Dear Readers,
Hello again, everybody! SailorLeia here, back with chapter 8! Wow, chapter eight already! Geez! FIRST DATE TIME EVERYONE! Oh the possibilities! Anyways, enough of my chatter, let's get this chapter on the road! I want to give a special to thanks to all of you wonderful people who reviewed…
Sithspawned – Really… now, what could have given you that idea? (LoL) I hope you like this next chapter! THANK YOU so much for your kind review! GLAD I MADE YOU SMILE!
preciousbabyblue – I'm so glad you liked it; I think everybody's praying poor Luke doesn't screw this one up! Thank you so much for your kind review and I hope you like this chapter too!
Sweetdeath04 – SHE REVIEWED! Ahh, yes, I'm okay, still breathing! ((LoL)) They would probably be great actors… as long as they're acting together. I think Luke would choke if he had to kiss another girl or watch Mara kiss another guy… Boy, would that be a sight to see! HAHA! Glad you're still loving it! And glad you like where the story's going! ((Wow, I'm just glad you think my story's good enough to post on you C2 like that! THANKS!)) Much love!
Darkmoon90 – Wow, I'm honored! I'm so glad you like my story, hope you enjoy this next chapter and I hope to hear from you more often ((wink-wink))! THANK YOU FOR YOUR NICE REVIEW!
Jelp – Hmm… Gee, I don't know where you'd get an idea like that! Hehe! Glad you're still likin' it! I hope you like chapter 8 too!
mrs. skywalker – Wow, thank you so much for your kind review, I'm flattered ((blush))! I hope you like this chapter and I hope to hear from you again ((Hint-hint!))
Jedi-Lover – I'm so glad you liked chapter 7! And you enjoyed all of those quotes! THANK YOU SO MUCH for you kind words! Your reviews (And letters) keep me goin! Much love!
tensixtythree – Glad you liked it so much! I hope you like this chapter too!
Saber Girls (Leia) – Ha-ha! I'm glad you enjoyed that part! And of course I advertised! I LOVED that story! I hope you update your's soon too and I hope you like Luke and Mara's first 'date!' Yes I have read Ash Darklighter's 'The Wedding of Luke Skywalker!' In fact, that is THE story that inspired me to start writing L/M fanfics! It's one of my personal must reads! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who LOVES that tale! I printed it out and I know I have read it hundreds of times! ((I'm not gonna copy her, I couldn't sleep at night if I did! But there might be some similarities here and there you might notice! I'm trying to steer clear of them though!)) Thank you so much for your kind and fun review! Much love!
Padawan Sydney Bristow – Hey, I'll tell ya one thing, if he asked me out! I'd say yes! LoL! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your fun review it made me laugh! I hope you enjoy Luke and Mara's first date! Much love!
Mistress Eden – Oh, I'm so glad you like it! I hope you enjoy this chapter too! Thank you so much!
Mara look-a-like – Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather ((I lost both of mine and they were two of my best friends!)) tear! I'm glad I could cheer you up a little! I hope this chapter cheers you up too! THANK YOU For writing in and sharing that with me! I really appreciate it!
Dedicated to all un-perfect first dates!
"Master Skywalker's Secret Admirer"
Chapter 8 – Their First Date
It took Mara a week to fully recover from her illness and get caught up in all of her classes. So it wasn't until the next weekend they were able to go on their 'date.' Which Luke didn't mind, because it gave him time to plan! This had to go well, but not too well. Luke wanted her to have fun with him, but also wanted her to think he needed a lot of help. So this date couldn't be perfect, but it had to be fun for her!
The Solos once again found themselves in Luke's apartment, helping him prepare himself for an evening with Mara. Luke was stressed out, once again with his entire closet lying on his bed, fussing about everything. The only difference this time was that Han and Leia had brought all three children with them. "I hate it!" Luke said to his reflection.
"Oh come on, I think it looks nice." Leia said.
"No, I look stiff and goofy." Luke said tugging at his collar.
"I think you should wear your normal Jedi clothes, Uncle Luke." Jacen suggested.
"Or at least something comfortable." Jania suggested.
