Right on! Let's continue! Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart and Gage the Hedgehog.
I didn't bother trying to tell Kelsey that I'd seen Justin again – she'd refuse to believe me. But I did tell her on Monday that I had a date after school. "So I won't be home at the same time as you."

Kelsey grinned. "Oh? When did this happen?"

"I know one of the customers, and after my shift was over, he asked me to meet him at the coffee shop around the corner from school." I said evasively.

On Monday afternoon, I did tell my friends that Justin had followed me on my way home and eventually asked to meet me that afternoon. Morgan was especially excited for me. Actually, she was more excited than I was, and it was my date!

Two minutes before the bell rang for the end of school, I started feeling nervous. Every time I'd seen Justin before, he'd sought me out. I didn't know if I really wanted to go to this set up meeting.

Morgan could always read me like a book. The minute the bell sounded, she took one look at my face, then practically dragged me off school grounds and around the corner. "No second thoughts, Lily." she said sternly. "You agreed to this, and you are going to that cafe, you are going to meet Justin there, and you are going to like it."

"You don't get it, Morgan!" I said, trying my hardest not to sound whiny. "I don't get why Justin even wants to see me, and so of course I'm nervous!"

We arrived at the door, and instantly saw Justin, his stance as elegantly casual as always. He glanced up at the open door, and caught my eye. Morgan grinned at me, then left me there, tossing a "Have fun, Lils!" over her shoulder.

I heaved a sigh and went in, taking the seat opposite Justin.

"Hey." he greeted me. "So you made it, I see."

"Did you order your coffee or whatever?" I asked.

"No. I only got here a minute ago. Would you mind ordering for both of us?" He gave me his best charming look, an absolutely perfect smile, eyes fully focused on me.

I leaned back casually, looking at him but not letting my eyes focus properly in case it worked.

Justin paused, and then scowled. "What is up with you? Every other girl would do anything for a smile! What do I need to do?"

"Do the ordering yourself." I suggested. "Seeing as it's probably not a good idea to randomly take your shirt off here and now." That always seemed to work on the show. It made Izzy and Eva happily give him the million dollar case in the first special, when all he did was just tell them to give him the case.

"Would that convince you?"

"No." I chuckled at the idea. "Now since you insisted on getting me here, why don't you do the ordering? I'd like a small mocha."

Justin scowled again, then he made a big deal of getting up and going to the counter. But when he sat back down again, everything was back to normal.

"So," I said, "Why are you so insistent on talking to me and hanging out?"

"Like I said, I think you're cute." Justin said casually. "And I did have a proposition." He paused. "Will you go out with me?"

I stared at him. "What? I met you literally a week ago, we've only talked once or something since then, and then you officially ask me out? Are you nuts?"

Justin gave a sigh. "Lily, this is the first time I've asked a girl out. Do you really need to talk to me more? You know me already. And I know enough about you to know that I want to give this relationship thing a shot. I know you don't always like me much, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime proposition. Even if you don't like me yet, there's tons more to like about being around me than just me. Everyone looks at me, so if you're with me, they'll look at you, and anyone who I like will look good. Second, I have the cash from my job. Can you turn that down? Next, after you told me to let my personality shine past my looks, I'm pouring out my soul. Please, don't turn me down! I couldn't stand that."

I simply looked at Justin for a moment. His blue eyes looked sincere, and I realized what he was saying. Everything he'd said, from the points of bribery to downright pleading, made me realize how desperate he was. And could I really turn that down?

I looked Justin in the eye. "If you want me to be your girlfriend, I'll be okay with it for now." I told him. "But for the first couple of weeks, you're on probation. You do too much, I dump you and you leave me alone. Deal?"

Justin tentatively shook hands with me. "Deal." He paused. "So...can I kiss you after I've taken you home? I've got a convertible."

I thought about it. "Okay. I just have one rule – no tongues for the first kiss."

"Of course. Just because this is my first relationship doesn't mean I've never kissed a girl, and I know what they think is appropriate."

I raised an eyebrow. "How come you've never had a girlfriend? I've seen how girls react to you. Is it just that you think you're out of their league? What makes me so special?" After a moment, I added "And if you say your standards have dropped, I take back ever agreeing to go out with you."

"I wasn't going to say that!" Justin protested. "But since my time on the show ended, I learned that good looks aren't the only thing. If they couldn't get me to the finale, I figured that there were two options. Join the circus as a freak – or get better aquainted with my brain. And I figured I can afford to talk to people who aren't as good-looking as I am. But you're not hideous, and I can tell you have a brain in there. I'm nearly seventeen, it's about time I gave myself a reality check – I can't expect to find someone that beautiful. My standards haven't dropped, but they have changed – I want to find a girl who's smart as well as pretty."

We made small talk while we had our drinks, then Justin took me home. When we pulled up in front of my house, just as we'd discussed, he leaned over, put his hands on both my shoulders, and kissed me. There was no tongue, but he was more passionate then I'd anticipated, even a bit rough. I had to break the kiss.

"Wow." I managed. "Who would've thought that was your style of kissing?"

Justin obviously took that as a compliment. "I like taking charge. And everyone else seems to like me taking charge." He took out his SmartPhone, and so did I, and we exchanged numbers. "I'll text you, okay? See you soon, Lily."

"Bye, Justin!" I smiled, getting out of the car. Maybe dating him would be fun.

I got writers' block on this for ages. Now I'm going to have another try at writing this thing.