chtwelve

Greta entered the living room and saw Eric standing in the corner, with his back facing her. She quckly stepped onto the carpeted area and tiptoed up behind him.
"Boo!" she said, grabbing him around the waist. He jumped and turned to face her.
"Greta, what are you doing?" he asked, and then his eyes drifted downward. "Wow...you look amazing"
"Thanks" she said, shyly. "You look nice too" He was wearing khaki pants with a blue shirt with a matching tie.
"Thank you" he said, his eyes still lingering on her body. She laughingly took his chin in her hand and raised his face till they were eye-level.
"I do have eyes, you know" she teased and he smirked in her hands.
"I know" he said. "And such beautiful ones" He leaned over and kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck as they continued kissing. She pulled away a minute later and looked at him.
'"We better go" she said.
"Yeah, we have reservations" he said, turning to grab his keys.
"At the lodge?" she asked, as he opened the door and she slipped out.
"Nope" he said. "We're eating at a real restuarant"
"What are we celebrating?" she asked, as he opened up the car door and helped her slide in with her short skirt. He shut the door and went around to his side. Once he was in, she looked at him expectantly.
"Us being back together" he said.
"But it's not our anniversary or anything" she said.
"I know" he said. "Just celebrating what we could've lost-but let's not talk about that"
"Eric, we're going to have to eventually" she said. "It's not going to go away"
"I know" he said, fiddling with his shirt sleeve. "We'll get to it tonight, I promise. Let's just enjoy the dinner first. Is that ok?" She nodded and he started up the car.
"Great" he said. "Cause I know a place up the road that serves the best Italian food and I don't want anything to distract me from you" They arrived a few minutes later and Eric gently helped her out of the car and held her hand the whole way into the restuarant. They were quickly seated in the quaint, little restuarant.
"Eric, this is so cute" she said, when he pulled her seat out for her.
'I think I've heard that from you maybe 50 times since yesterday" he said, grinning as he sat down across from her.
"I can't help it, this is just all so...amazing" she said, gesturing to the air.
"No...you're the amazing one" he said, leaning across the table to kiss her. The waitress came and he ordered a bottle of wine for them to share and then they both ordered their food. Something caught Eric's eye over her shoulder and he quickly stood up.
"Excuse me for a minute" he said, walking briskly away. She looked around the resturant that had a few other couples occupying it. The lighting was dim and there were candles lit at all the tables. Soft music was playing overhead and all the waiters and waitresses were dressed in black pants and tuxedo shirts. The whole atmosphere was very romantic and Greta smiled, forgetting about the conversation she knew was coming later. Eric came back a minute later.
"This is for you" he said, handing her a single red rose.
"Oh, Eric" she said. "You're too much"
"It's nothing" he said. "I just want you to know how special you are to me"
"You don't have to buy me things and take my out to expensive dinners to do that" she said.
"I know" he said, with a grin. "But it can't hurt" She laughed and her ears caught part of a familiar song.
"Oh, I love this song" she said, partially to herself.
"Well, then, may I have this dance?" he asked, standing up and holding out his hand. She took it and he led her to the dance floor. Once there, he took her hand and she wrapped her arm up around his broad shoulders. He pulled her close and they swayed back and forth to Leann Rimes' "How Do I Live".
"This song is so perfect for us" Eric whispered, his breath gently tickling her ear. "I know what it's like to almost lose you and I felt like my world stopped. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, all I could think about was you and how I needed to get you back more than anything"
"Eric, it wasn't easy on me either" she said, her voice breaking. "But how do you think it made me feel, to know that you were coming to me and acting like you cared about me and then later finding out that you and Nicole were still...were...I don't even know but Eric it killed me. It really did" He slipped his hand out of her grasp and put it around her waist, drawing her closer to him
"I know" he said. "And I'm sorry-I really am. And I know that we have to talk about it and we will tonight. But can we please wait till later? This isn't the time or place to do it. Maybe on the car ride home or at the cabin but please not here"
"Yeah" she said, softly. "You're right, out here in public isn't good"
"Ok" he said. "Now can you smile for me?" She looked up and gave her a smile. "Good" he continued. "Now can we please forget about this just for a little bit and concentrate on having a wonderful night?"
"Yeah, I think I can do that" she said.
"Good girl" he said, kissing her cheek. "Our waitress just brought out food so let's go eat" They held hands back to the table and started eating the food.
"Mmm, this is so great" Greta commented.
"I'm glad you like it" he said, with an amused grin on his face. She stopped short.
"What?" she asked. "Is my make-up smeared?"
"No, you just have a little..." he said, reaching over with his napkin and wiping a little smear of sauce off her face.
"I'm am such a klutz" she said, her cheeks turning pink.
"No you aren't" he corrected her. "And besides, it doesn't matter cause I love you anyway" She stopped with her fork poised in mid-air.
"What did you say?" she whispered. Eric swallowed hard. He had planned on saying it for awhile, maybe even tonight. But he didn't want it to happen anytime, he wanted it to be said in a super-smooth way that would win her heart. Not just blurted out over dinner! But it was too late now.
"I said..." he started but his voice cracked. "I said that I love you. I have for a long time, Greta, I've just been waiting for the right moment to say it. This isn't perfect but my emotions have stayed the same" She put her fork down and brought her napkin up to her eyes, quickly wiping away a tear.
"Eric" she whispered. "I love you too" He stared into her eyes across the table as he leaned over to prove it with a gentle kiss. He pulled away and reached for his wine glass as she sat in shock.
"Sorry if it ruined your appetite" he joked.
'Eric! Of course not!" she said. "I'm just surprised"
"Well, it's true" he said. "It might not be the perfect time or perfect setting but..."
"Eric, you know I don't care" she interrupted. "And besides, anytime with you is perfect" He smiled and went back to his dinner, as she did. Neither now knew that the rest of the night had in store for them.