DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, ESPECIALLY HUSH HUSH CHARACTERS

THIS CHAPTER: THIS IS IT, FRIDAY NIGHT THE BIG DATE. BOTH HAVE A GAME PLAN BUT WHO WILL BE PLAYED?

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CHAPTER 4

"FIRST DATE"

NORA'S POV:

"Ugh, Vee, you're supposed to be helping me find something to wear," I shrieked as I looked at the clock on my phone and saw that it was six thirty already. Where had the time gone? Patch was scheduled to pick me up in around a half an hour and I was nowhere near ready. Vee had invited herself over to help me get ready for my date but so far she was just sitting there watching me with a coy smile on her face.

"I will, I'm just too busy watching you right now," Vee said peering at me even closer than before.

"Why would you be watching me? You've seen me get ready for dates before," I shrugged unsure of where she was going with this. Sometimes Vee's plans or motives really confused me. But admittedly, they always got the job done.

"Number one, you keep calling this a date. Before you finally said yes to him you were calling it a game. Number 2, you're putting an awful lot of attention on making sure you look perfect, which is odd because it's just a game. You're reminding me of the first time you went out with Joey. You're just as obsessive," she said knowingly and I shook my head.

"I do not like Patch Cipriano," I said but Vee laughed and gestured to the daisy's that I still had sitting on my night stand. I had intended on throwing them out when I got home that night, but it never happened. I even caught myself smelling them from time to time.

"I think you do. I don't think you'll be able to go through with it. I think that you think it's a real date," Vee said in a sing-song voice. Sometimes my best friend really irritates me.

"I do not. Besides, it's not real for him. He's just looking to sleep with me. Which, by the way, is not going to happen. I take great pride in my virginity," I told her still trying to ignore the certain look on her face telling me that it was obvious to her that I was lying.

"I know you do, but I also think you're not as invested as you were in breaking him. I think somehow he got to you and you're hoping he morphs into a good guy sometime before your date," Vee said knowingly.

"Look, there's nothing between Patch and I. Nothing at all. He doesn't like me that way. He only wants sex from me and I understand that, but that doesn't mean he's going to get it. I have a mission tonight and I have to see it through. Now help me get ready or leave, because I don't have time to listen to you psychoanalyze me," I told my friend, irritated that she was beginning to see through the façade I had put up. I knew there was more going on, I knew that I was developing unwanted feelings for him, but that didn't mean I was ready to admit it. Feelings for Patch Cipriano just led you to getting your heart-broken. It was the way things were even if I didn't want them to be that way.

"Fine. Wear this," Vee said getting off my bed and walking into my closet. She reappeared seconds later with a black dress.

"Can't. It's casual, we're going to Enzo's," I told her shaking my head. I loved the dress but I didn't want to be over-dressed. When Patch called earlier in the day I asked him what I should wear and he said go casual. Somehow that made me happy. He literally told me that I would look good in anything.

"What kind of date is that?" Vee scoffed.

"I seem to remember that whenever you and Jules go out, it's to Enzo's," I noted.

"Well with him it's romantic. And because it's hard to get a table anywhere else. Fitzpatrick's has a month-long waiting list," Vee said sitting back down on my bed as I walked into my closet.

"Well he should put his name down and get you guys on that list. It would be romantic. I've heard Fitzpatrick's has the best food in Coldwater," I told her.

"I know and I keep suggesting it but he never goes for it. He doesn't like going out for dinners like that even though I need some romance. Every time we go to Enzo's, his friends show up and then it's a group thing. We never get any quality time together to talk like we used to," Vee sighed and I came out with a pair of jeans and a lacy shirt that I wore a camisole underneath.

"How about this?" I asked knowing Vee didn't like talking about her issues with Jules. It was time to change the subject before she got upset.

"For a casual date that's fine," Vee shrugged and I went into my bathroom to change quickly. "But you have to wear your sexiest shoes."

"Alright, I have my black ones with the four-inch heels that I rarely wear," I called back.

