13 Going on a Date
It was Saturday morning and Kiara was rummaging through her drawers. She had a date with Hank today, he told her he wanted to take her someplace fun, and told her to wear something comfortable she could move around in, and also to dress for the weather since they would be outside.
After picking up several shirts, she finally decided to go with a black long sleeved shirt and blue jeans with a pair of sneakers. Since it was now December, the weather was getting colder, so she put on her grey winter coat, topping it off with a light blue hat complete with matching scarf and mittens.
She headed downstairs, her phone dinged as she reached the ground floor, signaling that Hank had arrived to pick her up. She walked outside and looked around, finding him a moment later as she saw him waving to her. As she wandered over, she could see he was standing next to an old blue and white pickup truck, little bits of rust here and there. He quickly greeted her before walking around to the passenger side, opening then closing the door for her after she got in. 'Such a gentleman.' She thought to herself.
After he had climbed in and started the car Kiara turned her head to look at over him, "So where are we headed for our date?" Hank replied back with his typical slow southern drawl, "Don't you worry none." He quickly glanced over at her, grinning. "It's not too far. We'll be there before ya know it." Kiara couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him in confusion. 'I guess he wants it to be a surprise, but not knowing makes me worry.' She thought silently to herself.
--
Hank parked the truck in a small dirt parking lot. Kiara got out and looked around confused, there was nothing there but some trees and what looked like a little dirt path leading into the woods. As she walked to the back of the truck, she could see a sign saying welcome to the park, and some basic rules next to the path, but it was too far away to read.
She glanced over at Hank who was grabbing a backpack out of the truck, he stood next to her with a big grin. He was dressed pretty much the same as when she saw him at the club, but today his shirt was green, hidden under a black coat that matched his black cowboy hat. She noticed that even with the grin, his eyes still looked a little sad.
"Let's git going." Hank said as he headed for the lone trail. Kiara wasn't sure what to say, was this the big surprise? "Hank, are we just going for a walk?" She asked timidly. He grinned, "Naw! Better than a walk, we are hiking the trail to see the waterfall!" He seemed excited as he led the way. Kiara felt confused, a hike was definitely not what she thought she would be doing today. She sighed inwardly, there was no getting out of it now, she tied the scarf a little tighter around her neck to keep the chill out as she followed him.
--
About half an hour later they arrived at the waterfall. The trail had a lot of ups and downs as they climbed over some large boulders and stepped between massive tree roots, at one point even getting a glimpse from the top of the mountain looking out into the valley, though there wasn't much to see since the leaves were all off the trees now, she thought it would have looked lovely in autumn though. As she came up to the waterfall, she found a nice rock to sit down on for a break. She wasn't out of shape, but that was definitely more strenuous than a regular walk in the park for half an hour. There was some chatting as they walked, though once again it was mostly Hank wanting to do most of the talking.
"Lovely, innit?" Hank remarked happily as he found a nearby rock to sit on. "Yeah.. it is." Kiara replied while trying to catch her breath. She saw him put the backpack down and open it up, rummaging through for a moment he pulled out two bottles of water, then two sandwiches. He turned towards her, "Ye feeling hungry?" She nodded and he handed her a water and sandwich. "What kind?" She asked as she opened the water first. "Jus a simple ham and cheese" he replied before biting into his own sandwich.
She watched the waterfall as she ate her lunch, 'this was a nice attempt at being romantic, but the unexpected hiking, and it being rather cold out today, well.. it could have been much better if done a different time of the year', she thought to herself.
--
After the hike back, which Kiara thought felt even longer than getting there, she plopped into the truck, leaning her head back on the seat to rest. 'I am so happy that's over.' She thought to herself. Once Hank got in she glanced over at him, "Could you crank up the heater, I'm feeling a bit cold?" He nodded and fiddled with the dials. In truth she wasn't a bit cold, she was very cold. Her feet felt numb since the sneakers offered little protection from the chill in the air, she hadn't expected to be outside for so long.
Hank looked over at her, "Let's go someplace to warm up. There's a chocolate café nearby." Kiara looked over at him, puzzled, "what's a.. chocolate café?" He grinned in response, "You'll see."
--
They were sitting at a table for two in the middle of a small café with only a handful of tables, most of which were occupied. A long counter sat on the one side with a waitress coming and going from behind it, while another employee stood near a register for those who wanted to walk up to take something to go. The room smelled like a mix of chocolate and coffee.
Kiara looked over the single page menu that remained at the table, it offered various chocolate drinks and snacks to choose from. "Everything looks, and smells, so good. I don't know what I want." She paused, looking up at Hank, "What are you going to get?" Before he could answer, the waitress stopped back at their table with her paper and pen in hand, "Have you decided?" She asked, looking like she was about to hurry off any second. Hank immediately spoke up, "Yeah, git me two of them there hot cocoas." He paused, "Oh, and two of them chocolate treats too." The waitress looked slightly annoyed as she finished writing down the order, but spoke the same as before, letting out a sigh first, "Which chocolate treats sir?" Hank pointed at something on the menu, "Jus surprise me wit something around this much." The waitress curtly nodded and was immediately on her way.
Kiara stared at a picture on the wall absentmindedly, she was not expecting him to order for her, and wasn't sure exactly how she felt about it. She guessed because she said was unsure he had taken it upon himself to choose for her, though she would've at least liked him to ask her first.
Their order was brought to the table a few minutes later, a large cup of hot chocolate with a big swirl of whipped cream on top was placed in front of each of them, then next to it a small plate with a chocolate sat neatly upon it, chocolate drizzle and shaved chocolate decorating the plates. Hank was given a square shaped chocolate while Kiara had an almond shape.
She decided to test her drink first to see how the temperature was, she took a careful sip, getting whipped cream and drink at the same time, which made it cool enough to drink. A big grin spread across her face at the taste, "mmmm delicious!" She couldn't help but proclaim as she took another sip. The warmth of the cup as she held it took the chill out of her cold hands. After several sips she could feel her whole body beginning to warm up.
She wanted to give the chocolate a try, so placed her cup down and gently picked up the chocolate. As it neared her mouth she got the chocolate smell, she took a careful bite from the end, it was rich and creamy, melting in her mouth. Inside the next bite was the chocolate mousse filling, she couldn't help but let out a soft hum of enjoyment as she closed her eyes and savored the taste in her mouth.
Hank had been staring at her the whole time, when she finally looked at him he couldn't help but exclaim with a grin, "Damn there little missy, you sure looked like you enjoyed that!" He chuckled, while Kiara looked rather embarrassed, muttering softly, "Sorry.. it was really good…"He reached across the table and gently held her hand, "No need for apologizing. I'm happy you did."
They talked for a while as they finished their drinks, Hank got up to go pay the check, "Wait, how much was it, I'll pay for.." Hank lifted his hand to stop her, "Don't worry about it, my treat. I'm the one who asked you out on this date." She wasn't going to argue with him about paying if he wanted to, so put on her coat and met him by the door.
