Andreas P.O.V-
The place I took Elizabeth to used to be a speakeasy in the 20s during prohibition called Mervin's Mary. Whoever owns this place now kept all the old furniture and photos.
I hold Elizabeth around the waist as we follow the hostess to our table. It's smack dab in the middle. On the table is a red table cloth, a yellow candle in the middle complemented with black chairs.
"A waiter will be by to take your orders, here are your menus." She sits them on the table in front of us, while I pull out Elizabeth's chair for her to sit in. "While you wait, can I get you both something to drink?"
I let Elizabeth speak first, "I'll just take a water with ice."
"And a coke for me." She smiles and tells us she'll be back in a few minutes. I take in more of the restaurant as we wait for the drinks. Various other tables are around us, couples talking and laughing with each other as they eat spaghetti and drink cocktails. A stage with velvet curtains is in front, no one is currently on the stage, but someone may be coming out in a few as people set up mics and wires. Soft jazz music soothes the air around us. Yellow lights shine on us and cold air clings to our bodies.
I look to see Elizabeth searching the menu, shaking from the cold. Like the gentlemen I am, I put my jacket around her shoulders. She jumps when she feels it, but then relaxes.
"This smells good, what is it?" She asked, smelling the sleeves.
"I don't know, just a natural body scent." I watch as she keeps sniffing the jacket, smiling occasionally.
How the hell was I able to snag someone like Elizabeth Pratt?
So funny, so beautiful, one of the god's most magnificent creations that were bestowed upon me. My finger plays with the loose curl on her neck, watching it curl around my finger and then fall on her neck. She kisses my hand, "Why are you playing with my hair? I'm trying to find something to eat on this weird-ass menu, everything doesn't look right, do they have burgers? Have you been here before?" She babbles, not looking at me.
"I just wanted to touch you. And what do you mean the menu is weird." I scoot my chair closer to her so I can see what she's talking about. Her smell mixes with mine.
"Look at this." She points to something that says Fontina cheese. "What is that, I just want tired ass American cheese. Is that blue cheese you think."
I laugh, "I don't know, baby. Let's just get a Margherita pizza, we can share it."
"Ok." Our hostess comes back with our drinks, we thank her. A few minutes later our waiter, named Jenny takes our order.
"Hey, do you happen to work at UC Berkeley?" asked Elizabeth.
"Yeah, I help out freshman, do I know you?"
"I don't think you remember me, but I was the freshman that didn't have a dorm room on the first week of school and you helped me out."
She just stares at Elizabeth, trying to jog her memory. How could you forget someone like her? "Oh, you were the one that sent the paperwork in when our website crashed, I remember. Did you ever find somewhere to live?" She asked.
"Yeah, I moved in with my sister and her roommates, even snagged a guy out of the bit." She points to me, and Jenny smiles.
"I see, you two look cute together. Things always work out in the end, huh."
"They do." She looks at me, smiling with her eyes.
"Are you guys ready to order now?"
"Yes, we'll take a large Margherita pizza and if you have breadsticks, we'll take that," I tell her.
Jenny scribbles down our order, "Will that be all?" I nod. "Alright, your order will be out shorty. In a few minutes, one of our weekly performers and his girlfriend will be performing, you can watch while you wait. Have a good night." She smiles, takes our menus, and walks through the swinging doors that lead to the kitchen.
"Hey, I've got something to ask you."
"What?" She looks up at me through her eyelashes as she drinks her water, moving around her ice.
Why am I so nervous? "I was wondering if you're going to my Stanford game, I would like to have you there."
"Why would you even ask that! You know I'm coming, any chance to see you in tight pants while you tackle guys, so fucking hot." She mumbles the last part, sipping on more water.
"You know, sometimes I think you only like me for my body."
She shrugs a shoulder, "Maybe. I never asked, but what position do you play in football."
"Cornerback." Confusion is all over her face, I further explain. "A cornerback is a part of the defensive backfield. They cover the receivers, but also defend against offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. Depending on what's going on, and the play the coach calls, I'll either be playing man coverage or zone coverage. Man coverage is when my responsibility is to cover the wide receiver, I follow him around. It's a difficult position to play, one of the hardest out of all of them. Most players who are cornerbacks are typically smaller, but as you can see, I'm pretty big, it poses a challenge to some but not to me. If I don't do man coverage, then I'm doing zone coverage which is being in charge of certain parts of the field. That job is preferred the most because it's less stress on me."
"Wait, I thought you were the Quarterback."
My face scrunches up, "What made you think I was the Quarterback? Didn't anyone ever tell you, my position?" She thinks about it for a moment.
"Jill told me the first time we hung out, but I thought she said, Quarterback. Maybe I heard wrong, both words sound the same. Have you always played Cornerback?"
I smile, liking the fact that she's taking an interest in my football, "No. For a while, I was on offense, but I wasn't good at it. My high school coach put me in as Cornerback the next season and I did well, ever since then, it's been my position."
"You're on scholarship?" I nod. "Then why are you working."
"The money isn't enough, and it only pays for classes and books. I get most of the money back, but that goes to my truck and then saving up for an apartment."
Her eyes widen, "You're moving." I see the panic in her eyes.
I rub my hand on her thigh, "Not right now. I'll be graduating in about a year, I need to have somewhere to live. The others will be going off to other colleges for better master's programs, I know Monica may be going back home, we're growing up."
"What about me?" Her words come out small, and for a moment, I thought she may cry.
I kiss her hand, "Elizabeth, relax. Nothing will be changing for a while."
"Will you tell me if you left?"
"Of course, you'd be the first person I tell." She nods her head like she's reassuring herself.
She starts to calm down when the entertainment comes out, I pull her chair over to me, looping an arm around her body, warming her up. She's still a little cold. Her head rests on my shoulder, and for a second her eyes close and I just look at her. The long length of her eyelashes, her button nose, and glossy, plump lips. My creepy gazing is interrupted when the perfumers are announced. A short man wearing a suit comes to the mic.
"Hello to you all and thank you for having dinner here at Mervin's Mary. Tonight, we will have a couple come out and sing a few songs for you guys. They have been performing here for the past month and have been a hit with the crowd. So, relax, drink your drinks and eat your food. Introducing Jill Del Campo and Daniel Robinson!" The whole crowd claps but Elizabeth and I.
Her head moves from my shoulder, eyes alert and lips pursed. We both watch as Jill and Daniel hit the stage. She has on a swanky blue dress with a deep cut, showing her boobs and black heels. Daniel has on a blue button-up shirt, some weird satin pants, and dress shoes. He gets settled at the piano, testing out the keys. Jill, on the other hand, tests the mic as she taps her feet to the imaginary beat.
"Did you know about this?"
"No, I had no idea. Did you know about this?" All the while she's staring at Jill and Daniel, just shocked by it all.
"Hell no, you know I would have held you."
What the actual fuck is going on here?
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