Chapter 10: Chivalry isn't Dead

Main Street
Sabal, Florida
Later That Night
5:45 PM

Timmy Thundercloud had fulfilled his promise to Dawn and taken her out for a nice dinner date at a pizza restaurant in the next town over from Sabal.

Now finished with their dinner, the young couple had returned to town and were now walking around Sabal's quintessential Main Street. Both the weather and the sky were remarkably clear, with everyone able to clearly see what seemed like every star up above as well as a very striking crescent moon.

Dawn was dressed in the same red summer dress she had worn during her first intimate encounter with Timmy, complete with the same red high-heeled sandals, while Timmy was clad in an olive-green button-down shirt with black slacks and black dress shoes.

"What a nice night, huh?" Dawn inquired as she walked arm in arm with Timmy.

Timmy nodded in agreement as he looked up in the sky for a moment. "Absolutely," he replied, "I don't think I can remember a night where the sky was so pristinely clear like this."

Dawn looked around her and noticed the presence of several other people walking the streets. "Is your Main Street always packed like this?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Timmy said, "A lot of the businesses around here let out at around five o' clock or so. Everyone likes to go grab something to eat or go let loose somewhere. The Turquoise Mine usually opens its doors about now."

Dawn pondered something for a beat and was almost reticent to bring the next subject up. "Your dad said that your mom used to work there," she said.

"Mm-hmm," Timmy replied with an affirmative nod, "Since Rachel and I were, like, six months old. Our grandma and grandpa would babysit us because she and Dad would both work the exact same nights during the week."

"I'm sorry for your guys' loss, Timmy" Dawn blurted out as she got straight to her intended point, "The way your dad spoke about her when we talked before, it seems like her passing still breaks his heart."

Timmy sighed. "Yeah," he said, "It does, and to be completely honest with you, seeing him get so sad about it like that breaks mine and Rachel's hearts. It's worse on our grandpa though, and understandably so. I mean, she was his only child."

"Right," Dawn replied with a frown, "It had to have been especially rough on you and Rachel, though, huh?"

"Sure it was," Timmy said, "I personally don't remember a whole lot during that point in time. I mean, we were only seven after all. I just remember Rachel and I spending a lot of time with Grandpa at the shop back then, and obviously, that paid off because that's what she and I do for a living now." He chuckled, trying to lighten the somber subject matter.

"And you guys evidently are doing quite well," Dawn kindly said, "You're the only body shop in town, right?"

"Yep," Timmy replied, "Like I said when we first met, our buddy has a shop in Orlando, and he runs laps around us profit-wise. But we do just fine, even being way out here."

Dawn nodded. "So," she said, "Did you like the pizza as much as I did?"

Timmy smirked in response. "Definitely," he replied, "They always do a good job there."

Dawn gripped Timmy's arm tighter and looked deeply into his eyes. "So now what?" she queried.

Timmy gave Dawn a duplicitous smile. "Well," he began, "I figured since it's still so hot out tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a swim out at the lake near your guys' camp?"

Dawn nodded excitedly in retort. "Sounds good to me," she replied.

Old Man Jack's Fishing Camp
7:30 PM

Meanwhile, sometime later, Ricky was busy clearing old branches, leaves, and various other bits of outdoor debris from around the camp property.

Shirtless and wearing only a pair of dark blue athletic shorts with the Get Sporty logo on them as well as a pair of Adidas sandals, he wiped the sweat off his brow with his free hand before dragging a fallen tree branch over to a more wooded side of the property about 50 feet away.

He and Rachel Thundercloud had brought back Dawn's now fully repaired Chevrolet Traverse as planned right after their earlier lunch at the diner. Having spent the last few hours together at the cabin, the two of them had just finished having dinner. Rachel was in the process of preparing a surprise for Ricky in his bedroom.

The attractive young Miccosukee woman had discreetly changed into a black faux satin cocktail dress with a black sports bra and some sleek black underwear on underneath, as well as a pair of black two-inch high heels.

She had let her long flowing black hair down and spritzed herself with some nicely smelling perfume that she had also forehandedly brought with her. After lighting some candles and setting them up all over the bedroom, she went out the front door and onto the porch.

"Hey Ricky!" Rachel called out.

Ricky turned around and stopped dead in his tracks as he was all but floored by his new flame's change in attire. "Yeah?" he breathlessly inquired as an intrigued smile came across his face.

Rachel waved him up onto the porch. "You like the new dress?" she asked.

Ricky came up on the porch and gave her the once-over. "Very much," he said with a nod, "When did you get that?"

"Well," Rachel replied, "While you were taking care of our lunch bill this afternoon, I slipped out and went across the street to Sam's Secondhand Store."

Ricky chuckled. "I thought you were just taking a long time going to get your car," he said.

Rachel shook her head and led him inside the cabin, ushering him to the bedroom and opening the door to reveal all the candles, as well as the rose petals she had sprinkled across the bed.

"I guess I'm supposed to take a hint now, huh?" Ricky inquired.

Rachel said nothing in response as she kissed him passionately on the lips. "Yes," she whispered after breaking the kiss, "You're such a sweet, good-looking guy, Ricky. Guys like you are very hard to find, especially these days."

Ricky returned the kiss before gently pulling Rachel's dress over her head.

[Author's Note: Just so no one is unnecessarily jarred here, there's going to be a pretty abrupt shift in tone during the next chapter. I don't want to give a lot away, obviously, but there's going to be an event that's going to be rough on the Thundercloud family. However, this event's going to consequently start to bring Ricky and Dawn much closer together with Timmy and Rachel, which will be important in the long run. Stay tuned!]