"Perfect," Vee called happily. She called those my stripper heels. I never really wore them, I never had any reason to do so. Joey didn't care what kind of shoes I wore and they were too painful to wear to school. When I was done I walked into my bedroom again and looked at my phone. Six fifty-five, five more minutes to go.

~P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N~

PATCH'S POV:

I pulled up in front of the Grey house at exactly seven. It was important when trying to get into someone's pants to be on time. I have to be on my best behavior or else I will lose this bet and that's not really an option. I have to win. It's not even about the twenty bucks I bet for it, that's chump change, it's the idea of losing to Dante of all people. Patch Cipriano never loses to Dante Matterazzi. Ever. At 7:02 Nora opened the front door of her house and walked outside. I appraised her look, she was wearing dark skinny jeans that showed off her curves, a black shirt and a pair of insanely sexy heels. I could never understand why girls felt the need to torture their feet with shoes like that, but I definitely liked the effect. I reached over and opened her door for her and she got in.

"Thank you," she said as she buckled her seat belt.

"You look amazing," I said and found myself meaning it. To me girls always looked hot, or sexy but amazing was a word I rarely used.

"Thank you," she said as she stared straight ahead.

"You ready?" I asked as I put the jeep into gear.

"Yep. Let's go," she said and I started driving.

When we got to Enzo's, I took a deep breath and got prepared to play the game of my life.

"You know you look incredible right? By far the hottest girl here tonight," I said to her and she didn't respond.

"Should I say thank you?" she asked.

"It's true. God, every guy in here tonight would kill to be in my place," I said aware I was laying it on thick. But sometimes it worked to smother the girls in compliments before I start going for the win. I needed to make her comfortable. She was on edge like she didn't know what to expect from being out with me. When the waiter showed up, who I recognized as Joey "the wonder-jock" Mancusi, I told Nora to pick whatever she wanted.

"Nora, how are you doing tonight?" Joey asked MY date. He was completely ignoring me but he was talking to MY date, what kind of bullshit game was he trying to play.

"I'm fine," she answered with a smile on her face.

"So how's the big date going?" he asked her. She smiled at him and nodded her head.

"It's fine. It really just started," she answered and Mancusi nodded.

"That's good, so what can I get you?" he asked, I knew logically he was asking both of us, but the question was pointed towards her.

"I'll just have a coke and grilled chicken sandwhich," she told him without even looking at her menu. It was clear how much time she spent in this place. The place wasn't bad, but she needed to get more of a life apparently.

"I'll have the burger and a coke. Now run along Jock," I said with a wave of my hand and Nora glared at me.

"What the hell is your problem?" she demanded and suddenly this evening was not going as I had planned it.

"We are on a date, therefore I want to be alone with you," I said apologetically.

"He is one of my closest friends and if I want to talk to him I will," she told me firmly. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she was shooting daggers at me, clearly challenging me to argue with her. I quickly shook my head needing to get the mood I was trying to set for the date back on track. At this rate I was never going to sleep with her. We fell into silence and she looked disappointed, almost like she wanted me to fight with her about it. I didn't understand it and I knew despite my own wishes I was going to ask her.

"You wanted me to fight with you, didn't you?" I asked her and she stared at me for a minute before clearing her throat.

"At least it would have been real," was all she said.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded not sure what she meant by that.

"This, is all a game to you. I know your motives for going out with me. I'm not stupid Patch, at least you not constantly trying to impress me was normal," she explained and my jaw literally dropped.

"If you know why I'm here then why are you here?" I finally asked.

"Because I have the usual teenage girl issue of hoping she's wrong about someone. I just have one question for you," she told me and I swallowed thickly. This was definitely not going the way I had planned it, there was no way I was getting laid tonight now.

"Shoot," I told her knowing it couldn't get any worse now.

"Why do you act like this? I'm sure deep down inside there's a decent person, but this you is anything but," she asked me and I wasn't expecting the question. There were a million different questions that she could have asked but she went for that one instead. No one had ever blatantly asked me that before and I was in shock.

"Because it's safe," I answered knowing it was the truth in so many ways.

"Maybe for you, but what about all the people you hurt in the process?" she asked. Her questions were digging into my soul and I had no idea when or why I decided to actually answer them.

