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"Love is doing the hard things, for the greater feeling" - Unknown

I stared at Stephen. The moment was getting awkward and butterflies were forming in my stomach. I couldn't say no, but I had stood here for so long would it be weird if I said yes.

"Tomorrow night?" I questioned hoping maybe it would give me some more time to figure out what I was going to do. I had no clue who this guy was. This couldn't go anywhere, I didn't even live here. He nodded taking a step closer to me. A few more steps and he was closing the distance between us. He nodded his head, placing a firm hand on the small of my back. I began walking inside the building.

"I guess I can do tomorrow night." I smiled my nerves sky rocketing through my body. Was I really going on a date? It was kind of embarrassing that I was so nervous about a single date. Could you really blame me after the date Clara and I were on last night?

"Alright, I will see you tomorrow night. Where can I pick you up?" Stephen helped me walk through the door. The dress was ridiculously frilly and just overall way to giant for my liking. I walked towards the dressing room. Staring into the mirror I could see the handsome man standing behind me. "Let me help you with that." He mumbled slowly as he unbuttoned the back of the dress.

I gave him the information of the hotel we were staying at. He waved goodbye before exiting the room. I waited until I was alone before slipping the dress off and quickly changing into my own clothes. Leaving the room I went to find Clara. She was mingling with the makeup artists.

"Let's go." I smiled to her tugging at her arm. She waved goodbye to her new found friends. We both grabbed our stuff and left the cottage.

~*~

Early Wednesday Morning

I woke up to an alarm blaring. Clara and I were going to be late for our second day of the bridal show if we didn't get out of bed soon. I groggily rolled over slamming my head on the top of the clock. I couldn't find the energy to lift my head up off the pillow. My eyes slowly opened and I stared up at the ceiling. I never really liked bridal shows. I mean I used to as a kid when I went with my father. It's been a few years since I was able to go with my father.

I finally pulled myself out of bed. Clara was still peacefully snoozing. I shook my head chuckling. I decided to let her sleep longer while I took a shower. I grabbed an extra pair of clothes before heading into the bathroom to get my morning shower done.

When I left the bathroom Clara was already awake. She was sitting in bed, the covers thrown around her legs. Her hair was kind of messy but probably just needs to be brushed.

"Good morning sleepy head." I teased her while brushing my own wet hair. "Well we need to be ready to go within the next hour." I pulled out my makeup as I began applying it to my face.

"Alright, i'm going back to sleep for a few more minutes." She tossed back over into the sheets, burying her face in the pillows. "Hey before I do that, what did Stephen ask you last night? You guys were outside for a long time. I never asked because I assumed you would have told me."

"Actually, he asked me on a date?" I've never seen her head shoot off the pillow so fast. She jumped out of the sheets running over to me placing her hands on my shoulder. She stared at my face real closely.

"So you're not lying. What did you say?" She shook me slightly. "Damn, Erin you better have said yes!" She shouted at me.

"I said yes. There is no need to yell at me." Her face lit up like a firework. She was obviously proud.

"Oh this date is going to be so good. You're going to have to look so hot! I can't go back to sleep when i'm this excited. I guess i'm up and going to get ready." Clara danced around the room. I wasn't quite sure where all this energy had come from. She grabbed the clothes she was going to wear for the day. Quickly she dressed herself in a black pantsuit. Soon she was back in the room still dancing with excitement.

"Damn, I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Once we were both finished getting ready we grabbed our bags and headed out the door. The short walk to the venue didn't take long. Once we entered the building we headed straight towards the booth we had last done yesterday.

I couldn't believe we had to do this again. Multiple buildings with so many booths that were all the same. I'd seen so many buttons I thought my eyes were going to bleed. Buttons, and ribbons, and new ways to tie bows, there were so many things that I didn't really need.

"Clara, I am so sick of this place." She wrapped her arm around mine pulling me in closer. She leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Can we just skip next year?" She whispered softly before pulling away. I nodded my head as we walked into the next booth. A few Asian ladies ran up to us to give us a ten minute speech about their products.

