Bonus Chapter
One Year

The doorbell rang, alerting me that Matthew finally arrived. I had been waiting all day for him to come, and I’d been checking my makeup and outfit again and again for the past hour. I ran downstairs excitedly and flung open the door to see Matthew, all dressed up in a black suit. He was carrying some flowers in his hand and flashed me a big smile.

“Hi Katie,” he said, handing me the flowers. “Happy one-year anniversary.”

“Matthew!” I said, taking the flowers in my hand and then hugging him. “I can’t believe it’s been a year already.”

“Time really flies, doesn’t it,” he said, chuckling. “Can I just say you look amazing?”

“Thanks,” I said, looking down at my outfit. I decided to wear a black sleeveless dress since it was the prettiest one I could find. “It took me hours to choose one.”

“You know I would say you’re beautiful in any outfit, Katie,” he said. “But yeah, I agree, this one looks great.”

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing his hand. “Here, come in, I need to put these flowers somewhere before we go.”

We walked over to the kitchen, and I put the flowers on a chair. I gave them a quick pat. “Here, so they’re nice and safe.”

“Matthew, Katie, congratulations on the one-year anniversary,” my mom said, clapping her hands together as she entered the kitchen.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said, smiling brightly.

“Here,” she said, handing me her credit card. “Consider it my treat.”

“Wow,” I said, taking the card from her hands. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, just don’t buy drugs or something,” she said, laughing gently.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said, giggling. “We’ll get going, Mom.”

“Bye you two,” my mom said, waving at us.

Matthew and I made our way to the front door, he put on his boots and I put on some flats. We headed outside, and I saw Matthew’s car parked on the road. It was a little dingy since his parents got him a used one for his first car, but it was still better than biking.

“For you,” he said, opening the car door for me.

“What a gentleman,” I said, giggling as I got into the car. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” he said, closing the door. He walked over to the other side of the car and got in the driver’s seat.

“So, what do you have planned for me,” I asked, tapping my feet in excitement.

“I got us a reservation at that super fancy place, Ivory,” Matthew said, putting his hands on the steering wheel.

“Ivory?” I asked, my mouth slightly agape in shock. “Isn’t that place super expensive?”

“Well, we have your mom’s credit card,” he said, glancing over at me as he started up his car. After a few seconds, he laughed. “I’m just kidding, I’ve been saving up for us.”

“Oh, that’s nice of you,” I said. “We can split it if it’s too expensive.”

“No, no, I’ll pay,” he said, puffing out his chest in masculine pride. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay then,” I said, sinking into the comfy car seat.

***

“Katie, we’re here,” Matthew said, stopping the car. There was a valet standing outside, ready to take Matthew's car.

“Wow, this place is super fancy if it has a valet,” I said. I was about to step out of the car when Matthew stopped me.

“I’ll get the door for you,” he said, hopping out of the car. He walked over and opened my door for me, grabbing my hand to help me get off. “For you.”

“You’re even sweeter than usual,” I said, giggling. “Thanks though.”

“Here, sir,” Matthew said, handing the valet his keys. We then walked inside the restaurant to be greeted by a hostess at the front.

“Do you two have a reservation?” she asked.

“Yes, for two, it should be under the name Matthew Choi,” Matthew said.

“Umm, yes here I see it,” she said, clicking on a tablet. “Here, we have a seat for you right here.”

I looked around the restaurant as we walked to our seats. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, although they were dimmed to create some mood lighting. Each table had a pristinely clean white tablecloth on it.

“What happens if we spill something on the tablecloth?” I asked Matthew, a little nervous.

“I think it’ll be fine, they’ll just replace it,” Matthew said, laughing. “Are you seriously worrying about that?”

“It’s my first time at a restaurant this fancy,” I said. “I’m a little nervous, of course.”

“Here we are,” the hostess said, motioning for us to sit down at a table. “I’ll bring over the menu in just a second.”

“Thank you,” I said, smiling at her. We both took a seat at the table for two.

