A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I've been back and forth tweaking this endlessly as it's part of a larger plan for tying up loose ends and adding enough details so I can try to get an ending finalised! (Oh, and trying to make sure the fluff is fluffy enough!)
Chapter 23 – Dinner Date (part 1)
'But in my mind we're somewhere in my car and it's raining hard on the streetlight glow…."
~ Keith Urban, Somewhere in my Car
Saturday rolled around faster than Jessie realised. It was two weeks now before the end of term, and the evening that she was due to go out to dinner with Woody, Bo, and Buzz.
Buzz.
Jessie couldn't be sure, but since their beach outing and the evening dinner, she was sure his presence was there in her mind when she slept. She remembered none of her dreams, but she always woke up thinking about him. His look in her direction had the ability to melt her brain into mush; she remembered this from when they'd first gotten together over a year ago.
Woody texted a few days later – right when Jessie happened to be choosing her outfit for the weekend – to let her know that Bo wanted to go shopping on the Saturday afternoon. Because of this, they would meet Buzz and Jessie at the restaurant. Buzz had agreed to give Jessie a lift. Apparently they weren't going to Barney's; they were going someplace new that had just opened in town. Woody advised flat shoes, and nothing too fancy.
Jessie frowned over the message. Her brother wasn't known for his fashion advice, but all the same she had better heed it. She opted for smart dark blue jeans with a embroidered rose on one side, and a red and white short sleeve check shirt.
Re-reading the message again later, she felt her heart beat a little faster as she realised she would be alone with Buzz during the however-long drive to the restaurant. That meant he'd be paying her attention, and her face flushed as she remembered the look he'd sent her way just five days earlier.
Her hands were shaking as she put her phone down. Her nerves were on edge, like this was some first date. She sought to calm her breathing, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, Buzz's image swimming in her mind even as she did so.
Buzz had a new pickup truck when he came to collect her on that Saturday evening a few days later. It was red, with a double bench seat at the front, and the back seat, which collapsed down to make more space if needed, was large and roomy. There was an open cargo bed at the back too. Jessie wondered if he'd brought it especially for his move across state.
Buzz was waiting outside the truck when Jessie came out of her dorm. She was clutching her jacket, as the sky was dark and it looked like it might rain any second. Buzz held the door open for her to get in, and Jessie hopped up onto the bench seat, sliding right over to be next to the driver's seat and putting her bag on the seat next to her. Her fingers wandered over the dashboard, wondering how he'd managed to convince anyone to give him financing for a second vehicle.
Jessie's mind snapped back to the present as Buzz got into the drivers seat next to her. He was wearing dark jeans also, and a long green t-shirt. There was a black jacket thrown casually over the back of his seat, Jessie noticed. With his upper arms partially exposed, his muscles were visible, and Jessie caught herself ogling him – however briefly – as he started the ignition and reversed out of the dorm parking.
"I hope you don't mind, but I forgot something at the house. I realised halfway through my drive to pick you up. I hope you don't mind a stop off?" Buzz's voice cut through Jessie's thoughts like a knife through butter.
"Not at all." He could have told her anything at that point, and she'd happily have agreed.
There was a short silence between them as Buzz turned out onto the main road that led back to the shared house. The sky above them continued to maintain its dark ominous hue, and Jessie cleared her throat, racking her brain for something to say, but Buzz beat her to it.
"How have you been?"
"Wildly mad, because all I can think about is you." Jessie wanted to say, but she held the thought in her head. Instead she murmured, "Oh, just fine."
"Good. Um. Yeah. Good." Buzz stammered a little. "Me too." He paused. "Thanks for coming this evening." She heard Buzz say. "I thought you'd turn the whole thing down flat."
"It's fine. Not much fun being stuck indoors." Jessie glanced across at him. She was glad it wasn't a long drive to get to the house; she already felt awkward around him for half a dozen reasons.
Jessie waited in the truck while Buzz went inside the house to grab his forgotten items. He had made no indication of what it was he'd forgotten, and knowing how little he declined to give her any details, she held back from asking.
He wasn't gone long, however – but almost as soon as he jumped into the truck, the heavens opened above them. Jessie was momentarily shocked at the timing, but glad that neither of them had gotten wet.
"Wow. Talk about lucky." Buzz peered out of the windscreen at the rain. It drummed noisily on all the windows non-stop, and he glanced around at Jessie.
"We should probably wait it out for a little bit. I can't really drive downtown in this. I won't be able to see five feet in front of me. Even with high vis beams and fog lights."
Jessie nodded wordlessly, staring out at the rain pattering on the windowsill. Secretly she was glad of even more alone time with him. She hadn't been in the same space with him in what seemed like forever. It was just the two of them, which hadn't been a usual occurrence the last few months. There was always someone else in the way – whether physically or mentally.
They sat in the car in silence for a few minutes. The rain continued on the window outside. The street around them was dark and empty, save for two streetlights illuminating the pavement nearby. No one else dared venture out into the gloom, it was obvious. Buzz reached to turn on the heater, and as the fan flicked into life, the quiet was broken.
"This is nice." Buzz commented, as the air around them warmed. "It's almost cosy."
"It is." Jessie nodded a little.
There was another pause, and then Buzz spoke up. "Jessie. While we're here, can we talk?"
"What about?" Jessie's stomach twisted into a knot.
"We never talked about our….breakup." Buzz hesitated. "The whole thing that just….sort of happened."
"You mean the way you jumped to conclusions?" Jessie asked tersely, pursing her lips a little and turning to face him. She didn't know where the anger came from so suddenly.
