Timeless

Chapter 7

There's a knock at the door in my bathroom.

"Evie, sweetie. That nice man is here for you", my Mom loudly whispers from the other side of the door. I stare in the mirror at my reflection. Am I dressed right? I think I look okay. I take a deep breath and spray my face one last time with setting spray before exiting the bathroom to my Mother's eager face at the other side of the door. As I turn the knob I hear her quickly back away pretending to busy herself in my room. I smile. 21 years old and my Mom still thinks she needs to pick up after me. When she finally looks at me she sucks in a breath that hitches in her throat.

"Oh, Evelyn... you look amazing!" she says. I smile warmly at her as she spins me in her arm. I opted for a fiery red, silk, bodycon dress that reaches mid-thigh and has a cowl neckline. I paired it with a thin crystal choker, small, thin, dangling earrings and matching bracelet and wear strappy, clear heels to match. There's a red chiffon shall draped around my shoulders. I have my blonde hair pinned up with strands dangling around my face, curled to add drama and sported a glowy, bronze look with glossy lips. For extra pizzazz I added a thin layer of body highlighter oil to my exposed skin.

"It's not too much?" I ask. I wondered if this place was fancy enough for my attire.

"Well he seems to be in a well tailored suit, so I guess not. You know, it's almost like he knew, he wore a red pocket square like your dress". The comment perplexed me but I let it pass. I make my way out and descend the stairs slightly at an angle so as to make sure I don't fall, running my hand along the mahogany bannister as I do. I hear him chatting with my father about the animal conservation initiative. I didn't even put two and two together to realise that was something they could bond on, Gabe being a vet and all. I smile. As my Dad spots me he smiles ear to ear.

"Wow, Evie! You look great, bud", he gloats.

"Yes she does", I hear under Gabe's breath. I feel the blush rise to my cheeks, though I think the makeup hides it. He wore a navy suit with a white shirt, not buttoning the top 2 buttons and a black belt and dress shoes, and of course, the satin red pocket square. As I make it to the bottom of the steps, I realise just how tall Gabe is. I am 5 feet and 2 inches and with the heels I wear that are 4 inches, he still has around a foot on me. I look up at him and he smiles that gorgeous smile and bites his bottom lip. I blush again.

He closes the door behind me on his Audi as I give one last wave to my Mom giving me the "he's a good pick" look while he makes his way around the car to the driver seat. I smile at her wondering how she can possibly mean that I picked him when he is a literal God in comparison to little old 'hasn't-had-an-o****m-in-over-a-year'. And I have been in a relationship! Albeit not a great one. I push the thought away, he doesn't deserve anymore of my time, and focus on Gabe as he sits down in the car.

"You look phenomenal, Evelyn", he says. It occurs to me in that moment I've never told him my name, which seems weird but I don't press him, I figure he learned it when he brought me home after Ollie tried to attack me. I feel the smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth as he starts to drive.

"Thank you. You look... uhm... wow", I didn't mean to say it but the way he licks his bottom lip tells me he likes it and my embarrassment eases.

"Where are we going?" I ask, quietly. He turns to me and flashes that smile and I can already feel that familiar ache in the pit of my stomach. I stare at his plump lips as he smiles. Those beautiful, kissable lips. I literally met this guy yesterday and I'm thinking about kissing his lips and letting him take me in a coffee shop bathroom. I've officially gone crazy. I have. Rationality pulls on my brain and I try to make sense of everything but then he brushes past my thigh while changing gear and I swear I almost come undone. All thoughts of rationality and composure are gone from my mind. He knows this.

"You'll just have to wait and see", he teases, devilishly. Gravel coating his voice and he pushes his hair back behind his ear. I get a whiff of his scent. Woody and floral but also masculine. How can everything be so good here? How can he be so perfect?

The drive was fairly long and out of the way and as we drove under tree canopies and down long roads in the dark, I felt so comfortable with the small talk and chatter going on. Occasionally looking up at the stars in a clearing in the trees. The night was dark and there was hardly any light pollution which made the stars so bright and a couple of times I caught Gabe watching me in awe as I marveled at the night sky. I would watch him too. Laugh with him, smile at him, talk with him and even held his hand at one point. It was nice. Really nice. A little later in the drive we pulled along down a dirt road and after travelling for a little bit down there we reached a stopping point. Just as I was about to open the car door it sprung open for me and he held out his hand for me to hold.

"My lady", he said as he led me down a small path of stepping stones. I couldn't help but melt into the welcomed, warm touch of his rough hands.