Bend It Like Becker

...

Chapter 32 - DINNER DATE DISTINCTIONS

...

Becker woke up, determined that today was the day. He was going to walk right up to Jess and...

And what? He couldn't just kiss her right in the middle of Ops. And he wasn't the type to really talk about his feelings. But having taken Abby's advice to heart, not wanting to live with regrets, he was determined to do something.

Perhaps he could simply ask Jess out. Not just to a friendly dinner - they'd done that enough these past few weeks. No, he would ask her out on a proper date. Simply informing her that it was to be an actual date should be enough to let her know that he was interested in more than friendship, and then he needn't say more. He spoke better with actions than with words anyway, so he would take her out to dinner and hold her hand and, when he drove her home, kiss her goodnight. It was something he'd been dreaming of for ages, but now that the moment was almost here, Becker could hardly wait. Jess's lips had felt so soft and smooth when she'd kissed his forehead yesterday morning, he could only imagine how good they'd feel pressed against his own lips, his arms wrapped tenderly about her as he...

"Thinking of tomorrow's match?" Matt teased as he walked into the armoury.

Becker glared, annoyed that Matt had caught him daydreaming.

Matt continued, "We're still on for the inventory this afternoon, yeah?"

Becker nodded. Having been away from the ARC for two days, he was having trouble keeping track of his schedule, so he was actually grateful for the reminder. Not that he'd ever let Matt know that, of course. "Yeah, this afternoon," he replied simply, his mind immediately returning to thoughts of Jess. "I, uh, need to go take these duty rosters to the hub." Matt nodded and said nothing as Becker quickly escaped.

Striding purposely through the corridors, Becker passed Abby and gave her a cursory nod, wanting to acknowledge his appreciation of her advice yet not wanting to slow his momentum. He turned the corner into Ops...and stopped short when he realised Jess wasn't at the hub. He stood there, simply staring at her empty chair, not sure what to-

"Morning, Becker."

Jess's voice from behind made him jump.

"Sorry," she quickly said with a smile. "I didn't mean to startle you. How's your ankle this morning? I hope you were careful on the drive in."

Becker stood there, staring blankly at her. It was as if every thought had been wiped from his brain, and he was having difficulty restarting it. "Uh, yes, my ankle's fine," he finally managed to get out.

"Oh good," Jess said with a smile before heading down the stairs towards the hub.

She'd only gotten a few steps away when Becker remembered his plan. He hurried to catch up with her, asking, "So, uh, Jess, I was wondering if you'd, uh, like to go out to dinner tonight?"

Jess nodded as she climbed into her chair. "Sure. That'd be lovely. We can discuss any last-minute details for the match tomorrow."

Becker frowned. She'd misunderstood; she thought he was only asking her out as his assistant coach. He needed to make it clear. "I meant...when I asked...it's a date," he clarified before giving a small sigh of relief. There. He'd actually said it.

Jess smiled. "Yes, it's a date," she said, grabbing her mobile and typing it into her schedule. "Dinner...with...Becker." She looked back up at him, asking, "Did you have someplace particular in mind?"

This was not going according to plan. She still didn't seem to understand that this wasn't just dinner, it was a dinner date. How could he make her understand without looking like a fool?

Besides, she'd asked where they should go and his mind was a blank. He didn't care about the restaurant or the food, he only wanted to spend time with Jess, to be with her.

But she was waiting expectantly for an answer, her mobile at the ready so she could type it into her schedule, so he said the first thing that came into his mind. "Uh, that French restaurant we went to was-"

He was going to say "kind of romantic", hoping that might clue her in to his intentions, but Jess didn't let him finish. Instead she squealed, "Ooh, really? We can go back for more chocolate souffle? Oh Becker, you're the best!" She typed it into her mobile and then flashed him a cheery smile. "I can't wait."

"Can't wait for what?" Connor asked, walking up to the hub.

"Becker and I are going to this French restaurant tonight," Jess explained. "You and Abby should come with us - the food is to die for."

Connor wrinkled his nose. "French food? Isn't that, like, quiches and stuff?"

