Five Years

I put on the finishing touches to my makeup and looked at myself in the full length mirror in the corner of my room. I was wearing a red fitted dress, a pair of black strappy heels, and my hair was up into a bun. My makeup was simple, winged eyeliner and nude lipstick. I smoothed out my dress before walking out of my room and downstairs.

Alex and Zack were talking in the kitchen so I walked in to see my date. Alex wore black slacks and a dark gray button up shirt with a black tie. I chuckled to myself; it was typical for him to be dressed so dark. My noise made both of the guys look up, their jaws nearly dropped and Alex jumped up from his seat.

“Shay you look so, I mean you just look,” he stuttered and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You look so beautiful.”

I blushed and looked down at the ground. “Thanks Alex.” We walked out to his car and he opened my door for me, he was being such a gentleman. I got inside and he closed the door behind me, making sure that everything was inside the vehicle before doing so. He ran around to sit in the driver’s side and he drove us off to the secret location.

“Mister Gaskarth, where will we be headed for the evening?” I asked as he turned into the busy street leading to the city.

“Well Miss Merrick, I think you will be quite pleased with the location I have chosen for us to visit.” He mocked my tone and laughed. I smiled and looked out the window, just enjoying the buildings we passed and being able to spend this moment with someone who I used to be so close to. He pulled up to a nice looking restaurant and got out of the car to come around to my door. He opened it up and walked up to the man in front of the building to hand him the keys.

This was all sort of surprising coming from Alex. He never took me anywhere nice enough that there would be valet parking, so why was he going to start now? When we got inside he told the woman our reservation and she had us whisked away instantly. She had us set aside in a secluded corner with a single candle burning in the middle. We each sat down and she handed us our menus before she ran back off to the front of the restaurant.

“You went to all this trouble just to take me out for the evening?” I laughed lightly. His effort had really paid off, the place was absolutely lovely.

He smiled. “Of course I did. A woman who gets as dressed up for dates as you should be treated as such, I would never take you bowling like that.” He laughed and opened his menu, I did the same. Through the night we just spent time talking about the simple things, just to catch up with each other about the events that happened while we were apart. Some of the things were fun to hear about, others just seemed unnecessary.

“So did you date anyone while you were in Cleveland?” He took a sip of the red wine he had ordered.

“Well I had a couple of casual flings; nothing lasted longer than a few months.” I shrugged and took a bite of my dessert. “How about you?”

He pursed his lips for a minute before continuing. “A while after you left I got back together with Lisa.”

“I know about that already Alex, did you date anyone else?” I asked.

“I honestly didn’t.” He frowned and shrugged. “I was on and off with Lisa for a couple years but in reality you were the only person that I wanted to see. That’s why we finally broke up, she was afraid that I was going to leave her for you.”

“Well isn’t that what you’re doing now?” I furrowed my brows and set down my fork. “I can understand why she didn’t trust you.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Shay, I’ve apologized about that so many times. You can’t hold this against me my entire life.”

I tried not to roll my eyes and looked at him. “Hey, if I didn’t agree to go out with you again then I would still be holding it against you, but here I am, giving you another chance.”

He smiled and nodded. “Why don’t we just try to forget about the past?”

“I can’t forget it but I’ll try my best to forgive you.” I smiled and finished off my dessert before we ran back outside to get his car, after paying of course. Honestly though, I don’t know if I could fully forgive him or even fully trusted him again. Yes he made a mistake, but that doesn’t excuse him for doing it. Being around him again was so bittersweet, my wounds were reopened but he was treating them with care.
Soon we were back at his house, pouring another drink that thankfully wasn’t wine. He made us each a Jack and Coke, one of my favorite simple drinks. He handed me the glass and I thanked him. At first it was a little awkward. I figured we had used up all of our talking points when we were at the restaurant.

“Can I show you something?” He asked and set his glass down on the table.

“Sure,” I nodded and took off my shoes before following him up the stairs. He led me into a room where there was an acoustic guitar on a stand as well as a couple of electric ones. The walls were covered in soft spikey material and the floor was carpeted. I was in awe of his little home studio, it was cute and a little professional even.

He picked up the acoustic and sat down in one of the chairs, leaving the couch to myself. I smiled to myself when he started to strum, he started to play Stay Awake (Dreams Only Last For A Night) which was my favorite song from So Wrong, It’s Right. I laughed when the lyrics started, it was always nice when Alex plays acoustic sessions but having one dedicated to me was just too much.

I remember when the album first came out, I was seventeen years old and Alex was twenty. We had to keep our relationship a secret since it wasn’t exactly legal. But almost every night when he was home, he would come over and play me that song and a couple others on his old acoustic guitars. When the song finished my smile was from ear to ear.

“Did you enjoy that?” He smiled and set down his guitar.

I laughed and nodded. “Good job taking me down memory lane with that one Alex.”

He sat down on the couch beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I just remember that song was your favorite from our first full length. I always loved to see the look on your face when I played that song at shows, live was okay but I know that acoustic performances have always been more your style.”

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. “Could you play me a few more before taking me home? It’s just really nice to hear your voice again.”

He bit his lip and lifted me off him so he could go back to his chair and play another couple of songs, all of them were my favorites from their albums and it was nice to have a show all to myself.

After the little show was over he took my hand and guided me back downstairs, allowing me to finish my drink before going back home. We talked for a little while longer, mostly about ridiculous tour stories that had happened while I was away. It made me a little sad that I missed out on a lot of summer fun with the guys while they were off on tour, but I guess the tour I went on recently sort of made up for things.

Afterward he took me home and parked in Zack’s driveway. “I had a really good time tonight, it was honestly one of the best dates I’ve ever had.”

He smiled and nodded. “Me too, and I’d make sure to make the other ones just as special if you’d still like me to take you out.”

I nodded and got out of the car, walking toward the front door. Alex ran out of the car and grabbed my hand as I approached the front door. “So was that a yes?” He had a desperate smile on his face and I leaned across the empty space to place a kiss on his cheek.

“I’d love to.” And with that I went inside, leaving him on the front step and I was stuck in a wonderful haze. The entire night was wonderful from start to finish; knowing that he was trying to win me back was going to keep the two of us on our toes. And if I play my cards right, we could have a better relationship than we had before.

Notes

Sorry that I don't update that often... I don't check this account often so I don't update often. I am an ass.