Whew… yay! I finished another chapter! Lol. This one was pretty fun to write. I'm not sure how many more I'm gonna have after this. I have ideas for at least one more chapter, but after that I'm not sure. So I guess we'll have to see. XD
A huuuuge thank you to all my reviewers! –huggles!- They make me feel all warm and fuzzzy!
Disclaimer: Same old, same old. Cars belongs to Pixar and Disney.
The Art of Seduction
By Basil-Ovelby
Chapter 6
Chapter 6: The Final Test
By this time, you are hopefully well on your way to capturing the heart of your love interest. You should be noticing some very different behavior in your love interest, especially around you. Maybe by now you have even received some sort of confession. Either way, it's time to step it up a little bit in this final test. It's time for a date.
Depending on how close you've gotten to your love interest, you can either call it a date, or just a casual outing. Or you can just not call it anything at all, it's up to you. But no matter which way you do it, this is where you're going to lay it on thick and heavy. Some of the best places for a date would be a restaurant, a movie, or if you are close to some kind of park, an evening stroll. Put your brilliant mind to work and decide what would be the best place for your date.
Start out the night giving them plenty of space. As the night goes on, make sure that you gradually get closer to them in everything you do. An arm around the shoulder, a prolonged touch, increased flirting… you have to become casually seductive. By the end of the night, your love interest should definitely know that your interest in them is real and true. Remember, what happens after the date is directly related to what you put into the date, so give it your all…
"And so… that's what happened." They were standing a short ways away from the main office of the Cozy Cone.
Chick just stared at Junior, his mouth hanging slightly open. Junior's proud smile began to droop as Chick didn't say anything.
"You didn't… didn't like… kiss him or anything? You didn't do anything!" Chick pulled on the other's collar and brought their faces together. "You had the perfect opportunity! What were you thinking!"
Junior didn't know what to say at first. "I… I… there were a lot of people there! How could I have done anything?"
"People, people, people!" Chick let go of his collar and slapped his forehead. "Who cares about the people? Let 'em see!"
Junior straightened his collar haughtily. "It's called… his wife was sitting just a few feet away."
Chick sighed. "Well… fine… I guess." He stared at the ground, then tentatively glanced up. "You didn't even feel him up? A little?"
Junior glared at the older man.
"Fine, fine, fine…"
Junior leaned back on his heels with his hands in his back pockets, thinking. "So, well… what do you think?" He flashed Chick another quick glare. "And don't say what I think you're gonna say."
Chick waved off Junior's comment with a swipe of his hand. "Oh shush. Hmmm…" He brought his hand to his chin in concentration. "Well, I can't really make any assumptions yet, as I haven't seen the two of you 'together' yet… but obviously, you both now know of each other's feelings. You just need to expand on it!"
Junior nodded.
"And I would say… well speak of the devil! There's his royal highness right now!" Chick gestured behind Junior with his head, causing Junior to spin around.
Strip was walking on the side of the road, his hands in his pockets. Junior guessed he was heading back to the room as his path was angled inwards towards the cones. As he got closer, he glanced up towards the two of them, his face instantly reddening. He gave a little wave, his shoulders hunched up around his neck and a rather dorky smile on his face.
Junior waved back, smiling. Almost instantly, Strip stumbled over the curb, practically falling over. He righted himself, giving an embarrassed grin and rubbing the back of his neck.
Chick and Junior just stared. "Ho-ly shit, Junior. You have got yourself one love-sick puppy."
Junior awkwardly ran his hand through his hair. Strip had stopped walking and was now straightening his hat.
Chick gave Junior a little push in the other man's direction. "Go leash 'im up!"
Junior stumbled a bit. "Okay, okay!" He whispered fiercely behind him. He began walking towards the older driver, straightening his jacket and brushing his hair out of his eyes.
Strip was grinning at him in embarrassment as he walked up, shuffling his feet. "H-hey."
Junior scratched the tip of his nose. "Hi."
Strip readjusted his hat. "It's a… s'nice weather we're havin' today, huh?" He glanced up at the sky.
Junior followed his gaze. "Mmhmm. Real nice."
Strip gently chewed on his bottom lip, eyes now focused on Junior's shoes. He had his arms stretched behind his back and was nervously twisting his hands together. "Uhhh… yeah." He gave an awkward laugh.
"Do you wanna go to a movie with me tonight?"
Strip looked up, startled.
"A movie – I heard they're showing one at the drive-in tonight."
Strip's face, if it was at all possible, got even more red. "R-really? Hey, that'd be f… fun."
