In the following days Elle felt like a teenager again. She felt young, and foolish, and silly in love. She also felt happier than she had in a very long time. Over the next few days Elle and Adam spoke to each other every day, and managed to make time to meet almost every day as well.Adam would send Elle a message early every morning to wish her a good morning and tell her to have a good day. Elle tried waking up earlier and earlier, but no matter how early she woke she didn"t manage to beat him and send a message first. Elle would usually take the initiative to message Adam early in the afternoon to ask him how is day was going and if he ate. In the evenings, if they were lucky, they would go out for dinner together. Adam always treated her well when they went out together, making sure she ate well, paying for the meal, even opening and closing the car door for her before driving her home. Even on the nights where they couldn"t see each other they would end up calling each other over the phone.
Two weeks went by in that manner. Finally, on a cold Sat.u.r.day, they had their first official date. They had gone out for dinner a few times since becoming a couple but they would speak mostly about work and the dinners would be brief. Elle didn"t count them as dates. Today Adam had promised Elle his entire day.
Elle was excited and anxious for the date. It was her first time in a long time, and to make matters worse it was a date with Adam Hayes, who probably had a long record of dates with beautiful women. Even if she didn"t compare herself to her imaginary compet.i.tion she still wanted to do her best. Elle even went so far as to raid her closet the night before, looking for the perfect outfit. In the end she settled for a white fuzzy sweater, light blue jeans and knee-high black suede boots.
She arranged her hair into an intricate French braid that took her the better part of thirty minutes to concoct; bending and weaving the strands of her hair, testing her dexterity as she went. Finally, once she was satisfied with her hair and outfit, she applied a light shade of lipstick and put on a pair of pearl earrings and her little bluebird.
Once she was ready Elle went downstairs to wait for Adam. He usually drove to her house at night where they were hidden under the cover of darkness and everyone in the house was getting ready to go to bed if not already there. This time, however, it was bright and still quite early, and Elle didn"t want Adam to be seen by her family. It would only end up causing more trouble than it was worth, so she waited impatiently at the door so she could run out before anyone saw them.
Adam arrived, not much later, at exactly eleven as planned. Elle made a mental note to herself to be careful to never be running late with him. As she got into the car Elle noticed a strange look on Adam"s face.
"Is it really okay for me not to greet your father?" Adam asked.
"It"s fine." Elle said calmly, not feeling any of her usual bitterness at the mention of her father. She had Adam"s love now and her father"s love couldn"t hold a candle to it. She had discovered over the past two weeks that her father"s love at it"s best couldn"t compare to Adam"s love even at it"s worst.
Adam accepted her answer, his only concern and consideration was for her after all. They set off to an unknown destination.
Elle had originally tried to plan the date. She spent a lot of time and effort trying to come up with something. It was risky to do something simple, like go out to a movie, in the middle of the day because it was so public. She also avoided outdoor activities since the weather was so cold. After trying, and failing, to come up with something to do Elle pinned the responsibility on Adam. As a result, she had no idea where they were going or what he had planned for them.
Adam had originally been worried that Elle may not enjoy what he had planned for them that day, but as he looked towards the pa.s.senger seat and saw her looking out the window with such a peaceful smile he was rea.s.sured by the fact that she seemed to be content with anything.