Scarlett's POV

"1274 Crescent Heights," I muttered to myself as I checked the Google Maps and made sure that I was going in the right direction.

I pulled up to a luxurious apartment complex surrounded by gorgeous bushes of roses and other various flowers. Magnificent palm trees stood proudly at the entrance of the building, their leaves softly waving in the light breeze.

I caught sight of Audrey already standing on the curb and when she noticed me, she smiled and waved. As I drove nearer in my 2019 Mercedes Benz G-Class Wagon that my father had bought for me on my twenty-first birthday, I was mesmerized by the sight of Audrey's beauty.

Her luscious blonde hair with wispy bangs hung loosely around her shoulders and shaped her face even more beautifully than before. She had on a brown blazer over a white button-down shirt, black jeans, and black heeled boots. It made me feel a bit overdressed in my black square shoulder jacket, white silk blouse, white trousers, and black pumps.

I heard the car sound off the sensor detector and I abruptly pressed on the brakes, nearly hitting the curb during my distraction. I brushed down my curled red hair to make sure nothing was sticking out in a mess as I parked the car, and before Audrey could walk up to the passenger side, I quickly rushed out of the car and opened the door for her.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Audrey nervously chuckled.

"Don't worry. It's my pleasure," I warmly smiled as she stepped inside the car and I closed the door.

"You look beautiful," I added after I climbed back inside the car and put on my seatbelt.

"Thank you," she beamed. "You look amazing yourself."

"I know," I grinned, and she laughed.

We drove in silence for about five minutes. I guess we were both just too nervous to talk or say anything. Eventually the silence was too stressful, so I decided to put on some music from my Spotify playlist and 'Knock You Down' by Keri Hilson began to play.

"Oh, that's one of my favorite songs!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Sounds like we're already connecting," I remarked with a smile. I peered over at her and noticed that she was blushing.

Two minutes later, I turned into the driveway that led to Cecconi's West Hollywood, one of the best high-end restaurants in West Hollywood.

"Oh, um..." Audrey said nervously as I drove the car up to the valet. "This is a really expensive place. I mean, I haven't been able to go here like... ever."

"It's no problem. I told you that I'll be paying for dinner," I reassured her as I climbed out of the car and handed the keys to the valet.

"You're sure?" she hesitated as she stared at the restaurant.

"I'm sure," I assured her with an amused smile as I placed my hand on the small of her back and led her inside. "It will be fine. Don't be nervous. I want to treat you to an exclusive experience."

I could see her blush again and bite her lip, her blue eyes looking at me like the sky on a warm, sunny day, which was so cute that it warmed my "cold heart" as Carmen described it and melted any ice that supposedly was left there.

Yes, this restaurant is very expensive, but I wanted to show Audrey that I have no problem in spending money in order to provide her with the best experience.

"Welcome back, Ms. Seydoux!" A woman at the reservation desk greeted us with a welcoming smile as we walked in. "Your table is right over there." She pointed towards an empty table with two chairs in the far corner of the restaurant. "I hope you two enjoy your experience at Cecconi's," she added, giving me a small wink.

"Thank you," I replied with a small smile as I took Audrey's hand and walked us both to our table.

"You're a regular here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me quizzically.

"I wouldn't call myself a regular, but I've been here a couple of times," I answered as we sat down.

Within a minute, a pleasantly smiling waitress approached our table.

"Hi! My name is Amanda and I'll be serving you guys tonight! Would you like some water?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," I told her. "And can we also have two Negronis? Unless you want something else?" I asked Audrey about the last part.

"No, a Negroni sounds good," she nodded.

"Two Negronis coming up!" Amanda brightly chirped as she bustled away for our drinks.

"Their grilled octopus lemon capers are amazing appetizers" I mentioned to Audrey as she looked through the menu.

She looked up with an unsure look.

"It's great. I promise you," I assured with a playful smile.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try something new," she shrugged.

"Your two Negronis and waters!" The waitress placed the drinks on the table. "Have you decided on your orders?"

"Are you ready?" I asked Audrey, as she was still scanning the menu.

"Not really, maybe you can order for both of us since you're familiar with their menu options? I'm just having trouble picking them out, because all of them sound delicious and I have absolutely no clue what most of them are."

I let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry, baby. I got you." I quickly scanned the menu. "Okay Amanda, I'll have the Spaghetti Caviar and Salmon Broccolini, and she'll have the Cavatelli Lamb Ragout and Steak Tartare. Also, the Black Truffle Squash Blossom Goat Cheese pizza, and we can share that, if that's okay." I looked over at Audrey.

