A couple days later, Amy and Beth were in full swing, preparing for a client's birthday event. Beth was also manning the desk and Amy was in the back courtyard trimming a show piece.
Beth looked up as the front door opened, a bit shocked, she started "How may I help you today?"
Dante, answered "Do you know if Amy is in?". Amy recognized his voice and straighten her apron and dress as she called out " I'm in the back", but Dante ignored it and waited, until Beth finally said "She's in the courtyard, just through there". Beth pointed him towards the right direction.
"A-Ahem" Dante cleared is throat, as he entered the courtyard. Amy, stepped away from her show piece and looked a little nervous as she asked "Hello, what can I help you with?"
"I'm collecting the favour you owe me" Dante stated.
Amy's eyes widened, she was a bit taken aback. She didn't really think he was serious about her owing him. Besides, what could she possibly have that he would want. They didn't really move in the same circles. "Oh" she replied, "Well, uh, lets see. I can give you a discount on any floral arrangements you might need, what event are you planning?".
"I don't need any of that" he stated bluntly. "Okayyy?" Amy got a bit worried what else could he want? Her thoughts flashed back to the kiss he placed on her cheek. She blushed.
"Be my girl" he stated.
Loud coughing sounds came from behind a pillar where Beth was eavesdropping.
"Wh-what?" Amy lost her footing a little and stabilized herself against her show piece which started shifting, she quickly grabbed that with both hands and centered it and then moved away from it, clasping her hands behind her, nervously.
"It won't be forever." he looked a bit annoyed, "my parents will be visiting in two weeks time and I need my mom to get off my back about getting a 'nice' girl". His fingers made air quotes to emphasize the 'nice'. Though that were true, Dante's mom was always nagging him to get a nice girl, he just used it as an excuse. Truth was, he really just wanted to ask Amy out, but he was sure she would refuse him.
"Oh, so I'd just be your girl in front of your parents?" Amy asked.
"No. From now, until they leave." he added.
"Oh, so when will they leave?"
"They'll only be here for the weekend, but I don't want you lying to my parents about how long we've dated and so on." he replied.
"Oh I see" Amy added and then fell silent as she thought it over.
She's never dated anyone like him before. Even though his exterior seemed dangerous, he seemed to be a really sweet guy. Besides, there was no denying it, she was curious what it would be like to date a guy like him.
"So?" he asked impatiently.
"Umm, okay, I agree" she finally answered him.
"Great." He took her hand and kissed it. Amy blushed bright red. She quickly took her free hand and covered her cheek. Dante released her hand. He smiled inwardly. She was so cute when she blushed. "I'll pick you up tonight at 7:30, for our first date." he added and with that he walked out of the shop.
The second he was out of sight, Beth jumped out from her hiding place and excitedly danced while holding Amy's hands. "Oh my goodness! You bagged yourself a Lobster. Haha. You go girl! You got to tell me everything after the date! Oh my god I bet he's a beast in bed! Haha" Beth continued.
That last comment pulled Amy back to reality. "Wait what?!" Amy asked.
"What?! I bet he's a beast in bed!!" Beth repeated herself.
"Ha ha, no no, we won't be having any of that!" Amy turned bright red and broke free from Beth's grasp. She quickly started trimming the closest plant she could find.
"Haha don't lie, you can't tell me that it didn't cross your mind the moment he asked you out! Oh my, I wonder how far down those tattoos go! You have to tell me when you find out!" Beth excitedly added.
"Stop with those dirty thoughts!" Amy jokingly scolded Beth.
"Okay fine! But tell me everything okay?" Beth added before she returned to the front desk.
Amy closed shop a little bit earlier than usual. Beth offered to help with her outfit again, but Amy managed to persuade Beth that she could manage on her own. Amy knew she would be nervous and she didn't want to wear something that would make her uncomfortable.
She decided to wear jeans and a white sleeveless turtleneck. It was almost 7:30. He never told her where he would meet her. Amy had a tendancy to overthink small details like that. She was ready for a while now, so now she started pacing. Should she go down and meet him in front of the shop, or at his place or wait for him to come over?
"You should really ask these things before you blindly except invitations from a stranger" her inner voice noted, adding to her nervousness.
But before she could add a rebuttal there was a knock at her door.
She hastily grabbed her purse and opened the door. Dante was wearing his usual white button shirt and dark jeans, his leather jacket completed the look. He was holding a helmet in the one hand.
"You look beautiful" he said and gently placed his free hand around her waist and stepped in close as he placed a kiss on her cheek. Amy held her breath as butterflies bubbled up. He was so close and they're eyes met. She never noticed it before, but he had green eyes. He pulled back and took her hand.
