Nora was waiting at her dorm, she was in a relationship with Luke for one whole week and today was their first date. Over the week she saw a different side of Luke, a more caring, fun and gentle side. They did meet on a few occasions at Slurpies or Big Joe's but this was their first official date.
She wore a faded grey jeans, a white t-shirt and a bomber jacket, she tied up her hair in a high ponytail and wore black converse.
Luke arrived just at time, she crossed the road and happily jumped into the car, "Hi."
"You look cheerful." He leaned in kissed her on the neck, "I like the hair up." He winked.
"Where are we going?" She asked, keeping her calm.
"It's a surprise. You won't be disappointed." He started the engine.
The car stopped after about 2 hours, "We're here." He said. They got off and Nora looked around, instead of a big white dome structure the area was almost deserted, "Is that where we're going?" She pointed. He nodded and put his arm around her shoulders.
All the way his fingers kept brushing against her exposed neck, sending shivers down her every now and then.
The touch of her smooth skin against his hand was perfect, he smirked down at her reaction each time but continued doing it.
The dome was much bigger, upfront. When they entered, it was a paintball shooting arena. She looked at him with surprise. "What do you think?" He shrugged.
"Get ready to lose." She smirked.
"Don't be overconfident. Things can turn around pretty quick."
"But I'll win." She shrugged.
"Let's make a bet, if you win I'll do whatever you say and if I win you'll do whatever I say."
"Bring it on." She said confidently.
They went into a smaller arena and got into the outfits, with vests and eye protection glasses on. Both of them got their guns with six shots already loaded. "You guys have five rounds, you have 3 minutes in each round. One who wins three rounds, wins the game." The count down began. Nora got into her position and aimed at Luke, the buzzer went off and she took the shot, and fired, the ball hit his left leg and burst into a bright red colour.
She hid behind a hurdle and then went for it again, he dodged it. She took two shots consecutively, one hit him on his vest and the other on his arm, the buzzer went off. "Too fast for you?" She smirked.
"The game has just begun little Nora." He smirked back.
The second round begun and before she could aim she was hit by one of his shots, a bright blue colour. She hid behind a wall and aimed for his arm, which he easily dodged and before she knew it, he had already fired all of his shot and they hit her with complete accuracy. The next rounds also went in a daze, she either hit him only once or he dodged her's effortlessly.
He took off his glasses, "How was it?" He asked. She just glared at him with full intensity and then stomped out of the arena, he followed her out with a smile on his face.
"What is it Nora?" He asked.
"You could have warned me beforehand that you're a pro at it?" She said frustrated.
"I gave you a headstart." He smiled. She looked at him, "Don't smile, I'm trying to be angry at you." She snapped.
"Well there's nothing you could do that wouldn't make me smile. " He pulled her closer, his hands went to the zipper of her vest and he pulled it down, opening it, his eyes fixed on hers all the time. He bent down close to her ear, "Don't forget about the bet." And bit her ear lightly.
When Nora got out, ready to leave she saw Luke talking to someone, a guy probably a few years older than him, as soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up. He turned back to the guy and shook hands with him, the guy patted him on the back and then he came back to her. "Who was that?" She asked.
"Owner of this arena." He stated, his hands again on her shoulders.
"Don't tell me you own a part of this too." She looked up at him. He laughed, "No, I don't. I just know him. That's it."
"Oh, I see. Now where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"You're full of surprises." She scrunched her nose. He chuckled, and then kissed her nose.
Nora stood at the bottom of a cliff looking up at a person jumping off, she turned to look at Luke, "Seriously? Bungee jumping?" She asked.
"Scared?" He asked.
"Hell no! Let's go. I don't want to miss the sunset too, it will be beautiful from up there." She said speeding up. Luke looked at her running up ahead, he smiled and shook his head and then followed her.