"Boo, Boo, I ike Boo!" Little Anakin suggested holding up a blue shirt for his uncle.
"Maybe this date idea was a bad plan," Luke said sadly taking the shirt from his youngest nephew.
"Don't say that Uncle Luke, Auntie Mara likes you, she wants to go out with you!" Jania said, making all three adults smile with pride at this wise young lady.
"Yeah, the little one's right, Kid! She wouldn't have said 'yes' if she didn't like you!" Han smiled.
"Now go finish getting ready, and don't keep her waiting!" Leia said shooing him into the 'fresher again.
In The Turbo-Lift… Going Down…
Luke was so nervous; he couldn't remember ever being so nervous on a date before. He kept telling himself he had nothing to worry about, this wasn't some stranger, and he'd been matched up with. This was Mara, his best friend! But the second he started thinking of her beautiful face… He got even more nervous.
He could feel the turbolift screeching to a halt, and the doors opened violently; to reveal the familiar knight's quarters… also known as MARA'S FLOOR! Luke took a deep cleansing breath and stepped out of the lift. He kept putting one foot in front of the other and before he knew it, he was standing in front of Mara's door. He quickly got himself straight and rang her doorbell.
"Come on in, it's unlocked." Mara called from inside.
"Here goes nothing." Luke said to himself opening the door and stepping inside her apartment.
"Mara! Are you ready!" Luke called, glad he sounded a lot better than he felt.
"Yeah, just give me a second!" Mara called.
"Okay, no rush." Luke said taking a seat on her couch.
A few minutes later Mara came in saying, "Okay, sorry, Karrde called earlier today, asking about a drop off I made for him before I took leave. I had to help him and it really threw me behind."
Luke turned his head to face her, and he was glad he was sitting, cause his dear Mara was drop-dead gorgeous! She wore a simple deep blue dress, with lighter blue floral designs flowing every which way across the soft, smooth fabric. The dark material hugged respectfully to every curve, complementing her creamy skin tone, and brought out the highlights in her green eyes, and her red-gold hair.
"Luke are you alright?" Mara finally asked after an eternity of silence.
"Hmm… Yeah… I'm fine." He managed to utter.
"Are you sure?" She asked sitting down beside him, "You're awfully warm."
"Yeah… I'm fine…"
"Maybe this was a bad idea." Mara said sadly, snapping Luke from his stupor.
"No, it's not that, I'm fine, REALLY! It's just… you look so fantastic… I was speechless." Luke confessed.
"Oh riiiiiight, like I'm supposed to believe that." Mara giggled. "Was that an excuse in the middle of a line?"
"It's not a line, Mara, I mean it, and you look beautiful!" Luke said gesturing towards her.
"Yeah, sure," Mara laughed crushing Luke to the arm of her sofa saying. "And I'm sure the next thing you'll be saying will be, 'is that my lightsaber or am I just happy to see you?'" Mara giggled at her own joke, as she got up. But Luke was too taken aback by her closeness and intoxicating scent. So he just let out a nervous little chuckle and a rather loud gulp.
"Luke, what's the matter, why are you acting so nervous? This is just a practice date remember? And it's not like you're with some strange chick from outer rim territories! It's just me!" Mara smiled encouragingly.
"Yeah, I know, it's just something about the word 'date' that changes all of the rules!" Luke exclaimed running a hand through his hair.
"Do you get this nervous before every date?"
"Maybe… yeah… What does it matter? I mean… everybody gets nervous on dates. Haven't you ever gotten nervous before?" He asked.
"If you get this nervous before every date, I can see why you're having 'girl' problems." Mara said more to herself than him. But Luke wouldn't let her escape so easily. He trapped her against her wall ((Just like she'd trapped him earlier against the sofa's arm.)).
"Don't dodge the question, Jade." He said in a low, somewhat intimidating voice.
"What question?" She asked innocently.
"Have you ever gotten nervous on a date before?" he repeated, in the same low tone.
"The only dates I was nervous on weren't real."
"What do you mean they weren't real?"
"They were a cover job for Karrde; otherwise I wouldn't have been caught dead with that person!"
"You mean Lando, don't you!" Luke asked wisely.
