Context: Jamie and Cathy going out after he's released from prison.

(Written by Gina)

The First Date

Jamie had been released from prison a few weeks ago.

And for the first time in a while, he was genuinely nervous. Hands twitching, shifting from foot-to-foot nervous. And he knew exactly why.

Once he was released, the first thing he had wanted to do was take Cathy out, buy her things, bring her to dinner, and just spoil her like mad. He felt it was what she deserved after all he'd caused her, especially in this past year during his time in jail.

While sitting alone or waiting for a visit from her, it had all seemed so easy. The second he saw her, he'd wrap her in his arms, kiss her dizzy, and treat her to the best date she'd ever had. Unfortunately, when the time actually came, and when they had actually gotten passed the first two steps, the third seemed somewhat impossible at the time.

Jamie had had time to think while in jail. He had the time to think about how he wanted to go about his relationship with Cathy, how things would run. He hadn't expected the overwhelming freedom he felt after being released.

What if, now that he was out, he went back to the way he always was? What if he rushed into things, moved too fast?

What if he ruined everything?

These questions were the exact reason he had waited this long before bringing Cathy out on a real date. Their first since his arrest. Sure, they had hung out often, but it was mainly just comfortable silence. They had had plenty of time to talk in the past year. But not nearly enough to be close to each other.

He was currently standing by the door, rocking on his heels, and looking around awkwardly. Cathy had let him in before rushing upstairs to change. He wasn't quite sure what to do during this short time, and was just glad there was no one around to stare at him like there had been when he walked here.

When Cathy did emerge, however, he felt the familiar feeling of his heart skipping a beat and the breath being taken away from him. And it had only taken her about 5 minutes to get ready - hell, even he had taken longer, and even then he still had to check his hair in car windows and make sure his shirt was straight. She wasn't even wearing anything all that fancy, nor revealing. But she was still absolutely stunning.

How a person could be so effortlessly beautiful, he'd never know.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought him out of his thoughts, and he blinked twice. "Uh… Y-Yes?"

Cathy giggled. "I said, are you ready to go?"

Jamie scratched the back of his head sheepishly, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, let's, uh…let's go, then."

He mentally scolded himself for looking so stupid. Why can't you just smile and compliment her like a normal boyfriend?

"Uh, you look really nice," he said after closing the door behind her.

"Why thank you," she said, shooting him a radiant smile. "You're not lookin' too bad yourself."

She punched him playfully in the arm, and they both chuckled. She took hold of his hand, making his heart skip once again.

"So, where's your car?" she said curiously. "You got your license back, right?"

She was right about that. He had recently gotten back his license, and even gotten himself a new car of much lower value than his Porsche. He didn't want any reminders of…

"Uh, you know what? I thought maybe we'd walk today. Thought that'd be…nice."

He gave her a small smile, trying to keep his voice as normal and casual as he could. But he knew immediately after that she noticed something was up with him. Nothing got passed Cathy.

"You alright?" she asked softly, touching his arm lightly. "You seem a bit odd…"

He sighed. He was not going to ruin this date by rambling about his emotional insecurities. She'd think he was lame.

No, she wouldn't. She was Cathy. She was nothing like the other girls he'd been with.

"Jamie?"

"I don't really feel comfortable driving again just yet," he blurted. He caught himself before he could say more, but Cathy had already seen. She rubbed his arm once, giving him a knowing look. It wasn't one of pity. He didn't want pity, didn't need it. He could always count on Cathy to know just what he needed. She never really had questioned his mode of transportation whenever they were together, assuming he had driven himself. He wasn't all that comfortable even being in a vehicle, let alone behind the wheel. Luckily, being the understanding person she was, she didn't press any further.

"Well then, we better get walking," she said, grinning and taking his hand again as if the previous conversation never occurred. "Wouldn't want to ruin whatever it is you have planned."

"It's not much…" Jamie said as they started on their stroll down the sidewalk. "Just a little lunch, you know."

"Don't want to go anywhere too crowded?" Cathy asked. It wasn't exactly a question, as much as it was just her way of letting him know that she understood. She did understand; she had witnessed the drama, too. He needed to remember that.

They resumed with their chatting, though most of it was just the two of them walking and enjoying the other's company. Though he preferred when they were talking, since the soothing sound of Cathy's voice distracted him from everyone else around them.

Even though they weren't even on a busy street, Jamie was already feeling uncomfortable. It was as if everyone in town was staring at him – hell, they probably were. He was starting to get annoyed until he heard the little sigh of contentment next to him and saw Cathy smile up as they walked. All of his previous moods vanished again, and he found himself smiling as well.

"This is so nice," she said. "Just being together again."

She suddenly gave a little half-chuckle and looked down.

