I woke up in a sweat, without a doubt, it was from the dream I had just been having. I looked up at my ceiling and smiled. I was extremely happy about the date with Syn that was sure to come in the very near future, but I was also a bundle of nerves. Where will we go? What will I wear? How will I do my hair? Questions bounced around in my head with no answer in sight.
True to my word, I picked up my cell and gave Syn a call. It only rang once and before I knew it: he was at the other end.
"Good morning, Sunshine!" he said in a sing-song voice that made me laugh out loud. "It is now 5:12 pm, which officially leaves us only about 5 hours to play! Jeez, woman! It's almost like you did that on purpose!"
"No, not at all! I can be ready by six, if you want... What are we doing, anyway?" I said, blushing at the 'play' reference.
"Oh, don't rush, Dollface! Take your time and look amazing enough to give me heart failure, though I'm sure you could come in your pj's and have the same effect. Are you hungry, yet?" he whined.
"Aww, thank you, Syn! I could definitely eat, what did you have in mind?" I asked trying to shake the heat from my cheeks.
"There's an awesome Italian restaurant I know of that's close to you... what do you say?" he said hopefully, I could have sworn that I heard his stomach growl through the phone.
"I like Italian, although I usually only eat spaghetti and meatballs," I said, borderline embarrassed by my childish food preferences.
"Well, Kia, this place has fucking awesome spaghetti... just get ready and give me a call when you're ready for me to pick you up. I dunno about you, but I'm fucking starving," he said, whining again.
"Alright, you big baby, just give me a bit and I'll call you," I said, throwing my hands up.
We said our goodbyes and we ended the call. Now, I was faced with a very difficult decision: What to wear?
I looked through my closet and grimaced at all the damn scrub sets I had. I really had no fucking life outside of work and if I needed any proof, this was it. I finally decided on a red off-the-shoulder peasant shirt with black skinny jeans and red and black ballet shoes. I hopped in the shower unable to think of anything else but the beautiful, tattooed man that was waiting for my call. I showered quickly in an effort to prevent myself from engaging in a Syn-focused self-love session... I didn't have that kind of time.
I pat myself partially dry and rubbed lotion onto my damp skin, I would die if I was ashy on this date. I put my clothes on and applied makeup. It had been so long since I'd dressed up, I almost forgot how to make the dramatic strokes of black eyeliner that I used to be so good at. I flat-ironed my hair and sprayed on some of my Victoria's Secret perfume. Once I looked myself over in the floor-length mirror on the back of my door, I picked up my phone and called Syn. Again, he answered on the first ring.
"Are you ready, Sweetness?" he asked. Him calling me 'Sweetness' made me turn 4 different shades of red.
"Yes, I'm ready," I said, taking a seat on my sofa.
"Great! Just come down stairs, I'm already here," he said.
I looked out my window and sure enough, there was an unfamiliar black BMW parked downstairs.
"I'll be down in a sec," I said as I quickly hung up the phone. I wanted to run and jump back in my bed so I could scream again, but I didn't want to mess up my makeup. After my heart slowed itself down a few beats per minute, I grabbed my bag and walked outside. I locked the door and started down the stairs.
There he was, leaned against his car smoking a Marlboro Red. He was wearing his infamous black fedora, a black t-shirt that said 'House of Syn' in purple letters, some slashed-up black jeans that were completed with a bullet belt, and some plain black chucks. My eyes rolled over his firm biceps and his muscular arms. I saw the black cast over his right arm and made note that it did not have a negative impact whatsoever on his very pronounced sex appeal. This man was the epitome of bad and I couldn't get enough.
"Those things can kill you, you know?" I said gesturing to the cigarette.
"Dollface, living the lifestyle that I do, if a cigarette is what kills me, I'll count my blessings," he said with a smirk. I watched as he tilted his head back and exhaled the smoke into the air.
"But you know, smoking is the number one cause of-" I began, only to be cut off.
"Alright, Kia, shit! I didn't know that dating a nurse was gonna be like this!" He said, pouting. He took a long, final drag of the cigarette before crushing it into the pavement and blowing the smoke into the air once again... he was already towards the end of it, so I didn't feel too bad. I was just floored by his comment about dating a nurse. Dating? I guess because this was a date, we could be, in fact, dating.
He turned to me and gave me a once-over. "You look fucking amazing!" he said, nodding in approval, "C'mere," he said stretching out his arms.
It was all I could do not to break my neck trying to get to him. I walked over to him and walked into his hug, throwing my arms around his neck and laying my head on his shoulder. He smelled like expensive cologne, mint, and Marlboros... it was intoxicating. He leaned back onto his car and linked his fingers at the base of my back. I would have been perfectly content with staying this way forever. Before long, his stomach gave an impatient growl, ruining the moment. I looked up at him with a smile and said: "I guess we should be getting going before you eat me!"
His eyes darkened at my comment, clearly taking it the other way. "Don't give me any ideas, Dollface... and don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I'm still a fucking beast," he growled into my neck.
I felt my pulse quicken as I looked into his eyes. I could tell that he was only halfway kidding. I untangled myself from his long arms and straightened my clothes. I started to walk around the car to let myself in... somehow, he beat me to it, holding the door open for me. "M'lady," he said with a smile.
I blushed at such a chivalrous gesture coming from man that not only declared himself a beast, but also met all of the criteria. I sat down and looked around his car. It was amazing, full of do-dads and whatnots whose functions were unknown to me.
Before long, he slid into the drivers seat. "Hang on, Princess," he said as I buckled my seatbelt. He hit the gas and took off, jerking me back into my seat. I couldn't help but think that I would end up being in the ER tonight whether or not it was my off day. I watched as he smiled as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too long before we made it to the restaurant!
~*~*~*~
The Porta Bella Italian Restaurant was everything that Brian made it out to be... plus much more. It had valet parking, fountains, lights, VIP, and a reservation list that was more than six months out. He walked over to my side of the car and opened the door for me. "After you, Mademoiselle," he said, bowing as I got out the car... I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his quirky chivalry.
He walked to my right and offered me his non-injured tattooed arm. I took it and we walked up the red carpet directly to the door where there was a rather robust man with a really red face standing with a clipboard. There were at least 40 couples waiting in line and I felt like an asshole to just strut to the front like we owned the place. I also felt a bit underdressed when I saw the others that were waiting in line, that is, until I remembered the handsome man beside me... Suddenly, I just felt inferior.
"Name, Sir?" he asked without looking up at us from his list. If nothing else made me feel like I was two inches tall, that did.
"Gates, Synyster Gates, VIP number: 1734621," he said smoothly and confidently.
"Oh! Mr. Gates! I hardly recognized you!" the fat red man exclaimed turning even redder.
