Alejandra POV

For the last hour I've been staring at the ceiling just contemplating the date I had later in the day, I had woken up to a text from Mr. Richards asking if I would mind having lunch at a local restaurant that served seafood and pasta, but changing the place because of my seafood allergy not wanting to have reaction we changed it to a italian restaurant which he seemed to be okay with. Hearing Tony awake reminded me I had to take him to his soccer practice a little before I had to head to the restaurant.
Grabbing my clothes I wanted to wear I headed to shower not washing my hair since I didn't have time.
Plugging in my straightener and deciding to just do concealer and mascara and some gloss I fix my front pieces and keeping my hair straight I spray some perfume. Heading to my room to change into a off the shoulder white top and some light wash jeans and some black heeled boots. Grabbing my purse and keys I look at the time seeing I have roughly 30 minutes till 2 I knock on Tony's door hoping he's ready.
"Are you almost ready?"
"Yeah hold on I'm just looking for my shirt" I hear as he opens and closes drawers.
Opening the door to his surprisingly clean room I walk around and look under his bed and spot his hiding place for the mess I told him to clean hoping something won't crawl out I move something's around looking for a bright red shirt , spotting it toward the corner of the bed I reach for it as I stand throwing it to him letting him know to actually clean his room before Monday. Walking to the door as i see him walk out his room with his shirt on and duffel bag in hand we head out and drive to the field he practices at. With a kiss on the cheek he heads out after I tell him I'll be back around 4 and waves at his friends waiting for the coach to open the gate a few waving at me, before I head to the restaurant with 10 minutes before 2.

Turning off the car I text Eris that I made it to the restaurant after she wanted to know everything of the date not waiting till tomorrow when I would see her.
Grabbing my purse I walk to the front door sitting on a small bench for people waiting, having sat there for almost 10 minutes wondering if I got stood up I pull out my phone about to text Mr.Teacher if he was going to show up before I hear the door open and see him walk in.
"Hi Alejandra sorry I got stuck in traffic" he said in a apologetic tone. 
"It's okay I didn't sit because I didn't know if you had a reservation "
"No I didn't make one let me go and ask for a table" He said looking annoyed at what I mentioned as he walked to the host who shook her head. He walked back and let me know we would have to wait 30 minutes since their was a rush. Letting out a breath we sat at the benches and he went on his phone not bothering to strike a conversation as we waited.
40 boring minutes later we finally got sat at a table. As we ordered our drinks him getting some kind of wine during lunch and me ordering a Dr Pepper seeing him eye me as I ordered. As the server walked away he looked up at the tv on the wall and few feet behind me that was playing some kind of game.
"So Mr.Teacher what made you want to be a teacher?" I asked hoping we could talk at least while we waited for our drinks.
" I don't know I like math and also teaching looked nice so that's what I do, and you can call me Steve"
"That's nice um Steve so where are you from?"Already feeling a bit annoyed at his dry responses.

"Seattle" He said grabbing a piece of bread from the basket at the end of our table still looking up at the tv. Only looking down when the waiter comes and brings our drinks asking if I would like a straw, nodding and letting him know we would like a minute to see the menu I hear Steven clear his throat when the waiter smiles at me. Furrowing my brows at the sound I turn to him.
"He's nice isn't he Alejandra"
He says in a slight sarcastic mood, giving him a awkward smile I sip on my soda and look at the menu avoiding his eyes already in my mind texting Eris about the jerk Steve is showing himself to be.
Deciding on the chicken alfredo I look up and see Steve staring at me.
"So what are you getting" He says sipping on his wine.
"I was thinking the chicken alfredo and you?" I ask still giving the whole conversation thing a go.

Seeing his face scrunch up at my words and as he's about to say something the waiter asks for our order. Turning away from Steve I open the menu to point to the pasta I hear Steve say that I would like a small salad and he would like the shrimp alfredo. Freezing in disbelief at his words turning to look at him as he's sipping on his wine and looking bored at the tv. Feeling disgusted I reach for my bag I stand up and drop my napkin on the table the sound grabbing his attention.

"Where are you going?" He asks in a demanding tone.