"You know, I was actually kind of afraid…when you were released." She trailed off and looked straight ahead of her. "It was kinda silly. Thinking you might change your mind about…us. But…"

She trailed off again just as Jamie stopped right in front of a local coffee shop. Cathy looked like she was just about to ask why he had, when he took her into his arms and hugged her tight. She didn't hesitate for long before hugging him back, not caring if people were giving them odd looks or not, just relishing in the warmth of their embrace. It felt wonderful to hug again. It felt right.

"I'd never change my mind." Jamie kissed the top of her head, "I never will."

He had relaxed considerably once they sat down.

It was hard not to when you were with Cathy. Not to mention the atmosphere of the little coffee shop was calming, mixing beautifully with Cathy's voice. It was a cute little shop, simple. Just what they needed to avoid staring. He wasn't just doing that for himself – he knew Cathy probably wouldn't enjoy the attention, either. She wouldn't be dragged into any drama, not anymore. She didn't deserve that.

But…what if the media attention didn't stop anytime soon? What if Cathy got embarrassed to be seen with him, thinking everyone was judging her?

Oh, what was he saying? Cathy would never care what everyone else thought of them. And he loved that. He loved that she was always by his side, even if he didn't know it.

She made most of the conversation, mainly about small things he may have missed, and how her days had been, and occasionally a question or two came up about how he was. Several times she stopped to apologize for "babbling", but he merely shook his head and told her to continue. He liked her voice. He liked the face she made when she tried to remember something. He liked the way she brushed her hair out of her face during an important part of the story like it was getting in the way of the suspense. He smiled the whole time, reacting appropriately, and asking questions when he was interested in the answer. He never normally enjoyed just listening to others talk. He preferred doing the talking. But Cathy made all of her stories interesting. She made talking seems so…cute.

She took a breath and chuckled after a particularly long story. She sipped her tea and took a small nibble of her sandwich before placing her chin in her palm and watching her boyfriend, who was taking the last sips of his own tea. The waitress came over to fill it almost immediately after he put it down. She smiled and asked if they needed anything.

Jamie tried hard to avoid eye contact, just for precaution. "We're okay, thank you."

The waitress, who he noticed had the name Sarah, smiled at him as if he were a normal customer and walked off to another table. He was glad they went here. They didn't ask questions.

Cathy sighed happily, tracing her finger along the pattern of the table, before giving Jamie a guilty look. "I know I keep saying this, but I'm sorry I keep talking." Jamie chuckled at this.

"No really!" she continued, the grin leaking from her voice. "I just feel like you need a chance to talk about something."

"There's not much for me to say," he said, mimicking her movement from earlier and placing his chin in his palm as well so he could look her right in the eye. "Already said most of what I had to say this past year." He grinned at her. "Why don't you just keep on being cute and telling your little stories?"

Cathy giggled, removing her chin from her palm and leaning over the table to kiss him. It was short and sweet, both of them smiling and just enjoying the fact that they could actually do that now.

"How about I tell some knock-knock jokes, maybe a few puns?" she said playfully after they separated. "Those are always fun, right?"

He laughed, enjoying the comfortable, lovely feeling his chest. He ran a hand through his hair, and watched her check her phone. "Thought I heard a text, sorry about that."

For some reason an overwhelming feeling filled his chest, wiping the smile off of his face. Cathy tucked her phone back in her pocket, not noticing as Jamie's mouth opened and closed several times, searching for words, until:

"I love you."

She looked up, staring right into Jamie's eyes.

Sure, they both knew that they obviously loved each other. And it wasn't a phrase they'd never heard before.

What was so surprising, to the both of them, was just the emotion in his voice that was put into those words. There was no little playful laugh, no smirk, just pure emotion. Pure love. He cared so much, and he was hoping he was able to express that. That the unspoken words in the look of his eyes would be enough.

Cathy looked down, her lip curling up at the side, expecting a comment of some sort – something. But nothing came, and she glanced back up at him, locking her eyes in place with his own. She was a bit surprised at how intense his stare was. He wasn't even sure why he wasn't able to stop himself from revealing so much. He couldn't hold back.

After a moment of silence he felt a small, soft touch on his left hand and he glanced down for a second. Cathy intertwined their fingers, and gave her soft reply. "I love you, too, Jamie." She smiled shyly.

Jamie smiled back in response, tracing his thumb along the back of her hand, right as their waitress came over.

"Everything okay over here?"

Everything was okay. Everything was definitely okay. He was finally out of jail, he'd never turn to drugs again, and most of all, he had Cathy by his side with an encouraging smile. He felt a wave of relief, as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders.

Okay.

Yes. It was all okay. It was all fine.

Because for once in his life, Jamie Bradley was able to truly say that he was, indeed, just fine.

"Everything is perfect," Jamie replied, before removing his gaze from Cathy's sweet smiling face and looking back at their waitress in the eye this time. "We'll take the check, please."