The sunset was beautiful, the sky was a palette of beautiful colours, with the sun, looking like big orange ball of fire, "Wish I had a camera, I really want to capture it." She turned around to look at Luke, but his eyes were fixed on her instead of the scenery, "Why are you looking at me?"
"You are looking at what you find beautiful and I'm looking at what I find beautiful." He shrugged and wrapped her arms around her waist from the back, she moulded into him completely, "Thank you for bringing me here." She whispered.
"Thank you for coming here with me." He kissed her on the top of her head.
Nora was more than happy when she came to know she was going to go second. She looked at Luke who was standing at the edge as soon as the person standing there said three, he jumped off. He fell down for a good 200 metres and then he came to stop with a jerk and bounced back into the air and then he was dangling in free air.
Nora got butterflies in her stomach, it did look cool from down there but it was really scary. She took small steps and stood at the edge, "Ready when you are." The person standing beside her said. She nodded. He started counting and on the count of three, Nora shut her eyes and jumped off.
Her heart started racing, she could feel herself cutting through the air, and feel it on her face. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the scenery around her, it was breathtaking. With a bit of sun still left in the sky, the sky was painted with a deep shade of orange. The moon had risen but it hid behind the glow of the sun, waiting for its turn to shine brightly. For a second she forgot all about her fears and just lost herself in the moment, taking in everything she could.
"How did it go?" Luke asked helping her off the landing pad.
"Awesome." She grinned. "Where next?"
"Home. That's all for today." He shuffled her hair, "Come let's go."
Whole way back Nora talked about the day, and Luke just listened to her talk, looking at each of her expressions as if memorising them. "Sorry." She bit her tongue.
"Don't be. I like to hear you talk."
When they reached the car Nora moved to the passenger's seat door but it wasn't unlocked, "Hey why aren't you unlocking it?"
"There's still a thing left." He moved towards her, "The bet."
Nora looked at him and smiled foolishly, "Wasn't that just a joke?"
"No, I was serious about it and I want you to do what I want."
She felt shivers rise up her neck and she stepped back, "What do you want?"
Before she knew it Luke picked her up and sit her on the hood of the car. "Don't be scared. It's quite easy."
She relaxed a bit, "What do you want then?"
"I want you to kiss me–" he continued, "on my lips."
"I cannot do that. Be reasonable at least." She snapped.
"Okay then just kiss me." He shrugged.
"No. I told you to be reasonable, I cannot do that. Ask for something I can do."
"You cannot or you don't want to?" He narrowed his eyes. She didn't say anything and started looked around her. "Fine then let me kiss you." He said.
"You already do that every time."
"That is not a kiss Nora." He said frustrated.
"Ask for anything else, is that all you can think of?"
"At the moment? Yes." He shrugged.
"But–" she trailed off.
Luke looked at her nervous expression, she was scared in all terms. He really wanted to take back what he said, "I'm sorry. You don't have to that. Forget it. And the bet, just forget that part too." He waved his hand.
"You can ask me to do anything else." She pushed.
"No. It's fine." He kissed her forehead and picked her up from the hood. "Get in or we'll be late."
He drove her to her dorm and was all normal but Nora could feel the thick air around them. She felt something different, something she could not understand. Then she finally said what was eating her up on the inside, "I'm sorry but I really couldn't do what you asked me to. Please wait for me. I promise, I –" she choked up on the last words.
He was surprised by her sudden words, "Hey, you idiot" He leaned towards her and hugged her, "I told you I was wrong pushing you. And I said I'll wait. Don't think like that." He caressed her cheek, "Don't worry about anything."
"I'm sorry I ruined everything. It was such a beautiful day. You did everything you could to make me happy. But I ruined it." She cried
"Not another word. You did not ruin anything Nora but you were the reason today was even more beautiful." He stroked her hair.
She finally relaxed, "Handling you is no joke little Nora." He smirked.
"Hey–" he smacked him on the shoulder and smiled.
Luke looked at her smile, something he always wants on her face. He was more than happy waiting for her to get there if it meant seeing her smile.