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Rika
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Clovio was holding his hand out toward me. I could tell that he wanted me to hold his hand. It was kind of nerve wracking, but I wasn't against it. This was a date after all, so I wanted to take advantage of all that I could. Whether Clovio and I ended up dating or not was a different story, but I wanted the full experience today.
“Come on.” He was smiling so brightly that it was contagious.
“OK.” Taking his hand, I returned that smile that he was giving me.
When I turned to look at Lyssa, I saw that she was looking happy as she held onto Warrick's hand as well. So, it wasn't just me and Clovio that were holding onto each other. This just felt right to me. Holding his hand and walking with him. It was normal, right?
.....
“I am so happy that we are going on this date. So is Warrick. He is just shy and doesn't talk much. Isn't that right, Warrick?” Clovio laughed, but Warrick actually answered him. His accent was much thicker than Clovio's, almost to the point that it was impossible to understand him.
“Yes, I am shy.” He looked down a little and I felt like he was self-conscious about his accent.
“You know, Warrick, Lyssa speaks German.” I winked at him before turning to look back at Clovio. “So do I.”
“Ach ja?” Clovio, looking so surprised that he was rooted to the spot, asked me that one simple question.
“Yeah, really.” I answered him.
As we started to walk along more, we were mixing German and English together as we talked. Warrick, who was very shy about his English, was happy to be speaking in his native language. It made him seem more open and outgoing. I guess his confidence in the new language was lacking a little bit. I could tell that Lyssa was finding it cute, though. When he would say something cute and romantic in German, Lyssa would blush and get the most adorable expression on her face.
“Shall we go for a carriage ride, meine Sch?ne Rika?” Clovio, still holding onto my hand, asked as we approached the part of the park that had little two person carriages. “I am sure that Warrick and Alyssa will enjoy the alone time in a carriage of their own.”
“U..uhm, y..y..yeah, I think that I would enjoy that quite a bit.”
“Good. Good.” If I didn't know any better, I would say that I just made Clovio's whole day. Well, maybe I did. I didn't really know what he was thinking at the moment.
We waited until it was our turn to board the carriages. Lyssa and Warrick went first, both of them blushing and looking nervous. It was cute, seeing them together like that. I was happy that they had found each other and were going to be happy together for the rest of their lives. Lyssa deserved that. She was one of the sweetest girls in the world.
Finally, it was time for me and Clovio to get into our carriage. It was meant for couples, so the seats sort of angled into the middle. I think they did that, so the people were forced to snuggle and cuddle with each other. It definitely was not meant for people that weren't comfortable with each other.
I had a little trouble at first. I wasn't used to snuggling up to Clovio like this, but I did it. He even put his arm around my shoulders and held me against his side as we started our circuit around the park.
“I didn't think that they would have horses like this here.” Clovio sounded surprised. “I thought this was something that was only seen in New York.”
“Yeah, it hasn't been here all that long. I think that they started it about five years ago. It is definitely still on the newer side, all things considered.” I explained to him the things that I remembered.
“Ahh. I see.” He pulled me a little closer. “I like it. It gives me a chance to see more of the park and the city that is around it. There is so much beautiful scenery around here.” I looked around us as well. He was right. There were mountains, trees and rivers all around where we were. We could see two of the three from here, but I knew that the river was not that far away.
“Yeah, it really is beautiful, isn't it?”
“Not as beautiful as you, Rika.” Clovio leaned in and whispered into my ear. “You are the most beautiful girl that I have ever met.”
“C..Cl..Clovio!” I was blushing scarlet red now. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it. I just knew that I had to look like a tomato right now.
“It is true.” He was still leaning in toward me as he put his hand on my face. It was just a couple of fingers on my chin, urging me to look at him as he got closer and closer to me. “I can barely hold back when I am with you, Rika.” He was so close now that I could feel his breath hitting my face. I could smell the scent of things like pumpkin and cloves. It was faint, nothing like I would expect a mate scent to be, but did that really matter right now? I wasn't looking for a mate. I was just having a good time.