"Yeah! He kept trying to touch me and kiss me… He kept using the same cheesy lines… ((Sigh)) It was so degrading!" Mara complained getting the first true laugh outta Luke.
"So I take it he wasn't being entirely truthful, at the last Freedom Day celebration when he said there was a possibility you two were getting together?" He asked.
"HA!" Mara said, shuttering.
"So that's a no?"
"That's a hell no!" The old friends laughed together for a few moments. "Come on, Skywalker, I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"
"Yeah, me too! But you better wear a little jacket over that; it's a little chilly out." Luke advised.
"Okay," she said as she headed for her small closet and Luke helped her slip into a small little jacket she selected. "Thank you."
"You're welcome; see my aunt taught me some things." Luke said pretty proud himself.
"I can't believe I'm quoting Solo, but… 'Don't get cocky,' Farmboy, the night is young. And I've already noticed one flaw."
"What?"
"I'll tell you at the end of the evening." Mara said with a smile.
"Aww, classy, very professional." Luke smiled right back.
"I'm supposed to be helping you remember! So I'm gonna do everything I can to help."
"I really appreciate this, Mara."
"Anytime, now what are we waiting for, let's get going!" They walked out of the apartment together and once her door was closed and locked. Luke offered his arm, Mara kindly accepted it, and they were off.
Entering A Teeny Little Diner…
Luke talked to the hostess droid about a reservation while Mara surveyed the atmosphere. It was quaint, little place with dim lighting and soft romantic music wafting through the air… along with the wonderful aromas of food. Luke took Mara's hand and tugged her along. Once they were seated Mara whispered, "Nice choice, Skywalker."
"I like this place, but you're the first person I've ever brought here." Luke smiled.
"It's cute, small, intimate… great place for a date. Not to mention the food smells wonderful."
"Wait till you try some of it." Luke smiled.
"I trust you on that, you're the food authority." Mara laughed cutely.
"So how am I doing so far?"
"So far so good, Luke. See, there's nothing to it!"
"I know," he smiled at her shyly.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" She asked quietly.
"Like what?"
"Like that, what is that look?"
"Well, I'm sorry to stare but… you're so beautiful tonight." Luke said sincerely.
Mara laughed, "Oh sure."
"No, I mean it! I haven't seen you fix yourself up like this since… Since that last ball on Coruscant, remember, we went together."
"Yeah, I remember that, we went together, yet you didn't dance with me once."
"That's because…" He muttered the rest.
"What did you say?"
"That's because I don't know HOW to dance."
"Ha, no really, what did you say?" Mara teased.
"I'm serious Mara, I couldn't dance my way out of a wet filmsy bag, if my life depended on it!"
"Oh please, it the easiest thing in the world to do. A lot of it's the same footwork as a lightsaber duel without having to worry about losing a leg."
"In most systems, on Kashyyk they throw each other and stuff."
"Only occasionally, it's called 'Swing' Dancing!"
"Call it what you want, but Chewbacca's wife, Malla, got thrown across the room in some kind of step and it didn't look fun or easy to me."
Mara couldn't help but laugh at that. The waitress droid took their orders and wheeled back to the kitchen. Finally after all of that, Mara said, "Alright, if you're going to win any girl over, usually you'll need to know how to dance. So I'll make ya a deal."
"Shoot."
"I'll teach you how to dance if you teach me how to cook."
"And we have to go on a couple more practice dates too!"
"Do we have a deal?"
"Deal," they shook on it.
"I noticed a dance floor on the way back here, if you want, we could start class tonight." She grinned.
"NO…" Luke panicked, and then he cleared his throat and said a lot calmer… "I'd really prefer the private lesson plan."
"Come on!"
"You haven't seen me Mara, it's horrible, and I'd rather learn and then try it public." Luke explained. "The second to last girl I tried to dance with, I broke her foot."
"Oh please."
"I'm serious they had to put a cast on her and everything! I felt awful."
"You mean to tell me, you actually broke the poor girl's foot? When was this, because I know I've never seen you on a dance floor, in all of the years I've known you?"
