Chapter 21

Wanda told herself that she was just going to hang out with her best friend. But the thing was it was not just hanging out, it was a date. Her first date. And it was with Ian. She gave herself a pep talk and put on some makeup to build some confidence. It was going to be perfect.

"Wanda… Ian is here" Jamie shouted. She came out to the living room to meet him while he was walking towards her already.

"You look beautiful" He told her and leaned towards her ear to whisper. "Like always" That made her blush. It was going to take some time to get used to the new feeling of heart fluttering and nervousness that she experienced around him.

Ian took her to an Italian fancy restaurant out of town. He opened door for her and took her hand to let her out. He held her hand interlocking their fingers.

"Is this weird?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "I don't know… this is different but still it feels familiar"

"Okay, That's not bad" He grinned down at her before entering the restaurant.

"Ian, I can't let you pay for everything. This is too much. Let's share" Wanda said looking at the menu.

"Just order okay. Don't worry about anything else" Ian told her.

"But, this is so expensive. I know you have got a job and all but this is too much"

"Wanda, I want to do this right. My mom will kill me if I didn't treat you well. Besides, she selected this restaurant and told me not to worry about the money."

"What? Your mom chose this? Why did she want you to spend more money?"

"My mom adores you and she knows how much you mean to me. And…" He hesitated. "She was also telling me that I should make you feel special and all you know" he mumbled.

Okay that was sweet. But she didn't care about those things. "But Ian…"

"Please Wanda. Let me do this for you, for us" He pleaded.

"Okay" She wasn't convinced but she compiled. What could she do about it? Ian was the stubborn one and he would always get his way with her.

The rest of the dinner went smooth. They talked about anything and everything.

While they were driving back, she looked at Ian and noticed his straight jaw and cheek bones. She could say that he was contemplating something. Suddenly he pulled over at the end of nowhere and looked back at her.

"Where are we?" She asked him.

"Come on. I want to show you something".

They got down and walked for a while and she found a lake glistening in the moon light.

"Wow, this sight is so beautiful"

"Yes it is" He said that looking at her.

"Ian…" she pushed him. They both sat near the steps at the edge leading to the lake.

"Hey, are you cold?" he asked her.

"Yeah somewhat. I didn't bring my jacket"

"I have an idea" He moved and settled behind her. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her towards him and placed his head on her shoulder. She had to take a long breath to calm her inner nerves.

"Is this okay?" He breathed in her neck. Wanda was unable to form any coherent words, so she just nodded at him. Later when the butterflies in her stomach subsided, she relaxed in to his embrace and stared at the beauty in front of her.

"Thank you for bringing me here Ian" She told him.

Ian

Ian was silent for a while. He wanted to do this in the right way. He shouldn't rush anything.

"Hey… you heart is beating so fast. Why is that?" Wanda asked him.

"Yeah. That's because I… I'm kind of nervous"

She turned around to face him. Oh my God she was so close. Her lips were so close. "Why?"

"I want to… ask you something" Why was it so difficult to express his feelings to her. She was Wanda. His best friend. "Are you having a nice time? I know this is your first date. I don't want to mess up anything by moving so fast or I don't know… God… I'm not good at this at all"

Wanda giggled. She actually giggled. He was sure that his face turned in to a tomato.

"What's so funny?" He asked her raising his eyebrows.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry" Then she smiled affectionately. "Ian, I'm having a great time. It's just… I was also worried about messing this up you know… since this is my first date and all. It seems like we both are nervous about the same thing." She told him. They were both feeling vulnerable and he liked that they could speak about it without any awkwardness. Okay maybe with less awkwardness.

"Seems like we have got lot to learn how to be in a relationship after all"

"We are still best friends Ian. We are in this together" He nodded at her.

He held her close. Looking in to her eyes he cupped her cheeks. "I want to kiss you now" He waited.

Wanda smiled and told him "You don't have to ask"

That was all he needed. He grinned and closed the gap between their lips.

Ian was reminded of all those times when he would eat mint chocolate chip cookies his mom used to make. Whenever he started eating them, the deliciousness would stick in his tongue and he would always want more and more. Kissing Wanda was like that. It was quite addictive. It also made him feel things which he had never felt before. That endearing closeness along with her mild shyness affected him both physically and mentally. He was certain that Wanda felt the same way as well. She was not holding anything back. He started to smile in contentment knowing that she was letting him to be with her like that. Of course they had to pull away when the lack of oxygen became a problem.

Wanda was breathing very hard and then slowly whispered "Wow"

"Yes. Wow" He grinned at her.

"Ian, I have never… I didn't think that we would have such a good" She trailed off embarrassed by her openness.

"Chemistry? Connection?" He supplied. She nodded.

"I think we have wasted a lot of time being in friend zone you know" She sighed.

Ian laughed and took her hands in his. "Don't worry. We will make up for the lost time. I promise" He winked at her and made a mental note to fulfill that promise in all the right ways.

AN: Thank you so much for Reading. Leave a review!