Junior wanted to jump the older man right then and there at his utter adorableness. It was almost like a dream come true – Strip getting all flustered… over him! He hadn't even imagined Strip could get like this!
"Yeah… I figured… maybe we could talk… about stuff… too."
Strip shoved his hands in his pockets and looked shyly up at him. "Yeah…"
They stood there for a few minutes, neither one saying a thing. Strip looked down at the ground, every once in a while shifting his weight to the other foot. Junior stood with one hand behind his neck, idly swinging back and forth from his heels to his toes.
The awkward silence was killing him.
"Sooo… uh…" He clapped his hands, rubbing them together a few times. "I guess I'll… see you tonight!"
Strip gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah… tonight." He smiled up at him shyly.
Junior felt his own face begin to feel warm so he took a step back, grabbing his belt loops with his thumbs. "I should… I'm gonna get goin'." He gestured up towards the office where Chick was now sitting at one of the tables, watching the two of them intently. "Gotta… I'm, uh, talking to someone…"
Strip nodded. "Ok." He walked sideways a few steps and then turned around, looking at Junior until the last possible moment. He began to walk away, back towards the motel room. Every once in a while, he would glance back, and Junior would smile at him, making him blush and look forward again.
Junior gave a little sigh of happiness. He couldn't stop smiling, his grin almost hurting because it was so big. He wished it was night already.
----------------------------
"Sooo… what movie are we seeing anyway?" Strip glanced at him from the driver's seat as they made their way towards the edge of town.
Junior pursed his lips. "Actually… I'm not sure! I guess I didn't catch the title when I heard Luigi talking about it this morning."
Then again, Junior couldn't really think well right now, given the fact that he was now on a date with the love of his life. He turned his head to look at Strip as the other continued to drive. He almost couldn't believe it. That gorgeous man who sat next to him… the man that he had idolized and adored since before he'd ever started racing… actually liked him too. He felt the grin from earlier sneak back onto his face.
"Hey, uh, Junior?"
Junior snapped out of his thoughts. "Yeah?"
"I, uh… I just… just wanna thank you… for this…" Strip idly rubbed his thumbs against the steering wheel.
Junior gave the other a soft smile and reached his hand over to give Strip's knee a little squeeze. "Hey… I should be the one thanking you."
Strip took his eyes off the road just long enough to give Junior a confused glance. "Why's that?"
Junior gave him a sly little grin. "For bein' so damn attractive."
Strip's face turned bright red, and his eyes went back to the road. Junior couldn't help but give a little laugh. There was just something he loved about seeing the older man get all flustered.
"Hey, we're here." Strip was quickly changing the subject. Junior looked ahead of him to the drive-in theater and noticed a rather large line leading into it.
"Awww, man! Look at that line!" Junior scratched his head.
"Geez, I didn't think it would be that full." Strip pulled the car up behind the last car in line. "Is this a really popular movie or somethin'?"
Junior shook his head. "I have no idea…" He stuck his head out the window and tried to see ahead at how long their wait would be. "Looks like it's going at a pretty steady pace… shouldn't take too long."
Strip nodded as he pulled the car forward with the line.
Junior looked back over to Strip, and the two's eyes met. Both of them gave little grins, embarrassed. All Junior knew was that he wanted tonight to be perfect. He didn't want his first date with Strip to be anything but magical.
They pulled forward another few spaces in line. The ticket counter wasn't too much further. Junior wondered who all was here – it seemed like everyone in town! Maybe this was some kind of really popular movie… he wasn't sure. Luigi had sure been talking it up…
They reached the ticket counter and the Sheriff looked out at them.
"Oh hey, Sheriff. Didn't know you ran this thing." Strip leaned his arm out the window.
The Sheriff gave a little laugh. "I'm just takin' over for a little bit. I don't do this all the time." He leaned out a little bit to see into the car. "Two tickets?"
"Mm." Strip nodded.
"That'll be $5."
Strip started to reach for his wallet, but Junior stopped his hand. "Hey, hey… I'll pay, ok?"
Strip scratched under his nose and smiled at him shyly. "Well… ok, I guess."
Junior pulled out his own wallet and flipped it open. There were three bills inside… all of them one's. "Crap!" He looked at the three bills again, thinking maybe he'd just read one wrong. But no… he only had three dollars. He glanced nervously up at Strip who was looking at him inquisitively.
"Ahahah… er…" Junior forced a little laugh. "Well, you see…"
Strip's expression turned to one of amusement. "You don't have enough?" He smiled at him teasingly.
