supergirljen – Thanks for the help on this chapter.

A/N – "Thoughts"

Chapter 8 – Out At Home

Miranda and Lizzie were sitting on one of the couches in the Digital Bean, drinking smoothies and flipping through a couple of fashion magazines. As Miranda sipped her blueberry smoothie and flipped through one of the magazines, Lizzie looked over at her with a smug grin.

"So what are you doing for Gordo's birthday?" Lizzie asked trying not to laugh.

Miranda looked at her to answer but then scowled when she saw the expression on Lizzie's face. "You know, don't you?" she said.

Lizzie nodded as she was trying hard not to laugh in her face. "Kate told me." Miranda rolled her eyes and Lizzie couldn't hold it in anymore. "Don't worry, I'm the only one she told. She thought I knew."

Miranda shook her head. "We're gonna do the group thing next weekend." Since Lizzie's birthday was a little bit over a week after Gordo's, they went out as a group the weekend after Gordo's birthday to celebrate both. "But on his birthday, I'm taking him out to the movies and then dinner."

Lizzie picked up the magazine that Miranda put down. "What about after dinner?" Lizzie teased.

Miranda grumbled a little and scowled at her best friend as she put the magazine down. Turning to face her, "Can we talk about something else?"

Lizzie smirked and nodded. "So what are you getting Gordo for his birthday?" she asked, serious this time.

Miranda's scowl slowly turned into a grin, "I got him a Frank Sinatra's greatest hits CD."

"He'll love that."

"Yea," Miranda said after taking another sip of her drink. "We saw it a few weeks ago and Gordo really wanted to buy it but he's still recovering from the ring, so he couldn't. Next day, I went back and bought it." Miranda then snickered, "We went back together like a week later, after Gordo had begged and borrowed the money. We walk into the store and immediately went to where we saw it. You should've seen his face when he saw it wasn't there. It was so cute. He looked so disappointed, it took all of my control not to tell him I bought it."

Then an evil smile spread across Miranda's face, "So what are you and Mark gonna do for your birthday?" she asked.

Mark Jackson had asked Lizzie out for Valentines Day and they had been dating since. "He's taking me out to dinner," Lizzie answered a little shyly and Miranda laughed as she turned the tables on her.

A few days later, Gordo's birthday, Miranda and Gordo were standing on the Sanchez's porch. They had gone to the movies, but Gordo barely even remembered the title of the movie, and had gone to diner, which Gordo remembered even less about.

"You enjoy your birthday?" Miranda asked with a smirk. She knew he really wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. He was looking at her but his mind was elsewhere, and Miranda knew exactly where Gordo's mind was.

She was wearing a blue sleeveless top with a plunging neckline underneath a sheer dark blue blouse, a tight black skirt that fell to right above her knees, and a pair of calf high, heeled, black boots. The only jewelry she had on was a silver necklace with the music pendant and the Christmas ring.

Looking into his eyes, Miranda grinned because she knew where he was looking. It wasn't entirely his fault, she had set him up again. She wasn't exactly trying to seduce him but if it happened, she wasn't totally against it. Last night, she finally had come to the decision that tonight was the night.

"Gordo," she said to him as she clapped her hands in front of his face.

Gordo snapped out of his daze and his face immediately went bright red. "Sorry," he mumbled as he looked down at the ground for a moment.

"You know you've been spacing out all night, just staring at me." Miranda tried hard not to smile as she talked.

"I'm really sorry Rand. You put this great night together and I loved the cd. I'm sorry that I've been acting like an idiot," Gordo mumbled an apology.

Miranda bit her lip, "You're not acting like an idiot, you're acting your age you dofus. You're acting like a teenage boy." She cupped his chin with one hand and lifted his head up so he was looking into her eyes. "I just have one question," she paused for a moment, "See anything you like?" she said as a smile spread across her face.