"This date was a mistake I don't know why I even said yes to come" I say angry at him.
Turning to walk away I feel a hand on my arm not letting me go. Shocked I turn around our cutlery clinging on the table making some people turn around smiling at them I shake my arm free reminding him to never look for me again. My heals sounding on the wood floor and ringing in my ears is the only thing i can hear as I walk out the restaurant to my car a few rows away from the entrance.

My shaky hands barley finding my keys in my purse as I step inside my car and lock the doors before I feel the air leave my lungs and feel my body turn cold as I grasp at my chest feeling the emptiness and my head feel numb along with my legs heaving for air I force my eyes open and scan for 5 things around me I could see 4 things I was touching 3 things I heard around me 2 things I could smell and 1 thing I was able to taste.

Forcing myself to say them out loud let me breathe in cold air that made my brain circle.
Letting myself take a few more breathes I begin to feel more relaxed. Knowing i'm horrible with confrontation triggered the panic attack that I know won't let me do anything for the rest of the day.

Heading to a grocery store to slightly distract myself in the hour i have left to pick up Tony. Grabbing sour gummy worms from my purse to let the taste force me back to reality. Grabbing a basket from one of the aisles and placing the bag in it and walking down the fruit aisle. Looking at the grapes and strawberries picking the better looking ones and placing them in the basket. Still heading down the aisle to the freezer section feeling the cold on my exposed neck making me get goosebumps, pushing the sliding door open and looking for my favorite cookies and cream ice cream bucket. Turning around to walk down the cookie and baking aisle but seeing a man in the aisle i do a half turn and head to the next aisle. Spotting the lucky charms and remembering the mental shopping list i made I speed walk to the colorful box. Only stopping at the place it was on the shelve, placing the basket on the floor and stepping on the first shelve barely able to reach my finger tips at the edge of the 4th shelf .

Seeing a hand reach the box and hand it to me I trace the arm back to the face and see Dominic with a amused smile seeing the length i had to go to for cereal. Stepping off the shelf and picking up my basket.
"Thank you Dominic" I say grabbing the box from his hands. He nods and grabs the basket from my arm and carry's it gesturing me to follow him. Knowing I have the hour to wait I hadn't minded as we walked down the aisles.
"You look tired Alejandra"He says grabbing the apple juice I pointed for him to get.
"Yeah today wasn't how I expected it to go"I say grabbing the sour gummy worms I had in my purse from my last panic attack already having finished the bag from a few minutes ago, offering him some smiling when we takes a pink and blue one I take one peeking to see if I did remember to get more to buy just in case.
"Is that your favorite candy?" He asks grabbing another gummy this time a orange and green one.
"It helps me calm down so it's on the list, you what's yours?"
"I'd say snickers or just choclate in general' I nod at his answer and walk a few steps ahead to the candy aisle and grab a snicker bar and throw it in the basket smiling at him letting him know it was my treat.

'I think I'm going to pay now, you didn't get anything?'I ask confused realizing he didn't have anything in his hands when I saw him.

'I had just come for a boquet of roses but I recognized you and was going to say hi but saw you struggled getting to the shelf so I stuck around'He said sheepishly at my smile.

'Oh!Im sorry I didnt mean to keep you this long I just came to the store to distract myself and make time before I had to leave, here Ill take the basket so you wont be late to where you where going'I say lowering my head feeling guilty.

'No no please I decided to join you as you shopped here how about you help me pick a boquet' He guided me to the small flower section of the store

'Hmmm well whats the ocassion if its like a date then maybe roses or for like family then probably you could buy the smaller boquets and make a bigger boquet with more variety' I say scanning the options.

'Well they are for my grandma Im visiting her tomorrow'He said

'Well if you like then mix the peonies and tulips with the roses'I say looking up at him not knowing if he'd like the idea.

He nods with a smile and grabs the flowers grabbing a extraboquet of the roses. Walking to the line and taking out my wallet from my purse he yet again stops me.

'Please as a thank you for helping me pick the flowers let me get you your things.'He says in a tone letting me know he wouldn' t take no for a answer nodding with a smile as he places everything on the conveyor belt and pays as I try and bag the things but he just hands me the flowers when he hears my phone ring, smiling as he bags the things.

