Annie's hands were folded, as if praying, with her elbows on the bar and her chin resting on her knuckles. Her gaze hadn't strayed from her phone in thirty minutes, which was thirty minutes after she took a seat on one of the barstools. She had left him five missed calls and two voicemails already, and she resisted the urge to leave another one. The last place she wanted to be was on the verge of stalking. She scoffed, and realized that the last place she wanted to be was trying to sip her lemonade slow enough that she wouldn't have to get a fourth refill by the time Jeff arrived at the fancy restaurant where Annie was looking like an idiot, obviously ditched.
Of course, she really shouldn't be surprised. Jeff's main priority was himself. He did occasionally go out of his way to defend her honor, but where was he when she was waiting at the bar? She should have known that no matter how much he insisted that she wouldn't be just another notch on the study room table, she wouldn't be any different from the rest. Then again, he's Jeff, and he obviously had feelings for her that went beyond his feelings for Quendra with a Q. Maybe he forgot. She tried to convince herself, but wouldn't that be the same or worse than intentionally skipping out on the date? That would mean that she didn't even mean enough to him to remember their plans.
A thought occurred to her. Maybe he got in a car accident. That would explain the missed calls and the unanswered voicemails. Suddenly sick with worry, she looked around. There wasn't much she could do, if he wasn't answering his phone. She didn't even know what route he would have taken to get to the restaurant, depending on whether he came straight from his apartment or from running errands.
"Calm down," she told herself. "It's only been an hour. Maybe I got the time wrong. Maybe he'll walk through the door any second now."
Still, as she watched the clock, the second hand began to seem like it was stuck, and she continued to feel like the awkward, forgotten girl at the bar. She glanced at the couple next to her and noticed that they were looking at her and then at her hands, pointedly. She realized that she had been tapping the edge of a coaster against the bar's wooden surface, which, along with the rabid look in her eyes, was probably something that the young couple didn't want included on their date. Annie shot them an apologetic look, and was even more embarrassed than before. Ten more minutes, and she would leave.
It was almost funny that when she set a time limit on how much longer she would wait for him, the clock seemed to rapidly speed up. It wasn't funny, though, because it meant that she needed to pay for her lemonade, go home, and accept the fact that their plans had been abandoned. She got into a cab, almost at the same time that her phone lit up in her hands. Quickly telling the driver her address, she answered the phone.
"Jeff?" The worry in her voice was genuine. If he were intentionally being a jerk, he wouldn't call her. There must have been a valid excuse to why he never showed up.
"Annie," he sounded out of breath. "I am so sorry. Is there any way you can stop by my apartment? I promise I have an excuse. Just…please come."
He sounded desperate, and she was concerned. She agreed, informed the driver of the change of destination, and ignored the warning from Britta to not go to a guy's apartment on the first date. Britta didn't necessarily follow this rule herself, but she didn't want to see someone take advantage of Annie. She leaned her head against the cold, glass window, and closed her eyes. The whole way to his apartment, Annie was hoping that his reason was legitimate. She thought of scenario after scenario, but every one seemed improbable. The cab jerked to a stop, and Annie snapped her eyes open. After paying the driver, she stared at Jeff's building, afraid that he was just going to disappoint her once again.
She rapped her knuckles on his door, and when he opened it for her, she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. He had a goofy grin on his face, and his eyes were wild. He was clearly proud of himself in some way, shape, or form. He gestured for her to enter the apartment, and she was welcomed by the aroma of home cooked pasta and scented candles. Her eyes teared up as she noticed candles covering almost every surface in the room, and rose petals making a path to the table. It almost made her forget the seventy minutes that she waited alone for him.
"I was planning on taking you to the restaurant, and then I thought of this. I had everything set up, and I waited for you for an hour before I realized that I had left my phone in the car. When I saw the voicemails and the missed calls, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to tell you to come here instead. I'm so sorry, Annie."
She turned around to look at Jeff. His eyes were remorseful and uncharacteristically full of feeling. Annie took his hands in her own and looked up him.
