Jim and his family had been gone for a long weekend. She hadn't expected four days at the beach to have made that much of a difference. When he called to let her her know he was back in town, she suggested that maybe they could go for ice cream. School would be starting in another two weeks and between this vacation and training down in Troll Market they hadn't really had a lot of time to just hang out.

After the Spring Dance she was pretty sure they were dating, even though neither had ever actually said so. But she knew the attraction was mutual. Her face brightened into a smile when he agreed to pick her up later that evening.

"Got to help unpack first or I'd be there now. I've got to get away from Strickler," he said over the phone.

"Has he been driving you crazy?"

"No, no. More like I can't stop laughing at him and it's causing my stomach to cramp up."

"Jim!"

"I've got pictures, don't worry, you'll see what I mean!"

They hung up sharing a laugh and Claire flopped back onto her bed. She could only imagine what kind of blackmail material Jim might have.

She was waiting on the porch for him when he pulled up on his vespa later that evening. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she looked him over. He wore blue jean shorts and a white tank-top that the setting sun stained orange. The change in wardrobe from his usual pants and long sleeves wasn't what had her gawking, though.

"Are you ready? I'll show you those pics once we get to the parlor. I need to be able to drive and I don't think I could if I saw them again right now." His grin was wide and playful... and startlingly white against his newly tanned skin.

"Uh, y-yeah."

"You okay?"

"Fine!" She returned his grin in full, "I'm fine! Just excited. Let's go!" She could feel herself blushing but she hoped he wouldn't notice. The light butterflies in her stomach had stirred into a storm of beating wings. She had always found him cute, in a boyish, genuinely sweet way. But his current looks had her brain stuttering unexpectedly.

ooo

It wasn't a long drive, and Claire had been oddly quiet. At one point he had even needed to grab her hands once for her to hold him tighter as he made a turn. He wasn't sure what it was but he could tell that something was up. He waited until they had their desserts and grabbed seats on the outside patio before bringing it up.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep!" The answer was given far too quickly to be honest. Jim simply raised a brow and waited for her to continue or change her answer (a quirk he had subconsciously picked up from his step-father). Claire faltered under his questioning gaze and nervously tucked a stand of hair behind her ear before shoving a giant bite of double scoop chocolate into her mouth. "Tot'ly fine," she said around the ice cream, squinting at the frozen overload.

"I'm not pulling you away from something else, am I? I can take you back home if you've got something else you-"

She shook her head fiercely and waved him to silence while she swallowed. "It's nothing like that! I'm sorry, it's just... You look really hot, okay?" Her cheeks burned scarlet and she couldn't meet his eyes after the rushed confession.

Jim's own eyes went wide and he looked down at himself quickly. Hot had never been an adjective he had heard used to describe him. His face warmed at the compliment. "Uh, thanks? You – You, too!"

She laughed and looked back to him. "I mean, I guess you've always been cute, right? But... wow. Jim, you look really good with a tan."

Jim's smile turned devious and Claire felt her heart skip a beat. Seriously? This is something that really happens outside of books and movies? She bit her lip and fought the urge to slink down into her seat. She was a take-charge kind of girl, not easily cowed, and here she was with her brain half mush over some silly tan. A silly tan with toned arms on display thanks to that tank-top.

"Speaking of tans, that reminds me!" He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "Look at this!" With three quick flicks of his thumb he passed the device to her.

She was a little confused at the sudden change of subject until she looked down and saw the bright red skin of her former history teacher. The photo was slightly crooked, as if the person who had taken it were hiding behind something, and it showed a grimacing Strickler sitting on the floor while Jim's mom – equally red – sat on the couch behind him, rubbing aloe along his back and shoulders.

"Jim! You're awful!"

"Awfully hot, apparently," he said with a wink. He couldn't help it. It was flattering to be thought of as hot and not just cute or kind of good looking.

His teasing helped to jump start her brain and she came back to herself. She smirked, and kicked him under the table. "Yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head." Her cheeks were still flushed but her smile was not as shy, and the awkward bubble around them popped.

The rest of the date passed easily, with banter and lots of laughing at his parents' misfortune. At the end of the evening, after he had taken her back home and walked her to the door, the atmosphere shifted. They both shuffled in place as they paused on the porch.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," Claire said as she pushed her hair behind her ears, only to find it was already tucked away.

Jim shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels a little,"Yeah, me too."

"Well, um-"

"May I –?"

They tried to speak at the same time and shared a small laugh before Claire motioned for Jim to go first.

"May I kiss you?"

She didn't say yes, she simply stepped up to him and brought his face down to hers. Jim startled briefly at her boldness. His body moved on autopilot, and he gently cupped her face to improve the angle as he kissed her back.

It felt like forever before they pulled apart, both flushed and wearing matching small smiles.

"For a first kiss, that one was... it was-"

"Perfect."

Anyone else annoyed at how limited the character tags are? Claire is listed as Clara N.! Is there a way to add new ones or is the drop-down menu all we have to work with?