'Tony what happened?'I say looking at my watch seeing there was stil 15 minutes till I had to pick him up.

'Ale pleasee can I go to Andrews house he just got a new game and his mom said it was okay'

'Yes yes go but call me when you know what time you want me to pick you up'I say knowing I could have a small me day to study for my tests that I had coming up.Hanging up after he told me he loved me and he would text me the adress.

'I take it now your free for the afternoon'I hear Dominic say behind me turning and nodding.

'Here'He says smiling as he hands me the red roses that are now wrapped in pretty bown paper with a red bow, my shocked eyes looking at his.

'You said that I should get the red roses if I was going on a date and now that you have a free afternoon I wanted to ask if you would join me for a late lunch'He says scanning my now nodding beet red face.

'Great here how about this if you feel comfortable we can take my car and we can stop my your house and drop off the groceries so the ice cream doesnt melt and we can head out to get something to eat'He says cautious not knowing if I would be okay with the idea.

'Yes please I dont mind' I say smiling still feeling the blush on my face. Walking to his black mercedes I peak at the flowers which where the first I ever recieved I feel his hand at the small of my back guiding me after I had almost tripped still staring at the flowers which I noticed had a small note with my name in neat cursive. Smiling and looking up to see a black mercedes walking to the passenger seat my shaky hands reach for the door but he wins to open the door smiling and closing the door when I sit. Looking down at the flowers still in disbelief I hear the trunk open and the driver door opening and Dominic stepping in. Being able to look at him as he drives out the parking lot I see he was wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves being rolled up and black dress pants his hair being neatly gelled back and his face acne free a few moles and some small acne scars on his freshly shaved face.

'Can I play some music?'I ask pulling myself to be out of my comfort zone.

'Sure play anything you want, here my phones already connected also type your address im horrible with streets'He admits with a laugh nodding I type my address and open spotify and type in a song.

'Do you mind spanish music?'I ask weirily not knowing if he would feel comfortable

'Ale, can I call you that? Feel free to play anything I don't mind at all'He says looking at me while we where at a red light.

'Of course then if we are on nickname basis hmm whats yours?'I say picking a Carin Leon playlist.

'Well my grandma and friends call me Dom'He says

'Maybe eh i dont know, I love nicknames alot of my kids since they can't say my last name call me Ms. Ale since some have lisps or since for some english isnt their first language'I say smiling remembering my 4 year olds.

'Which apartment complex is it?'He asks smiling at my comment.

'Its that light gray one the garage is around the corner on your right hand side'

After punching in the code on the keypad Dominic stops the car and steps out and unlocks the trunk still not letting me carry the bags.

'If its okay Ill walk with you'He offers following me when I nod walking up the flight of stairs with my heeled boots clicking on the stairs I reach for the keys in my bag and let him in.

'Sorry for the mess here leave the bags on the table Im going to grab a vase to put the flowers in'I say walking the the hallway closet for my only red vase filling it up with water in the sink I place the roses in the vase walking back to the kitchen to see Dominic putting the groceries in the fridge next to the door.

'Thanks, that's all I needed to do we can head out if you want'I say grabbing the small bag of gummy worms to put in my purse as a just in case for later.

Locking the door and walking back down the stairs to the car, waving at one of the older ladies that lives a floor above us.

As he opens the door for me he hands me his phone to play music.

'Im gonna guess you do like my music if I got aux again'I say scrolling and deciding on a song by Kevin Kaarl 'Como me encanta'.

'Yes Ale, I forgot to ask are you allergic to something or perfer to avoid certain foods?'He says looking at me woried at my shocked face that probably confused him.

'Sorry its just no one had ever asked me that it sounds stupid i know, but I am allergic to sea food and well pollen but sea food will give me a very expensive trip to the hospital'I say laughing at my last trip where I was out of commision for 3 days.

'Noted is there a place you'd like to eat its not that late'He says looking at the time almost 5.

'Well do you like Mexican food?One of my friends from highschool her parents own a great place its a few blocks from here' I said nervous incase he would rather pick a different place.

He nods swiping on his phone to open the map app so I could type the address. I swipe back to spotify when I see his background a cute small brown dog.

