"Dancing? You're taking me dancing?"
He looked up from the charts to stare at her surprised face; they were the only two at the nurse's station in the pediatrics wing right now, which was the only reason he had asked the question. He wouldn't verify their dates in front of a bunch of people and he certainly wouldn't do it if he knew someone was watching. "If that's all right."
April shrugged and opened her mouth as if she was about to say something before she shut it again. She knew he had caught her - caught this nervousness - because his stare grew more intense, as if he was trying to find the root of her fears. At first she didn't like the stare, it made her uncomfortable even more, but suddenly it was gone and his eyes were soft again, like they had been when he walked her to her car...like he would understand if she said she didn't want to go dancing. "I just...I've never been dancing before."
"Never?"
"Well, not as a date," she admitted sheepishly. "At weddings I'd dance with dad - you know, family daughter dances and things like that, but I've never gone dancing."
After a moment Stark stopped staring at her and turned back to his charts. "Well, I guess that's pretty old-fashioned of me."
"That's...That's not a bad thing, Dr. Stark."
Stark looked up slightly for a moment before he turned back to his charts. He hid his smile and asked hesitantly, "So...dancing?"
"All right."
"You don't sound very enthused," he commented dryly, still refusing to look up at her from his charts - perhaps afraid to see fear in her eyes or maybe a hint that she was going to shut him down. "Are you nervous?"
"Yes."
The brutal honesty surprised him. "Really?"
She nodded. "I told you, I've never been dancing before."
Stark suspected there was something more to it - something that she was neglecting to tell him - but in the off-chance that any question might scare her off, he simply nodded and accepted that answer. Finally, he flipped his charts shut - always the diligent worker when it came to patients; there was never time to waste - and he turned to face her, staring at her completely and seeing the nervousness in her eyes that emitted from her perky voice. He fought a scowl and told her, "You know, if it makes you uncomfortable, we don't have to go dancing. We...We can go out to dinner or do something different."
"Really?"
He nodded and snorted. "You think I want to make you uncomfortable? What kind of date is that?"
"Not a good one?"
"No, not a good one." The last he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable, especially on a date, especially since he had a good time on the first one and wanted to see her again - on much more than a professional level. He wanted to get to know her, not just jump into something without thinking about it; it made no sense to him to not think this through, to make sure he wanted to invest his time in a possible relationship with her. And how else would he know that if he didn't continue seeing her? Finally, he sighed softly. "Look, you pick what we do."
"I pick?"
"Yes."
She paused to think for a moment and then decided she wouldn't know if she liked something unless she tried it. "We can go dancing."
"Are you sure?"
She smiled at his concern. "Yes, I'm sure. We...We can go dancing."
Stark eyed her carefully before he smiled. "Good. You know, don't feel bad if you back out. It's not a big deal, really."
"No," she answered with a smile. After a moment, she grabbed her own chart and prepared to leave. She gave him one final smile as she told him cheerfully, "Besides, I have to give your jacket back, don't I?"
He smiled and shook his head when she left with a grin.
There were moments when he had a feeling that she didn't want to be seen with him around the other residents - not that he wanted to be seen by the other residents, anyway - because she insisted on meeting him at the dance place. And now he exited his car, surprised and pleased, to find that she was already waiting for him. For a moment he almost thought about doing a double-take but he knew the woman standing before him was April Kepner, and God, was she beautiful - not that she wasn't beautiful before - but now...She looked vastly different from the scrubs and lab coat he was used to.
As he approached her, he found himself smiling like a giddy teenager out on his first date. "Hey."
April returned his smile, blushing slightly at the way he grinned. "Long time no see."
"Yeah." Stark hoped he hadn't heard that in his voice - the wistful tone which would indicate to her how much he loved her company, after only one date. She didn't seem to hear it, however, because her face didn't change from the soft smile. He only shoved his hands in his pockets and asked, "You ready to go in?"
"Just waiting on you."
"Sorry about that. Still getting used to the directions and streets around here."
April smiled. "Got a little lost?"
"Yeah."
With a nod, she turned toward the door, and was slightly surprised by his quick actions when he moved around her and opened the door for her. Her surprise was alarming to her; she knew it was customary on most dates for the guy to be a gentleman - and she assumed as much from their last date - it was just strange to her. No other guy had opened a door for her, not Alex or Jackson or anyone who wasn't related. But here he was, being the perfect gentleman as he held the door open and waited until she was safely inside to walk in himself. April couldn't help but smile as he joined her in a dark hallway that was empty except for a woman and a man, dressed in their own dance attire. She turned to him and found that she had to get close in order for him to hear her. "Is this like a...old-school dance place?"
