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That Friday night, they were going on their first official date. Ellie was, as usual before a date, in front of her mirror, six discarded dresses lying on her bed. Nick wouldn’t tell Ellie where he was taking her, only that she needed to be “dressy.” His exact words. Not formal, not casual, not black tie, but “dressy.” Ellie sighed, and finally settled on a flouncy knee length red dress. It wasn’t a color she would usually wear, and she had only bought the dress in the first place because Abby had talked her into it when they had been thrift shopping once. It was knee length (that worked in it’s favor, Ellie thought), with a twirly skirt and a lace back that dipped lower than you’d think given it’s high necked front, and swishy short arms. Ellie paired it with bright lipstick and more color on her cheeks and eyes than she’d usually wear, but not so much she didn’t feel like herself. Nodding at her appearance, Ellie turned away from the mirror, deciding to pour herself a glass of wine while she waited for Nick.
Nick knocked on the door, five minutes early, making Ellie smile.
“Hey,” she greeted him, letting out a whistle, noting with appreciation his dark jeans with buttoned down shirt, the ubiquitous three buttons undone at the top.
“Wooooof,” she said appreciatively, and he laughed, holding out a bouquet of flowers he’d been hiding behind is back.
“You look beautiful,” he returned his more colloquial admiration, and she smiled in thanks, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.
“Thanks for the flowers,” she couldn’t resist bringing them to her nose before turning to the kitchen to place the beautiful vase he’d chosen - she knew right away it wasn’t one she’d grabbed from the flower store - it looked antique - on her kitchen’s bar.
“Beautiful vase,” she commented, wrapping an arm around his side.
“I saw it and thought of you,” he shrugged, but, kissing him on the cheek, Ellie could see the blush creeping up his face.
“Do I get to know where we are going now?” She tried.
“There’s a really fun Mexican restaurant which has a live band and music on Friday night. It’s semi formal, and the bands are usually really good. Fun dance music. You game?” He had a Plan B if she wasn’t, but Nick knew if Ellie didn’t like Mexican food and dancing, their relationship would end sooner than either of them wanted. He was 99.999% convinced that neither of those things would be a problem, though.
“Sounds fun!” Ellie linked their fingers, and he led her to his car. Keeping her hand firmly in his Nick led her to the passenger door, opened it for her.
“Milady,” he gestured, and she laughed. Everything felt crisper, sharper, tonight. It had been so anticipated, and now it was finally here - their first real date - Ellie felt almost delirious, like she was Alice at the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
Nick played salsa music quietly as they drove, “To get us in the mood,” he explained.
“I’m already there,” she told him, and he laughed. His laugh was brighter, she thought. His smile was genuine - not the smirk she often saw, though she loved that about him too. She loved his confidence in himself, because it made her more confident in herself, since he never put anyone else down, but rather brought the people around him to his level.
“I’m out of practice,” he confessed, “It’s been awhile since I’ve been dancing.”
“Same. Jake wasn’t much of a dancer,” Ellie revealed. Nick snorted. She didn’t say much about Jake though, so he appreciated the tidbit.
“What about you?” He asked.
“Oh, I took some lessons,” Ellie replied vaguely, “When I was a kid.” He smiled at that.
“Why are you smiling?” She wanted to know.
“I’m picturing you as a kid in dance lessons, as focussed on the steps as you would be on a math problem,” he said.
“Not far from the truth,” Ellie admitted, “Whereas I’m struggling to picture soccer jock Nick in dance lessons.”
“No girls on the soccer field, Ellie,” He smirked, and Ellie laughed genuinely.
“Now that does sound like high school you.”
“Yeah, guess I’ll have to tell you that story sometimes,” he spoke a little ominously, she thought, for a first date, “but now I only have eyes for you.”
“Well I’m glad to hear that,” she said in a fit of bravery, “Because the feeling is mutual.” He had pulled the car up to the restaurant, and handed his key and gave his name to the valet, before helping Ellie out of the car, keeping their fingers linked as he held her arm when they walked into the restaurant.
Dinner was in a quiet part of the building, candlelit with soft music playing in the background. The band was setting up in the far corner of the room, dance floor spread before them, waiting. The table Nick and Ellie were led to was near a window, in a less populated corner of the room. Ellie looked out at the sparkling city street, then sat down, her eyes only for her date. He spoke to the waiter in Spanish, and the man reappeared with a bottle of red wine. Nick told him, again in Spanish, to pour some for the lady to try, and Ellie did, nodding her approval.
Ellie chose quickly, preferring to spend the time in quiet conversation with her partner. She wheedled some more from him about High School, but not, she thought, the point he had skirted around earlier in the night. He held her hand over the table, and they shared an appetizer, then shared each others main courses. Dessert came, and the music started. Ellie drank more wine, feeling pleasantly buzzed, but not drunk. So when Nick asked her to dance, even though there wasn’t anyone else on the floor yet, Ellie agreed, letting him lead her to the middle of it. The band obliged by starting a reasonably paced salsa tune, and Nick took Ellie in his arms. She followed his lead easily, fitting perfectly against him, enjoying the swish of the dress against her legs as she twirled and stepped along with the music. Three songs later, and several more couples on the floor, the band slowed it down, and Nick held Ellie close.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” he murmured, “How did I not know you could dance so well?”
“A girl’s got to have some surprises, Nick,” she smiled up at him. It was her turn to smirk.
“Oh, you’re never short of those, El,” he held her closer still.
“Mmm,” He was a breath away from her, and she leant forward, kissed him lightly. The song ended, and the music sped up again.
Hours later, Nick held Ellie’s hand carefully in his as they walked to the valet station. The DC streets were sparkling with recent rainfall, and Ellie’s face shiny in the street lamps. Nick let the noise swirl around him as they waited for his car. He had the crisp twenty dollar note ready for the valet, and exchanged it for his car after holding his hand on Ellie’s back as she got into the passenger seat. He held her hand loosely in his as he drove the familiar route back to her apartment, and pulled the car up in the spot next to her truck.
“Come up?” Ellie asked, quietly but certainly. It seemed the night’s surprises weren’t over yet.