Author's Note: This is kinda short, but I had a really, really long chapter here unintentionally, so I decided to split it between two chapters. So you get a double post today. Hope you enjoy. Special thanks as always to BluCrayons.

Chapter 10: Date Night

Micky walked through the restaurant the next day and back to the table Mike and Valerie had reserved for them. He was nervous as hell, but he tried not to let it show. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so nervous; he'd dated plenty of women before. But none like Ginny. None as beautiful, smart, funny, or with such a passion and light for life. And none with as beautiful a voice as her. All the work he'd done to hide his nerves disappeared when he saw her sitting at the table waiting for him.

She had a beautiful, long, purple dress that sunk low in the front showing off two of her best assets. Her beautiful red hair was up in a braid with a few strands framing her face. Her beautiful green eyes sparkled as she smiled when she saw him. He was struck temporarily speechless and felt his pants begin to get a little tight just at the mere sight of her.

"Hi," he said quickly sitting down, hoping to hide his reaction to how beautiful she was. It wasn't that much of a reaction, but his pants weren't exactly loose.

"Hi," Ginny answered.

"So…" Micky started unsure of what to really say.

"So," Ginny answered. He could tell she was just as nervous as he was.

"Do you really even wanna be here?" Micky asked then realized what he'd said. "Wait. That came out wrong."

"No, it's fine," Ginny laughed. "They're doing the same thing to us we did to them. I guess its only fair, right?"

"I guess," Micky said. "What I should have said was do you even like me? Do you want to be out with me tonight?"

"Yeah," Ginny answered. "Sure, I like you. I've always liked you. There was something about your voice that just drew me to you the minute I saw you."

"I understand," Micky said. "I felt the same way when I heard you."

"So...um...why didn't you ask me out?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"I wasn't sure you liked me for one," Micky said.

"And for two?" Ginny asked.

"It's complicated," Micky answered.

"It's not like we don't have enough time," Ginny said. "Our meals haven't even come out yet."

"I didn't want to push you before you were ready," Micky admitted. "And you're Mike's best friend."

"I was afraid of that," Ginny said sadly. "I don't want a rebound relationship. And I don't want you thinking that this is a rebound relationship."

"Who said I thought that at all?" Micky asked.

"You just said you were afraid I wasn't ready," Ginny said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I think you want a rebound relationship," Micky said. "I don't even understand the idea of a rebound. I mean, if it's just dating for dating's sake then where's the connection? There's nothing there. It's not a relationship. There's no real point in that, is there?"

"So do you feel something?" Ginny asked.

"I feel something," Micky said. "And I'm guessing you do, too, otherwise Valerie and Mike wouldn't have gone through all this just to set us up. But I'm also guessing you didn't want to go out because you were afraid that's all this would be."

"You're good," Ginny smiled.

"Well, this, whatever this is," Micky said, "is whatever you want it to be. If you see this as a rebound relationship, than that's all it will be."

"That's very well said," Ginny said still smiling. "But let's go back to the other reason you wouldn't ask me out...you said it was because I'm Mike's best friend."

"Yeah," Micky answered. "Well, I don't wanna ruin anything the two of you have together. Mike's like a brother to me."

"Nothing that happens between us could impact what happens between me and Mike," Ginny said. "I think we're both adult enough to not let that happen. And besides that, I'm more Valerie's friend than Mike's. Valerie and I met when we were kids. We grew up together, but I wasn't ever that close to Mike until the latter part of high school. Even then, not so much."

"Why's that?" Micky asked as their meals were brought out. "I mean if you and Valerie were best friends and he and Valerie were best friends, then wouldn't it stand to reason you and Mike hung out a lot?"

"Well, you know him," Ginny said. "He doesn't open up. To anyone. It's a surprise he even opened up to her. Like I said, he was more Valerie's friend than mine. Besides that, he wouldn't have set this up if he weren't ok with it."

"That's true," Micky said. "He told me that he was ok with it, too. Said that after everything you'd been through, he'd prefer you be with me than anyone else, really."

"He said that?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Micky answered. "He cares about you more than you think."

"I guess he does," Ginny said. "He's such a private person. It's so hard to read him sometimes."

"Sometimes," Micky answered laughing. "Even for us. And we've lived with him for years. Been through hell and back. Pretty much literally."

"Literally?" Ginny asked. Micky smiled and told her the stories of the adventures the boys had shared over the years. Including their conflict with the Devil. They had told her a few before this, but not in as much detail as this. And Micky wasn't sure she really believed them the first time he told these stories. She was in awe over some of the things they had seen and done over the years and now seemed to believe him as she asked questions about the details of the events. He had to admit, looking from the outside, he might disbelieve that they'd done and seen the things they had.

"So how did you and Valerie meet?" Micky asked.

