A/N Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to leave a review or a remark. It means a lot to me. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

I don't own….

The next day, John found Anna in the staff lounge at the beginning of their lunch break.

"Fancy, taking our lunch outside today?" he asked her.

"Sure," she replied, gathering her things.

When they got outside, they sat at one of the tables and began eating. John couldn't help noticing that Anna had a huge grin on her face despite the fact that he had brought her outside to eat in such chilly weather.

"What are you so smiley about, Miss Smith?" he teased.

She looked at him sideways, "What do you think, Mr. Bates?"

"I'd say you look like you had a hot date last night."

"I did. The hottest."

"Lucky bloke, him."

"I hope he thinks so."

"He does. He certainly does." He took a few more bites and then said, "So, I was thinking about tonight. I thought we might go see a film. I think that one you've been waiting for is finally out."

"Oh," she seemed a little surprised, "a film? Sure… that would be... fine."

"You don't seem too excited about the idea. Are you tired of me already?" He was joking, but there was a little worry behind the joke. Maybe last night hadn't gone as well as he thought it had. Maybe Anna had had time to think it over in the night and had changed her mind about the whole thing.

"No, no. It's fine. It's just… we go the the cinema all the time. Even before we were on a date."

"Ahhh, I see what the problem is," he brightened, "but you see... this is the perfect way to keep our relationship the same and change it. We may have been to the cinema before, but I could never put my moves on you," he wiggled in his chair in a ridiculous manner. "Now that we're dating, I can."

"Your moves?" she laughed, "And just what moves might those be?"

He wagged his eyebrows and the crinkles she loved so much appeared at the sides of his eyes, "Guess you'll just have to wait until tonight to find out."

"Guess I will," she laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

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This time when John picked her up for the evening, both he and Anna were much more relaxed. When she opened the door, John greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, thank you," she beamed.

"You're welcome."

"Come in while I get my coat. Are we walking or taking a cab? I know it's not that far but I worry about your knee in these cold temperatures."

"I can manage," he sighed. It was a discussion they had often.

"I know you can manage," she emphasized with a smile, "but you don't have to. This isn't our first date anymore. And I've already told you I'm impressed."

She turned her back to him and he automatically took her coat and helped her into it. While she was still turned, he whispered in her ear, "You look fantastic, by the way."

And she did. This was a more casual date than last night's so she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a scarlet jumper. John couldn't decide if he liked her hair more they way she had it last night, down around her shoulders in curls, or tonight, pulled up into a ponytail. He rarely got to see it down, she usually wore it in a twist at the back of her head at work, but this way, the pony tail, afforded him a good look at the deliciousness of her neck. It took all his strength not to kiss it while he was so close.

For her part, Anna hadn't failed to check out John's more casual look either. She loved him in the shirts and ties that he wore in the office, especially with his sleeves rolled up. But she loved to see him dressed casually even more. He rarely wore anything other than jeans and brogues outside the office and tonight was no exception. What was drawing her attention, however, was the yellow v-neck jumper he wore and the black t-shirt underneath it. Sadly, as they left her flat, he rebuttoned his coat and hid them from view.

"So, what's it going to be Mr. Bates? Walk or cab?" she asked on their way to the lift.

"That depends," he glanced down at her with a twinkle in his eye. She was much shorter than he was without the heels she had worn last night. "I liked holding your hand as we walked last night. I'd hate to miss out on that."

"What if I promised to hold your hand in the cab?"

"That might just do the trick, Miss Smith," he grinned.

"Why wait?" she matched him grin for grin, taking his hand.

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They stood in line for snacks, having decided to have only a light dinner before the movie because, as Anna said, "What's a film without popcorn?"

John ordered a large, turned to Anna and inquired, "Would you like anything else?"

"No," she answered, then quickly added, "well, maybe a Twixt. We can share."

"Nothing to drink?" he double checked.

"No, no. That's it."

He turned back to the counter, "And a Twixt," he smiled at the clerk.

Anna peeked around his shoulder, "And a water?" she asked, looking up at him.

"And a water," he added, reaching for his wallet. He turned to Anna, "Are you sure you don't want a soda?"

"No," she shook her head earnestly, "I'm trying not to overdo it with the holidays coming up."

John shook his head and chuckled as he paid the tab. Could this woman get any more adorable? He hoped not, or he didn't know how he would continue to function.

As he gathered their spoils, he handed her the tickets. When they made their way a few steps from the counter she said, "You don't have to pay for everything, you know. I don't expect it."

John pulled her a bit to the side, "Anna, if you insist on dating an older man, you have to accept his old fashioned ways. In my day…"

"In your day…" she rolled her eyes.

"Yes," he nodded, "In my day the man paid for the date."

"Fine, whatever. Have it your way."

"Thank you," he answered with a smug look on his face.

"But you're not that old," she mumbled.

"I heard that," he laughed, smiling down at her. "I probably started dating when you were still in nappies."

Now it was Anna's turn to chuckle, "I hardly think so, Mr. Bates. Unless you started dating when you were about 14."

John pretended to be offended, "I could have dated when I was 14. And please don't call me "Mr. Bates" when we're talking about how old I am."

"I'm not talking about how old you are. I'm saying you're not old! And anyway, you're the one who started talking about in your day. Good lord."

They made their way to their seats and John pretended to pout. He handed Anna her water and her candy while keeping the popcorn in his own lap.

"Can I have some popcorn?" she asked as sweetly as possible.

"No!" he humphed petulantly.

"Please?" she begged, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. She was unprepared for the strong reaction her body had to his scent and the feel of the stubble on his cheek under her lips.

"Maybe," he wavered, trying not to grin.

She kissed him again, more slowly this time, "Please?" she whispered into his ear.

John had to close his eyes, furrow his brow and breath strongly through his nose in order not to groan aloud.