'Omg the dog is so cute whats her name?Is it yours?Is it a boy or girl?'I ask my love for pets showing.

'Her name is Mona Ive had her since college shes my emotional support dog she is turning 5 this November'He laughs as I look at the background.

'I used to have a dog growing up her name was Chiquis she looked like a mini cow in the body of a chiuahua I had to leave her when I came to the US.'I say remembering her.

'How old where you when you came here if you dont mind me asking?'He asks

'I was 10 so not long ago I had to cross with a group of strangers through the river with a 2 year old Tony in my hands, it took us days to cross through the desert since the person crossing us over got lost a few times'

'Wow so where did you immigrate from?'He asks as his eyebrows shoot up.

'Well my parents where from Leon, Guanajuato but my grandparents where from Jalisco and Aguascalientes'I say smiling at him ask he parked the car.

He opens the door to the restaurant as I was about to thank him I heard a corus of greetings.

'Ale ya ase mucho que no te veiamos por aqui, y mira Javier trai a su novio'(Ale long time no see and look Javier she even brought her boyfriend)

I heard Estella say as she walked out of the kitchen with her husband Javier trailing behind her raising his eyebrows at the mention of boyfriend.

'Hola Estella no el no es mi novio venimos para una cita,es todo se llama Dominic'(Hi Estella no no he isn't my boyfriend we are just here on a date, that's it his name is Dominic) I say stepping aside so im not in in front of Dominic.

'Hola mijo hablas espańol?' (Hi son do you speak spanish ?) Estella asks as Im about to translate I hear him answer her in broken spanish.

'Mucho gusto Sra.Estella mi espańol no es perfecto pero estoy apprendiendo' He says after correcting himself with a few words.(Nice meeting you Mrs,Estella my spanish isnt perfect but I am learning)

'Ay que bueno, Javier saluda a los muchachos no seas grosero'(Oh good, Javier dont be rude and greet the kids) She says smaking him on the arm with a towel before walking back to the cash register when a customer walks in.

'Mucho gusto Dominic me la cuidas es como mi hija si la lastimas mi hija Alina no te perdona'(Nice to meet you Dominic take care of her shes like a daughter if you hurt her my daughter Alina wont be nice) Javier says looking slighly up as he shakes Dominics hand and walks away.

'Sorry if meeting them caught you off guard'I say knowing meeting family on the first date might not have been in his plans.

'Ale they where great dont apologize it let me show off my spanish even if im a beginner'He laughs pulling a chair for me.

'Here the menu I had translated to english a few years ago so you shoudlnt have a problem ordering'

'What do you recommend for someone who could handle spice but not super spicy'

'Well Estellas enchiladas rojas de pollo are great, their tortillas covered in a red sauce that are rolled with chicken inside and served with lettuce tomato and sour cream and chile if you want'He nods liking my suggestion.

'Aver nińos que gustan comer, Ale ya me se tu orden pero la de mi nińo no'Estella asks (Okay kids what would you like to eat, Ale I know your order but my child heres not yet). I ordered for him knowing maybe the order would be difficult for him to say.

'Entonces las enchiladas y para tomar?'She asks as I translate to Dominic letting her know that the same as me as he lets me choose for him.

'Thanks, I wouldve had some trouble'He says laughing remembering his trouble at the door to talk.

We talked as we ate he ended up loving the enchiladas and even tried the quesadilla of asada I got and loved the pinapple water I ordered for him, and fell in love with the chocoflan that Estella convinced him to try. We talked for what felt minutes but was almost 3 hours, but cut our conversation short when Tony let me know he was ready to go home.

'Gracias Estella ay me despide de Javier'(Thank you Estella please say bye from us to Javier)

After she blessed us as she always did we drove back to the grocery store so I could get my car.

'Thank you Dominic for the help at the store and the pretty flowers and the date I loved it'I said feeling the heat rise to my face as I looked at him.

'Of course Im glad I got to see you and talk more with you, I hope you would like to meet later in the week for a coffee date this time'He said with a sweet smile as he parked next to my car, he began to unbuckle his seatbelt but I stopped him.

'No no I can open the door and everything I will ask if you wait a minute till I leave since it's