"Well, I… I-I thought I did! Really!" He pointed to his wallet as if to prove his point. "But… But now I… er…"
Strip chuckled. "That's fine. I'll pay." He took out his wallet.
"Wait! Wait!" Junior quickly took the bills out of his own wallet and shoved them into Strip's hand. "At least take these… ok?"
Strip smiled at him, a hint of laughter still evident in his expression. "Ok."
Junior slumped back into his seat as Strip gave the money to the Sheriff, thinking about how much of an idiot he was. He could have hit himself in the face.
They drove forward into the theater, and Strip looked around for a place to park. There were barely any spots left. "Hey, there's a spot." He pointed towards one not too far away.
"That's in, like… the last row!"
Strip looked around again. "Well… the only other spots are in the last row."
Junior sighed. "Ok… might as well take that one then." They drove past the other cars in the row and parked in the spot. Strip turned off the car and took the keys out of the ignition, unbuckling his seat belt. Junior did the same.
They both sat there in silence. Junior couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He glanced over at Strip who was just staring at the steering wheel. He decided to wait a little bit and let himself lean back into his seat, hands crossed against his stomach.
He watched two other cars pull in behind them. He guessed the movie would start in just a few minutes – they hadn't expected it to be this busy, so they hadn't left all that early. He tried to see who was in the car next to them, but their windows were tinted. He could only see the faint outline of a person.
He looked back in front of him towards the movie screen. He could only see half of it over the cars in front of them. He frowned a little bit, mad that they'd gotten such bad spots. Oh well… actually watching the movie wasn't that important to the date anyway.
The lights surrounding the theater abruptly turned off and there were a few surprised noises from across the sea of cars. The movie was about to start.
Junior looked back over to Strip, who was still staring at the wheel. He didn't know quite what to do. This was entirely more awkward than he thought it would be. He inched himself a bit closer to the other man. Luckily, it was one of those vehicles that had one large front seat.
He looked to see if Strip had noticed, but the older man hadn't. Junior wondered why he'd thought the other man's observation skills would be any better now than earlier. He felt a smile form on his face.
Discreetly, he brought his arm up to rest on the back of the seat. He then turned his head and gave a short cough. Strip turned at the sound, looking over at him. Junior pretended to be looking at something outside of the car, bringing his other hand up to brush through his hair.
Luckily, Strip wasn't quite that dense, and he recognized the invitation that had been given to him. He scooted closer to the other man and began to lean back when he felt an uncomfortable, metal object jab into his rear end.
"Ow!" He jerked away, rubbing the sore spot. Junior looked to him worriedly, questioning the older man's exclamation. "I sat on the seat belt buckle…"
Both men looked down at the innocent, metal buckle that sat nestled between the two seat cushions.
"Uhhh…" Junior was thinking. "Here, maybe if you…" He returned his arm to the back of the seat and pushed the seat buckle over a little. "Just try…"
Strip began to move back into his place. "Ack!" He reached under his rear to try pushing the buckle away. "I can still feel it."
Junior reached down and tried pushing the buckle under the seat cushion. "Maybe… er…" The buckle only went halfway in. "Try just… uh, leaning over."
Strip sat on the other side of the buckle and leaned his shoulders across, consequently sliding down into the other's lap. "Oh!"
Junior blushed as Strip sat up in embarrassment. "This isn't working…" He mentally cursed. He glanced around quickly and then had a new thought. He scooted over the other way a few inches. "Here, just come down here further."
Strip scooted himself over once more, passing hesitantly over the buckle. Junior brought his arm up yet again, and Strip leaned back into it. Junior gave a little sigh of relief – they were finally settled, although now he couldn't help but feel a little awkward. That whole fiasco had pretty much ruined the mood.
He glanced down at Strip who was now smiling contentedly, gazing out at the screen. Aw well, if Strip was fine, then he was fine. He let himself relax into the seat, letting out the tension in his muscles. Strip reached up to take off his hat, setting it on the seat next to him. With it gone, he could nestle his head into Junior's shoulder.
Junior looked out at the movie screen and saw that words had already begun to flow on the screen. Giulietta degli spiriti. A small subtitle below it read "Juliet of the Spirits." What the heck? This movie wasn't even in English?
He kept watching as the movie started, none of the actors speaking any English. He could only read half of the subtitles underneath as much of them were hidden by cars in front of them. Ok, so this definitely wasn't going to be that fun.