When he opened his eyes, she was looking at him earnestly, "Your age makes absolutely no difference to me you know."

"I know. I wish it made no difference to me," he sighed.

"Well," she said softly, placing her palm fully against his cheek, "I guess I'll just have to convince you." As soon as she had spoken, she kissed him slowly and sweetly on the lips. Then she moved back into her seat more fully but hooked her arm under his and snuggled into his side.

"So, when do I get to see these moves of yours?" she asked coquettishly.

His eyebrows raised in surprise, "That's not very ladylike, Miss Smith, the previews haven't even begun yet. Give me time. Give me time."

"I'm not a lady. And I don't pretend to be," she stated firmly.

John's eyes turned soft and warm, almost melting her on the spot, "You are a lady to me. And I've never known a finer one." He was just about to kiss her when the lights went down and the previews began.

Still snuggled into his side, Anna began to take handfuls of popcorn. He pulled the armrest up between them and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her even closer.

"Is this one of your moves?" she giggled.

"MmmHmm," he hummed, "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"So far, so good. I can't wait to see what else you have in store."

"Well, it's been awhile, but it's starting to come back to me.

"Is it now?" she smirked.

"You're very inspirational."

He was about to say more when the people behind them shushed them and they both giggled like teenagers.

As the movie went on, Anna snuggled closer and closer to John until she was practically in his lap. Their hands met many times in the popcorn bucket and each time, one or the other gave a little caress before taking a few kernels and removing their hand. He kept his arm around her and began to trace little patterns on her shoulder, which she found very distracting. She looked up at him and the look in her eyes took his breath away.

"That feels nice," she sighed.

"I'm glad," he replied. Nudging the hair around her ear with the tip of his nose he asked, "Does this feel nice?"

She turned her face to his. She barely managed to reply, "Yes."

"And how about this?" he asked, lowering his mouth to hers for a kiss.

At first, it mirrored the kiss he had given her at her door the night before, but it quickly morphed into several kisses, increasing in duration. Each one was characterized by a little more movement of John's tongue and lips on Anna's but he didn't press for it to go deeper. He wanted to, god how he wanted to, and he knew she would agree, but the wanting scared him. He could so easily lose his bearings with this woman and it was the one thing he wouldn't let himself do. Much as he hated to think on it, he was still married, and the woman he was kissing was not his wife.

He broke away, hoping he hadn't disappointed her by stopping. Instead of showing disappointment she sighed and put her head back on his shoulder, "Those are some pretty fine moves Mr. ...John."

She smiled when she felt him chuckle against her. She held the Twixt bar up to him, "Do you want more nibbles?"

"I certainly do. But I think I need to wait awhile."

"I might finish it before you get a chance."

He smiled wickedly and brushed a finger across her neck, "Oh, I'm not talking about the candy."

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When the movie was over and they stepped outside the cinema, John took Anna out of the way of the crowd. He played with her fingers again in the same way he did so often now that they were 'dating'. It never failed to set her heart racing.

"Anna, I have something to confess to you."

"Oh?" He looked so boyishly cute she knew whatever he was about to say couldn't be bad.

"I don't want to take you home yet. I'm not ready for our evening to be over. Would you like to go get a coffee or something? We could discuss the film," he suggested.

"I'd love to get a coffee, but I'm not sure I can discuss the film. I found myself having a hard time paying attention. I seemed to be getting distracted."

"Are you complaining?"

"Not at all. I just think that next time I should choose a film I'm not all that interested in."

John wrapped his arm around her and led her toward a nearby coffee house, "I'm sure we can find something else to talk about.

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It was quite late when they found themselves once again at Anna's door.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked somewhat shyly, although she didn't know why. He had been in her flat many evenings before this one.

He smiled just slightly and shook his head, "I don't think I better. It's already after midnight."

"Tomorrow's Saturday. We don't have work."

"I don't think so," he smiled ruefully.

"Alright," she said quietly, looking a little disappointed.

"Anna, it's not that I don't want to come in. Believe me. It's just that…"

"Don't worry. I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do." Even to her own ears it sounded more snippy than she intended but after their behavior at the movie tonight she found his hesitance even harder to understand than before.

"Anna," he sighed, "Please let me explain."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Please?" When she nodded her head, he continued, "As I said, it's not that I don't want to come in, I do. But I don't trust myself if I do. This is important to me, Anna. You are important to me. I ended up in a bad marriage because I took things too quickly with Vera. I'm determined not to do that with you. Even if it kills me," he laughed, running his hand through his hair.

He placed his hands around her lower back and pulled her into him, "This needs to be special. I need to take my time with you and make sure I don't muck this up. My previous relationships haven't gone that well and I want to do this one correctly. It's really important to me."

Anna groaned, "How can you be so perfect and so frustrating at the same time?"

"I'm far from perfect, as you well know. But I'll grant you the frustrating part."

"Can I at least have a goodnight kiss?" she pleaded jokingly.

"Now that I'll agree to. In fact, you can have as many as you like."

"Careful Mr. Bates," she challenged, "You may not be able to count that high."

They stood at Anna's door and kissed for several minutes before John finally made to leave. Before he even got halfway home his phone buzzed with a text message. He knew, he hoped, it would be from Anna and he steadfastly refused to look at it until he was resting comfortably in bed.

That was the best movie I ever didn't see, Mr. Bates.

He texted her a smiling emoji in return, then added: Can't wait to see you again.

Come over for dinner tomorrow? I'll cook. We can watch a video. No pressure, I promise. Just like old times.

Not JUST like old times I hope. Better pick a film you don't want to see, just in case.

A few minutes later he picked up his phone again: Do you always see men three nights in a row, Miss Smith?

He waited no time at all before she replied: Only the ones I really fancy, Mr. Bates.