"Let's get going" he said as he led her down the stairs. They came to a halt at his bike.
"Are we going on that?" Amy asked nervously.
"Yes, have you been on one, before?" he paused.
"No, they always seemed a bit dangerous to me" she smiled nervously.
"Well, they can be, but that's why we have these things" he said in a comforting tone as he placed the helmet on her head and gave it a little tap so it slid on.
"Does that feel comfortable enough?" he asked as he lifted her chin so she would look him in the eyes.
"Yes" she looked away "thanks" she added.
"Here, you'll probably need this too" he took off his jacket and gave it to her. Before she could thank him he added "if I didn't know any better I'd have thought you were forgetting a jacket on purpose."
"Maybe I just really like this jacket" she jested.
He got on the bike and put his helmet on, he then gestured her to hop on. She got on behind him. "Just hold on to me" he added. Amy put her arms around his chest. She couldn't help but feel the ripples of his muscles with her finger tips as her hands travelled to his front. She felt him react and his hand stopped hers, as he pressed her hand against his chest. "That tickles" he said. Amy smiled, he was ticklish, now she wanted to do it again, but before she could, he started the engine and pulled away.
Amy immediately hugged him tightly. He was warm and scent washed over her. It was exhilarating.
Dante couldn't help but smile, the girl he liked was hugging him tightly. The restaurant he was taking her too was close, but he took a couple of detours just he could feel her close to him a little bit longer.
They arrived at the restaurant where he made reservations. Once seated he ordered a beer and Amy ordered a glass of red wine. Amy looked around she could see people staring at them.
"Have you been here before?" he asked.
"Oh, no. I don't have a lot of free time. The shop keeps me pretty busy" she replied.
"Yeah, this isn't my usual scene either. A friend recommended it" he replied. "That explains it, I guess" Amy glanced at the other guests.
"Explains what?" he's brow lifted on the one side.
Amy leaned in over the table and he leaned closer. "They've been staring at us" she whispered.
His face lightened as he cracked a smile. "We're quite the odd couple" he added. Amy has never really seen him smile and suddenly she wished he would always smile. He looked handsome. For a split second she wondered what it would feel like to kiss those lips.
"What are you thinking about?" he interrupted her thought. She blushed and averted her eyes.
"Uh. Nothing" she blushed and smiled shyly.
"Let's play a game to get to know each other a bit better. We'll take turns to ask each other something embarrassing, good, bad, scary, something you like or dislike or something interesting. You get the idea." he started, "You can ask the first question if you want".
"Oh okay, yeah sure" Amy thought a little bit. "It's not really any one of those topics. But I've been wondering about it for a while." She paused for a bit, there was a lot she wanted to know about him. "So you are a tattoo artist right? So how could you afford to buy that place? Or am I in the wrong business?" she asked. "A friend owed me a favour" he smiled.
"Oh wow, what sort of trouble did you help him out of, to warrant such a favour?" she added.
"Well, he didn't get locked out of his apartment" he jested, his eye cought hers and for a second they were locked and then he added "Okay my turn. Tell me something you're too scared to do".
Amy thought for a bit "It's a bit silly, but after riding on your motorcycle, I'd like to learn how to drive it". "I'd be happy to teach you, if we're still together" he let out a sly smile.
"Will I owe you another favour, if you do?" she asked. "Haha, well that depends.." he replied mischievously.
They continued asking each other questions as the night continued. They had just ordered dessert when someone got up on stage and announced that the spoken word poetry event was about to start. They listened to poetry as they ate dessert. Dante glanced over at Amy to see if she was enjoying it. After a while, he couldn't take it anymore and got up to leave.
When they left the restaurant he placed his jacket on her again. "Do you like that sort of thing?" he asked. "It was something different, so I enjoyed that. I'm not really into poetry though. I only really know one poem" she replied.
"Oh? What poem do you know?" he asked.
"It's called, An ode to my fish, and it goes like this, OH Wet Pet!" she smiled after reciting the poem. Dante let out a laugh. "That's the best poem I've ever heard." He got on the bike, and put his helmet on. He tapped his hand on the leather seat behind him so she would hop on.
"hehe thanks" she smiled as she carefully got on, placing her hand on his shoulder to stabilize herself as she got on. The next part was her favorite, she placed her hands around his chest. She slid her fingers across the part where she knew he was ticklish.
"Tssh, Hey!" he stopped her hand again.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it" she said as she hugged him tight as he started the engine.