Disclaimer: Nothing but Anne and her world belongs to me. I don't make a cent off of this.
A/N: Chapter 10 will be a little bit longer in coming because (1) this is the last of the material that i wrote for NaNoWriMo (aside from two paragraphs for the opening of chapter 10), and (2) I'm planning on updating my sister-fic and my OMC fic first. Sorry in advance for any delay. Enjoy the story!
The drive-in theater was a bit of a ways away from Rusty's so it left us with a nice, long car ride filled with music, laughter, and stolen glances. I wished that I had a picture of Bob; I loved his chiseled face, his square jaw, and high cheekbones. They accented his full lips and if I had been bolder, I would have kissed him. But I was too shy still and so I kept to myself during the car ride.
The drive-in wasn't too packed yet but there were a lot of people still trickling in after we found a good place to park. I pulled on my sweater, thankful that I had thought to bring it, as I was starting to feel a chill already.
"Are you cold?" Bob asked.
"A little bit," I admitted. "I get cold easily. I'm just glad I thought to bring my sweater."
"Do you want my jacket? I have it in the back seat …" he started to offer.
"No, I'm ok right now."
"Ok," he acquiesced. "But if you get too cold, let me know and I'll grab it for ya." He paused for a moment before he asked, "Would you like a coke or some popcorn?"
"Oh, no, I'm still full from dinner."
"All right. I am, too, but I thought I'd offer," he said with a wink.
Thoughtful to a fault, he definitely was. Every time we had gone out together he was always catering to my every need. He was the exact opposite of every man my mother had ever brought home. In fact, personality-wise, he was a lot like my father: caring and warm, with a charisma that attracted everyone to him. That was another thing about him that intrigued me; with his good looks and charm, he could probably have any girl in the school, and yet he chose me. I was flattered to say the least.
The crowd around us hushed to a whisper as the movie began. Bob stretched out his arms and rested his right one around my shoulders. As we watched John Wayne and Dean Martin light up the big screen, we scooted closer and closer to each other, stopping short of the small gap between our seats. Eventually, I started getting tired, so I rested my head on his shoulder. He shifted his head slightly to accommodate mine, and I swear I never felt more comfortable in my life. It was like it was just meant to be.
Suddenly, his head shifted, and I looked up to see what he was looking at. It was me he was gazing at and I felt paralyzed as his dark eyes held mine. Slowly, in what seemed an eternity, he lowered his head again so his lips could brush mine. Time seemed to stand still, and my heart thudded painfully in my chest as I returned the kiss. He's kissing me! ran through my head as we sat there, kissing in the darkness of the car.
He shifted slightly, to face me more, and settled his left hand on my cheek. I was a little disoriented and though I had done this many times before, I was suddenly unsure of how to act.
When we finally broke apart, our faces remained very close. We were breathing heavily, and I was no longer even close to being cold.
I reached up with my right hand to brush a piece of hair out of his eyes. I felt his lips brush against my cheek and then travel to my ear as his hand reached up, presumably to clutch my shoulder but he blatantly brushed against my chest.
I instantly pulled away, uncomfortable going that far. As much as I loved feeling his lips on mine I wasn't ready for that yet.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly as he bestowed my cheek with another kiss.
Instead of engaging in other pursuits like we had been doing, we enjoyed the movie. I rested my head on his shoulder again and he wrapped his arm around me and we sat in comfortable silence, oblivious to the world around us.
Unfortunately, we were brought back all too soon when some hoods decided it would be fun to sneak up on someone in a car and bang on the windows. I was startled and frustrated, and I imagined that Bob was, too. His eyes flashed with anger, and he reached to open the door, but I stopped him. I saw that rage in his eyes; it was the same look that Dean – my ex – always wore when he was raring for a fight. I didn't doubt that Bob was a good fighter – on the contrary, I thought he would be quite a formidable force – but I didn't want my new boyfriend going off and getting in a fight on our first actual date. I didn't want him getting hauled in like a hood.
Of course, later on, I learned that I shouldn't have worried about Bob being hauled in, but I didn't know that at the time.
I tugged on his sweater to get his attention, and pleaded with him, "Bob, please, come on, just ignore them."
Giving in to my pleading, Bob loosened his grip on the door handle. His eyes still smoldered with anger, but I was relieved that he wouldn't act on it now that I had asked him not to.
The movie was almost over, anyway, and I told him I was going to go to the restroom before we left. He nodded, and I grabbed my purse before I stepped out of the car.
I made it to the restroom with only a small margin of difficulty. The movie wasn't quite over yet, so there weren't as many people milling about as there would be in a few minutes. Once I was safely in the restroom, I set my purse down on the counter and searched through it to find my compact. It was buried in the bottom, of course, and I quickly fished it out so I could use it. Once I was satisfied that my nose and cheeks weren't shiny, I dropped it back in my purse, right on top, before heading out the door.
The movie must have just ended, because the crowd was almost impossible to navigate. For a few moments, I was afraid that I wouldn't find Bob again, but I soon saw the familiar black Corvair sitting exactly where I left it. I quickly got in, and when I turned to face Bob, he was smiling again. Back to normal. I didn't think I would ever tire of seeing that smile, the way that his full lips curled just so made me want to just melt inside. Even though I was fairly cynical at times, I was a hopeless romantic at heart, and sometimes I just couldn't suppress it.
When we exited the theater, he turned to me and asked, "So, no getting out of it this time … where do you live?"
Shit, was the first thought that ran through my mind, quickly followed by, Fucking shit! When I found my voice, I replied, "Um, that's ok, really …"
"No, no, no, I told you you're not getting out of it this time. It's dark, and I'm not just dropping you off somewhere. I'm walking you to your door."
I sighed in resignation and gave him directions based on the direction of the school. Since it was dark, I suspected the house wouldn't look so bad, and I prayed that my strung-out mother wouldn't greet us at the door. That would be the last thing that I needed right now.
We rode in relative silence, pausing only to confirm directions. He did express a little surprise that I lived on "that side" of town but he didn't say anything more about it, and for that I was grateful. I was already nerve wracked, wondering how he would react to the poor state of the house, but he didn't draw attention to it. When we finally arrived, he gallantly offered me his hand to help me out of the car. "Is there anyone home?" he asked.
"Hmm?"
"I mean, the house is all dark; there's no lights on at all."
"Oh, they're probably already in bed, that's all."
The steps squeaked so horribly as we walked up them, and I felt that I had to offer an explanation. "The house wasn't maintained very well when we got it. We've been working to fix it up; we just haven't quite gotten to the stairs and the porch, yet."
He smiled and shrugged, like he really didn't mind it at all. "Well, I hope you had a fun time, tonight, Anne. I know I did."
I smiled back. "Yes, it was fun." I beamed, and we both fell silent. "Well, thank you, for tonight and everything. I'll see you on Monday?"
He nodded. "Yep, see you on Monday."
He bent over to give me a gentle kiss before he left me standing on the porch. As I opened the door and stepped into the darkened house, I felt like I was floating.