"Old-school?" He wished she hadn't leaned in so close to him, her bare shoulder bumping up against his shoulder. The proximity mixed with her perfume was intoxicating, and he found it hard to breathe. Instead of sucking in a breath, he laughed gently. "What does that mean?"
"Um...Not like a club?"
He laughed. "No. This is definitely not like a club. At least, not like the ones you go to...or people your age go to. Um..."
His pause forced her to look at him. "What?"
He fidgeted slightly before he asked hesitantly, "How old are you?"
"Twenty-eight."
Stark nodded slowly. "So then...most likely clubs that you would go to."
"If I was a person who liked to go from club to club to club."
"You're not?"
April shook her head. "No. If I drink or party - which I rarely ever party - it's a bar with friends. Clubs...Clubs are not my thing."
"I think you'd fit right in."
"Thank you...?"
"No, no," he found himself backtracking quickly, feeling he had insulted her somehow despite the small grin on her face. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm...I'm not really sure how I meant it, I just...I..."
April's grin grew when she saw him grow flustered. She only shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I get it."
"Really?"
"No, but we can drop it."
Stark smiled, finally, the nervousness gone. "All right. You ready to head in?"
April took in a breath for confidence before she nodded. Soon, they found themselves amidst throngs of people - none of which were her age, she quickly realized - but it didn't make any difference. Everyone was either dancing or sitting down to the tables which lined the sides eating dinner. Before they could get too far, however, she grabbed hold of his arm to stop him from walking away. And she was close to him again, and she could smell his soft cologne and suddenly it became so hard to even think, but she managed to sputter out, "I already ate."
"Did you?"
She barely nodded. "I'm sorry."
"No. No, don't be." He gently patted her hand but immediately pulled away when he felt the heat of her skin; best not to create too much physical contact just yet, he decided. They'd have plenty of time for that on the dance floor - that was, if she got the nerve to actually step onto the dance floor. Not that he would mind either way, of course. Just being with her tonight, seeing her dressed like she had stepped out of a magazine photo shoot in her form-fitting black dress, made it all worth it. After all, he had learned with her that it was her company - not what they did - that made the difference to him. He felt like a kid again, where butterflies would soar in his stomach whenever he took sight of her...because she was simply that beautiful.
The way he quickly turned away worried her, but she decided not to dwell on it. "I am a little thirsty though."
"Well come on." Stark let her step in front of him. "Let's go over to the bar."
She could faintly feel his hand on the small of her back as he walked beside her toward the bar. Within moments they both had ordered drinks and slit into a two-person table which was away from the havoc of the dance floor and the music, a place where they could have private conversations but still hear others around them. Stark didn't mind it, actually, the privacy in public. He actually hoped it would loosen her up a bit, especially that nervousness he saw in her eyes which troubled him most of all. He felt the need to make conversation as he asked, "So you've really never been dancing before?"
"Never."
Stark took note of how she quickly took a sip of her drink. "Do you want to give it a shot?"
April peered over the dance floor. "What dance are they doing now?"
He had to look past a few people before he smiled with a small laugh. "That right there is the jitterbug."
"The jitterbug?"
"Yeah," he answered with a smile. "You ever do the jitterbug?"
"No." She smiled when he laughed; as strange as it was, she liked the sound, liked to see that there was an actual decent man underneath the cold surgeon who she had operated with this morning...who actually hadn't been so cold to her recently, and she figured it was best not to test that luck. "What's so funny?"
"My first jitterbug was at my aunt's wedding. My mom pulled me out to the dance floor - and mind you I've never done the jitterbug before - and we danced and I was awesome."
"I'm sure you expect nothing less from yourself."
He smiled. "No. And ever since then I've perfected my moves and now I'm actually pretty decent at it. You want to give it a shot or no?"
She eyed the dance floor again before she agreed, "All right. We can...We can jitterbug."
