A/N – "Thoughts"

Chapter 5 – First Date

Gordo nervously pulled at the collar of his dress shirt as he prepared to knock on the Sanders' front door. As he waited for the door to open, he tapped the stem of the rose he had bought for Kate against his leg.

It was the weekend after the Fourth and for the past few days all Gordo could think about was the kiss they shared and how it felt having her in his arms. Even aside from the attraction, he really was having fun hanging out with her.

"She seems so much more relaxed and laid back than she is in school," he thought as he let out a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves.

After a minute or two, the front door opened to reveal Mr. Sanders. Gordo had never felt so small before than under the man's gaze. While it may not appear like it, Mr. Sanders deeply cared for his eldest daughter, he just had an odd way of showing it.

"Hello Mr. Sanders. Is Kate ready?" Gordo asked trying his hardest to keep his voice normal.

"David," he answered in greeting. "She'll be ready in a few minutes. Come in," Mr. Sanders said as he stepped back and out of the way. Closing the door behind Gordo, he led them into the living room. Mr. Sanders knew David was a nice guy and wouldn't intentionally hurt Kate but it was every father's right to grill and make uncomfortable every guy their daughters brought home.

"So where are you two going?" Mr. Sanders asked as he sat down in his armchair.

Gordo remained standing, "We thought it'd be best to keep it simple, so we're going out to dinner."

Folding his arms across his chest, Mr. Sanders leaned back in his chair. "Where?"

"The Coliseum, it's a small Italian restaurant a few blocks away," Gordo answered. After a few more questions, both looked over as they heard Kate's bedroom door open.

As Kate walked out, she took in the situation in front of her. "Dad, you better not have been grilling him."

Mr. Sanders smirked, "I'm your father, it's my right."

Kate just rolled her eyes at his statement and turned her attention back to Gordo. She smiled as she looked him up and down. He was wearing a dark red dress shirt with dark tan khakis and brown dress shoes. "Very nice."

Slowly looking up at his eyes, her smile grew wider and she even blushed a little. While Gordo often kept his emotions well hidden, his eyes often gave them away. At the moment, they were slowly wondering all over Kate as if trying to memorize what she looked like. As Kate walked up to him and got a better view of them, she had a pretty good idea of what was going through his head.

Kate was wearing a light pink, spaghetti strap dress that fell to just above her knees and showed off her figure. She was also wearing a pair of light pink heeled sandals.

Kate had been debating whether or not to wear the heels because it would make her even taller than him; without them she was only a few inches taller but with them it made the height difference more visible. But as she took in Gordo's expression, she knew she made the right choice.

Gordo quickly blinked and choked on his words, which got him a stern glare from Mr. Sanders. Kate giggled softly; it was the second time in the past few days she had caught him just staring at her. Normally she'd be annoyed if a guy just ogled her like that but because it was Gordo, somehow it made her feel different, almost special.

"You look nice," Gordo quickly said trying to hide his embarrassment of a minute ago. "This is for you," he said handing her the rose.

"Thanks," she said as she took the flower and bringing it to her nose, inhaled the scent. With a small smile, "Ready?" she asked as she grabbed her nightbag and adjusted the strap on her shoulder. "I can't believe I'm actually going out with David Gordon."

"Yea," Gordo said trying to keep the goofy smile off his face.

Just as they were leaving, Annie walked out into living room. "You going out?" she coldly asked Kate as she walked into the living room.

"Yea," Kate answered back in a challenging way, her eyes following her stepmom.

"You better be back by ten," Annie ordered and the two woman shared an ice glare.

"Or wha," Kate started to snap back but Gordo cut her off.

"She will be," he said as he gently but firmly pushed Kate out the door.

As they were ridding down in the elevator, Kate turned to Gordo and was about to yell at him. Gordo caught the look and before she got a chance to tear his head off, he kissed her.

Breaking the kiss, Kate tried to yell at him again but nothing came out and after a few unsuccessful attempts just gave up. Crossing her arms over her chest, she let out a huff. As the elevator doors open, Gordo took Kate's hand and lead her out of the elevator and outside.

Gordo tried to explain what he did, "You gotta now what battles to fight. She's baiting you, she wants you to fight back. If you two got into an argument you could've gotten grounded and screwed this date up."

Kate just glared forward. Gordo grinned at her; gently cupping her face he made her look at him. "I know you hate her but sometimes you just gotta let things blow over."

Kate's face softened; she didn't like it but knew Gordo had probably saved her butt up there. Letting go of her, Gordo unlocked his car and they both got in.

A little while later, as they were sitting in the restaurant eating, Gordo looked up from his dinner and noticed Kate watching him with a small smile. "What?" he asked as he brought his napkin to his face.

"I was just remembering the look on your face when I walked into the living room." She watched in amusement as the tips of Gordo's ears started to get red. "It was almost as cute as you look now," she teased.

Gordo looked down at his plate, trying to hide the growing smile, and ran a hand through his hair. For the rest of the dinner, they talked and sometimes teased each other about stuff from their past, what they wished had happened, and what they wanted to happen. Both were surprised at how comfortable they were with each other.

After the date, as Gordo pulled up to the Sander's apartment building, they sat in the car for a few minutes talking.

Kate was quiet for a few moments, playing with her nightbag in her lap for a few. Suddenly, she asked, "Gordo, why are you going out with me? I mean you're like the perfect guy and I'm the royal bitch of Hill Ridge."

Gordo chuckled softly for a moment before taking Kate's hand. "I'm hardly perfect," he joked. Then he looked into her eyes and grew serious, "I like being with the real you. You've always been physically beautiful but when you drop the act and take off the mask, you let the real you out. The girl who use to be my friend and the girl who I'm really attracted to," as he told her this, he gently rubbed his thumb in a small circle on the top of her hand.

Kate smiled and leaned over the console and gave Gordo a small kiss. "Thanks. Night Gordo."

"Night Kat," he told her with a smile as she was starting to get out.

Pausing, Kate looked at him for a moment, "Kat?" She thought about it for a moment and then the smile returned, "I like it. Night."

Gordo watched as Kate got out of the car, walked up the steps, and eventually inside. As he pulled away, he wasn't sure where they were going but at the moment he didn't really care.