Chapter 7: Quality Time

I woke up to a knock on my bedroom door, and sat up in my bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Come in," I called with a yawn. The door opened and Steve stood there with an embarrassed smile.

"Good morning, Bella," he greeted. I gave a warm smile.

"Steve! What brings you here at," I glanced on the clock on my night stand. "8 o clock in the morning?" He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet slightly.

"Well, I was actually wondering if you wanted to go out with me today to run some errands?" I docked my head to the side.

"Sure, what kind of errands do we need to do?" I slipped out from under my covers and stood with a stretch. I noticed Steve's eyes wander slightly down my form before he cleared his throat and lock his eyes with my own. My heart and lady parts did a little happy dance silently.

"Well, I wanted to go to this book store," he began, and I cut him off with my hand.

"That's all I need to hear. I'm in," I smirked. "I needed to add something to my collection anyways."

He smiled a perfect smile at me. "Great. We could leave around 9? Maybe get some coffee and breakfast while we're out?" I nodded and he slowly left me to my devices to get ready. I darted to my bathroom and showered and brushed my teeth, then headed to my closet. I browsed my clothes, eyebrows coming together.

I know this isn't a date, but alone time with Steve was uncommon outside of the training room, and I wanted to put a little extra effort into my appearance, impress him maybe. Should I wear a dress? No, I hate dresses. What about my black jeans and my dark blue top? Or is that too casual?

I heaved a sigh of frustration. I want to dress outside of my comfort zone, but not so much that I'm second guessing myself every step I take.

I sorted through my clothes before I settled on a pair of short shorts that end right below my ass, a green off the shoulder top, and a pair of silver flats. I looked in the mirror and twisted and turned to see every angle, before I nodded in satisfaction.

I was greeted at the bottom of the stairs by Steve, who looked handsome in a light blue button down that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and low hanging jeans. His hair was brushed to his normal style I had grown accustomed to seeing him in, and he looked up at the sound of my foot steps.

I felt my back straighten slightly as his eyes widened slightly and he smiled at me. My heart fluttered.

"You look beautiful," he said quietly, and i beamed at him.

"You don't look so bad yourself there, old man," I winked. He chuckled and held his arm out to me, which I took. We walked out to the car and I eyed him cautiously.

"You do know how to drive, right?" I asked, half teasing, half serious. He smirked.

"Yes, Bella. Believe it or not, I did learn how to operate a vehicle." I held up my hands in surrender.

"On this century though, right?" I checked. His eyes darted downward.

"Well, no, but I'm sure it is pretty much the same!" He defended. I gave a giggle and moved to the drivers side.

"Let me drive this time, cars nowadays are different then they were in the 40's," I joked.

He hesitated. "It's not very gentlemanly of a man to have a woman drive." I shrugged.

"Beauty of progress: women can drive now too," I teased. He half sighed and half chuckled before moving over to the passenger side.

As we drove, we talked. About everything and anything. I learned more about Peggy Carter, and I gave small details about the Cullens. He told me about the war, I told him about school.

"Why did they leave you, Bella?" He questioned, referencing the Cullens. I gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"I wasn't good enough apparently, or that's what I was told," my voice hardened slightly. I could feel his rising anger at that statement.

"Never let an insignificant boy make you feel anything less than your worth, Isabella," the way he said my full name almost made me want to beg him to call me it again.

It rolled off his tongue fluidly, deeply, and it always did something to my heart, and honestly, my pussy, when he said my full name the way he did.

"I know. I'm not anymore. I always thought he was extraordinary, that he was better than me. But I realized that I was always the one sacrificing in our relationship. And I deserved better than what he offered me. We were always on borrowed time, I just didn't want to believe that," I said. I gave him a side eye.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm just wondering. What was it about Peggy? I mean...you two didn't date, you had one kiss, and she was your superior. Why did you hold onto her for so long?" He smiled softly before looking out the window.

"She believed in me. Even when no one else did. She was much like you as well. Brave, strong, independent, and kind. But she took no shit from any man." I sat in thought for a moment. Like me? What does that insinuate? I slowly and hesitantly took his hand in mine for a moment, and his eyes locked on our touching hands.

"I believe in you. And I'm sorry you lost her. She obviously meant something very special to you, and I know that it must have been painful, to one day be planning things in the future with her and to wake up and find life had moved on. I can't imagine how it was for you, but you have some so incredibly well with understanding today's society. I'm proud of you," I squeezed his hand slightly and he turned his eyes to me, a look I recognized in them.

I cleared my throat as we pulled to our first stop: Rizzoli Bookstore. Grudgingly, I separated our hands, and I wondered if he felt the emptiness once I did too.

We lost track of time in the book store, showing each other books and reading a chapter or two from each one. By the time we had left, I had four new books and Steve had nearly a dozen. He was still catching up on all the works he had missed over the years, so I pointed him in the direction of some much needed literature.

Once we were in the car, we headed to the nearby coffee shop, and I got me a caramel iced coffee, while Steve went with a traditional black coffee. I made a face at him as he sipped his coffee across the table, and he laughed.

"Why are you looking at me like I committed a crime?" He teased. "I prefer to taste my coffee, not sugar."

I scoffed. "I can taste my coffee. But only psychopaths will drink coffee black with no cream OR sugar!" I exclaimed. He laughed at my dramatics.

The rest of the day was filled with us joking and laughing, talking about anything and everything. By the time we returned to the compound, I was exhausted, and ready for a hot shower, and sleep.

Steve lightly took my arm as we got to the foot of the stairs, and I turned to him in question.

"Thank you, Bella," he said. "For accompanying me today, I had a great time." I smiled.

"No, Steve, thank you. This was one of the best days I've had in New York so far, and I really enjoyed spending time with you." His eyes darted down, for half a second, to my lips, and I couldn't help but do the same.

Is he going to kiss me?

I leaned slightly more into his body, and I heard his quiet intake of breath. He cleared his throat and gave me a hug, topping it off with a light pat on the back, before pulling back, releasing me completely. He mumbled something about seeing me later, before shuffling off, his head down. I stood stock still, staring at his retreating back, stung with hurt.

What just happened?