Before I knew it, Clovio's lips touched mine. It was a soft and slow kiss, nothing intense. He just kissed me gently and didn't even try to put his tongue in my mouth. Still, it was amazing. And the first kiss that I had ever had.
“I hope that was OK. I couldn't stop myself.” He was smiling, but there was worry in his eyes.
“O..oh y..yeah. I..it was f..fine.” Why was I so nervous? “I..I uhm, I liked the kiss.” My face felt like it was on fire when I said that. It was completely embarrassing, even if it was true.
“Good.” He grinned and leaned in close once more. Before I knew it, he was kissing me again. I tasted more of him this time since he slowly slipped his tongue into my mouth as the kiss got a little hotter this time.
I don't remember a single thing from the carriage ride other than the kisses that Clovio and I shared. They were amazing and I knew that I would remember them for the rest of my life. They were special for more than one reason.
After the carriage rides, we walked around town. There was an area that had a lot of food trucks and other vendors. It was near the university, and I had wanted to go there so often, but this was my first time doing so. We went to more than one stand, wanting to make sure that we were able to get a variety of food.
I often ate a lot, compared to other people. My appetite was normal for a girl that was a shifter, but it was decidedly large for a human. I didn't want Clovio to think that I was a pig or anything, not on the first date at least. So, I decided to take it easy on the food. And, apparently, so did Lyssa. We were both just nibbling at the food that we got to share with our respective dates. It was all so delicious though, and I wanted to eat so much more.
Finally, we were going to watch a movie. This was something that I was nervous about now. I mean, Clovio and I kissed earlier in the day, now we were at the movies, and it was going to be dark. Was he going to try and kiss me again? What was I going to do if he did? Was I just going to kiss him back and ignore the movie? But this was a movie that I had been looking forward to. I wanted to see it. Then again, I could always come back to the theater, or I could stream it when it came out in a couple of months. It was so hard to decide.
In the end, when Clovio leaned over for a kiss, I responded to him in kind. I ignored the movie completely as the two of us seemed to be kissing almost nonstop. We were the only ones either. Behind Clovio, I could see Lyssa and Warrick kissing just like we were. They were making out passionately and ignoring everything around them.
Things were going great. This was the best first date that I could ever have imagined. At least, it was at first. While we were kissing, Clovio started to try and put his hand up my shirt. I wasn't quite ready for that, so I pushed him away and looked at him with hurt filling my eyes.
“Don't.” That was all that I was able to say.
“I am so sorry, Rika. I just let my self-control slip. I really didn't mean it. I am so very sorry.” He looked so hurt and so sad that I felt like he was being sincere. We had been kissing very passionately. I guess, for him, the next natural step was going to be moving onto that phase of things.
“I'm sorry, Clovio, but I am not ready for that. I.. th..this is.. I've never.. y..you're my..” I was having so much trouble just getting the words out of my mouth. I didn't even really know what I was trying to say.
“It's OK, Rika, you don't need to explain. I am sorry. I should have been more mindful of you and your boundaries. I will not let it happen again. We will not move forward until you are ready.” He was being such a gentleman about it that I instantly wanted to forgive him.
“Thank you. And I am sorry for overreacting.”
“Nonsense. It was perfectly understandable.” His smile was so sweet and endearing that I couldn't look away. “Let's watch the rest of the movie. I think it's almost over now.” He was right. It ended in only five minutes, and I didn't know what had happened in the rest of the movie.
Lyssa and Warrick had made out for the entire movie. They didn't stop at all until Clovio tapped Warrick on the shoulder.
“Come on, Bruder, it is time for us to go. The movie is over.”
“O..oh.” Warrick looked like he was a bit lost when he looked around and saw the lights on again.
“Hehe.” Lyssa giggled just a little. “We missed the whole movie.” Her face was flushed, and she looked like she was truly very happy. This was definitely a very good date.