He gave a little yawn. On the screen, a lady was smoking and saying something. All Junior could make out was "a ----------by the-------house." He rubbed his eyes with his free hand.
Forty-five minutes into the movie found Junior almost asleep. He felt his eyes start to close and quickly shot them back up, trying to stay awake. He looked out at the screen. Some people were moving around, but he was so out of it that he couldn't tell anything else. He turned his gaze to Strip and found the other man completely gone, snoring softly on his shoulder.
Well, this was going well.
He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance and tried to pay attention to the movie once again, but to no avail. In just a few minutes, his eyes began closing once again, and this time, he didn't try to stop them.
-----------------------
He woke up to the sound of rain hitting the roof of the car. At first, he couldn't remember where he was. He glanced around and saw Strip cuddled against him, suddenly remembering what had happened.
He gave a little groan. Oh, this had been a real fun date. He gazed out the window to find the theater empty. Looking towards the entrance, however, he saw a few cars waiting in line to exit. Well good, at least something had gone right. They hadn't slept until morning.
He looked back over to Strip, who was sleeping contentedly. He really didn't want to wake the older man, but how else were they going to get back to the motel? Ever so gently, he brushed a few locks of hair out of other's eyes.
"Hey… wake up, sleepy-head…"
He saw Strip's eyes flutter open. "Hm?"
"Hey, you gotta wake up. The movie's over…"
Strip scrunched his eyes, bringing his hand up to scratch his nose. He gave a yawn. "I only closed my eyes for a second…"
Junior chuckled. "Sure Strip… only a second."
Strip pushed himself to a sitting position and stretched his arms out in front of him. He glanced around drearily. "Are we… going back then?"
Junior gave the other's back a little rub. "Yeah… hey, you want me to drive? You look pretty bushed."
Strip stared at him for a few seconds as if he hadn't understood him. "… sure." He nodded his head, almost falling back over from the movement.
Junior sat himself up. "Ok… here, climb over me to the other side. I've gotta get to the wheel…"
Strip crawled over until he was situated in the other seat. Junior rubbed the last of the dreariness from his eyes and righted himself in the driver's seat, buckling his seat belt. Picking up the key from the dashboard, he stuck it in the ignition and started up the car. He glanced over at Strip who was gazing sleepily out the windshield.
Easing on the gas, Junior led the car towards the exit. By now, none of the cars were left, and he was able to drive right out. He had the windshield wipers going on full as the rain was beginning to come down pretty hard now. How much gloomier could you get?
They pulled out onto the main street and began heading back into town.
Strip yawned again from the other seat. "So… what was that movie about again?"
Junior grinned. "You know… I really have no idea."
"Well, that's good."
They were silent for a few minutes. The only thing they could hear was the rain coming down on the car.
"At least now I know why Luigi was so excited about it." Junior glanced over at Strip, who nodded in agreement. He was starting to wake up more.
"Can't beat those old Italian movies."
Both of them looked at each other, grinning.
After a few more minutes, Junior saw the shape of orange, safety cones in front of them. He pulled into the parking lot of the Cozy Cone and parked in one of the open spots. With a click, he turned the key in the ignition and pulled it out, listening to the car power down around them.
"Well… we're here."
They both gazed out at the falling rain. Strip picked up his hat and stuck it back on his head.
"Sorry for takin' you on such a crappy date." Junior frowned, scratching his forehead.
Strip looked at him inquisitively. "What'er you talkin' about?
Junior looked over to the older man. "Everything went wrong! It was horrible!" He gave the steering wheel a little punch to accentuate his words. He slouched down in his seat, chin burrowed into his shirt.
There was a minute of silence.
Strip idly played with his fingers. "Well, I… I really enjoyed it. Even if I did go t'sleep…" He forced himself to look up at the younger man, the other looking back at him with hopeful eyes. "I… I thought it was perfect."
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Strip began blushing furiously, turning away. Junior just looked at him, soaking in the words. Finally, he crawled across the seat to the older man, the movement causing him to look up.
"Hey, you."
Strip gave him a shy smile. "Hey…"
And with that, Junior closed the distance between them with a light kiss. His eyes fluttered shut for a second as he took in the feeling of the other man's lips on his own. Pulling away, he looked up to see Strip's eyes still closed.
He smiled, watching the older man finally open his eyes. They both looked at each other, not saying anything. Strip gave a tiny chuckle, biting his lower lip.
Junior reached out and rested his hand on the other's knee, smiling softly. "Now… it's perfect."