She almost burst out laughing when Gordo's eyes went wide and his mouth just dropped open in surprise. Miranda stepped forward, pressed herself against him, and started kissing him. After a minute, Gordo's surprise wore off and he started to kiss her back as he slipped his arms around her waist.

As they continued making out, Miranda wrapped one arm around his neck and with the other hand, slipped her fingers into the waistband of his pants. Gordo jumped a little as she touched him there but Miranda kept their lips in contact.

After making out for a few minutes, they broke apart only for the need of air. As Gordo gasped for air, he looked at her with a mix of shock and desire. As Miranda gasped too, she looked at him with a smug smile.

"You set me up again," Gordo said with a small grin and Miranda couldn't help but giggle a little. "Remind me to never play poker with you," he said.

"Why have you never asked me to take things further?" Miranda said, the smile temporally disappearing.

"I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for. I can wait for as long as you want to take that step. I kinda figured you let me know when you were ready."

Miranda smiled at him and traced his cheek with her fingertips. "That was sweet." Letting out a deep breath, she kissed him and then pulled back, "What if I said I was ready."

"I…I…" Gordo babbled at first but then shook his head. "Are you sure?" Miranda nodded and took his hand. Taking her keys out of her night bag, she unlocked the door and led them inside.

Her parents had gone out to dinner and their Aunt was babysitting Gabby at her home for the night.

Quietly walking into the house they had just reached the stairs when they were busted. "Miranda," Mrs. Sanchez called from the living room.

Jumping a little in surprise, Miranda pressed a finger to his lips and hid Gordo against the wall just outside the archway to the living room. Standing in the archway, "You're home. I wasn't expecting you to be back for a few hours."

Mrs. Sanchez, who was sitting on the couch reading a book, looked up at her daughter with arched eyebrows. "Hello David," she said and smiled as Miranda cursed under her breath. "Gordo, come here too."

Gordo walked into the archway and looked at her with a sheepish grin, "Hi Mrs. Sanchez."

"I think its time you went home for the night," Mrs. Sanchez told him. Gordo nodded, knowing Mrs. Sanchez meant business.

"I'll see you later," he said to Miranda and kissed her cheek before he left.

"Hija."

"Sí mama?"

Mrs. Sanchez got up and led them into the kitchen. "You were going to sleep with him, weren't you?"

"There is noth," Miranda started but Mrs. Sanchez held up a hand stopping her.

"I just want to make sure you're thinking clearly," Mrs. Sanchez said as they sat at the kitchen table. "You've only been dating for a few months."

"Ten months," Miranda corrected her. "We may only have been dating ten months but I've known him since I was a little. I love him."

Mrs. Sanchez studied her for a moment. "I don't doubt you hija. I just don't want both of you to do something you'll regret later."

Miranda just nodded. "How did you know?"

"I noticed your outfit when you left and then I saw you on the porch."

Miranda blushed a little, embarrassed, as her mother told her.

"How do you know you love him?"

Miranda contemplated the question for a moment before responding, "I…There's just this connection between us. It's like, I know that he's the one I want to be with. Sure, he can get annoying and preachy and the fights we get into sometimes can get vicious, but that's just part of him. Another part is how vulnerable and romantic he can be. Despite his attempts to hide it from everyone else, he shares that with me. Its hard to explain but he makes me feel special. We could be mad at each other but if I need him, he'd be there no questions asked. I know he'll always be there for me, even if we're not together. I trust him, no matter what anyone says, I know he'd never try to hurt me. We may forget that sometimes but we remember quickly. I guess, what I'm trying to say is if can feel this for someone because of their flaws and not despite them, it must be love…right?" Miranda smirked to herself, "He really is wearing off on me."

Mrs. Sanchez suppressed a smile, "Even though, they're still young and I just don't want to see them make any mistakes. As much as I want them to wait, it's not my decision. Besides I can't think of anyone better for her than Gordo." Standing up, she walked to her and kissed the top of my head. "Just be careful mi nińa."