She had spent the last few minutes reading and re-reading the text. Checking and double checking the date and time, she shifted from foot to foot in anxiety. Where was he?

Okay, maybe she was overreacting just a tiny bit. After all, he had purchased the tickets himself, why would he waste so much money on an elaborate prank? She sighed, heaving herself to her feet as she meandered down the sidewalk to hover under the nearest streetlamp, using the dim light pouring onto the deserted street to read the time on her analog watch. She realized she could use her phone, but looking at her watch gave her a reason to wander down the street instead of awkwardly standing alone in front of the cafe where they had agreed to meet before heading to the show. 6:45. Well, in fifteen minutes the show would start, with or without them.

She meandered back over towards the cafe and leaned against the faded brick facade. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back, she tuned the rest of the world out. She was good at that: it helped her to feel more invisible, less exposed, and thereby less vulnerable. She didn't mind being in public places, but she felt the judgmental looks of people whenever she left her house, whether or not they were there.

She spent a brief amount of time wondering what Matthew had in mind for your date. She knew he had bought tickets for a show or performance of some kind, he ha shown them to her. Unfortunately, they were in French (or French-Canadian) so she couldn't read them apart from making out the rather expensive price on the shiny paper. Almost twice the price of your average movie ticket. Where are we going? She wondered for the millionth time in vain.

A loud honk dew her gaze and she gaped at what she saw before her. Her boyfriend sat in the front seat of a brand new 2014 Convertible Camaro with a shit-eating grin on his face. Or at least, as shit-eating as her kindly Canadian could look. To others, he merely looked a bit sheepish. "H-hi." He whisper-said.

She smiled to herself, he was even more shy than she was, it was surprising he had come to pick her up in such a conspicuous car. She figured he probably borrowed it from his all-too-conspicuous brother Alfred, who much preferred the limelight. Still, the car was nice. But really, he had already impressed her with just his personality. Why the sudden need to impress?

With a shrug she traversed to the other side of the car and got settled into the passenger seat before Matthew took off like a shot. As they soared down the road she instantly regretted not putting her hair up. He said something to her, but she couldn't hear it over the roar of the engines and wind.

He pulled over on the side of the road in what looked like the middle of nowhere. He reached behind the seat and grabbed a piece of cloth. He reached over and began to tie it around her eyes. "Sorry", he said as he continued his task, "but I really want this to be a surprise." When he had finished and she was completely in the dark (literally) he started the engine again.

The car slowed and stopped for a moment, and she her people whispering in hushed tones before the car started again. It rolled along for a moment, and she flt it shift as it was parked.

"I''m going to remove the blindfold now." Matthew whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear. She could tell he was actually trying to whisper this time, so she didn't make a noise as it was removed. She was in almost complete darkness even after it was removed, except for the soft glow of the moon shining down on her from above.

She could make out dark lumps in the gloom, but couldn't discern anything but vague shapes. Suddenly, a huge rectangle she hadn't noticed in front of her burst into light. She blinked and took in the other cars around her. Most were vintage or muscle cars, and almost all of them were convertibles. The were all parked on a grassy field in front of a huge screen.

A drive in theater. A grin lit up her face. Matthew smiled softly at seeing her happy. Deciding to go with the old, yawn-and-reach technique, he faked a yawn and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, almost vibrating with glee when she snuggled into his chest. He relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the movie. It was the film version of one of her favorite classics. He knew she would never like it as much as the novel, but hoped that she would appreciate it all the same.

Watching her face, bathed in the glow emanating from the screen, he reflected on the past few months he had spent with her. He was glad that he could now call her his girlfriend "officially". Even if she didn't notice people noticing her, he noticed. He especially noticed the male portion who did this. His grip tightened protectively around her shoulders. She wasn't his property, but she was his girl, and his alone.

She wiped a few sentimental tears from her eyes as the movie came to a close. Matthew chuckled at her emotional response to the happy ending, and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, placing a kiss on her forehead and holding her close.

When they broke from the embrace, he settled himself properly into the drivers seat and made sure she was buckled in before driving off, yet again towards an unknown destination to his sweetheart.

They rode in silence. but neither of them wanted to break the beautiful moment with petty small talk, so they let it be, choosing to bask in each other presence and the sound of the wind rather than their own voices. After all, what needed to be said?

She gazed upward. The moon had now sunken beneath a few of the sparse clouds, exposing a plethora of stars, winking in and out of existence above them. As the car raced on, the stars seemed to dance around them, she leaned her head back and enjoyed the view. It had truly been a perfect night.

The End