“I think I’m going to get a steak,” Matthew said, looking at what other people were eating. “Nothing beats a medium rare steak.”

“I don’t like that, it looks like it's bloody,” I said.

“It’s not blood, it’s actually water mixed with some protein,” he said.

“Yeah, I don’t care, it still looks like blood,” I said, giggling. “If I get a steak, I’ll get it well done.”

“It’ll be all dried out then,” Matthew said, shaking his head disappointedly.

“Here, your menus,” the hostess said, returning to us with two menus. “Call out to a waiter when you’re ready to order.”

“Thank you,” Matthew said. He took the menus from the hostess’ hand and gave one to me. “Here, see what you’re going to order.”

“Umm, sure,” I said, opening up the menu. My mouth dropped open as I saw the prices. “Wait, it’s this expensive?”

“I would say eighty dollars for a steak is pretty normal, don’t you think?” Matthew asked, shrugging.

“Don’t joke around with me, cream pasta is fifty dollars here,” I said, just loud enough to attract his attention but not loud enough to distract other tables. “This is way too expensive.”

“Well, we’re already here, so we’re going to have to order,” Matthew said, nonchalant about the whole thing. “I told you, I saved up money. Order whatever you like.”

“Fine, I guess,” I said, still a little freaked out by how expensive things were. “I’ll just take the carbonara with some mashed potatoes as the side.”

“I’ll take some ribeye, medium-rare,” Matthew said. “Mashed potatoes too, because I love them. Let’s order.”

Matthew called out to a waiter and we ordered. Even the drinks were expensive, so I just got myself water, wanting to save Matthew’s wallet a little.

“So, how do you like this place?” Matthew asked, slumping into his seat as we waited for the food to come.

“It’s pretty cool, but way too expensive,” I said, drumming my fingers on the table. “Definitely considering this a once-in-a-lifetime meal.”

“We’ll come here again, don’t worry,” Matthew said, chuckling. “For our fifty-year anniversary, I think we’ll be back here.”

“I don’t think this restaurant will even exist in fifty years,” I said, giggling. “And we’ll be all old and wrinkly by then.”

“I’m sure it’ll still be around, this restaurant was founded in like 1905 after all,” he said. “But yeah, we’ll definitely be old by then.”

I grinned, imagining our fifty-year anniversary. Would Matthew and I really be together that long? I didn’t know, but I hoped so. I didn’t think I would find anyone else as good as him.

“Here is your food,” a waitress said, handing us two plates. “The plate is a little hot, so make sure to use the plastic gripper to move things around.”

“Oh, sure,” I said, looking to see that there was a black piece of plastic on the plate. I moved my pasta and mashed potatoes toward me.

“Let’s eat,” Matthew said, smiling. He cut into his steak and took a bite. “Wow, this place is expensive but worth it.”

“Is it really that good?” I asked, taking a bite of my pasta. It tasted delicious, bursts of flavor exploding in my mouth. “Oh crap, you’re right.”

“I’m always right, I know,” Matthew said. He held up a steak with a fork and showed me it. “Look at the steak, look at how bloody it is.”

“Ew, stop,” I said, distancing myself from the steak. “It’s so red, that’s disgusting.”

“Ooh, bloody steak,” he said, chuckling. “Fine, I’ll stop. I’ll get you to try medium-rare steak one day though, it’s super good.”

“Maybe one day,” I said to myself, although I never wanted to try it.

We finished up our meals, and the waitress arrived with the bill. Matthew pulled out his credit card and paid for it, leaving a 20% tip as well. We then left the restaurant, waiting for the valet to bring us Matthew’s car.

“I hate having to leave a tip,” I whispered to him. “All they do is bring us our food. This is why we should’ve gone to Burger King instead.”

“Babe, I was not going to take you to Burger King for our one-year anniversary date,” he said, laughing at my suggestion. “Maybe a fancier fast food place, like Five Guys.”

“Oh yeah, a nice burger would’ve tasted good,” I said. “Next time, let’s go to Five Guys.”

