Chapter 7:

"Ready for tonight?" Jesse asked as he stood in front of her desk with a dorky smile on his face.

"Any hints?" Aubrey asked curiously, seeing how he hadn't given any clues or asked anything to give her an idea.

"Nope!" he smirked, shrugging a little bit. "Don't worry about it!"

"Curiosity has a tendency to kill cats, and I'm very curious, so hopefully I'm not a cat!" she joked, letting out a light chuckle.

"Last time I checked, you're pretty human!"

"Me too!"

"It's nothing major, okay. I'll tell you that." he finally admitted.

"Okay, can you at least tell me how I should dress?" Aubrey whined as she piled her things up to put in her bag.

"Jeans and a tshirt are perfectly fine!" he assured her, moving out of her way and following her to the elevator. As they waited for the elevator, Jesse randomly pushed Aubrey lightly, causing her to glare at him suspiciously. "Just checking your balance!"

"You are weird. Why did I agree to a date with a weirdo?"

"Because you need a weirdo in your life!"

Aubrey smiled and shook her head. "Your logic is flawed, Swanson."

"And how would that be so?"

"Stick around, and you'll figure it out." Aubrey smirked, pressing the button to take them downstairs.

"Great...and now I'm curious. You're so difficult!"

"Karma's a bitch!" Aubrey teased, shooting him a small smile and a wink.

"Someone is feeling extra sassy today, geez!" Jesse teased, nudging her with his elbow.

"I poured a little extra sass in my coffee this morning! Sorry!"

"Please, don't apologize! I like sassy Aubrey!" he assured her with a warm smile.

"Fine then!"

Jesse opened the car door for Aubrey and grinned as she climbed in, pulling the seatbelt on. It had become a usual event for him to take her home from work now. It's their five minute bonding time without anyone else around them. It was the small gestures that made Aubrey smile like an idiot, and he was slowly starting to figure it out, beginning to repeat a few of them to see her reactions.

"Oh, hey, Aubrey," Jesse started as she got out of his car in front of her apartment building, "bring a jacket."

"Will do, Jesse." she smiled before making her way inside.

"See you in two hours!" he called after her.

Aubrey straightened her hair after she slipped on the familiar shirt she had grown accustomed to staring at in the back of her closet. Now, she felt like, she could wear it and not feel so awkward about it.

"He's a guy. He's not going to remember." she assured herself as she slipped it on over her head. As Aubrey fidgeted with her outfit and hair, time escaped from her, causing her to become scatterbrained as she ran around her apartment looking for her pair of Toms.

Aubrey ran down to meet Jesse at his car. She wore the biggest smile that would fit on her delicate face, and his was no smaller. She slid inside and quickly pulled the seatbelt over her body.

"I like that shirt!" he smirked, as she settled in the car.

Aubrey chuckled softly, mentally cursing herself as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Oh, shoot! I forgot my jacket!" she exclaimed in sudden realization.

"Geez, Aubrey! I tell you to bring one thing!" he teased.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it kiddo. I always come prepared." he assured her, reaching into the backseat and bringing forward a hoodie. He set it on her lap before plastering his cheeky smile on his rugged face.

"Thanks." she mumbled. "So where are we going?"

"You'll see!" Aubrey rolled her eyes at Jesse's sly little wink that she definitely did see, no matter how subtle he was trying to be with it.

"Don't I at least get a hint now that we are on the way?" Aubrey whined, folding her hands and puffing out her bottom lip as she looked up at Jesse with her puppy-dog face.

"Didn't think you could get any cuter!" he laughed as he glanced over at her again before returning his eyes to the road.

"I guess there's still a lot we don't know about each other." Aubrey admitted.

"It's cold and crowded." he sighed with a small laugh.

"So basically you have narrowed down my search results to the entire city."

"Hey! It's a hint! You'll realize when we get there, which should be soon. I've never actually gone here before, so this should be interesting." he admitted. Aubrey glanced over at him, picking up on his slight hint of nervousness.

"Not too cheesy, right?" he asked, nudging her with his elbow. Aubrey peered up at him, a smile peeking through her closed mouth.

"Just the right amount." she giggled. Aubrey pulled Jesse's hoodie over her head (completely messing up her hair that she had carefully straightened) and laughed as the jacket swallowed her small figure. "If this is some cheesy cliché move where you take me to a cold place and give me your crappy jacket so I am still cold, and you have to keep me warm, I swear-"

"I'm hurt that you think so little of my plans, Posen!" Jesse scoffed jokingly.

"Well, you have to prove your little plans to me!"

