said our goodbyes to him and walked outside to the car.

I wasn't expecting it, but I had a great night. I was glad I said yes to her.

We both got in the car after saying goodbye to Elijah, ready to go home.

It was almost midnight, and even though we just went out for dinner we were both tired, we also had to go to work the day after, so it was definitely time to go.

Ari passed me the aux cord, but I denied her offer, leaving her confused.

"Letting you have the aux cord is the best I can do to say thank you for tonight."

Was I repeating myself? Yes.

Was I going to stop? Absolutely not.

I felt like I owe her something, and I truly didn't know how to repay her.

"Don't do any of that again, Y/N. I told you, don't worry about it. Actually, Elijah was the one who proposed we did this." She explained while starting the car.

"He did?"

"Yeah, I told him about you and he gave me the idea. So really, if there is someone you should thank, it's him."

Okay, I kind of felt more relieved knowing she didn't go to extreme compromises to make this happen.

"I surely will."

"Next time?" She asked, hope lighting up her eyes.

I hesitated but tried not to make it too noticeable, she didn't seem to think any of it.

"Sure, next time." I replied smiling.

She did the same and brought her focus back to the road, starting to drive back home.

"So, since you were so kind to give me the aux cord..."

"It is your car, you know?"

"Shush." She cut me off. "I was saying...I'll put one of my favorite playlists on, and you better like it." Ari tried sounding as bossy as she could, but really her attempt just made me chuckle.

"Hey baby, won't you look my way?

I can be your new addiction

Hey baby, what you gotta say?

All you're giving me is fiction

I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time

I found out that everybody talks

Everybody talks, everybody talks

It started with a whisper

And that was when I kissed her

And then she made my lips hurt

I could hear the chit chat

Take me to your love shack

Mama's always gotta back track

When everybody talks back..."

We both started singing at the top of our lungs, having the time of our lives.

There weren't any cars nearby, we were the only ones on the road, the moon was shining bright, what else could want?

"Ari, watch out!" I screamed as I saw a set of headlights coming right at us, speeding.

When she realized what was happening, it was too late, everything went black.