“Fine, for our two-year anniversary, we’re going to Five Guys, and you’d better not complain,” Matthew said. We both laughed, stopping when the valet came so we wouldn’t look insane.

“Thank you, sir,” Matthew said, sliding the valet a ten-dollar bill.

“We have to give money to the valet too?” I asked, shocked.

“Yeah, sadly, my wallet is in tears,” Matthew said, chuckling. He opened the side door for me. “Come on, get in, I have more planned.”

“Ooh, exciting,” I said, entering the car. “Let’s see where we’re going to go.”

***

“Do you remember this park, Katie?” Matthew asked, pulling up to Juniper Park. “It took me a long time to think of where we should go for our one-year anniversary, and I finally decided what better than where we first go together?”

“Yeah, I remember,” I said, smiling as I reminisced on how we got together here. “I guess this place would be nice for bringing back some old memories.”

“Yeah, it’ll be nice,” Matthew said, getting out of the car. Like a gentleman, he of course opened my door for me. He held my hand as I stepped out, making me blush furiously.

“Just holding my hand is making you blush like that?” Matthew asked, laughing a little.

“It just feels nice and warm, okay, shut up,” I said, trying to defend myself.

“It’s just cute,” Matthew said, smiling. “Here, let’s go to that tree.”

“Yeah, that’s where you confessed to me,” I said, leaning on the tree. “We were stargazing.”

“Yeah, I showed you Orion and Taurus,” Matthew said. “You weren’t all that impressed though.”

“Not my fault, they barely look like a person and a bull,” I said.

“God, this makes me nostalgic,” Matthew said, leaning on the tree with me. “I was so nervous then, I knew you liked me back, but still.”

“How’d you know I liked you back?” I asked.

“I mean, you literally told me,” he said, chuckling. “But also, it was very obvious.”

“What do you mean it was obvious?” I asked, gently nudging him.

“You know what I mean,” Matthew said.

We silently stood for a few minutes, staring up at the stars. I was able to spot Orion again, although he wasn’t any more impressive than he was before.

“You ready to go now?” Matthew asked.

“Yeah, yeah I am,” I said.

***

“Was today a fun date?” Matthew asked as we drove back to my place. “I hope it was a good one-year anniversary.”

“It was, you’re still the best boyfriend I could’ve ever asked for,” I said.

“You’re the best girlfriend I could’ve ever asked for,” he replied.

“Who knew all of this would happen,” I said, letting out a sigh. “I’m happy it did though, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Me neither,” Matthew said, staring into my eyes for a brief second before refocusing on the road. “You have really pretty eyes, did I tell you that before?”

“A few times, yeah,” I said, blushing. “They’re just brown though, nothing special.”

“They’re adorable,” Matthew said, pulling up to my house. “Come on, let’s get you home now.”

We exited the car, Matthew not letting me get out on my own like before. We exited the car and I unlocked my front door.

“Hi sweetie,” my mom yelled out from the kitchen where she was doing some dishes. “Come here.”

“Come on Matthew, before you leave,” I said, nudging him to come with me.

We took off our shoes and made our way to the kitchen, where my mom shut off the tap and smiled at us.

“How was the one-year anniversary, Katie?” she asked. “I saw you didn’t use my credit card.”

“Matthew paid for everything,” I said, giggling as I took her credit card out of my purse. I handed it back over to her. “Here, mom.”

“How nice of you,” my mom said. “Thanks for taking such good care of my daughter, Matthew.”

“I do my best, Ms. Lee,” he said. “Thanks for raising her.”

“Of course, of course,” she said. “You should get going now, it’s pretty late. I don’t want your parents getting mad at me.”

“Of course, I’ll get going now,” Matthew said, walking back over to the front door. “Katie, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Shut up, you know you’ll text me as soon as you get home,” I said, giggling. “We’ll see each other today.”

“Today then,” he said, a wide grin on his face. “I love you, always remember that.”

“I love you too,” I said, giving him a tight hug. I looked up and gave him a quick kiss before we separated. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world tonight to have a boyfriend like Matthew.