Isabelle
I took in a deep breath and let it out as I looked myself over in the mirror one last time. I had changed my dress at least three times now before forcing myself to settle on this red one. It's only because I'm finding myself feeling nervous.
It's stupid really, Sterling and I have gone on dates before. We had a whole relationship, I should be more comfortable than ever. The only reason I can think of is because I want it to go well, I want this to work because if it doesn't this time then I need to be done.
There's no sense in beating a dead horse. If we can't figure it out after this then we never will. It would be a hard pill to swallow but I can't keep wasting time on my childhood sweetheart if it's not meant to be.
There's a knock on the door that pulled me out of my thoughts. I already know it's Noami on the other side. It's not like anyone else would have access to the apartment.
"What's up?" I shouted loud enough for her to hear me through the door.
"Lover boy is here." She informed me, which caused the nerves in my stomach to worsen.
I exhaled a low breath, sending some of my nerves and doubts out with it. "I'll be right there."
Grabbing my bag, I headed out of my bedroom and to the living room where Sterling's seated on the couch. Noami's not in the room but I can still sense some awkwardness. I know what she told him when he came to look for me, she just still has my back and eventually they'll get more comfortable.
"I'm ready." I shot Sterling a small smile. "How do I look?"
Those icy blue eyes looked down my body before coming back up to meet my gray orbs as he got up from the couch. "Stunning, beautiful as always."
"Thank you." I felt myself blush but I attempted to hide it the best I could. "Let's get going then."
Sterling nodded in response and then followed me as I led the way out of the apartment. As we walked down the hall, there was a silence settling in between us. Neither of us knew what to say to the other, we're still in this weird phase.
It bothers me to be honest. Sterling has always been someone so easy for me to talk to and because of our situation it just hasn't been the same. There's only one way I can fix it though, that's to force the both of us to talk and hopefully it'll be a start to getting back to normal.
"So how are you?" I asked as we continued walking to the exit of the apartment building.
"I'm good." He casually responded. "What about you?"
"I'm fine." I answered, trying to search in my mind for another topic for us to discuss.
We exited out of the building and walked over to the green Lamborghini. Sterling opened my door for me and then closed it once I was inside before getting into the driver's seat. He proceeded to start the car and head in the direction of our destination.
Looking out of the window, I shifted uncomfortably. I hated the silence between us, this was supposed to be a date and it just doesn't feel that way. My talking only worked until I didn't have anything else I could think of.
"Isabelle." Sterling finally broke the silence, causing me to turn to face him. "What's the matter? Do you not want to come out tonight?"
"It's not that." I exhaled a low breath as I answered. "I'm trying here Sterling, it's still just a little awkward since it's only been a week since the airport."
"Then let's stop making it awkward." He glanced at me and then back to the road. "Let's forget that the shit from before exists. Let's talk just how we normally would, even if it's just for tonight. Then if we're not feeling it after this we can decide the next step, deal?"
"Deal." I nodded, agreeing to his terms.
"So tell me, how is it being Killian's assistant?" He goes right into a question to prevent us from going back to silence. "It's been almost a week since you took the position."
"It's not bad." I honestly answered him. "Definitely a change from being yours that's for sure."
Sterling let out a small chuckle. "I guess that should be expected. Killian's duties are a lot more relaxed for now. He'll get his turn of stress eventually, I plan to make him the vice president when my father finally retires."
"That would be good." A small smile twitched onto my lips. "He's a hard worker so that's definitely a bonus."
"Agreed." Sterling looked over at me as we stopped at a light. "Enough about Killian though, have you done any baking recently?"
"Yes actually. I'm trying out a new recipe." I informed him. "There's these scones I've found online that I'm working to perfect."
"Well, if you need a guinea pig you know I'm here." He winked and then looked back at the road as the light turned green.
"Of course." I chuckled. "I know how you feel about my baking, but if I recall you claim it'll make you fat."
"No." He shook his head as he smirked. "If I did gain weight from your baking it would be worth every pound, but I don't need to worry about that. I can just give myself a little more time to work out."
"Seems like you've thought this through." I raised a brow.
"Well of course." He stopped in front of the restaurant for the valet to park the car. "You have a talent Isabelle, no one can bake like you. Not even Rose, which says a lot because that woman can bake too."
"Thanks." I ended up blushing again, but this time I don't hide it as I feel myself getting more comfortable again.
Sterling got out of the car and came around to grab me, he held my hand in his as he led the way into the restaurant. The hostess greeted us almost immediately and then we were taken to an area where we could actually be alone.
Sterling and I ordered our food and then proceeded to make conversation about little things. I asked him how the search for a new assistant was going and he proceeded to inform me his father is being extremely picky. Then we moved on and started bringing up memories from the orphanage, like the games we used to play or when we used to color pictures together.
As the night went on I found myself getting comfortable with him all over again. I'm glad I made the decision to not cancel because he was allowing himself to break through again and it was nice. I've missed him, he really does make me happy there was just a lot of baggage. Now that I'm here with him, I have a feeling we can move past everything and maybe just maybe, have an amazing future.