"I was thinking more of the way you ran away." Buzz returned coolly.
"I didn't run away. You left! "Jessie argued, trying to keep her temper in check. "Anyway, I needed some space. You were suffocating me."
"I didn't know what was happening. You didn't tell me anything."
"You didn't ask. I didn't need your permission to have friends." Jessie pointed out.
"I didn't say you couldn't have friends. But I was upset that they were all…male." Buzz conceded.
"I can have male friends. You have female friends." Jessie paused for effect. "Mollie, for example."
Buzz made a face. "Mollie isn't exactly a friend."
Jessie looked across at him. "What is she then?"
Buzz raised an eyebrow. "Mollie is just someone I know. I happened to partner her in a class and then she got a bit obsessive and wouldn't leave me alone."
Jessie smirked. "Bet you loved that."
"Actually, no. I'm sure there's some guy out there who is over the moon to be swooned over like that. But I'm not that guy."
"No? You took her to the dance."
"She kind of backed me into a corner on that one. Besides…I didn't leave the dance with her." Buzz shot Jessie a knowing look.
Jessie fell silent. That much was true. She couldn't deny that.
"How's Karl?" Buzz asked pointedly.
"I don't hear from him." Jessie shrugged.
"You guys official now?" Buzz asked, trying to remain nonchalant.
Jessie coughed when the question met her ears. "No!" She spluttered, glaring across at her companion. "We were never an item. Did you never get the memo?"
"I guess not." Buzz paused. "So, I guess single life suits both of us?"
"I suppose it does." Jessie gave another little shrug.
"Our reservation was for eight o clock, right?" Bo peered out into the street from the awning outside the restaurant.
"Yes." Woody responded, checking his watch.
"And you told Buzz that?" Bo asked offhandedly.
"Of course."
"Maybe they're stuck in traffic?" Bo took another look each way down the street. The rain was pouring down, and it was only lucky that Woody and she had managed to avoid getting wet. If they'd left the shops any later, they would have been caught in the torrential downpour.
"True. But I'm pretty sure Buzz said he was going to leave early. He knew he had to go and pick Jessie up and avoid all the hideous traffic."
"Maybe something happened?" Bo shifted the large bag she held from one hand to the other.
"No. They would have called." Woody pointed out.
"If they were able get to a phone." Bo's mind started racing, and she felt her heart join in.
"I don't think we need to start catastrophizing." Woody said lightly. "The weather's probably just delayed them. Look, why don't we go inside and get out of the rain? It won't do us any good to catch a chill hanging around out here waiting. I'm sure Buzz and Jessie will join us when they get here."
Bo sighed. Woody was being sensible as always, and she couldn't argue with his logic.. Reaching for his hand, they turned to enter the restaurant, Bo taking a small glance back over her shoulder at the pouring rain they were leaving behind.
"We're going to be so late," Jessie sucked in her breath, glancing at the car clock. It read 7.55pm. "We should call Woody. Or we could cancel, and then we could go back home. I mean, you already are, so I could just head back solo."
"Jessie, don't be crazy. Are you planning to walk back in this?" Buzz gestured sarcastically to the pouring rain outside, which hadn't stopped for a moment since they had arrived in the driveway.
For a moment, Jessie had forgotten the weather outside. The car was so warm, and the fact she was with Buzz had caused her emotions to get jumbled. What was she even thinking, to say out loud that she wanted to cancel dinner and go home?
Buzz relented a little given her silence to his sarcastic comment and gesture. "Okay, okay, I'll call Woody and tell him we'll be late. They can head in, get a table, and we can join them when we can."
"That sounds good." Jessie nodded, a little comforted by Buzz's rational mind.
Buzz took out his phone, and punched a few buttons. He held the phone up to his ear, and then just as quickly pulled it away. "Damn. The line isn't connecting." He tried again, with much the same result. "The weather must have done something to make the connection drop."
"Let me try," Jessie pulled her own phone from her bag, and sighed. "No bars. Guess we can't call him after all."
"Well, if we're going to be stuck here, maybe we can go inside the house?" Buzz suggested.
"And get drenched? No thanks." Jessie folded her arms.
"We could make a run for it."
"Buzz, we'll get soaked to the bone, it's not slowing enough to even make running to the house an option." Jessie huffed a little.
"Sorry." Buzz said, quietly enough for it to almost be to himself.
"It's okay." Jessie pushed her phone back into her bag.
"Not that. I'm sorry." Buzz's eyes were locked onto her by the time Jessie looked back up from fastening her bag clasp shut.
Stunned at the sudden admission, Jessie held his gaze. "What for?"
"So many things." Buzz's voice was low, and suddenly Jessie realised why her emotions were jumbled. This was what she'd been equally dreading and yearning for. Buzz was in her personal space, and he was saying all the right words. The reason why she wanted to cancel the dinner was obvious – she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay right there with him. There was nothing else in the world she wanted more than this.
"I can't believe I didn't trust you enough," Buzz's voice was low, making her insides melt like ice cream. "I should have known you were the only girl for me." The palpable distance between them started to close. .
Jessie blushed. "Oh." She leaned across, placing her hand on his leg. As Buzz coughed, about to say something further, she silenced him instantly with her soft, cool kiss. There was a moment where Buzz hesitated, but then he started to return her affection.
"You know, you could stay here tonight with me." Buzz reached up to tangle his fingers in her hair, and she silenced him with yet another kiss, pulling him closer.
"Maybe we should go inside," Jessie agreed at last, not caring that they might drown with all the rain pelting down from the heavens. All she knew was that she didn't want this night to ever end.
