Skaydal - Hybrid's Omega

11

Amani

I shivered as I wrapped the large fluffy towel around myself. Josiah may not be aware, but this is my first date. Ever. And so far, it was exceeding all of my wildest dreams. Then again, I wasn’t one who had many dreams. Aside from college, I had always hoped to find my mate, but I hadn’t thought too much about it. I felt rather optimistic and excited now that Josiah was here and in my life. We headed back to the front of the boat, and we got comfortable before we once again fell into a very comfortable and easy chat. I came to the realization that not only was Josiah serious and caring, but he was quite funny. I couldn’t remember a time when I had spent so much time laughing. In fact, I was having so much fun that I didn’t even realize we had turned around and were now back in the harbor.

“Is it over?” I asked rather shyly, and Josiah frowned.

“The boat ride is over, but the date is far from over…if that’s ok?” the confident man I had just spent time with was gone and was replaced by a man who was now doubting himself.

“More than ok,” I whispered. I headed down to the second deck and quickly got changed into my sundress. This had been fun, and I would love to do something like this again. Once I rejoined Josiah, we climbed off the boat and walked hand in hand back to his car. “So, where to now?” I asked curiously and Josiah smiled.

“It’s a surprise,” he said, and I felt that same rush of excitement go through me. This was exciting. Josiah was exciting and as I relaxed in my seat, I closed my eyes. I could envision our future together. A place of our own – maybe his cabin – married with a few children running around. I could see us getting up in the mornings and having coffee and breakfast together before we started our day. I couldn’t help but smile as the fantasy played out. I hadn’t given much thought to that before, but suddenly I wanted it more than anything else. When the car slowed and then came to a stop, I opened my eyes to see that we were back in Skaydal. I was oddly disappointed, but I plastered on a smile as I waited for Josiah to open my door. Chivalry wasn’t a lost cause. Camilla’s was new to me, but I was excited about trying out the restaurant. Once Josiah had opened the door, he took my hand and led me to the entrance.

“Welcome to Camilla’s,” a woman greeted us with a warm, inviting smile.

“Hey Carrie,” Josiah greeted, and a sudden, unexpected wave of jealousy rushed through me. Did they know each other? I eyed Carrie warily as they chatted for a moment.

“This way, your table is ready,” Carrie said as she then led us to our table. I had to admit that the place looked quite nice. “I’ll send your waiter over,” she then said as she set down our menus and hurried off. We sat across from each other in comfortable silence as we went over the menus. I was famished but I couldn’t decide what was good.

“Any suggestions?” I questioned Josiah.

“Everything is pretty good here,” he said, and I watched him closely as he scanned the menu. “Their steak is pretty good…but I suppose it depends on what you prefer,” I once again looked down at the menu and decided that I wanted to be somewhat adventurous. While I preferred beef, I decided to try their chicken.

“Hello, welcome to Camilla’s. My name is Robbie and I’ll be your server,” the young man introduced himself and I was curious to see how this was going to play out. “What would you like to drink?” Josiah glanced over at me, and I subtly looked at the wine glass that sat on the table.

“Can we have a bottle of your best?” he then asked, and I nodded in approval.

“Red or white?” Robbie questioned. This time Josiah didn’t look at me and I held my breath in anticipation as I waited to see what he would order.

“White,” he said, and I smiled. White was a good wine? Wasn’t it? I was certainly acting as though I was some kind of wine expert, but in reality, I had no idea. Normally, my father would be the one to pair our meals with whatever wine and I wasn’t sure I would be a good judge of character. It didn’t matter though, because Robbie had left to get us the best bottle of white wine. “What would you like to eat?” Josiah then questioned and the nerves kicked in.

“Chicken,” I blurted out and he nodded thoughtfully as he once again scanned the menu.

“And for main?” he asked, and I frowned. What did he mean?

“Chicken?” I said slowly. Josiah tore his gaze away from the menu and looked over at me.

“Chicken for your appetizer and main?” he questioned, and I sighed as I once again picked up the menu. Admittedly, I didn’t like this part and I felt embarrassed at not being able to make my mind up. “Would you like me to order for you?” Josiah then asked and I immediately relaxed as I nodded and set the menu aside. When Robbie returned, he ideally chatted about the weather as he poured the wine.

“Have you decided?” he then asked, and I wasn’t at all surprised that his question was directed at Josiah.

“Ah, yes, we’ll have the prawn cocktail starter,” Josiah said, but his eyes were on me, and I simply nodded. I didn’t have a problem with that, in fact, I was relieved he was taking charge. “For the main, Amani will have chicken roulade and I’ll have pork chops,” I carefully picked up my wine glass and took a sip as they discussed details. Now that I was relaxed, I felt as though I could enjoy the second portion of our date.