Date It Up

Disclaimer: I do not own Shake It Up!

A/N: story for cheekymonkey34's First Kisses contest.

Pairing: Deuce/Dina

Prompts: music & glow

Takes place immediately after 'Match It Up'

'Excuse me Mr. Martinez, can you please bring the Tornado Ball back up here so we can continue with the event,' Ricky Z said.

'Oh, yea. Sorry,' Deuce said as he rolled away from Dina and back to where the ball originally rested. Some technicians reconnected the ball and Deuce was ready to go.

'Ok, another 60 seconds on the clock. Ready. Go,' Ricky Z said as the wind picked up in the ball and the money swirled around Deuce's head. Two minutes later Deuce was standing next to Ricky Z as she counted the money he came out of the ball with.

'Deuce Martinez you won $427. Congratulations. Next up in the Tornado Ball will be Kat Logan.' Ricky Z handed Deuce the money he'd won and he walked over to where CeCe, Rocky, Ty, and Dina were waiting for him.

'Congrats man,' Ty said as he and Deuce fist bumped.

'Thanks.'

'I guess all that training paid off,' Rocky said.

'Is it because of what happened in 6th grade?' CeCe asked Deuce who looked confused by her question.

'Ignore her,' Rocky interjected as she grabbed CeCe and gently pushed Dina towards him. 'You remember Dina.'

'Hi again,' Deuce said as Dina nudged him.

'You ready for that pizza?' Dina asked.

'Absolutely,' Deuce replied. He and Dina walked to the food court after saying goodbye to the others. They went straight to Gino's Pizza.

'Welcome to Gino's. Can I take your... Dina. The usual?' a girl whose name tag read Arianne asked. Dina nodded.

'What's the usual?' Deuce asked.

'A slice with pepperoni and mushrooms and a soda,' Dina said.

'Make that two,' Deuce added.

Arianne took their order. A few minutes later she placed the tray with their food on the counter. She tried to wave the two off but Deuce insisted on paying with some of the $427 he won in the Tornado Ball. He picked up the tray and the two found a table in a quiet corner.

'I told you no worries. My dad owns this mall,' Dina said as she sat in a chair. Deuce put the tray down and took a seat across from her.

'Well, I just got out of a relationship where money was an issue. I didn't want this one to start out that way,' he said.

'She wasn't the right girl for you. You'll find someone.'

'Maybe I already have.'

Both smiled as they ate their pizza and drank their soda. Deuce saw a girl run into the food court, find her friends, tell them something, before they all screamed and left.

'I guess the concert is about to start,' Deuce said.

'Concert?'

'Yea, besides the money grab WADX is having a little concert. Justin Starr, Margaret Durante, and a few others will be performing.'

'Justin Starr will be there?' Dina asked clearly excited.

'You do know he isn't 16 right?'

'Who cares? I still love his songs.'

'Really? I have backstage passes. I didn't plan on using them.'

Dina was up and out of her seat pulling Deuce back towards the main area of the mall where the concert was happening. The girls were screaming Justin's name. Guess they didn't care he was 24 either. Deuce led Dina to a tented area surrounded by red velvet rope and more screaming girls. He pulled the backstage access pass out of his pocket and showed it to a bouncer who let them pass. There were about 30 people in the tent; talking, taking pictures, or engrossed in their laptops or cell phones. Deuce and Dina mingled with the guests and even took a couple of pictures with some of the performers. The concert lasted about 2½ hours. Afterwards Deuce walked Dina home.

'I had a good time today,' Deuce said.

'So did I,' Dina replied.

'Maybe we can do it again sometime?'

'I'd like that.' Dina pulled out a business card with about 7 different numbers on it. She wrote another number on the back and handed it to him. 'Call me sometime.'

Two weeks later

Deuce and Dina had been on a few dates to the movies and the park. The two were now walking hand in hand to dinner after a Cubs double-header. They sat behind home plate. Deuce had tickets to an upper section but Dina had secured better seats. She thought he'd be upset but he was actually surprised considering they had the same contact. He figured she got there before he did.

'Those were fun games Deucey,' Dina said.

'But the Cubs lost both games, badly.'

'Yea, but I was there with you.'

After a few more blocks they arrived at their destination, Nunzio's Ristorante. The two walked inside.

'Welcome to Nunzio's. How many in your party?' the host asked.

'Two. There should be a reservation for 8 o'clock under Martinez,' Deuce said.

The host scanned the book and found the reservation. 'Ah, yes. Right this way.' He led them to a table. Deuce held out Dina's seat so she could sit. She felt a bit under dressed in the place, considering they had just left a baseball game and almost everyone else was wearing suits and dresses.

'I feel under dressed,' Dina said. She was wearing a home Cubs jersey, jeans, sneakers, and her baseball cap which she put in her back pocket once they walked into the restaurant. Deuce was wearing the same.

'You look beautiful.'

'How can you afford this?'

'The chef owes me a favor. His son needed to pass Math last year so I got him the answers to the test. Never thought I'd cash in the favor though.'

A waiter came by and told him their order would be done soon. Apparently, the chef saw them arrive and was preparing a dish just for them. The two sat eating bread sticks and drinking soda until the waiter brought a big plate of spaghetti to their table.

'Wow, that's a lot of spaghetti,' Deuce said. Dina however was already filling up her plate. He never got enough of Dina just being, herself. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind or do whatever she wanted.

'Sorry,' she said after a mouthful of spaghetti. Sauce was on her the side of her mouth and Deuce just wanted to lick it away. They still hadn't officially kissed or become boyfriend and girlfriend but he really liked her. She challenged him and brought out the best in him.

'Is there something in my teeth?' Dina asked snapping Deuce out of his thoughts.

'No, no. There's just... Here,' Deuce said as he reached across the table with a napkin and wiped the sauce away. The low lights in the restaurant gave Dina's face a kind of golden glow. Deuce's hand lingered on Dina's face.

'I think you got it all.'

'Oh, yea,' he said around a chuckle. He starting filling up his own plate.

After dinner, Deuce slipped a violinist a twenty and he serenaded the two with music. The two danced until the restaurant closed at 9:30p. They walked hand in hand to Dina's house.

'I had a great time today Deucey. It was wonderful,' Dina said.

'So did I. I really enjoy spending time with you. I'll see you at school.' Deuce went in to kiss her on the cheek like he normally did, but Dina turned her head and their lips made contact. It was amazing. It only lasted three seconds but to Deuce it was three years. The honey vanilla scent of her shampoo in the air. The taste of strawberries from her ChapStick. The sound of his heart skipping a beat. Every detail of that moment was burned into his mind and he relived it over and over on his way home.

The following morning

Deuce and Ty were walking to school.

'I'm ready to get serious with Dina. We kissed last night,' Deuce said.

'Don't you kiss her every time you go out?'

'On the cheek. Last night, was on the lips.'

'Smooth. She's not freaked out by your pet squirrel either,' Ty said, referring to Deuce's eye brow. 'I say go for it.'

'I am. I got her a bracelet.'

'Cool, let me see.'

'I couldn't decide on just one,' Deuce said pulling up his jacket sleeve revealing 27 bracelets. 'So I figured I'd let her choose.'

End. R & R.