"She's my hero," Ginny giggled a little. Micky looked at her questioningly as she continued. "There aren't a lot of redheads in Texas. Especially not like mine. So I was always teased mercilessly. One day when I was 8, this group of boys pushed me into a dung pile and were laughing at me. Valerie, of course, took offense to that. She walked right up to them and told them to apologize. After pulling me out of the dung, of course. I was humiliated, of course, but the boys just kept laughing. They started teasing Valerie for standing up for me, so she took a handful of the dung and flung it at them. She chased them all the way up the road, just pelting them with dung before taking me back to her house to shower."

"Damn," Micky said. "Really? Dung?"

"I smelled awful for a week," Ginny said. "I felt so bad about it that Valerie didn't shower for a week so she could smell bad, too. Just so I wouldn't be alone."

"That's uh...nice…" Micky laughed. "That must have been awful."

"It was," Ginny said. "We both smelled awful."

"What happened to the boys?" Micky asked out of curiosity. He knew Valerie enough by now to know that she probably didn't let them get away with what they'd done. Throwing dung at them didn't seem like revenge enough for Valerie.

"She tormented them the rest of the year until they apologized," Ginny said. "She put frogs in their backpacks. She tripped them with piano wire once. She shoved one of them in the gym lockers at school and locked it a week before she poured inflatable foam in their lockers once. They kept up until she finally pantsed their leader."

"She what!?" Micky asked agast.

"Well, they shoved me in shit," Ginny laughed. "She thought they deserved it. We were 8. He was wearing undies. Pink undies."

"Pink?" Micky laughed.

"He tried to say his mom accidentally dyed them," Ginny laughed.

"Oh my God," Micky laughed. "Remind me never to piss her off."

"You didn't catch that from what she did to Sebastian?" Ginny laughed.

"No, no," Micky said subconsciously crossing his legs. "I got it then, too. But that also brings up another fear of dating you. I'd like to keep my family jewels."

"Just don't hurt me," Ginny smiled.

"I won't," Micky smiled back. "I'm too afraid of Valerie at this point. Besides, I could never hurt someone as beautiful as you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, my friend," Ginny laughed. He loved her laugh. Her eyes sparkled when she laughed. It was one of the few times he really saw light in her eyes. He hoped that that light stayed there. Now that Sebastian was out of her life and she could be happy. They sat there for the rest of the night, just talking. Micky's nerves soon dissipated and he found himself laughing and forgetting about everything else around him. Including the time. It wasn't until the waiter came back and cleared his throat that Micky realized they'd been there for over 3 hours and the restaurant was closing. He looked at Ginny, not even wanting the evening to end at all, but knowing they had to at least leave the restaurant.

"Now what?" Ginny said suggesting she didn't want to the night to end either.

"We could always just go for a walk," Micky said. "The beach isn't that far from here."

"Sounds great to me," Ginny smiled. They soon found themselves on the beach, sitting on the sand and staring at the waves sitting almost silent in the moonlight. "This is what I love about California."

"You had a beach in New Jersey," Micky said.

"Yeah, but it's so cold," Ginny said. "I don't like the cold. Neither does Valerie. That's one of the reasons we moved here. Even during the summer it's a little chilly. It's nice to go down to the beach for only a little bit out of the year. Here, it's different. It's warmer. You can enjoy the beach longer out of the year."

"Yeah, but what about your family?" Micky asked. "And Valerie's family? Weren't you sad to leave them behind?"

"Of course she was," Ginny said. "Her father is an amazing man. She loves him more than anything in the world. And he loves her just as much. It was hard for her to leave, but he would want her more than anything to follow her dreams."

"Her dreams?" Micky asked.

"Music," Ginny said. "I can see it in her eyes whenever she gets behind a drumset. It's kinda the same look you get. She has more of a chance of following her dreams out here than in New Jersey. Her dad encouraged to stay here. She was studying psychology at home and she loved it, too, but music will always be first for her."

"What about you?" Micky asked. "You didn't tell me about your family."

"I don't have any family," Ginny answered quickly.

"I'm sorry," Micky said.

"They're not dead," Ginny answered. "It's kinda a long story, but it's a choice I made. They're abusive. Dad beat my mom. I swore that I'd never let that happen to me...guess I failed there."

"You didn't fail," Micky said. "What happened to you is not your fault, whatsoever."

"Of course it is," Ginny said. "I shouldn't have stayed after the first time he hit me."

"You said you stayed because you were scared," Micky said. "He threatened Valerie. It's different when he threatens other people. You were terrified of someone you love getting hurt. That doesn't make it your fault at all." Ginny opened her mouth to argue again and Micky couldn't think of anything else to do to make her stop talking and convince her that it wasn't her fault, so he kissed her. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her close to him. He kissed her deeply, trying to convey that nothing that happened to her was her fault with a simple kiss. When he finally pulled away from her, he looked softly into her eyes.

"Wow," Ginny said softly.

"Listen to me," Micky breathed. "I don't ever want to hear you talk about what happened being your fault ever again. It wasn't. No way in hell. You hear me?"

"Yes," Ginny said. "Thank you."