Chapter 91: Second Date, Second Chance
Lisa’s POV
I can hardly identify the lady reflected in the mirror.
It's not that I suddenly resemble someone but rather that I haven't experienced this fluttery nervousness in my stomach for quite a while. I glide my hands over the fabric of my dress for the time but every crease has already been smoothed away. The dress is simple, with a flattering texture, nothing extravagant yet somehow it makes me feel… changed. More airy.
Silently I chuckle at my reflection.
You're married, Lisa. There's no reason to feel this anxious.
Here I am, my heart racing as if I’m about to see someone I’ve only recently encountered.. Perhaps that is the odd wonderful reality of it.
Leo I am unfamiliar with this Leo, at present.
Not the guy who laughs more now. Not the one who looks at me as if I am something precious, and not something he has been assigned.
He’s not the person who instinctively takes my hand when I drift into my thoughts.
This is a fresh start in familiar faces.
That only makes it even more terrifying… and thrilling. A soft knock, at the door.
“Are you prepared?" his voice echoed through the wood and was a bit entertained. ".Would you prefer I leave for another ten minutes to invent more imaginary flaws?”
I grin. ‘You may enter.’
The door opens slowly and he steps inside, the world tilts just a little.
He’s wearing a dark button-up shirt and dress pants, and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up just enough to show off his wrists. His hair is a little messy like he tried to comb it and then gave up.
He freezes instantly as soon as he notices me.
For an instant he simply gazes at me.
“You look…" He clears his throat a blush tinting his cheek. "You look incredible.”
I notice my cheeks flush. "There’s no cause for worry Mr. Walker."
Extending his hand a faint smile curves his lips. "Shall I proceed then?”
His hand grazes mine as I grasp it, his thumb performs one intentional and soothing stroke, across my knuckles.
The journey to the restaurant is, unlike any trip we've previously taken together.
I act as if I don’t see.
But I do.
He selected a restaurant tucked away from the city’s commotion. There are no onlookers. No murmurs. No colleagues from his job inquiring about me.
Only us.
Before sitting opposite me he draws out my chair, whispering, "It feels strange ".
“What exactly feels strange?”
“Standing here alongside you at this moment… now that I understand you are my wife. It ought to feel like sprinting down the avenue. Yet it doesn’t. It resembles the moment I first encountered you.”
“I was thinking that, " I murmur. "It feels as though we’ve erased years of burdens and assumptions leaving behind something ”
He nodded slowly . “Better late than never, right?”
“I say, ‘Better late, than never.’”
Dishes filled with arranged delicious food arrive at our table yet neither of us is eating much—, at least not just now. We are caught up in many conversations. About the past. Not the frightening memories, which we’re setting aside for the night. The minor recollections of what we endured.
“You had on ivory at our wedding " he reflects quietly. "Not pure white. You mentioned you preferred it.”
“Since white felt much like pretending I was something untainted and untouched, by the world " I say with a slight chuckle. "I always believed ivory was somehow more... Genuine.”
“I remember thinking you looked scared,” he confesses.
“I was, " I confess. "I had no clue who you were. I mean I just assumed you didn’t want to find out who I was either.”
“I was foolish, " he whispers. "I wanted to understand. I simply didn’t know how to express it.”
For a while we are burdened by that reality.
“You’re demonstrating it to me now " I say, softly but firmly. "That’s what matters.”
A brief glimmer of relief passes over his face.
As the evening progresses laughter replaces confession. He shares tales I’ve never encountered before. About his disastrous business pitch, the time he attempted to cook and nearly set his apartment on fire and the moment he dismounted a bike in front of a whole class.
I laugh intensely until I need to breathe.
When he also laughs, his head leaning back a bit, eyes shutting, I sense something wild.
I'm beginning to feel love for him.
Not with the husband I wed.
However the gentleman currently seated before me.
He doesn’t drive me home following dinner.
Instead, we hike.
Not off a peaceful park rests, illuminated by the gentle yellow light of the street lamps. The evening air is cold and breezy against my exposed arms and without hesitation Leo takes off his coat. Drapes it over my shoulders.
“You’ll catch a cold,” he says,
We stroll at a leisurely pace, our fingers interlaced.
“Do you feel any remorse?" he inquires.
“Regret what?”
“Giving us another chance.”
I gaze upon his face and in the honest glow I express the sole truth residing inside me.
“No. I wish we had discovered this sooner. It’s not as if I--”
He breathes out shutting his eyes briefly before reopening them softer, more vulnerable.
“Come over " he whispers softly.
He doesn’t yank me aggressively. Rather he simply draws me near until a few inches separate us. My heart pounds in my chest recalling their kiss and how it caused her entire world to spin.
His hand gently supports my cheek as if he fears I might disappear.
“This " he whispers, his brow touching mine "this is what I ought to have done right from the beginning.”
Then he kisses me.
Not rushed.
Not aggressive.
It is gentle, gradual and assured. A kiss meant to change the past. When we finally separate our foreheads remain touching and our breaths intertwins.
"This is our date " he murmurs, "yet it’s also our second opportunity."
I grin despite the tears yet to fall. "Then let’s make the most of it."
As we stroll back to the car holding hands I am certain of one thing: This is more, than a date.
It’s a beginning.