We walked through what felt like a million booths. I had another handful of business cards I probably wasn't going to use. My feet were beginning to ache and I wasn't sure how much more walking I could do today. The venue was going to be closing in an hour or so, we had officially spent an entire day walking through booths and talking to vendors.

"Can we go to the pool?" I questioned almost whining. I felt like a small child that just wanted her mother to take her home. Clara's eyes lit up as she threw her hands up to her mouth. She looked around for a few minutes before leaning in to whisper.

"I thought you'd never ask." She winked. Turning on her heel she began walking toward the door. I tried to keep up, my shoes slapping against the concrete. She was dedicated to getting to the pool. Eventually we were on the streets of the small Virginia town. I swore Clara had made it back to the hotel and up to our room in less than a minute. I slammed through the door ungracefully with heavy breaths. I was amazed with how quickly we had made it back to our room.

"Holy...shit." I tried to breathe through the gasps of air.

"What, i've been excited for the pool all week." She smiled standing in the doorway in her dark blue bikini. I guessed I had better hurry up and get ready myself. I dug through my bag trying to find the swimsuit I had packed. Obviously both of us had hoped for a little pool time. Once I finally found my own swimsuit I quickly changed into it.

"Okay, fine. I'm ready to go." I smiled to her, tugging at the strings on my own swimsuit. She was laying on the bed looking up at the ceiling.

"Only took you twenty years." She whined. I rolled my eyes. I may have been the one whining earlier but this was ridiculous.

Grabbing the hotel key and some towels I opened the door before waving goodbye to Clara. "You snooze, you lose." I teased before heading down the long hallway towards the pool.

It was an indoor pool with pretty blue tiles lining the bottom. The water was decently warm but I was more worried about the hot tub. I grabbed the hair-tie off my wrist using it to pull my hair up in a bun. Clara came stumbling into the building, her arms flailing around her like a child. What was up with us today? I dipped my foot into the hot tub slowly allowing my body to adjust to the temperature of the heated pool. It felt good on my aching feet. I hated that we had to dress formal at these events as we were the image of our company. Too bad we both acted like children all the damn time.

Clara quickly stepped into the hot tub bringing her hands up to do her own hair. She lowered herself down into the water allowing it to come all the way up to her shoulders. Leaning against the side of the tub she rested her head on the cement behind her putting a weird crane in her neck. I finally lowered the rest of my body into the water. The warmth sent shivers of joy down my spine. It felt good to finally be able to relax. I closed my eyes for a moment letting the steam really absorb into my skin. I could have slept in that hot tub if it weren't for the annoying boys entering the building. My eyes shot open. There were clattering yells echoing against the glass windows. Two boys were chatting about some shot they had made during an earlier game. I groaned quietly to myself. My relaxation was ruined. Clara and I both lifted our heads to look around the room. The boys were heading straight for us.

I moved away from the entrance of the hot tub sitting a little closer to Clara. The first of the two boys quickly jumped into the water allowing droplets to go flying through the air. I shielded my face. This couldn't have gone any worse. I didn't know I had spoken too soon, because they must have been in a competition to see which boy could splash the most water while jumping into a hot tub. Clara and I sent each other knowing looks before glaring at the two boys.

"Hey ladies." The one guy basically yelled, leaning his arms around the edge of the tub. He stretched his legs outward. His feet bumping into my shin. I pulled my legs away bringing them closer to my body. I didn't want to be sharing water with this guy, let alone actual contact with him.

"What are two lovely ladies doing all alone here?" Clara and I looked at each other. For some reason all terrible guys we have met has started their conversations all the same way. We were just 'lovely ladies' and honestly it felt demeaning.

"Trying to relax." Clara was rather snarky with her response and honestly if I would have answered it would have been worse. I figured this would be safer if I just sat back and let her do her magic. She'd get rid of these boys.

"Come on don't be like that." I glanced over to the boy the words came from. He had a sharp jawline, one that could cut through anything. His eyes were a light blue. His blonde hair was matted down with what I assume to be sweat. Gross.