"I've never worried about them. I have commitment issues and that's the basis of everything," I told her honestly and she just stared at me.

"I could have told you that you have commitment issues. Why do you feel that way?" she asked. She wanted to know everything, her beautiful gray eyes were alight with curiosity.

"You're not my shrink, Nora," I bit back.

"I know I'm not. I'm just curious about what makes a man do what you do. Why aren't you willing to let yourself possibly fall for someone? Isn't it better than just using people for your entire life?" she asked and I sighed.

"I've never seen a healthy or functional relationship so I've never wanted one. Marriage and commitment have always brought bad shit into my life," I told her.

"What do you mean? My parents have been together forever. They met in college and got married. They're still happy together," she told me and I shook my head.

"Not everyone is as lucky as you are Nora. My mom and dad are still married, but it's only on paper. My mom spends most of her time in Italy, gathering Italian painters while my dad stays home and raises Scott and I," I told her.

"I hope you mean gathers Italian paintings," she said.

"Nope. She likes the painters. The younger the better. They're the only type of guy she sleeps with. She wants me to join the family business, but I have no intentions of doing so," I told her.

"She needs a male Cipriano in Italy with her to seduce all the female artists to?" she asked knowingly.

"Yep, that's exactly it. I don't want any part of it. She has made commitment seem really bad to me over the years," I admitted.

"At least it makes sense now. But it doesn't change anything, I'm not going to sleep with you tonight," she told me and I had to smile a little bit. I was in immediate danger of falling for this girl. She was feisty and beautiful. She had a body to kill for and she seemed to genuinely care about my past. This definitely wasn't the way I had planned for tonight to go. Not at all. Not even a little bit. Nuh-uh.

"Hey, if it means anything I'm sorry for asking you out with that intention," I decided to apologize, because yep, my balls were officially in the palm of her hand. I would do whatever she asked me. I never used to be one of those "love at first sight" guys but here it was. I had to regain control of the situation somehow. I just didn't know how.

"It's okay, because I'm not entirely innocent either," she said and I perked up.

"What did you do?" I asked her.

"I accepted your date so I could be the girl to finally dump you. I just wasn't too sure how to get more than one date with you," she admitted with an apologetic look on her face.

"So that's why you finally gave in? I was beginning to think that I was never going to get a date with you." I laughed as Joey returned with our meals.

"Yeah, I'm not proud of it. But there it is. So you really don't need to apologize for your intentions. I didn't have good ones either," she told me. She picked up some fries and dipped them in the sauce before taking a bite as we lapsed into silence for a moment. I wasn't sure what to say to that mainly because I didn't want to piss her off. Suddenly losing twenty bucks to Dante didn't seem so bad.

"So now that we both know each others motives, where do we go from here?" I finally asked.

"I don't know," she admitted.

We finished our dinner and grabbed our jackets. That was the end of that and the date was over. After our revelations there was nowhere else for us to go. I wish I could think of something to persuade her to go out with me again, but I've never done that before. I don't know how to actually ask a girl out.

"Are you ready to go home?" I asked her and she nodded her head. I paid the bill and we walked out of Enzo's heading back to my jeep. We made the drive back to her house in silence and she smiled before she got out of the car. Once she was unlocked her door I drove away, cursing myself for being such a pussy.

~P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N~

NORA'S POV:

Monday morning came around and I hadn't heard from Patch, not that I expected him to. But it really felt like we had a connection and it bothered me that he clearly didn't feel the same way. I got ready for school the same way I usually did and waited for Travis downstairs so our dad could drive us to school. Vee had been texting me since Friday night, asking me how it went but I dodged her question over and over again. I was lucky that Jules had kept her occupied all weekend so she couldn't interrogate me in person. I didn't know what to tell her.

"Ready to go?" my dad asked and I nodded. Travis came racing down the stairs a moment later with his backpack on.

"We both are," I said and the three of us left the house.

When we got to school I walked to our table where Vee was sitting with our other cheer leading friends.

"Hey, where have you been all weekend?" Vee demanded when I sat down.

