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Kevin's First Date

When Kevin first told his parents that he had a date, his mother's initial reaction had been to cry—tears of happiness, of course, but still, it was pretty embarrassing. His father, on the other hand had congratulated him and immediately handed him a fifty dollar bill to cover any expenses he would have. When Kevin tried to give it back, insisting that they were just going to dinner and a movie, Colin Ryan just insisted.

"Take her somewhere real nice, son," he said. "Give her a night she'll never forget."

"But be respectful," Sinead added, nudging her husband. "Don't pressure her into doing anything she'd doesn't want, okay?" Kevin blushed, nodding furiously.

"Of course," he replied. "I would never—"

"Oh, I know, my sweet boy," Sinead exclaimed, beaming as she pulled him into a hug, pressing him into her soft belly. She kissed his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair. "You've grown so much," she said, softly. "Soon you'll be out of the house and living on your own, like your sisters." She sighed and Kevin rolled his eyes.

"I'm only fifteen, Mom," he reminded her. "I've still got a long way to go." Sinead chuckled at that.

"I know, Baby," she said. "Time is just going so fast." Kevin held her tighter at that.

"I know," he said. "But don't think about it too much, okay?"

"How can I not when I have to get my boy ready for his first date?" Sinead laughed, pulling back. "Come on, Kevin; let's go pick out a nice outfit for you to wear."

"Mo-om," Kevin groaned, but he allowed his mother to drag him toward his room and pick out all his clothes.

She didn't choose bad, either.

He ended up in a simple, white button down and one of his more dressy sweater vests and a pair of dark wash jeans. He still wore his usual converse since his father warned him against wearing his dress shoes.

"If it's really just dinner and a movie," he said, "you don't want to be overdressed. It might put her off, ya know?" Sinead agreed.

"Thanks, Dad," Kevin replied, with a sigh, before locking himself in the bathroom to style his hair. He had less than an hour before he had to pick up Jenny and he was practically shaking, he was so nervous.

"Relax," he said to himself in the mirror. "Everything's going to be just fine. It's just one date. It's just one date. Just one—"

"Kevin!" his father's muffled voice sounded out from the living room. "You've got company." Kevin's eyes widened in shock. He thought he was picking her up!

Quickly, he fixed his hair and straightened out his clothing, before taking a deep breath and stepping out of the bathroom, only to come face-to-face with…

"Javi? Castle? What are you two doing here?"

His two best friends were grinning at him, standing in the doorway.

"'Sup, bro," Javi greeted. "We just came by to bring you a lil somethin' somethin'." Both boys took something out of their pockets and held it out to the shorter boy.

"Here's that list of jokes I promised you," Castle said, handing him a folded up piece of paper. "Guaranteed to get you a giggle or two."

"Uh, thanks?" Kevin replied, tucking the paper into his pocket. He turned to Javier, expectantly and the other boy held up a twenty. He groaned. "I have enough money, Jav," he informed the boy.

"You could always use more," Javier replied. "Take her out for dessert or save it for the next date; whatever. Like I said, you gotta woo her; give her the ol' Ryan charm your dad's always talkin' about."

Looking around the room to make sure his dad wasn't in earshot; Kevin leaned towards the boys and whispered, "I don't think it actually exists." The boys snickered.

"I HEARD THAT!" his father's voice boomed from the kitchen, making all three boys jump. Kevin shook his head.

"He's got bionic ears, I swear," he grumbled under his voice.

"Oh, that would be so cool, though!" Castle exclaimed, earning confused looks from both friends. "If your dad was part robot, I mean," he explained. The confusion remained and Castle sighed. "Never mind," he said. "Good luck on your date tonight, Kev; I'm sure you'll sweep her off her feet in no time."

"You think?" Kevin asked, nervously.

"Hell yeah, man!" Javi exclaimed, patting him on the back. "You're a total lady killer; look at those dimples!" He reached out to teasingly pinch Kevin's cheek and the shorter boy swatted at his hand, laughing.

"Quit it!" he said. "And thanks, Javi; that means a lot. Especially from somebody with a girlfriend."

"Hey, you gotta stop being the fifth wheel somehow, right?" Kevin rolled his eyes and elbowed his friend.

"Get out," he said. "I have to go pick up Jenny now."

"Ooh," Castle cooed. "Where are you taking her?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out…at least until tomorrow. I don't want you two showing up and embarrassing me."

"Us? Embarrassing?" Castle gasped. "Did you hear that, Javi? Kevin Ryan is embarrassed by us!"