"Hey, where are you guys from?" He was still talking way too loud for the building we were currently in. I pulled myself halfway out of the water leaving my feet dangling in the filth. Clara did the same. "No, don't leave now. We were just getting to know each other." Both boys gave us a pouty face. They honestly looked like brothers.

"As if." Clara said before fully jumping out of the hot tub. She walked over to grab our towels. As she turned around both boys began to whistle.

"Hey honey, look at them ass cheeks." The one kid hollard. I pulled myself out of the water wanting to get as far away from these guys as possible. Clara walked back over to them standing directly behind their heads. They both turned around looking up at her. I wasn't sure what she was doing but I was hoping it was going to be good.

"Oh honey, I think you guys have something on your faces." She whispered softly into their ears before dipping her hands in the water and smacking them both on the side of the face. I stood there in shock. Both boys began rubbing their faces hollering at the same time. She had slapped them well, and the water from the hot tub had only made it sting worse. I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. Watching the boys wipe at their faces. "Now piss off." She yelled in their ears. Both of them wincing from the sound.

I had never been more proud of someone in my life. We left the pool room in victory. With our heads held high we walked down the hallways, small water droplets trailing along behind us.

"I can't believe you did that." I shouted excited. I needed to take a lesson from Clara and learn how to stand up for myself. She had taken that situation and turned it into a plus. Also into an assault. I wasn't really sure I cared if it was assault or not. I glanced down at my phone checking to see if I had any emails. "Shit! I'm going to be late for my date." I shouted slamming my finger against the button of the elevator. The doors finally closed and that recognizable feeling of the elevator moving took my breath away. I only had ten minutes to get ready for my date with Stephen tonight. Once the doors opened back up I booked it down the hall. My bare feet slapping against the carpet. I could hear Clara close behind me. I thought I had ran enough for one day.

Fumbling with the key, I finally got the door to our room open. I'd never ran through a door so fast in my life. I quickly grabbed the dress I had planned on wearing. Rushing into the bathroom I stripped out of my swimsuit turning on the shower. I needed to rinse of my body before I went to dinner smelling like a kiddie pool. I rushed to put some makeup on my face. Somehow I had to make myself look presentable in less than three minutes. I've never hopped around the room on one foot trying to put my shoes on while doing something else at the same time until this very moment. Clara was there to cheer me on. She was grabbing things to help me get ready.

"Okay I will tell you how it all goes tonight. See yah!" I shouted finally rushing through the door and heading down to the lobby. I quickly checked my phone to see a text from Stephen.

Sorry, I am currently running late but I will have a car there to pick you up and take you to the restaurant. Look for you name.

I let out a sigh of relief. I was glad he was also running late. I didn't want to be late to my first alone date in years. I walked around the lobby. I wasn't really sure when his care was supposed to get here but I was hoping it was soon. I hadn't noticed how starving I actually was. Soon I found a man in a black suit standing in the middle of the room. A bright white sign was held delicately in his hands. My name was scrolled across the front of it and completely spelled wrong. I walked up to the man smiling.

"Hi, I'm Erin." All I got in response was a nod. No smile, no slight movements. The man didn't even blink. Just one single nod. "Um okay." I followed him to the car that was parked on the side of the road outside. In New York his car would have been towed by now. I had hoped his car was towed.

He opened the back door for me and I mouthed a quick thank you. Just another slight nod. I slid across the leather seats trying to find myself a comfortable spot. There was a small table in the back of the limo that was filled with ice. Two bottles of champagne slit half in the ice half out. I turned the bottle to look at the label. It seemed like an expensive brand but I wasn't really smart enough to know.

There were multiple glasses hanging on the side of the table. The drinks honestly looked tempting. I didn't have enough time to talk myself into a drink. It felt like as soon as we left the hotel we were already at the restaurant. The driver parked the car before coming to open my door. This time I didn't bother mouthing a thank you. I just shot him a quick smile. I glanced up at the restaurant in front of me. The name was written in a weird curly font and it was hard to read.

I entered the building the hostess asking me how many people. I raised my fingers showing her that there would be two quests today. She led me over to a table in the back corner with a great few of the forest outside.

