Elizabeth and Jessica had decided on a French braid, and Jessica was tying an elastic at the end of Elizabeth's hair when there was a friendly knock on the door. Elizabeth jumped up, "How do I look?" She spun around to show Jessica the finished product. She couldn't figure out why she cared so much about how she looked, it was Bruce after all, a guy that for most of her life, except for a few brief moments, Elizabeth despised, but now the were friends, buddies, old pals, and Elizabeth didn't know what to expect, or think of this.
"You look fabulous!" Jessica complimented, and she did look fabulous. There was no doubt about it. She smiled, "Well you better go, have fun!"
"Thanks for everything, Jess, you're the best!" She gave Jessica a hug and ran to the door.
"Don't I know it," Jessica said to herself as she watched Elizabeth open the door and give Bruce her biggest smile.
He returned the smile and said, "Hey, Liz, you look lovely!"
"Thank you," she blushed, you would think she was back in high school. She closed the door behind her.
Jessica leaned back against the couch, thinking about the way they had looked at one another, "My sister and Bruce Patman, who would have thought?" A smile played at her lips as she realized how ironic it was, and tried to imagine what must have happened at the five hours they had spent together last night at the "library".
Elizabeth slid into the leather seat of Bruce's black Porsche and smiled, "So, where are we going?"
"Anywhere you want Liz, it's Saturday night, and the world is ours!" He laughed.
"We could try that new Italian place."
"Sure, that sounds good. What time did you want to be home?" He asked considerately.
Liz raised her eyebrows surprisingly, Bruce really had changed, the old Bruce wouldn't have cared what time she wanted to get home, then she smiled, "Oh, it doesn't matter, it's not like we have classes tomorrow, I don't have anything else to do, keep me out all night if you like," She said, surprised by what she just said, she had never been the type to stay out all night.
This time it was Bruce's turn to raise his eyebrows, "Well, Liz, all right," he replied with a smile. "So, um, this is really none of my business, but I can't help but wonder, what did you tell Tom about tonight?"
"Oh, Bruce, we're friends, Tom doesn't mind if I hang out with other friends sometimes," she said, not meeting his eyes.
"You told him you had to study," Bruce said knowingly.
"Yeah," Elizabeth replied. "I mean, I didn't want to lie, but he just wouldn't believe that we are 'just friends', he would probably would react just like Jessica."
"I can imagine."
"Well, I take that back, Tom would be mad, Jess just burst out laughing."
"Why?"
"I haven't a clue." Elizabeth shook her head.
"I guess that she wouldn't give me a second chance, huh?" He asked, not moving his eyes from the road.
"Oh, Bruce, I'm sorry, but you know Jessica, she's not the most forgiving person," She said sympathetically.
"Yeah, I know, I can't really blame her," He said as he pulled into the restaurant parking lot and pulled into a parking space. He turned off the engine and turned to Elizabeth, he put his hand over hers, "Liz you don't know what this means to me, you're the only one who is willing to give me another chance to prove that I can be a good person, and a good friend. I just want you to know, how much I appreciate it. And I also wanted to say that I am sorry, for acting the way I did all of those years." His voice held much sincerity and hope.
Elizabeth gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "It's all right Bruce, you deserve another chance, and I know that you have a good heart. Besides, that's all in the past."
He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, Elizabeth," he whispered.
She smiled at him, tingling from the kiss; she finally removed her hand regretfully from his. "I guess we should go in," she smiled.
"Oh, yeah, I guess so," he laughed, climbed out of the Porsche and ran over to the passenger side and opened the door for Elizabeth.
He gave her a charming smile and offered his arm. Elizabeth giggled, "Why, thank you kind sir," as he escorted her into the restaurant.
After dinner they went to play minigolf. Elizabeth was stepping up to putt when Bruce interrupted her concentration. "No, Liz like this," he stood behind her and put his arms around her to show her how to correctly place her hands, and helped her easily putt a hole-in-one.
Elizabeth got chills any time Bruce was near her, and his voice sent shivers up her spine.
"Hey, hole in one, we're pretty good together, huh Liz?" He asked knowingly as he regretfully let go of her. He wondered why he was so captivated by Elizabeth, sure, she was beautiful, but there was more to it than that, something that went beyond physical chemistry.
Elizabeth replied seriously, "Yes we are," but she wasn't talking about golf. She was talking about... Her face fell when Bruce let her go. Just the same, she smiled and they finished up their game.
"So, where do you want to go now?" Bruce asked as he returned the clubs and paid for their games.
"We could go to the old movie house, they're playing, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," she paused, then thought better of it, "Oh, uh, never mind you probably wouldn't want to see a romance," she said quickly, her face turning crimson, she couldn't believe that she had just suggested that they see a romance together.
"Why not? Besides, it's still a good movie, funny too. Come on Liz, I can be a hopeless romantic when I want to," He teased and raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Elizabeth laughed, "Okay then, let's go." She said, climbing into the Porsche.
Audrey Hepburn's face filled the movie screen, tears ran down her cheeks, as she fell into George Peppard's arms. The screen faded to black and the dim overhead lights came on. Bruce looked over at Elizabeth as a solitary tear ran down her cheek. "Oh, Liz, don't cry," he said tenderly, wiping the tear from her cheek with his thumb.
"I'm all right, this story is beautiful, it just makes me cry," she smiled through her tears.
Bruce cupped her face in his hand, and resisted the urge to kiss her, "I know, it is wonderful." His bright blue eyes locked with hers.
"Yes," she whispered, leaning in towards Bruce. What am I doing? I'm about to kiss Bruce Patman! STOP, STOP! What about Tom? What about- her mind screamed, then her lips met Bruce's and she was lost in the tender kiss, the only thought that came to her mind was one that almost made her heart stop. I love you, Bruce. Her head said to stop kissing him, now, but her heart was telling her something different. Where did that come from? She thought.
Just as Elizabeth was about to attempt to push Bruce away a deep, angry voice that was dripping with sarcasm interrupted, "Well, Elizabeth, I see that you finished studying."
Elizabeth instantly pulled away from Bruce and looked up to find Tom glowering. "O-Oh, Tom, I-" She stuttered but Tom cut her off.
"No need to explain, I'm really not interested in your lies anyway," he said gruffly before storming off.
Elizabeth just stared after him in disbelief.
"Elizabeth, I'm sorry, we can talk about this later, but right now go after Tom!" Bruce exclaimed.
She just shook her head and looked into Bruce's solemn eyes, "No," she whispered, hurt but strangely relieved at the same time.
"What?" He looked at her questionably.
"M-maybe it's better this way," she looked deep into Bruce's eyes again, trying not to cry, but it wasn't long before hot tears fell down her cheeks.
Bruce pulled her to him and she buried her face in his neck, crying softly. "It's all right, Liz, I'm here for you. I will never leave you, I promise," he whispered sincerely.
Elizabeth looked up at him through her long lashes, "Really?" she asked softly.
"Yes, Liz, yes," he wiped a tear from her cheek and stroked her hair. "Come on," he said standing up and taking her hand. "Let's get out of here, we can go up to Miller's Point, and get away from everything for awhile."
Elizabeth nodded and let him lead her out of the theater.