"It's okay, Jeff. Clearly you were putting an effort into tonight, and whatever you cooked smells amazing."
Annie expected his expression to switch to relief, but he still looked apologetic, "It's angel hair pasta with rose sauce and scallops. The plan was for us to cook it together, but it was getting late, and I didn't know if you were going to show up…before I got my phone, of course."
She laughed and reassured Jeff that everything was okay. She wasn't mad. How could she be, when Jeff, who never wanted to go out of his way to do anything for anyone, put this much effort into a first date? He cared about her, and it was evident. Once the air was cleared, they both were finally able to appreciate the other's company. Jeff thought Annie looked beautiful in a red cocktail dress with her hair in a side bun. Nobody would mistake her for a child, looking like that. Jeff was wearing a suit that probably had cost as much as Annie's rent for one month, and it only enhanced his attractiveness.
They ate the meal quickly, because it was already 9:00 and they were both ravenously hungry. Jeff surprised Annie, again, by pulling out a rented copy of Home Alone. She let out a high-pitched squeak, remembering that she had mentioned that it's her favorite Christmas movie. Jeff explained that since Christmas was only a few days away, he figured she might want to watch it with him. They settled in on his couch, Jeff's arm around her and her head on his shoulder, while the music of John Williams resounded from the television.
Somewhere between Kevin McCallister wishing his family away to buying an ADA approved toothbrush, they had stopped paying attention to the movie. Annie could sense Jeff's eyes staring at the top of her head while he absentmindedly played with her hair. She looked up at him, and immediately the distance between them was broken with his lips against hers. Different from their kiss after the Tranny Dance, this one was softer and more meaningful. Instead of confusion, it was longing that brought the kiss about. They kissed for a while, prolonged by the need that they had both felt since the end of their first year at Greendale. Annie's arms were entangled around Jeff's neck, and he wrapped his arms around her, carrying her into his bedroom. They were already laid down on the bed, when Jeff realized what he was doing. He pulled away from a very reluctant Annie, using every ounce of his willpower.
"I don't think this is a good idea," he said with conviction.
"I am not too young for this! I cannot believe that you still see me as a child after everything that has happ-"
"Annie! I don't think this is a good idea, because I don't want to start our relationship out this way. You know that you're not just a one-night stand that I avoid making eye contact with in the future. You're better than that, and I want our relationship to begin better than that. That's why we're not doing this tonight."
Taking in his words, she was disappointed at first, but eventually flattered that he would refrain from one of his favorite hobbies for the sake of beginning a healthy relationship. It was touching, and cheesy, and lovely. Maybe they were both growing up. They didn't go any further than kissing that night, but as they lay there, there wasn't anywhere else they would have rather been.
"Abed gave me the idea of making dinner with you," Jeff confessed in between kisses. "I was really looking forward to it, too."
Annie kept picturing Jeff stirring something in a bowl while Annie tried to maneuver around him in his cramped kitchen, looking for something like measuring cups, while they are laughing and smiling. She couldn't help but think that being in that hot, cramped kitchen, bumping into Jeff constantly, they would probably abandon the food in order to satisfy a different kind of hunger.
Unable to fight the huge grin off her face, she replied, "We can try that for our second date."
Jeff smiled and ran his fingers through her hair, the gesture so different from the days when he would stick to patting her on the head. He couldn't think of Annie as a child anymore, even if he wanted to, and he definitely did not want to. She had grown up so much in the past couple years at Greendale, and he had matured as well. They were good for each other from the very start. He grounded her, protected her, and at the same time, helped her transform into a strong and confident woman. She kept his vanity in check and made sure that he didn't get away with taking the selfish route in classes or with other people. They made each other happy, which neither one of them had been in a while before they came to Greendale. Jeff counted his lucky stars that Annie waited, not just tonight, but through the whole time he dug his heels in, acting like they weren't fit to be together. They chatted until they fell asleep, arms around each other and smiles on their faces. Annie finally didn't have to wait anymore.