"Real men eat quiche," Jess insisted. "Becker does, anyway. And you liked it, didn't you?" she asked, turning back towards the soldier.

But Becker couldn't answer. He just stood there with his mouth gaping open, still in shock that Jess had invited others on their date. Clearly he'd need help to sort out this situation.

"I...uh...need to go find Abby," Becker mumbled before rushing out of Ops towards the menagerie.

...

Jess was having a wonderful day. After two days at home, it felt good to be back at work just to see everybody. Thanks to it being Friday, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. And practice had gone so well yesterday that no one seemed be stressing about the match.

Best of all, Becker had asked her to dinner. Sure, they'd shared most of their meals together this past week, but the fact that he asked her first thing this morning instead of waiting until after practice meant that it gave her something to look forward to all day.

Not that she was reading too much into the invitation - she knew it was just a friendly dinner to discuss their final strategies before the match, but Jess realised she was okay with that. She enjoyed spending time with Becker, and she was no longer going to let her own hopes and expectations get in the way of that. If someday Becker decided to take things beyond mere friendship, Jess would be thrilled - but in the meantime, she was simply happy that she could share a tasty meal with him.

"Hey," Abby said, appearing out of nowhere. "So I hear that you invited me and Connor to your dinner with Becker."

Jess nodded. "We're going to that new French restaurant I told you about, the one with the amazing-"

"Yeah, Connor and I won't be able to join you tonight," Abby said, cutting her off.

"Oh," Jess said, disappointed. "That's too bad."

Abby stared at her. "'That's too bad'?" she repeated.

Jess nodded. "I think you'd really like the food. Connor, too. And it looked like they had loads of other desserts besides the souffle, though I doubt I'll ever get around to trying them," she finished with a smile.

Abby, however, frowned. "Yeah, well, perhaps another time. You know, I've, uh, gotta go...talk to someone." And she abruptly disappeared.

Jess turned back to the hub, briefly wondering what her flatmates had planned for this evening before becoming completely absorbed in her work once again. She was so intent on the monitors that she jumped when Becker suddenly appeared at her side.

"Hey," he began. "I, uh, wanted to talk to you about our dinner tonight."

"Oh, Abby and Connor can't go," Jess quickly filled him in without taking her eyes from the screens. "But we're still on, yeah? Did you want me to call to see if they take reservations?"

"No...I mean, yeah...whatever," Becker stammered. "Actually, about that. Um, when I asked you to dinner, what I meant was-"

"Oh no!" Jess gasped. Cycling through the various camera feeds within the ARC itself, Jess had briefly caught sight of the mammoth in the menagerie. "The shirts! I left them at home this morning! I was planning to pass them out at practice tonight. Oh, I can't believe I forgot! Now I'm going to have to go home at lunch to pick them up."

"At lunch? It's almost noon now," Becker pointed out.

"It is?" Jess glanced at her watch, convinced he was mistaken because it didn't feel that late. "Where has the day gone? Oh well, it'll be okay. And thank goodness I remembered them now while there's still time to go get them!"

She swung her chair sideways so she could hop down, but Becker was standing in her way. He awkwardly took a step back before asking, "Would you, uh, like some company?"

Jess smiled. Having dinner together tonight AND spending her lunchtime errand with him - she couldn't be more pleased. "That'd be lovely." She slid out of her seat and started to cross Ops with Becker. They caught sight of Matt and Emily down the corridor, headed for the canteen, and suddenly Becker stopped with a frustrated, "Dammit!"

"What?" Jess asked.

Becker shook his head. "I can't go home with you, Jess - Matt and I are doing the armoury inventory this afternoon, and we need to start it early to make sure we can get out in time for practice. I'm sorry."

Jess was momentarily disappointed, but then she shrugged, smiling serenely. So she couldn't spend her lunch with him - it wasn't the end of the world. "No problem. I'll see you later then."

She continued towards the lifts to the carpark as Becker turned away towards the canteen. However, Becker must've remembered something for he called back, "Oh, and Jess, we still need to discuss our dinner tonight. Because, uh, you see, what I meant was...I wanted it to be a-"

But the lift doors closed before he could finish what he had to say.

...

to be continued