"You ready, babe?" he says sweetly.
The word 'babe' catches you off guard and you stop dead in your tracks. Aaron smirks at you and motions with his head for you to come closer to him. You walk over towards the guys and Aaron puts his arm around your shoulder. You lean into him and wrap your arms around his waist.
"I'm so hungry," you whine.
"Okay," Aaron says raising his hands up surrendering. "I'm not about to argue with you."
Aaron puts his hand on your lower back and guides you towards the door. On your way there Austin stops you and gives you another hug.
"I'm just so damn happy for you," he whispers in your ear.
He claps Aaron on the shoulder and gives him a smile. Aaron follows you out of the front door.
"Sorry I don't have my car here, but I'll drive your car if that's okay."
"Don't be sorry," you say as you hand him the keys.
You get in the passenger seat, and Aaron starts to adjust the seat to accommodate his body. He gets behind the wheel and looks like a giant in your small hatchback. He adjusts the rearview mirror and tries to straighten out a little bit. You can't help but laugh at how hard he is trying.
"I've got this," he says with a chuckle.
Aaron puts the car in reverse and maneuvers the car to the end of the driveway.
"Where are we going?" you question.
"I really want to take you on a proper date, but I have no idea where we are."
"There's a cute little Mexican restaurant down the street, and the food is amazing," you say.
"That sounds perfect."
The drive to the restaurant is over before you know it. Aaron puts his hand on your leg which makes your heart flutter. He rubs his thumb back and forth on your thigh and asks you questions about your hometown. You pull into the restaurant and get out of the car. Aaron opens the door for you and let's you walk in first. The restaurant is empty except for an older couple at the bar. The hostess sits you at a corner booth and gives you some time to look over the menus. You sit in silence for a few minutes and eventually Aaron reaches over and grabs your hand.
"You're nervous. What's wrong?"
"I - I'm sorry," you say looking down. "For some reason I am just freaking out a little bit."
"Hey, look at me. Everything is okay," he says with a smile. "And not for nothing, but we already had sex, and that was amazing - if I do say so myself," he whispers.
You let out a giggle, "It's not that. It's just - I - I want this to go well. I really like you, and I think it would be pretty cool if we could make this work," you say shyly.
Aaron rubs your hand with his and thumb and shakes his head. "Just take a deep breath and let it happen, okay?"
Just as you nod your head the waitress appears to take your orders.
*******
You leave the restaurant with a little bit of a buzz. You get the brilliant idea that alcohol would help settle your nerves (spoiler alert: it worked). Two strong margaritas later and you are relaxed. Aaron opens the car door for you and you swoon a little bit. He picked up the check, opened the restaurant door, and opened the car door for you. It's nothing crazy, but it's the thought that counts, and one thing that you have noticed is how thoughtful Aaron is. You put your seatbelt on and prepare for the drive home. Aaron keeps his hand on your leg the whole time, and you joke about the Romine's reaction to you holding hands. You pull in the driveway and when you go to open the car door Aaron tells you to wait.
