“You look gorgeous, Amate. Are you ready?” he asked.
“Thank you. Yeah, I’m ready.” She grabbed her coat off the hook by the door and exited, locking the door behind her.
Once they were in his car, she debated whether or not to ask him where they were going, but she decided to let it be a surprise. Their previous destinations had been, and she was excited to stick to that trend. The first half of the ride was taken in comfortable silence, and Eri couldn’t stop glancing over at him. Previously, she’d been better about it, but now it was like she couldn’t help it.
“Vedi qualcosa che ti piace, Amate?”
Eri wasn’t sure what he’d said, but she was sure it would embarrass or cause her to blush, so instead of attempting to answer him or ask him to translate, she changed the subject.
“I worked on some design placement for the tattoo competition flyers.”
He chuckled, likely knowing what she was doing, but she didn’t care. “Yeah? Do you like how they’ve come out so far?”
“I think so. I won’t know for sure until I have all the information, but Avi said she’ll have it to me soon since everything should be finalized in a few weeks.”
He nodded, switching lanes. “Yeah, I think we’re supposed to get together next week and decide on a venue. Marco could choose it himself, but he wants everyone involved since we’ll all be there.”
That made sense. While it would be under his shop’s name, the artist there would play a big part in making the event successful. Eri liked that he was taking their feedback into consideration and not just telling them how it was going to go because he could have.
“Have you decided if you’re going to display a bike, and which one?”
“I will. Right now, I’ll be displaying my own, but I might contact a couple of clients in the city and have them come out.”
“That’s a good idea. Especially if you get Koa to come. Oh, and Rei. I’ve been watching his streams, and he has a large following, too.”
“You have?”
Eri nodded. Rei was the person whose Halloween party they’d gone to last year. A couple of weeks later, she found him and joined his stream. He was good, and it made for great background noise and entertainment when she was cooking or cleaning.
“Both could bring more people out, which would mean more eyes on both businesses and more revenue if they want tattoos,” she said.
“You’re right. I’ll reach out to them and see.”
The rest of the ride shifted back to silence, and before long, they were pulling up to the restaurant. Eri had heard good things about it, but she hadn’t been in the year they’d been open. She was excited to try it.
Eri leaned against Elias’ side as the images of stars, comets, and planets played overhead. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but she’d lifted the armrest between them at some point. The excuse to herself was that it was digging into her side, and she didn’t like it. It wasn’t as if she needed an excuse. He hadn’t said anything when she did and only slipped his arm around her.
After dinner, they’d come to the planetarium, and while there weren’t many people, they’d opted to sit in the back row in a corner away from everyone else. It’d been such a long time since she’d gone to a planetarium that she forgot how pretty it was. Eri was sure the last time had been with her parents when she was a child, and it felt nostalgic.
When the lights slowly came back on, Elias removed his arm as he stood, helping her up. They filed out with the others in attendance, who were close behind them.
“That was fun,” she stated in the car.
“I’m glad you liked it,” he responded, pulling out of the parking lot, and Eri could immediately tell they weren’t heading to her apartment. “I have one more stop for us to make,” he said as if reading her mind.
She didn’t mind. It was ten-thirty, but her first class the following day wasn’t until ten, and she’d already finished most of the class’s assignments.
They’d been driving for twenty minutes, and Eri knew they were headed out of the city. The direction they were heading in was nothing but nature for thirty miles before they’d get to the next town. At some point, he turned off onto a dirt road and then came to a stop in an open field. Eri looked around, and she might have been frightened if he had been anyone else. It was dark, and they were the only ones there.
Elias got out of the car, opened the passenger door, and helped her out. He left the car running and pulled a blanket out of the backseat then led her to the trunk. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders before pulling out his phone.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
Elias put his phone away and pulled her to stand in front of him, turning her around, her back against his chest.
“Just wait,” he responded.
She didn’t have to wait long before she heard the whistling of fireworks and the sky lit up with them. There were a few designs in the array of lights, and Eri couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
