7

She said it with a giggle and "Hey, you're staring."

"Oh! Alan responded, "I'm very sorry" while feeling ashamed because it was evident that he was captivated by the attractiveness of the woman.

Alan turned his head away to prevent himself from becoming enraptured in the beauty of the scene once more. "Hi, my name is Ruth," she replied right away in an effort to spare him the embarrassment, and he promptly responded, "My name is Alan." Alan is typically a self-assured person, therefore it came as a surprise to him when he realized that he had genuinely lost his confidence in this situation. While Alan was pouring her a drink and handing her the glass of champagne, she continued talking to him and asked, "Would you be so kind as to pour me a drink?"

After two glasses of wine and some humorous banter between the two of them, Alan started to relax and it was clear that they were having a good time in each other's company as they engaged in lengthy conversation.

How long have you been a resident of this area? Alan asked,

She responded, "Well, basically for the better part of half of my life, I came here to school and have basically simply never left since then."

"Wow, it must imply you are highly familiar with all the top spots in town." Alan poked fun at me,

"Yeah, that's no problem. And you? How long have you been making your home in this particular city? That I had never seen you up until tonight?" she asked him. Alan laughed and just simply responded, "Well, you could say I moved here last night." She stared at him in shock and asked, "Really?" Just last night?" she asked as soon as she was able to find her voice. "Means I have a lot of work to do with sowing you around," she teased him, and Alan smiled. "I see, or maybe you're just actually looking for a way to spend more time with me right," Alan said, and they both laughed it off. "Well, maybe I do want to get to know you better," Ruth replied with innocence written all over her face. Alan smiled.

Alan, who is aware of who he really is on the inside, said, "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into." She smiled as she responded, "Couldn't be that bad," and Alan didn't say anything in response. Instead, he took a sip of his drink, looked back at her, and saw that she was still smiling and staring at him. Alan cautioned, "Don't get too close to me, I just might actually bite," as he drained the last of the liquid from his glass. "Don't get too close to me, I just might actually bite."

"Well, let's just say that..." She was unable to finish her thought since her train of thought was interrupted by the entrance of Bruce and Tony, who sat down and stared at her while they poured themselves drinks while exclaiming, "Oh! Alan shared the news with his visitor who was seated across from him, "They have decided to come back and join us."

Alan was able to get the distinct impression that his guest, Ruth, did not feel at ease when she was in the company of his siblings, who gave out an unmistakable odor of alcohol and appeared to be at least somewhat inebriated. Instantaneously, Alan got to his feet and moved over to her, extending his hand and mumbling the words, "Would you want to dance?" in her direction. He inquired, and she responded in the affirmative, so without wasting any time, she grabbed his hand, and he led her out onto the dance floor. It was impossible to have a conversation because of all the noise that was coming from the music, so Alan whispered something into her ears and said, "I observed you weren't comfortable among them."

"I wasn't actually, just wanted you all to myself not in the company of others," she added, "I wanted you alone to myself not in the company of others."

Alan just delivered a positive smirk. He asked her, "Would you like to get out of her?" and she said "Yes" in response to his question.

As he disappeared into the crowd, he remarked, "Okay, let me just say bye to my brothers," and then he walked in the direction of the table that his brothers were sitting at in order to say his goodbyes. When Alan arrived there, he discovered his brothers spending time with three unidentified women dressed provocatively.

Alan jeered at me and said, "I see you're making new pals."

"We'll get it done, brother; we're going to follow in your footsteps." Almost instantly, Bruce gave his response,

Alan said, "Whatever, make sure you're home before midnight, and remember my rules," and he immediately turned around and walked away to join Ruth outside, where she was waiting for him. Ruth had been standing there for a while.

Alan overheard her outside explaining to one of her friends, a girl, that she will be going with him. The conversation was taking place before he saw her. Alan approached her as soon as he realized that she had finished what she had to say.

" Shall we?" As soon as he was in a position where she could hear him, he informed her of this fact.

Her response was "We shall," and then they departed the room.

It was exactly nine o'clock, and the city was still lit up at every street corner, even though it was getting dark. The night sky was pitch black, but the newly emerged stars did a decent job of lighting it up to some extent. Meanwhile, the moon, which was perched on its perch watching over the earth, cast a stunningly beautiful ray of light down onto the planet below. Indeed, one could not have asked for a more breathtaking evening to behold.

Regardless of the hour, the city was a bustling place full of people like the sand along the borders of the ocean.

He inquired, "Is the weather typically like this around here?"

"Like how?" She inquired while appearing perplexed as to what he could possibly be referring about,

"Is it always this bright, this packed, and this busy?" Alan added

"Aren't things like this the way they are where you come from?" She questioned him while openly making fun of him,

He told her, as she stood there giggling uncontrollably at his expression, "No, where I come from you seldom see anyone during the day, talk less of at night." He was referring to the fact that he grew up in a rural area.

"So, in what direction are we going?" Alan questioned, "Where exactly are you thinking of going?" She responded to his query with another one of her own. Alan gave her a glance that served as a gentle reminder that he was new in town and didn't know anyone or anything, and she recognized the cue immediately. "Alright, what do you think about going to a ritzy restaurant for dinner?" As she dragged him into a cab that she had already flagged, she hastily added, "My treat," which she said as she made the suggestion.

"Which establishment are we going to eat at tonight?" As soon as Alan got into the cab, he inquired, "Don't want to destroy the surprise, do you?" (Don't want to ruin the surprise, do you?) She responded to him with a smile when they were both smiling.

After a few minutes of driving, they arrived in front of a restaurant, exited the car, made their payment, and the cab driver then drove off. Alan and Ruth walked right into the restaurant; Alan had never been the type of person to go out often; he was always considered the responsible one by his brothers and almost everyone who they lived in the same building with, and for the first time Alan was actually going the extra mile with someone, not to mention a human being. Ruth greeted Alan with a smile and a wave as they entered the restaurant. Ruth was seated at a table near the front of the establishment.

Ruth made her way to a seat, and Alan followed in her footsteps to find it. Alan, being the gentleman that he is, pulled out the seat for Ruth to sit on before he pulled out his own seat for himself. They placed their orders, then ate and carried on a conversation while they ate.

Alan exclaimed while smiling crookedly, "Wow, Just wow the food is amazing," and his grin was so wide that you could see pieces of food stuck in his toot and ketchup on his lips. "Wow, Just wow the food is amazing," Alan said with a very crooked smile on his face. She looked at the stain on his face and then burst out laughing. "You've got something on your face," she said while giggling. "You've got something on your face," she said while picking up a napkin to wipe the ketchup off of his lips. Alan smiled. After supper, they got some exercise by walking the distance back to her place.

After Alan had left Ruth off at her front door, he felt the want to lean in and give her a kiss. Alan moved lower towards her lips to plant his, but she immediately moved her lips to his cheek, pecking him, and then running off into her door, waving as she disappeared into the house. "Goodnight," she said as she waved her goodbye as she went inside the house. Alan stood there with his hands on his cheeks and a smile on his face, as if he were a woman who had just been given flowers by a loved one. He then stole a glance at the watch on his wrist and exclaimed, "Oh! Alan remarked as he walked away into the night that it was getting close to midnight and that he should probably get home.