"I think that can be arranged." he smirked, bumping into her shoulder purposefully. "I hope you can skate."

"I might be a little rusty, so you have to promise not to laugh when I fall on my ass!" Aubrey begged.

"I cannot make those sorts of promises! But in all honesty, I'll be right there on the ground with you." he said quietly, trying not to ruin his manly image in the eyes of others surrounding them.

"See? Not too shabby!" Aubrey teased as she maneuvered along the ice in her skates. Jesse was close behind her as he slowly made his way around, trying not to fall.

"Well, keep it up and you're going to fall, and I'm going to laugh." he warned her teasingly.

"Yeah, Yeah. I'm not going to fall." Aubrey stated firmly. A group of little kids sped past them on their slick blades as they shaved the ice. The sudden force and crowd overwhelmed Aubrey, and she quickly lost her balance. Aubrey waved her arms around but ultimately fell to the ground in defeat. She couldn't look up at Jesse, knowing good and well the look he had on his face.

"I believe now is where I say 'I told you so'!" he laughed, skating over towards her slowly. Jesse bent down and tucked his arms up under Aubrey's pulling her up to her feet. "You good?" he asked, just double checking. When she nodded her head in embarrassment, Jesse quickly removed his arms from around her, not wanting to seem too comfortable with her just yet.

"Maybe I should just stick next to you." she muttered quietly.

"That may be smart." he whispered.

Aubrey slid her arm around Jesse's and held on to it tightly as they continued to skate around the ice. Jesse shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them warm, and Aubrey tucked hers in the sleeves of his hoodie she had on.

"It's not over yet." Jesse explained as they sat down next to each other to take off their skates.

"What more could you possibly have planned?" Aubrey asked with a small laugh. "This is, only, our first date." she reminded him gently.

"I know, I know. I didn't want you to get bored. I don't know. We can call it a day if you want."

"No! It's wonderful! I just think it's weird putting so much effort into the first date."

"Are you kidding me? That's when you're supposed to introduce yourself to your person on a relationship level! A lot of effort should be put into a first date, Aubrey!"

"It's always the same, dinner and a movie."

"Well, we went iceskating. Therefore it's different."

"Okay, sure, but what are we doing next?"

"Well, uh, I figured we would, uh, go catch a movie." he mumbled, rubbing the sweat off the back of his neck.

"Exactly."

"Oh, come on, bree! That's not fair! You love movies! I'm not taking you to some stupid flick that you're going to hate and never want to sit through again! Have a little faith in me, here! I am the movie nerd of our little entourage here!" Jesse pleaded.

"You're right. I do love movies. I guess you just have to see them with the right people." she stated.

Jesse pulled her towards the exit of Rockefeller Center and headed towards the car. "Exactly. They have to appreciate the real value of the movies."

"Okay, so what are we seeing if it's not some stupid flick?" Aubrey asked curiously, tucking her arm around his as they made their way to his car.

"Well, I know how much you like Grease, so I found an theater on the outer parts of Manhattan. It's a quick drive up the way." he admitted.

"Woah, woah, woah. You got tickets to see Grease?"

"Yeah! That's, sorta, what I just said." he laughed nervously.

"You amaze me, Swanson." Aubrey laughed softly, looking up at him with a small glint in her eye.

"Right, so let's get going, shall we?" Jesse opened the car door for Aubrey before quicky running around the car to the drivers seat.

Lucky for them, they had arrived a little earlier, so they managed to get a great spot in the smaller theater. Jesse let Aubrey pick the seats, but thankfully they shared the same opinion on where the great seats are located in a theater. "The middle of the middle. Not too close. Not too far away." she told him as she walked down the row before him.

"This is so cool!" she squealed as she noticed the old fashioned decorations that were on the walls and just the way the theater itself was set up.

"Well, I certainly am glad you like it so far!"

"It doesn't take much to make me happy, in all honesty." she admitted, looking down at her hands that were resting in her lap.

"Well, I guess my goal will always be to make you super mega happy, then." he chuckled, trying to get her to relax. "Do you want anything to eat?" he asked, looking over at her. Aubrey looked over at him with a small smile on her face.

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Are you absolutely positive? No candy or popcorn or something to drink?"

Aubrey bit her bottom lip before sighing in defeat. "Surprise me."

"Will do!" he chuckled before going out to the concessions stand.

Jesse came back with a tub of popcorn and two drinks in his hand. He handed a drink to Aubrey, so she set it in the cupholder on her seat. Jesse reached into his hoodie pocket and brought out two small boxes of candy and handed one to Aubrey. "Here ya go, sweets." he smirked as she took the box from his hand.