"I heard, bro," Javi replied, wrinkling his nose. "And I am so insulted right now. I can't even look at you right now." He turned his back on Kevin and marched to the door, Castle on his heels. Kevin just rolled his eyes.

"See you guys tomorrow," he called after them.

"Seeya!" they called back, obviously not mad at him. Kevin chuckled, before returning to his room to grab his wallet and a light jacket ("just in case she gets cold" his dad had advised).

Before leaving the apartment, he kissed his mother goodbye and crossed himself, praying that everything would go smoothly.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

"So," Kevin said, breaking the comfortable silence as he and Jenny stepped out of the cinema, "did you like the movie?"

Jenny smiled brightly at him and nodded. "I loved it!" she exclaimed. "Jennifer Lawrence is my favorite!"

Kevin smiled at that. "Yeah," he said, "she's pretty cool." He noticed Jenny shiver and immediately offered her his coat. At her questioning glance—complete with a heart-stopping smile—he shrugged. "It's a little chilly out," he offered as explanation.

"What about you?" she asked, even as she pulled the jacket tighter against her. He imagined the sweet smell of her perfume staying on the coat hours after he returned home.

"I have sleeves," he pointed out, holding up his arms. Jenny had chosen a sleeveless dress, not counting on the night getting slightly colder. Or maybe it was a test; Javi had told him once that girls liked to test boys, but then Lanie had swatted him and called him an idiot, so he didn't really know what to believe.

He didn't really care, anyway; he just wanted her to be comfortable, so giving up his jacket wasn't that big of a deal.

They continued to walk in silence, his hands tucked into his pockets, sneaking looks at her every so often. He'd taken Jenny to the Regal Cinema on 42nd Street, in Times Square, away from where his friends usually hung out; he really didn't want to risk running into them and have them embarrass him. Before the movie, he'd bought them dinner at Olive Garden, thankful for his father's money and the extra twenty that Javi had given him, enabling them to share a nice dessert, before heading off to the movie.

The night had gone better than he'd ever dared to imagine, considering his hands continued to shake as they walked next to each other, making their way towards Jenny's apartment, which was about half a dozen blocks north. He'd considered taking the subway, but decided against it, not wanting to subject her to the weirdoes that rode the train at night. Besides, despite the slight chill, it was nice out, especially for mid-June weather standards in New York.

And, being mid-June, the streets were already littered by tourists and people advertising tickets for some comedy club and bus tours. Kevin did his best to avoid them and found himself reaching out for Jenny's hand, making sure they didn't lose each other in the crowd. It took him a moment to realize what he'd done, and he almost just as quickly pulled away, but then Jenny smiled brightly at him and he practically melted when he felt her hand squeeze his.

He didn't let go of her hand until they reached her apartment building and he had to bid her good night. He waited with her while she fished in her purse for her keys and another piece of advice from his best friend came to mind.

"When a girl wants you to kiss her after a date, she pretends that she can't find her keys; she's just stalling, hopin' you're gonna give her a little lovin'." He'd made a kissy face at Kevin and the other boy rolled his eyes, glancing surreptitiously at Lanie, who, surprisingly, didn't contradict this advice, nor did she swat him on the head, like she usually did, so he came to the conclusion that he was right.

Using that advice, Kevin took a deep breath when Jenny finally pulled out her key and looked at him with a soft, shy smile on her face.

"I had a really good time, Kevin," she said, her cheeks pinkening as she bit her lip. Kevin nodded, inhaling sharply before he leaned in, slightly, towards Jenny, whose eyes widened a fraction in surprise. Thinking he'd made a mistake, Kevin went to pull back, but before he could Jenny leaned towards him, her lips pressing against his before he even knew what happened.

Kevin could feel his entire face beginning to heat up at the contact, his eyes closing involuntarily as one hand reached up to cup Jenny's cheek in his hand, his lips clumsy against her impossibly soft ones. The blonde responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, startling Kevin slightly as he heard the tinkle of her keys dropping to the ground next to them.

When they finally pulled back after a few breathless moments, both teens were smiling and flushed bright pink. Kevin cleared his throat, ducking his head.

"So," he said, "would you like to do this again?" Jenny giggled and nodded.

"I'd really like that," she said. Kevin beamed at her and reached down, snatching her keys and handing them to her.

"Until next time," he said, softly. Jenny smiling and pressed a tiny, chaste kiss to his lips, before turning to the door to her building and making her way inside, waving back at him over her shoulder. He waved back, watching until she disappeared from his sight.

On his four-block walk back to his own building, Kevin realized, belatedly that Jenny still had his jacket. He couldn't find himself to care, though, the feel of her lips still tingling on his, his heart still floating.

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