Chapter Three

Chapter Three
    The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing. I sat up groggily in my bed, glancing over at the clock. The red digital numbers on the screen read 7:30, and I wondered for a moment why I was waking up so early. I then remembered David saying he would be here to pick me up at eight, so without a second thought, I threw the blankets off myself and nearly skipped over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were starting to fray at the bottom, then walked over to my dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a white t-shirt with Mickey Mouse’s face on it, and a pair of ankle socks. I dressed quickly, pulling a soft black hoodie out of my closet and throwing it over my head, pulling the zipper down so it stayed open.
    I walked into the bathroom down the hall and pulled my curling iron out of the closet, plugging it in so it could start to heat up. While I was waiting on that, I began to apply some makeup. I started with a little primer, then some powder, a little bit of smoky blue eyeshadow, and a swipe of lip gloss. I knew David preferred women with minimal makeup, and he told me often enough that I was beautiful without it. He had even joked about sneaking into my house in the middle of the night and throwing it all away. I knew he never would though. I glanced down at the curling iron to see if it was ready, and it was. I carefully began to wind sections of my hair around the barrel, producing soft pretty curls. Once my hair was all curled, I misted it with a little bit of hairspray to keep it from getting frizzy, and reached down towards the counter to grab my phone. Right as I picked it up, it buzzed, indicating a new message.
    “Hey beautiful, I hope you’re up. Just letting you know not to eat before I pick you up. See you soon J” I smiled, and texted him back, letting him know I was almost ready. I still had ten minutes before he got there.
    After what seemed like an eternity, I heard a soft knock at the door. I crept downstairs to answer it, being careful not to wake my mom and Sarah. When I opened the door, I saw David standing there with a smile on his face, and a grocery bag in his hand.
    “Good morning” he greeted. He stepped up to the threshold and set the bag down for a moment so he could hug me. I didn’t even notice the autumn chill in the weather beause he radiated so much heat. When he let go, I glanced down and pointed to the bag on the ground.
    “What’s that?” I asked.
    “You’ll see in a minute” David answered, motioning for me to go inside. He followed, walking into the kitchen. I followed, watching as David set the bag on the counter and began to take things out of it. He had brought over bread, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter, and syrup. I had figured it out; we were going to cook here. I immediately walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan, and over to another one to get the cooking spray.
    “You do like French Toast, right?” David asked.
    “Yeah, I do. It’s one of my favorites” I replied with a grin.
    “I’m glad” he said. “This is one of the only things I know how to make.” We both laughed, and he began to mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl.
    “Do you want any help?” I wondered.
    “Not at all” David said, smiling. “I’m doing this for you.” I blushed, leaning against the counter. David had gotten all the ingredients mixed together, and was about to begin dipping the bread, when he stopped suddenly.
    “Shoot. I forgot something” he sighed.
    “What did you forget? We might have it.”
    “Vanilla extract.” I walked over to the baking cabinet and began to search, successfully pulling out a small bottle of imitation vanilla extract.
    “Here you are” I said, holding the bottle out to him. He took it, smiling at me.
    “You’re a life saver” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
    “I almost couldn’t find it. You would have had to use almond, if I didn’t.”
    “I have an idea. Get the almond extract out.” I did as I was asked, and looked at David, puzzled.
    “Are you going to use both?”
    “Yes I am!” David replied, pouring a small splash from each bottle into the bowl. He then proceeded to dip the bread into the egg mixture, placing it carefully into the hot frying pan. After a few moments, he flipped them, revealing perfect golden brown markings on the other side. It smelled amazing, and the combination of the vanilla, almond and cinnamon reminded me of  almonds I used to get at the Renaissance Festival when I was younger.
    “That smells amazing, David!”
    “Thanks” he chuckled. When it was all finished, I took out two plates, forks, and napkins. I was about to grab everything else and bring it to the table, when David stopped me.
    “Hold it” he said. “You just go sit down. I’ve got everything else covered, okay?” I nodded in response and walked to the table. I sat down and waited for David, who was taking longer than I had thought.
    “Are you sure you don’t need help?” I called from the dining room.
    “Just tell me where you keep the glasses” David said, laughing.