Stark extended his hand to her, smiling when she took it - when the butterflies fluttered at the slight contact which he was certain was platonic. Pulling her to her feet, he placed his hand on the small of her back again as he led her through the wave of people. He found he had to lean in close to her, as she had done with him, so he could tell her, "I won't hurt you, April, I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
He shook his head. "That's a promise I'll keep, April. You can count on that." He gently twirled her around as they hit the dance floor. Giving her a soft smile, he said, "All right, let's dance."
"I can't promise I'll be a quick study."
"That's all right. I'm an excellent teacher."
An hour - and a few hilarious and embarrassing dances - later, April found he had brought her out to the dance floor one final time. The dance was slow, making her wish she had gone to more dances during high school - not that high schoolers knew how to slow dance, either, but the practice sure would have helped. He had proved to be everything he promised and more, being an excellent teacher as he pulled her close. His cologne was still strong, and she loved the smell as she gently rested her head against his shoulder, his hand tender on her the small of her back. The music was soft, sweet, and she had to admit to herself that she liked this...liked the security and sense of peacefulness that she felt whenever she was around him; she loved this gentle side, mostly because she was the only one at the hospital who knew it existed - like she knew was the only one who had the privilege of knowing this secret about him. But the silence was strangling, so much that she asked, "How am I doing?"
Her breath was warm against his neck, so overwhelming that he pulled away slightly so he could see her face. "You're doing perfect."
She laughed slightly with a blush. "You're just saying that."
"No, really. For your first time, you're doing awesome."
"Awesome?"
"Yeah, awesome." It was his turn to chuckle. "I can't say awesome?"
"It's just weird."
"Oh, because I'm some cold, heartless robot?"
"Yeah." She smiled when he scowled and twirled her around once. "But...a cold, heartless robot wouldn't do something like that, would he?"
"I'm not a cold, heartless robot with you."
"When we aren't working at least."
"Exactly." He paused. "Hey, did I tell you how amazing you look tonight?"
"I think you just did."
Stark knew by the slight blush in her cheeks that she wasn't used to being complimented, which made him want to spend the rest of his time complimenting her and telling her how beautiful she was because not only did she deserve it, but it was true. Her beauty was almost overwhelming, a little nerve-racking even, to think that she had agreed to go on a date with him when she could have her own pick of any guy around. It was clear to him that he wasn't the only one who brought his own set of insecurities to the table. He sighed softly as the song ended and she pulled away. "You ready to go?"
"Early day tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah?"
"For you," she told him. "Not me. I'm not working tomorrow."
To think he wouldn't be able to catch her from a distance was a little upsetting, but he forced a smile. "Well, lucky you, then. Want to rub that in my face?"
"No. I think waking up early tomorrow will be enough."
He smiled before he shook his head. The progression of events after that was a blur to him, but he was vaguely aware that they had somehow ended up in front of her car and she was in the process of pulling out his jacket from the backseat. It was difficult not to check her out - and after all, he was a guy - so he stole a quick glance, happy, he looked away just in time when she turned to face him. Stark smiled and accepted his jacket. "Hope it suited you well in this weather."
"Thank you."
"Did...Did you have a good time tonight?"
Was that nervousness she heard in his voice? April thought she was the only one capable of that. "I had a great time, really. Sorry about earlier though...Stepping on your toes...I really didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it," he cut her off with a wave. "It's part of the hazards of dancing for the first time."
"Well, I'm still sorry."
"Please don't be. You'll just end up making me feel bad, you know."
"And we can't have that, can we?"
"No, we can't."
"I had fun tonight."
Stark smiled. "Good. I'm...I'm glad. Did I do all right teaching you?"
"Perfect. You know, awesome actually."
"Shut up."
She smiled at the playful tone in his voice and was surprised slightly - though not uncomfortable - when he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss her on her cheek. It was a peck, really, but she fought a blush when she heard him bid her good night and walk over to his car. It was sweet - perhaps even a bit platonic - but she couldn't help but smile as she got in her own car, watching him walk over to his car in the darkness of the night. April smiled again and shook her head. She was certain she'd spend the rest of the night with this silly grin on her face, and gave him a small wave as she pulled away. Stark simply waved back and followed her out of the parking lot. She hadn't expected him to kiss her cheek, and the memory of the feeling still sent chills down her spine. God, what was he doing to her? She didn't care, however, so long as she didn't stop smiling - which she realized was common around him. He had this quirky ability to make her smile at the stupidest things, at things she shouldn't smile at, and she loved it. She had loved this entire evening and nothing - not even comments from Alex - would bring her down.
