Willing to wait

The next thing I knew, we were inside the pickup truck of Daniel, driving on our way to his apartment. It was within the city, in one of the buildings his company constructed.

"I hope you like seafood." Then he suddenly remembered something. "I forgot to ask if you have any allergies." Slightly panicking.

I touched his hand, which was resting in the gearshift. "I love all kinds of seafood." Assuring him that he had nothing to worry about since I had no violent reactions to any kind of food.

"I hope you'll love my specialty." He said hopefully. We talked about cooking for a while and then shifted to other topics until we arrived in the underground parking. Taking in the size of the parking lot, this was no ordinary apartment. Judging from the height of the building outside, I just entered one of the luxurious buildings in this part of the city.

His apartment was almost on the top floor. Waiting inside the elevator was making me anxious. Having an apartment in the upper portions of the building was a clear indication of power and wealth. Instances like this reminded me again of the real status of Daniel. However, I was not here for his money. Refusing to let the words of Nathan ruined my night with Daniel.

He took my hand in his as we waited for the doors of the elevator to open. He ushered me in the hallway to his apartment. The whole place was spacious, with a beautiful view of the city. Different colors beautifully adorned the living room, giving his apartment a relaxing atmosphere, making me feel at home.

"What do you think of the place?" I found him watching me as I stood in the center of this beautiful space.

"It's homey," I said as I continued to check the entire room. Not the conventional type of a bachelor pad, the space was full of life with a mixture of the old and new different pieces of furniture and decors. I walked further into the room and stopped at the stunning view behind the clear glass window.

The city lights illuminated the buildings and the busy streets under my gaze. "It's wonderful. You have a beautiful view."

"Yes. Truly beautiful." He whispered, standing behind me. Daniel placed his arms around me as he slowly turned me around and stared at my eyes. "You are beautiful."

"Thanks." What do you say to that? I could see the emotions swirling in his eyes. I hope that the same feeling would show up in my eyes someday. For now, I was here to show him that he was very important in my life too.

He placed a gentle kiss just behind my ear before pulling away. "I better finished preparing our dinner." He walked in the direction of the kitchen, leaving me to stare at his back.

"Can I help?" I offered as I started following him.

Stopping me on my tracks and shoving me back to the couch. "Nope. You just make yourself comfortable. I have it handled."

Soft music was playing in the background. I roamed around the room and found several pictures of him and his family. Several pictures of him with her Mom and two with his Dad. I assumed because the resemblance was evident.

There was a picture of him with his mom where he was holding a medal, probably from his swimming competitions. "I won that during my senior year." He said while standing on the corner. "Dinner is ready."

His kitchen was magnificent and spotlessly cleaned, but really well used, closely noticing the scratches and a few stains. The dining table was beautifully arranged with a candle in the center.

He led me to a chair and started to serve the wine and the food. I could see the effort he put into making the whole thing perfect. I felt tremendously lucky to have met such a wonderful man. Everybody said that he was a great guy. I never had a doubt.

The shrimp, cooked in a superb tasty sauce was excellent. Based on Daniel, it was a secret recipe handed down to their family by their great grandmother, which he learned from his mom. The chocolate mousse was so rich that I could not help but to eat half of his share, which he gladly gave to me. He made the cake. What else could I ask for?

"I remembered how you love your dessert." As he offered me the last bite. I took it with much pleasure. The dinner was so perfect and quite romantic. He outdid himself.

I did appreciate the effort he put into this date and I would like to reciprocate it. I wanted to show him that we could make this work.

"Thank you. The food was excellent. You are a great cook. If you get tired of building things, I suggest you shift to cooking." Teasing him.

"I'll try to consider that." He stood up and started clearing the table. Immediately, I stood up and helped him in the kitchen, but he would not have it.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the sofa, while I finished here?" Pushing me back in direction of the living room. There was no arguing with his tone, so I left him and went to check his movie collection. Maybe we could watch a movie.

"What about a movie?" I asked him when he emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later. Looking at the man who was walking towards me, I marveled at my luck that this wonderful man wanted to be with me.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" He stood behind me and looked at the movies I preselected. The action movie was the last thing we watched together, drama was a big no to him, meaning no soppy themes. We ended up agreeing on a romantic comedy we have already seen but would like to see again.

Halfway to the movie, while cuddled together, I felt that he tightened his hold on my shoulders. Was this it? All of a sudden, my heart beat faster, but not the same way with Nathan. It was more of nervousness than excitement. I should not be feeling like this. This is Daniel. You chose him. I reminded myself.

He slowly shifted in his seat as he looked at me. I knew what was about to happen, I was not dumb. I wanted to be excited about it. However, something was surely wrong with me. I kept thinking of that stupid kiss. Nathan's lips on mine. Stop it. Focused on Daniel. I silently scolded myself.

I closed my eyes and waited for what would happen next, trying my best to focus on the man who was willing to love me with no condition. He might not have said the word aloud, but I could see it in his eyes and through his actions.

He started caressing my cheeks and slowly lowered his lips to mine. I felt the familiar soft lips, the gentle kiss, the same feeling hit me. The feeling of kissing a friend, happy and safe, not the kind of passion I was looking for in a lover.

I still tried to kiss him back with the same intensity, hoping that it would spark something in me. Disappointingly, it was not helping my situation. When we stopped for air, I mildly positioned my index finger to his lips. "It's getting late," I said softly. Creating a small space between us.

"Or you can stay." He offered as he continued to caress my face. He was wishing that I would stay. I could feel it in his touch.

"I can't. I'm not ready." I reasoned, hoping I could make him understand without hurting his feelings.

"I understand. I'm just happy that you are here. At least you're giving this a chance." He took my hand and kissed it. "I'm willing to do anything as long as I can make you happy. I know how you feel about me, you never lied about it, but I'm willing to wait until you fall for me because I am falling for you."

His declaration was not news to me. As I thought earlier, I had known about it for some time. "Thank you, Daniel. You mean so much to me." He did mean so much to me. "I want to fall for you. You are a good man. Just give me time to teach myself to love you, but if you think you have enough and you could not wait for me. I will understand if you want to end this."

"I'm willing to wait no matter how long. I will do everything I can until your heart belongs to me." Taking me for another kiss.