"Thank you." I said, taking a seat where I could see the whole restaurant. I decided to scroll through some emails before he arrived.

~*~

Twenty minutes later and three offers for appetizers I had decided to finally just get some. I was starving and I had no clue how long Stephen was going to be. If he took another forty minutes I was leaving. There was no way I could handle sitting here for an hour without food. The waitress brought my food to the table. I slowly began to nibble on it staring blankly at my phone.

Thirty minutes had passed. I glanced around the room at all the restaurant goers. They were all dressed in their best clothes. Maybe it was their somewhat dingy clothes and these people were all just richer than I thought they were. This place looked fancy, the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling made it look like a castle. The large brick walls with white pillars holding the ceiling above us.

Stephen finally entered the room and honestly my heart picked up. I had finished one full drink and probably half of the appetizers. He rushed over to the seat across from me.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I had business going on." His hair looked ruffled, the brown locks messed differently than they normally are. His collar was flipped up in the one corner and honestly he smelled like perfume. I didn't know what he meant by business but I don't think it's what I mean by business. I decided to ignore it. This was only a date, it could go nicely and we could just part ways.

"Well you are here now." I tried to put a smile on my face. I reached forward and grabbed another roll out of the bin. Stephen grabbed it out of my hand and threw it back in the basket.

"Nope, we don't need to be doing that." He whispered across the table holding the menu in front of his face. My mood was completely defeated. I was still starving. I grabbed the menu again scrolling through the dinner options peaking up from behind the menu every once in awhile.

The waitress showed up to our table ready to take our order. I began to speak before being cut off by the man in front of me. He ordered for both of us and it was something I absolutely did not want. I slumped down in my seat setting the menu back on the table. She quickly took both the menus and headed towards the kitchen.

"So how are you?" He leaned forward placing his elbows on the table. His green eyes felt like they were staring straight through me. It didn't matter what I said, this guy wasn't really paying attention to what I was going to say.

"I'm fine, how about yourself?" I tried pushing the conversation back onto him. He wasn't acting like he had the last few times Clara and I had talked to him. He was acting more rude, like a player that had done this one too many times.

"Oh you know I'm busy but lucky to be having dinner with such a lovely lady." He winked at me leaning backwards in his chair. My gut suddenly twisted. I put a smile on my face though. It was one of the fakest smiles I had ever pulled off. There was no way this was going anywhere good. I noted the phrase before leaning forward myself.

"Oh yeah?" I question, I wasn't really sure what to say anyways. I figured this would be over sooner if he just kept talking.

The waitress came back to the table with the food he had ordered. When she accidently mixed up the plates Stephen got noticeably angry. "Damn don't you know how to waitress. I'd fire your ass if I was your boss." He griped, but she quickly fixed her mistake. Her expression showed that she was destroyed by Stephens words.

"This food better be perfect or else I'm sending it all back and making you personally cook us a new round." He quickly dug through his food picking out any little problem he could. He grabbed both the plates even though I hadn't even touched mine yet. "Send these back. Damn imbecile can't do anything right around here." I shook my head I wasn't going to stand for this.

I watched for a few more minutes the waitress quickly apologizing. Stephen raised his hand telling her to shut up. "Below me." He whispered turning his head to the side. The waitress walked away quickly bringing his new plates. Someone else's plates. The rage that came from Stephen over the new dishes was worse than before and I wasn't willing to stand around for this. I was embarrassed to even associate myself with this man. He was acting so weird and flat out rude.

For the first time in a long time I let my inner Clara free. I stood up from the table and I left the restaurant. Stephen screaming behind me, too busy yelling at the waitress to notice I had left. I figured it'd be easy to walk back to the hotel, this town was small enough it was that hard to walk places. I liked that, it felt like a small town because it was, but it was small enough that you could walk anywhere you needed to go. It felt like home that way. My phone buzzed so I quickly pulled it out of the pocket on my jacket. It was a text from Stephen.

You're going to regret walking out on me life that. You made me look like a fool. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't the one who made him look like a fool.