"Yeah, whatever you think is best. You're the expert," Audrey chuckled lightly.

"Well then, that's all," I folded the menus and handed them over to the waitress.

I could see that Audrey was slightly anxious, which made me feel a little better, because despite my confident exterior, I was quite nervous on the inside.

"So..." I inhaled deeply and gave her a gentle smile. "How should we... um... do this? Maybe one of us can start off by saying something about ourselves, and then just... take turns? You could go first if you want."

"That... sounds like a good idea," she replied with a small laugh. "I'm just a little tense tonight. I haven't done this sort of thing for some time."

"Don't be. Look, we'll take things very slowly and ease into the conversation. There's no rush," I assured. I saw her relax a little as she rolled her shoulders back.

"Hm... Well, to begin with. I'm Russian. Both my parents are from Russia and I was born here in LA. Uh, I'm a dog lover as you probably know... I'm twenty-three, my favorite color is black, my favorite show is 'Chuck', and uh... I'm an avid runner."

"Oh, you're Russian? I thought I heard an European accent," I lightly smiled. "Have you ever been in Russia?"

"Yep," Audrey slightly shivered. "It's super freezing over there. I mean, it can be quite beautiful with the snow hills and Christmas decorations in the town, but passing five-foot icicles dangling from roofs and trudging through two feet of snow to school was not a picnic."

"Woah... Five-foot icicles?" I gaped at her.

"I know. It was a nightmare," she laughed. "Your turn."

"Oh... Um... I'm twenty-eight, French, and I was, of course, born in France," I winked at her. "Moved to America with my parents roughly twelve years ago and gained our citizenship pretty recently."

"Oh, congrats on your citizenship!" Audrey interrupted.

"Thank you. It wasn't easy, let me tell you," I chuckled before resuming. "My favorite color is maroon, I love animals but never owned one after we left France, my favorite show would probably be 'the 100', and Florence Pugh is my favorite actress."

"Oh my god, I love that show too! And Florence is an absolute goddess!"

"Exactly!" I grinned. The fact we already had some interests in common was an indication of a good start.

At that moment, the waitress arrived with the appetizers. Once she left, I raised my eyebrows as I watched Audrey pick up an octopus tentacle with a fork and look at it suspiciously.

"It's okay. Trust me, it's delicious," I winked as I picked up my own octopus tentacle and took a bite out of it. I closed my eyes and quietly moaned from the burst of flavors. "It's like heaven." I gestured for her to try it.

She sighed hesitantly and nibbled at the end of the octopus, chewing it slowly with a thoughtful look on her face. After a few seconds, I caught a glimpse of the expression of delight creeping up on her face, and I watched with a wide smile as she did a cute little dance with her shoulders.

"Omg. It is amazing," she exclaimed as she took another bite, this time a good-sized bite.

"See? I told you so," I grinned.

"So, is this your first time going out with another woman?" I questioned after the waitress brought the main course. We had finished exchanging a few more details about each other.

"Actually... no," Audrey hesitated. "I dated a girl for a couple of months two years ago, and things just sort of didn't work out." She nervously poked her food with the fork.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," I said sympathetically.

"But, I have dated men, so I hope that's not a problem with you," she added.

"Why would that be a problem?" I asked amusingly.

"Well, I know that some, or rather, a lot of lesbians don't take bisexual women seriously and think that we're fakes, because they claim that there's no such thing as being able to like men and women. I mean... they think all of us only experiment and play around before returning home to our boyfriends or whatever."

"Oh," I laughed. "No no. I'm absolutely not one of those lesbians. Their logic is similar to thinking that all men cheat just because a good amount of men are cheaters, which might actually be an unfair comparison considering that there are so many more male cheaters than fake bisexual women," I cleared my throat. I was getting carried away. "But my point is... just because one bi girl is fake doesn't mean every single one of you guys are."

Audrey sighed in relief. "I'm so glad to hear that. I mean, once you told me that you're a lesbian, I got a little worried."

I let out a hearty laugh and it contaminated her as she joined me.

Her phone suddenly rang, abruptly ending the moment. Her face became clouded with annoyance when she glanced at the screen.

"Everything okay?" I raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Yes. I...I'm so sorry. I have to take this call," she stammered as she stood up from her chair.

"That's totally fine. I'm not going anywhere," I replied as she gave me a weak smile and walked away.

Who the hell called her to bring out such a reaction from her? I thought as I watched her walk out of sight. Omg, did I say something wrong and she's just using the phone call ghosting tactic?