Chapter 3
The time between Sunday night and Wednesday went so much faster than normal. Jaden and I texted from just about the time we got up to when we talked on the phone before bed. When Wednesday arrived it suddenly hit me; I was going on a date with the mysterious Jaden. We’re going to a theater, but not a movie? I thought. As nervous as I was, excitement took over my body.
I was ready by 6:30pm, and waiting the other half hour was a drag. Sitting on my bed, I wondered so many things: What would the night include? Would he hold my hand? Would he kiss me when he took me home at the end of the night? Would it be on the lips this time? I became very nervous all of the sudden. I wanted everything to go well, but what if he doesn’t find me interesting? All I can do is my best, I thought. Hopefully that would be good enough for Jaden.
I heard a car pull up outside, and my heart began to race. The doorbell rang, and I quickly dashed up the stairs to answer it. With my hand on the doorknob I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then opened the door.
“Hello Nikki.” Jaden said with a smile as he presented roses from behind his back. The bouquet had 12 roses and was carefully accented with baby’s breath. They were stunningly beautiful. It took me a second to catch my breath.
“Oh! Jaden…that’s so sweet! Thank you!” I tried not to exclaim like an excited little schoolgirl, but it was hard. No one had ever given me flowers before in my life. I felt myself falling for him by the second. “Let me really quick put these in a vase. Would you like to come in?”
“Yes, thank you. I hope you like them. I wanted to surprise you…” The sincerity in his voice was rare among any guy I’ve ever met before. He meant every word.
“Jaden, they’re beautiful. No one’s ever given me roses before.” I admitted shyly as I trimmed the end of the stems and placed them neatly in the vase. I marveled at them for a moment, trying to contain my excitement. I went back to the doorway where Jaden was standing.
“Shall we?” He asked. We walked out the door together, and he went with me to the passenger side of the car, opening the door. I smiled.
“Thank you.” I carefully got in, and he closed the door behind me.
We talked about nothing in particular as Jaden drove to the mysterious theater. He was so easy to talk to him that it just felt natural to tell him anything. As we talked he drove into downtown Seattle and parked in a garage. It looked like a bit of walking might be involved. With him, I didn’t mind at all.
We walked out of the garage and started on the sidewalk. After walking for a minute or two, Jaden slowly took my hand in his. My heart melted. I felt a sudden sense of security as our fingers intertwined, like no matter what happened, I was safe. I never wanted this feeling to end. We walked mostly in silence, enjoying the moment with each other, hand in hand. We laughed a bit at some of Seattle’s sights, and before I knew it, we had apparently reached our destination.
In front of me stood an old theater that I had never seen before. It was a bit worn down, but looked like it had once played many good shows. I could see dimmed lights inside as we walked closer to the door.
“Here we are!” Jaden seemed excited. I was too.
Letting go of my hand for a brief moment, he opened the door for me as I walked inside. He quickly took it in his again. The theater was beautiful, like an older theater from a movie. The lighting was dramatic as it was aimed at the burgundy colored walls and reflecting slightly onto the marble floor. A grand chandelier hung in the center of the lobby.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Jaden looked at me and smiled sweetly.
“It’s stunning. I don’t even know what to say…It’s just beautiful.” I was so taken back by the beauty of the theater that I forgot to wonder why we were here. With a few more steps, I found out.
I heard voices around the corner of the lobby and my curiosity returned to me. Who was here? Were we supposed to be in here? I turned my gaze to Jaden who looked at me in return. He just smiled. I smiled back, still wondering. We turned the corner to the stage and audience seats, many of them taken up by the voices I heard. Someone’s head turned and saw us.
“Jaden’s here!” the girl exclaimed. “And he brought a friend.” she said with a coo in her voice. She was short, almost pixie-like. Her short brown hair spiked out into many directions. She smiled at me genuinely. The group exclaimed as each person noticed our presence, all wondering who I was. I looked at Jaden, who smiled again at me.
“Everyone, I would like you to meet someone very special to me. This is my girlfriend Nikki.” He glanced over at me. “Nikki, this is my drama group. We do plays in parks around the city, mainly Shakespearian. I thought it’d be nice if you came with me tonight. We’re working on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Who knows how much progress we’ll make tonight, but I thought it’d be fun.” The smile on his face was enough to make heaven out of hell.
“This is amazing, Jaden!” I was seriously speechless. We moved closer to the group, each person giving their name. I tried to remember all of them, but there were almost 25. I was overwhelmed with excitement that Jaden brought me with him, that he wanted to share this with me. Not to mention A Midsummer Night’s Dream is my favorite Shakespearian play.
We talked with a few people before we sat down on the edge of the stage a group was next to us talking about the play and scripts. A few more people came to meet me, talking and laughing about Jaden. He seemed to be a very popular member of the group, and I admired that. The group that was talking about the scripts asked for everyone’s attention after about 20 minutes, and they asked to clear the stage. There were stairs next to the stage that Jaden and I moved to. He carefully pulled me to his side and held my waist close, resting his chin on my shoulder. In this moment, I was very happy.
We listened to the group as they accepted suggestions about the script, Jaden contributing as well. They were debating monologues since a few of them are very long. It was very interesting listening to the group, but somewhat distracting as Jaden’s arm was around my waist. I couldn’t concentrate fully on anything else. I was the happiest I’d been in a long time with someone I’d only known for four days, and it felt amazing.
The group talked a bit longer then sent us on a 45 minute break to eat pizza and talk amongst ourselves. Jaden withdrew his arm around my waist and brought us some pizza. When he sat down again he immediately put his arm around my waist, holding me close. We ate as some of his friends came up to chat about the play. I sat silently as Jaden talked to his friends. When we were done eating and set aside our plates, the people around us left to talk to others. Jaden and I were once again sitting alone.
We didn’t talk much, but Jaden pulled me even closer to him, his arm still around my waist and his head on my shoulder. He was humming a familiar song, and began to whisper the lyrics…
“With the venomous kiss you gave me, I’m killing loneliness. With the warmth of your arms you save me…” I turned my eyes to meet his. My favorite song, and he was singing it to me. We looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment, and next thing I knew, we were sharing our first kiss. It was a kiss that made me completely forget the others in the theater. He lifted his hand to my face and brushed it against my jaw line, then running it through my hair. His kiss was better than anything I’d ever known, moving slowly but seductively. I didn’t remember the drama group until I heard a few “oooooo”s from some of the guys. Our lips slowly separated as we saw each others’ eyes again.
Somehow, some way, I was beginning to fall in love with Jaden.