"You spoil me." she teased as she took a sip from her straw.

"That's my job!"

It didn't take long for the theater to start filling up more rapidly. For being a little out of the ways, there was definitely a good turnout. Thankfully they got there when they did!

Jesse held the tub of popcorn in his lap and periodically grabbed a handful as the movie started to play. Aubrey would reach over and grab a handful, but it was definitely Jesse who ate more of it. He set the tub on the ground after the two of them finished it off. He looked over at Aubrey, and she was staring up at the screen as if she were studying it. Aubrey took a sip of her soda and set it back down in the cupholder, but she set it in the one on her right side, so the armrest between she and Jesse was free now. Jesse looked over at her quickly, and he noticed her hand resting in her lap. Not too quickly, Jesse moved his arm to the armrest, trying not to seem too suspicious. When Aubrey paid no attention the action, he sighed to himself in relief. Aubrey was holding her head in her other hand, which was resting on the armrest on her right side, so her left hand was placed gingerly in her lap. Jesse slowly reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, tucking his fingers under her hand and running his thumb over the top of her hand gently. Aubrey's muscles grew tense as she felt his hand cover hers. Her stomach knotted, and she felt her shoulders grow stiff as she cringed, knowing her palms were starting to sweat nervously. However, she didn't want to ruin the moment he was creating, so she let his hand stay on top of hers.

When Aubrey didn't pull away, Jesse smiled to himself in success. He carefully and sweetly laced his fingers in hers. Jesse squeezed her hand gently when he saw how nervous she was about the whole situation. Aubrey didn't look up at him, rather she glanced down at their intertwined hands and back up at the screen for the remainder of her favorite movie. Aubrey's palms never stopped sweating, but Jesse's were sweating too. The two of them toughed through the sweaty palms as they watched the movie play. Aubrey finally relaxed, but the butterflies never went away, causing her to blush intensely just at the mere touch of his sweaty hand against hers.

After the movie ended, Aubrey and Jesse threw away their trash and walked out into the brisk air of night time in the outer part of Manhattan. Jesse still held her hand in his as they walked to his car.

"Thank you, Jesse." Aubrey smiled up at him as they walked through the parking lot.

"You are more than welcome, Aubrey." he returned, lightly pushing into her shoulder. Jesse opened Aubrey's door for her, hating that she let go of his hand to get into the car. He ran around and slid into his seat, quickly starting the car to get the heat running since the temperature had dropped increasingly.

Jesse still found it adorable that she had not taken off his hoodie yet. Aubrey sat on her hands to warm them up as he waited for the engine to warm up enough for the heat to actually work. Once it did, Jesse began the little trip back to Aubrey's apartment to drop her off. Jesse turned the radio on and turned the volume up a little bit to have a little bit of entertainment for the car ride home.

Aubrey smiled as she heard the song playing on the radio. It's like he knew what music she listened to and had it preset for her arrival. No, that's not the case since they both listen to the station on the way home from work, but it's the thought that counts, right?

She's got a way of showin'

How I make her feel

And I find the strength to keep on goin'

She's got a light around her

And ev'rywhere she goes

A million dreams of love surround her ev'rywhere

Jesse sang along quietly with the radio, and Aubrey watched in amazement as his voice rang in her ears, singing one of her favorite songs. Jesse was tapping his fingers on the console to the piano line, making Aubrey grow curiouser. Does he play piano too? She hadn't a clue. But something whispered to Aubrey, a small voice in the back of her mind. She slipped her hand over his as he drove down the road. She looked up at him with a smile on her face, and he quickly glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road. Jesse smiled a half smile-half smirk as he felt her hand on his, where it stayed the entire ride back to her place.

"I had a really nice time, tonight." Aubrey told him, before getting out of the car.

"I'm glad you did, Aubrey. We should do it again soon!"

"I'd like that." she said softly.

"I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Jess." she smiled kindly.

"Aubrey...goodnight."

"Goodnight, Jess." Aubrey leaned over and placed a small kiss on his cheek before getting out of the car since she insisted he not walk her upstairs since it was only the first date, even though it didn't feel like it was only the first date.

Aubrey slid out of her clothes and pulled on sweatpants. She looked over at the hoodie that was thrown on her bed. She smiled to herself and threw it over her little body again, laughing as she looked in the mirror to see just how much it swallowed her. Aubrey curled up under her covers, taking in the warmth and smell of Jesse's hoodie. She closed her eyes and brought the memories she had just experienced to the front of her mind as she slowly drifted off to sleep, him being the last thing she thought about before her slumber.