    “Third cabinet from the left” I giggled. A moment later, I could hear David rummaging in the fridge. He appeared minutes later with a glass of orange juice in each hand. He set one down in front of me, and one in the place next to me. He disappeared once again, this time coming back with the French toast. The only thing he wasn’t able to bring was the butter. Before he could say a word, I stood up and darted into the kitchen, bringing the butter dish back with me.
    “Thank you” David said with a smile.
    “You’re welcome, though I really didn’t do much” I giggled.
    After we ate, we left the house to begin the rest of the day. David was being stubborn and refusing to tell me anything he had planned, so I decided to just go with it. The first place David took me was to the local Art Gallery. Before we went in, I stopped David.
    “Is anything wrong?” he asked.
    “No” I said. “I just want to make sure this day isn’t going to cost too much. I’d feel guilty if it did” I sighed.
    “Don’t worry” David said softly. “You’re worth it.”
    “Are you sure?” I asked, sighing.
    “Very. Quit worrying so much” David chuckled. I sighed again, knowing I had been defeated. We walked inside the Art Gallery, and I nearly had to catch my breath because of how beautiful it was. The walls were painted a gorgeous cream color, and there were paintings on the walls, and sculptures on the tables. There were tall marble pillars and beautiful archways with leafy garlands hanging above them.
    “How do you like it?” David asked.
    “It’s beautiful” I replied, barely able to speak above a whisper. David took my hand softly, and we began to walk through the gallery. It was small, but beautiful. Everything had been created with such intricacy, and being there made me realize that this was how I wanted to create my clothes. It must have taken these artists a lot of time and patience to make these so beautiful, and that is how I wanted to be with what I made. After we had seen everything, we left.
    “So, what did you think?” David asked, cocking his head to the side.
    “That was incredible. I had no idea this place was even here!”
    “I hoped you would like it” David said softly. “Do you know why I brought you here?”
    “Why?” I asked.
    “Well, after I took you home last night, I was walking home and I found the gallery. I was curious about it, so I went in. when I saw how beautiful everything was, I knew I had to bring you here. I wanted you to be inspired to create your clothes the same way the paintings and sculptures were made.” I was in awe. It was like David knew how I would feel walking through there. I looked up at him and smiled.
    “Thank you” I whispered. “I needed that”
    “I know” David said with a grin, winking playfully. We walked a little further down the street to a small coffee shop. We walked inside and found a table in the corner. David told me to wait there, and he disappeared for a moment. I glanced over and saw him at the counter, ordering drinks. He returned a few minutes later.
    “I hope I got your drink order right” he said. I reached out and took the cup from him, sipping it slightly so it wouldn’t burn me. David had gotten me a Pumpkin Spice Chai latte, which was indeed my favorite drink. I wished I could get it more than just in the colder seasons, but having it for a limited time made it feel like a luxury.
    “How is it that you know all these things about me without me ever telling you?” I giggled.
    “Like I said the other day, I just know. It’s strange to me, because you don’t open up too much.” he teased. He sipped at his drink too, and we talked about anything and everything we could possibly think of. After we finished our drinks and split a slice of cheesecake, we left.
    “Before we go on, can we stop by my house for a minute? I have something for yo, and I forgot to grab it before we left.” I asked.
    “Sure” David said.
    Once we got back to my house, I told David to wait outside for a minute, promising that I would hurry because it was a little cold. I ran inside and upstairs to grab a card off my desk. I had made it the other day, and wanted to give it to David to thank him for everything. I stuffed it carefully inside an envelope, and headed back out to David. He smiled when he saw me, as he always did, and I walked over to him. I grabbed his hand and slipped the envelope inside it, gently closing his fingers around it.
    “What is this?” he asked.
    “Just a little something for you” I explained, smiling. He opened the envelope and took out the card, opening it carefully to read what was inside. When he finished, he looked down at me, his eyes smiling as much as he was.
    “That was beautiful. Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome” I said, smiling. “I meant it.”
    “I’ll keep this forever.” Hearing those words made me blush slightly, but I had gotten used to that.
    “There is something else, too. I’m going to wait to give it to you though.”
    “You didn’t have to…”
    “I know, but wanted to.” I argued. “Tonight’s the night we’re having dinner, remember? I’ll give it to you then” I said with a smile. I could tell he was excited, and so was I.