"Yeah, that was back during the Rebellion." Luke admitted shyly.
"Well, you won't be afraid to hit that dance floor after I'm done with you."
"I don't know if this is such a good idea, I mean, the last person who tried to teach me was Leia. So we could dance together at her wedding reception… and we did, but I almost killed her feet too." Luke looked down at the table.
"Hey," Mara reached across the table and took a hold of his chin, tilting his head back so she could look into his eyes. "Don't worry, I love Leia and all, but maybe you're only problem was you didn't have the right teacher."
"Okay, so you'll teach me in a more private matter?"
"If that's what you're more comfortable with."
"And you really think I have a chance, even after hearing my horror stories."
"Hey, if I can teach Wedge Antilles and Talon Karrde, you shouldn't be as bad." She admitted, making him laugh.
"Oh, you taught them? You poor thing, Wedge was worse than me."
"Well he knows how now, but he still has to count the steps… out loud… it's fun to watch, really." Both of them laughed, and the waitress brought them their meals.
THE REST OF THE EVENING was spent laughing about old times passed, over a delicious meal, sneaking food off each other's plates, switching plates once they realized they each liked what the other got too. Then it was on to romantic moon lit stroll through the park. Before they knew it the night had flown by and they were forced to head back to the academy.
"I'll walk you to your door." Luke said as they got closer.
"No, you don't have to." Mara tried to object, "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."
"No really, I want to, it's good practice and you can tell me about all of my flaws." He suggested.
"So, how'd I do?" He asked.
"I had a blast," she smiled as they enter the main lobby, and headed for the turbo-lifts. "There were a few things but nothing really big; I don't see what the big problem is. Once you relax and stop freaking out so much, you're really a fun date." She smiled, "At least a lot more fun then any of my dates. But that's not saying much." She laughed as the lift speed for her floor.
"What 'things' did you notice." He asked.
"Well, I don't think Tatooine's cuisine is exactly the way to go when you're on your first date. As adorable as you are slurping noodles, yours and mine, some girls aren't impressed."
"Alright," he smiled.
"The dancing thing, we're taking care of. You were very gentlemanly and considerate… which is outstanding. I don't think you need anymore practice dates."
"What do you mean, of course I do, I'm a wreck!" Luke said a little panicked… things had gone too well.
"Oh yeah, and I'm not saying do this with me, I don't count. But when you go out with a girl, they usually like it if you bring them something. You know like flowers or something."
"SEE, I need help… or was I that horrible?"
"No Luke, you were great," Mara said touching his cheek tenderly. "It's just, you shouldn't be wasting you're time with a lost cause like me, you should be out there with someone more worthy of your time."
"You're wrong, Mara, you're not a lost cause at all… You're the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. Don't say things like that."
"Oh Luke, you're such a good friend… promise me no matter what happens to us, we'll always be friends." She asked. "Even if you walk out of class tomorrow and meet your true love, promise me we'll always have our friendship."
"I promise," Luke whispered.
Mara smiled and stepped away, entering her access code. "So, let's meet in one of the private meditation rooms and start your dancing lessons. How about tomorrow, after class?"
Luke had been staring at her as she busied herself. With the door and all, "Sounds good." He replied smoothly.
"Good, so I'll see you tomorrow, around noon?"
"Yeah, that's about right." He smiled as she faced him again, and smiled back.
"Well you better get going; you've got early classes tomorrow." She suggested.
"Yeah…" They both stood there staring at each other for a moment, unsure what to do. Shake hands like awkward acquaintances, or kiss each other passionately, like the both of them had always dreamed of. Instead they smiled and settled for a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Luke." She smiled sweetly as he walked away, his hand slowly slipping from her grasps.
"Sweet dreams Jade."
Well, that's it folks, their first date! Like it, love it, hate it, let me know! PLEASE try to be kind! I love hearing from all of you! I don't have a man, or a life, the only joy I have in my life anymore is REVIEWS! ((Sad isn't it? Like watching cute fuzzy puppies get soaked in the rain. Tear!)) THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE who reviewed Chapter 7, I hope you all liked it! Till next time, Bye Bye Bye!
-SailorLeia
