A Summer to Remember

supposed to have one of the best views of the city in the whole town. I remember my dad was telling me he read in the local newspaper that this place was booked three months out. I don’t think I even knew anyone who’d eaten there yet.
    We walked into the lobby of the hotel. I’d been here a few times before, we’d had a couple family members stay here. It looked a lot more elegant at night, though. We went to an elevator that was separate from the other elevators. Apparently they had a whole new elevator installed just for the restaurant.
    “Are we going where I think we’re going?” Adrian pushed the button and I turned to admire the large chandelier in the middle of the room.
    “If you think we’re going to the Rooftop Terrace, then yes.” The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. He pushed the RT button.
    “How did you even get us in? I heard the reservations are like three months out.” The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile. He could tell I was impressed.
    “My uncle is the manager. I talked to him and he was able to fit us in.” The elevator doors opened and we stepped out. He whispered in my ear, “So are you surprised?” I couldn’t manage to get any words out so I just nodded my head up and down. I didn’t even know something this beautiful could exist in our little town.
    The room was extravagant. We were surrounded by floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the entire city. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The lighting was dim and jazz music was playing from the overhead speakers. The ceiling was black and had small twinkle lights evenly spaced throughout the restaurant with a crystal chandelier above each table.
    “May I help you?” a young blonde girl asked us. She was dressed in a black cocktail dress and black pumps. She must be the hostess.
    “Yeah, I have a reservation under Adrian Louis.”
    “Oh! Yes, of course! Follow me.” She took us away from the tables and down a small hall beside the elevators. “Your uncle told us you’d be coming tonight. One of our VIP guests called and cancelled at the last minute, so lucky for you! You get one of our VIP dining rooms.” We stopped in front of a door on the left as she scans some kind of card and pushed the door open for us. “Here you go.” We walked past her and into the room…both of us were in awe. “Enjoy!” She left the room and shut the door behind her.
    “Wow, this is amazing!” I looked around the room and took in everything. There was a small round table with a half circle couch around it. It faced the window so we could admire the view while we ate. The ceiling was the same as the one in the main dining area. “Now I know what all the hype is about.”
    “Yeah, this place is pretty crazy.” He looked around and admired the room.
    “Is this your first time up here?” I walked up to the window to admire the view and Adrian followed.
    “If you’re asking if this is where I take all my dates, no, you’re the first. I had no idea they even had these rooms.”
    “Sure. I bet this was part of your plan the whole time!” I joked.
    “Oh, believe me, if it was, I would take full credit for it. It was only my idea to come here. The rest of it is all thanks to Uncle Ted.”
    There was a knock on the door and the waiter entered. “Hello and welcome to Rooftop Terrace. My name is Jeffrey and I will be your waiter for the night. If you would like to take a seat, I can go over our specials and take your drink orders.” We both sat down on the couch around the table.
    The waiter handed us menus as we listened to the specials and Adrian ordered a bottle of wine. When the waiter left to get our drinks, Adrian and I discussed what we wanted to eat. After we were both decided, the waiter came back in to take our orders.
    “You two just sit back and relax, your food will be out shortly. If you need any refills or anything, please feel free to push the button on the small remote in the middle of the table.”
    “Thank you, Jeffrey,” Adrian said as the waiter walked out the door.
    “This is really amazing, Adrian. Thank you for this.” I scooted closer to him and he put his arm around me.
    “No, thank you for agreeing to come with me. I don’t think you know how amazing you are. Really.” I was going to open my mouth to argue with him on that, but I decided to keep my thoughts to myself and let us both enjoy our evening together.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 13

    W e made small talk while we ate