“Ok, nightclub it is,” he confirmed.
“Are you an only child?” I asked him curiously.
“Yes, I’m an only child. I have a few cousins though.”
“Lucky,” I told him, sounding just a tad bit envious. “Neither of my parents had siblings so I had no cousins, no uncles, and no aunts.”
“Is that why you wanted more than one child?” He never removed his eyes off the road and it felt comfortable talking like this.
I thought for a second. “I didn’t have exactly a plan for how many children I would have. But I did want to have two at the minimum. So they can have each other when I’m gone.”
I debated whether I should ask him how many children he wanted. I didn’t want to cause him pain by bringing up his past.
“I always wanted two at the minimum too,” he commented, his eyes on the road. I had no doubts that he’d be a good father. He had a wonderful way with children. I had seen it firsthand. “Adoptions are always an option.”
“Yes, they are,” I confirmed, little flutters in my belly. I couldn’t explain it, but his comment made me like him even more. And I already liked him a lot. I looked out the window, picturing Kristoff as a father. I could just see him surrounded with family and little boys, spitting images of him.
“Do you listen to music?” I switched to a lighter subject.
He chuckled. “Yes, I listen to pretty much anything.”
I had to stifle a yawn. I couldn’t understand how he wasn’t tired. Neither one of us got much sleep last night.
He looked over at me and smiled. “If you want to stop for coffee, we can do that too. There is a drive-thru Starbucks nearby.”
“Ahhh, that is a great idea,” I told him. “Maybe I’ll actually stay awake till midnight.”
“Ok, beautiful. Starbucks it is,” he confirmed brushing his finger across my cheek.
Five minutes later, I was sipping on my cappuccino with skimmed milk while some upbeat dance music played on the radio. Kristoff didn’t need a booster, so it was just the smell of my cappuccino filling the car. We sat in silence as I sipped my coffee. Whether it was sitting with him in silence or chatting nonsense, everything with him gave comfort to me.
Thirty minutes later, he spoke up. “We are nearly there. Your booster kicked in?” he asked with a smile.
I grinned at him. “I’m ready to get this party started!”
We both chuckled. He parked right at the front door and came around to open the door for me. He held out his hand and helped me out of his sleek sports car. I glanced around, noticing nobody else had their vehicle nearby.
“Kristoff, is your car going to be ok?” I glanced back at his car with concern. “I don’t think you are supposed to park there, and I’d hate for your car to be towed away.”
“It will be fine,” he insisted, and at that moment a young man approached us. Kristoff slipped him something, no words were exchanged, nothing. I just shrugged my shoulders, grabbed Kristoff’s hand, and pulled him forward. Hand in hand, we entered the nightclub.
Chapter Six
As we entered the club, loud music assaulted my senses.
“Ugh, this is why we no longer come to nightclubs?” I mumbled more to myself.
Kristoff stepped closer to me; our hands intertwined as we walked together through the crowd, looking for Rick and Betty along with others.
He spotted them first and took me to the table on the right side of the room where Betty, Rick, and a few other couples were hanging out. Our group consisted of the oldest people in this place! I knew I was the youngest in our group, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Good thing Kristoff came along; otherwise, I would have been the only single oddball in the group.
Betty jumped up and ran to us. “Oh my God! Finally!” She kissed me on the cheek. “And you came too?” she asked Kristoff, her words slurred. Betty was already tipsy, or possibly past the tipsy stage.
“Yes, he agreed to be my date,” I answered. Introductions were made, and then Betty jumped around like she just got the best gift ever. I shook my head chuckling and Rick came over to greet us, his eyes never wavering from me.
“You made it,” he yelled into my ear over the blasting music. “Look at you, you look fucking hot!” He embraced me. I pulled my hand out of Kristoff’s to return the hug.
“Thanks,” I smiled, yelling back with a giggle. “I feel like I am totally inappropriately dressed.”