"Busy," I answered.

"So how did it go with Patch?" she asked me all business now.

"You and Patch Cipriano?" Olivia asked and I nodded. Olivia was a really good friend. She was a senior and a cheerleader with Vee and me. She had given the captain spot to Vee since she was only there for fun. Vee was intense enough about the job to do it well.

"Sort of. The date didn't go anything like I thought it would. I'm not sure where we stand right now," I admitted leaving Olivia confused and Vee with a knowing smirk on her face.

"So your little plan didn't work did it? You do like him," Vee shrieked.

"I think you're right, but he's not into me," I said as I watched him walk into the quad and sit down next to his friends.

~P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N~

PATCH'S POV:

When I sat down I slapped a twenty-dollar bill down and Dante whooped in response.

"You got shut down," he cheered and I shrugged.

"Whatever. Doesn't really matter," I said. I finally had a plan for my Nora situation and I was going to take care of it this afternoon.

"You were all gung-ho about taking her virginity. What happened?" Dante asked stuffing the bill in his wallet.

"Not much," I shrugged again.

"So is it cool if I go after her then?" Dante asked and I knew I had to tread this potential mine-field carefully.

"Do whatever you want, but I guarantee she'll say no to you," I said.

"I'm not going to ask her now. I have a couple other people on my radar first," he shrugged and I matched his expression.

"Whatever suits you," I said. When the bell rang I got up and walked away from the table intent on putting my plan in motion as soon as possible. I would feel so much better if I just got it over with now. I stood around the corner from her locker as she walked by. When she did I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the conveniently located supply closet.

"Patch, what the hell?" she demanded as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"I need to talk to you. It's important," I told her and she put her hands on her hips and stared at me.

"Well..." she trailed off indicating that I should start speaking.

"Okay, well..." I started unsure of how to do this. I decided instead of speaking I should just act on impulse. That usually worked well for me. I leaned down and kissed her. She actually kissed me back for a moment before she pushed me away.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"That was me wanting to do that over and over again," I told her unsure if she caught my drift or not.

"What are you talking about? I can't spend all class in here making out with you," she said raking her hands through her long auburn curls.

"Not entirely what I meant," I said dryly, but my nerves were crazy. It was the first time in a very long time that I actually felt nervous about something. It was unheard of. Especially around a girl.

"So you want to date me?" she asked and I wasn't sure how she got that from what I said. But it was closer. Significantly closer than before.

"Sort of. First just tell me if you would ever be interested in going out with me?" I asked her.

"Yeah. I was quite pissed when you didn't want to give it another shot last weekend," she told me and I sighed in relief.

"Okay, but dating is really not an option for me. I'm not that guy, but I do want to be with you," I told her and she laced her fingers through mine and I looked down at our hands.

"Then what can you do? I know what you've been through and I understand you're scared of being in a relationship. But I like you Patch. I don't know why, because there is nearly absolutely nothing good about you. But I like you, so you tell me what you're able to do," she told me and I was shocked. I had to chuckle a little bit at her ability to insert an insult into a perfect complement.

"I don't want anyone to know. I need to be able to keep this a secret for a while. Just until I figure this out," I told her and she was silent for a while.

"So you just don't want to be public. What does that entail?" she asked.

"It's not ideal, I know. But just that we don't go anywhere people can see us," I told her and she nodded her head.

"It's not ideal, but like I said I like you and I'm not in the business of denying myself anything that I want. I'm willing to try it," she decided and I grinned. I bent my head and kissed her again, my tongue teasing the seam of her lips. She pulled back not willing to deepen the kiss yet.

"I have to go," she said. We both heard the second bell ring so I nodded my head.

"I'll see you later," I said as she opened the door. I gave her a minute to get away before I left the supply closet and headed to my own class. I had no idea what I was doing but I loved every second of it. I was dating, Nora Grey for all intents and purposes, never would I have seen that one coming.

Wow, so dates over what did you guys think? Did it go the way you thought it would? What do you think about Patch's solution to his 'Nora' problem? Do you think she did the right thing or not? Do you think it will work out?

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