“Hey Babe,” Brian said, as he motioned her over. “We’re next, what do you want?”
Rachel looked at him and then back at Sam and Amy, who were standing close by.
“So, what will it be?” he asked again.
“Oh, sorry. I’ll have Starburst,” Rachel said, looking in at all the candies on the shelf.
“That all?” Brian asked. “A drink?”
“Sure, a blue slushy!” Rachel said.
“I’ll get a large one, we can share it,” Brian said.
Rachel smiled at him and shook her head.
She couldn’t help but look back at Sam, Amy and Dana as they all stood in a huddle talking and whispering and looking over at her. She felt awful and uncomfortable. Part of her felt bad for Sam, but the other part was mad at her. She couldn’t believe that Dana had just told her to leave Brian and not talk to him anymore. Was she joking? Was she serious? She was dumbfounded by the whole situation, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her night. She was out with the guy she had a crush on, and nobody was going to get in the way of that.
She looked back at Sam one last time and caught her rolling her eyes at her. She was so offended by that, she took Brian by the hand and gave him a big hug right in front of her. She knew it was rude, but at the same time Sam was being rude.
“Let’s go get our seats,” Brian said.
“Yeah,” Rachel said.
“Back row?” Brian asked.
Rachel didn’t know how to respond. She knew what happened in the back row. It was almost as if he were asking her if she wanted to make out the entire movie. She was speechless. Part of her wanted to say yes, but the other part of her wanted to wait a little bit. She didn’t want to risk sounding like a prude though, so she said, “Ok, whatever you like.”
As they entered the theater, she was surprised to see that the entire back row was full. There were no open seats. In fact, the entire theater was jam-packed. They would be lucky to even get a seat next to each other at this point. The poked around and walked up and down the aisle looking for two seats together. Then, Brian spotted them.
“I see two, right over there!” he said.
Rachel followed him over to the seats and as they were scooting around the dimly lit theater she realized the only two seats available were directly in front of Dana, Sam, Penny and Amy. She couldn’t believe her luck. Just when she thought she’d get alone time with Brian, this had to happen.
The previews started and Brian reached over and held her hand. She felt a little uncomfortable by this, but only because she could feel Sam’s stares like daggers going into her body. She liked his touch though, it was comforting to her and she felt the same way about him. She was head over heels for him. She’d had a crush on him for years, and now, since she’d returned, it was turning into a reality. She couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.
The two sat there holding hands and sharing the slushy out of the same straw. Rachel knew that Sam was getting more pissed off each second the two of them sat there. It was hard for her to focus on the movie, while all she could think about was Brian and Sam. She hated that they were sitting right in front of her. She turned to Brian after about twenty minutes of the movie and said, “You like it so far?”
“Eh!” Brian said. “It’s alright. Thought it would be better,”
“Yeah, me, too!” Rachel said. “Any chance you wanna get out of here?”
“I was hoping you’d ask!” Brian said.
“Let’s go!” Rachel said, as she stood up slowly and shimmied he way out of the aisle.
She didn’t look back to see if Sam was watching or not. She was almost certain she was staring at them leaving, wondering where they were going, and if they were going to do anything together. She could sense the jealousy oozing out of Sam’s body as they left the theater. She so desperately wanted to turn back and shoot her a smile, but knew that would be too mean. After all, she wasn’t a mean person; she just didn’t like how she was being treated.
When they got into the parking lot, there were a lot of kids smoking and drinking. A cloud of smoke hit her in the face and she waved it away coughing. She hated the smell of cigarette smoke and made a vow to herself never to smoke. It was a gross addition, and one she didn’t want any part of.
“You smoke?” Brian asked.
“Ew, no!” Rachel answered. “You?”
“Eh, here and there, why?” Brian asked.
“Really? That’s bad!” Rachel insisted, giving him a playful slap on his arm.
“Yeah, I’m going to quit though!” Brian said.
“You better! I don’t like smokers!” Rachel said.
“Well then, I will quit right now!” Brian replied.
Rachel laughed and said, “Thanks!”
Rachel saw Brian look down at his watch and then say, “It’s still early, do you want to stay out?”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s only 8 o’clock,” Brian answered. “You still have two more hours!”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll do something else,” Rachel said.
She didn’t know what he had in mind, but hoped he didn’t just want to go back to his place. She hoped he didn’t think she was that type of girl. If he did, than he’d be in for a rude awakening. She never did anything with a guy on the first date aside from kiss them. And even then, she’d only kiss them if she were really into them. She wasn’t a casual dater, and had to really like the person before going out with them. That’s why tonight was so special. She’d had a secretive crush on Brian for as long as she can remember. She never told her friends, because frankly she thought it was out of the realm of possibility. She thought a guy like Brian would never like her, and she didn’t want to get her hopes up for nothing. She also didn’t want to look like a failure in her friend’s eyes’ if she never went out with him. But in hindsight, she should have mentioned it. That way this whole thing with Sam never would have happened. She was still waiting to see the implications of her actions and knew when she went to school the next day she’d have to face the music, but for now, she’d enjoy the rest of her night with Brian.
“So what did you have in mind,” Rachel asked, bracing herself.
“Hmm,” Brian said, “There’s this cute café in town, I think it just opened up a few months ago. We can make s’mores, there’s chocolate fondue, hot chocolate, ya know.”
Rachel was pleasantly surprised at his idea and really respected him for suggesting it and not suggesting going back to his place for a “movie.”
“Really? That sounds awesome, I love chocolate fondue!” Rachel answered.
“Well, then chocolate fondue it is!” Brian said, as he shut her car door.
“When did this place open?” Rachel asked, trying to put the pieces of her amnesia puzzle together still.
“I think it opened at the end of the summer, but I’m not sure. I haven’t been there yet,” Brian said.
“Really? Why not?” Rachel asked.
“Guess I didn’t have anyone special to go with!” Brian answered smoothly.
“Aw! Well, thanks for waiting for me!” Rachel added.
“Anytime!” Brian said, as the drove off.
When they arrived to the café, Rachel looked around at the dimly lit, romantic ambiance of the place. There were plush couches that lined the walls, and curtains up for privacy between them. There were comfortable chairs that surrounded a large communal table where people were working on laptops and writing in journals. Then, sitting on the couch, she saw couples snuggling up to one another, sharing hot coco or making s’mores over an open flame on their table.
“This is the coolest place I’ve ever seen!” Rachel said, looking around.
“Yeah! Isn’t is great?” Brian said, looking for a hostess.
“Hello there, can I help you?” the hostess asked.
“Yeah, two please,” Brian, said. “For dessert!”
“Where would you like to sit?” the hostess asked. “A couch or chairs?”
Rachel was hoping he’d say couch so they too could snuggle up to one another.
Brian looked at Rachel and then back at the hostess, “A couch, please!”
“That cool with you, Rach?” Brian asked.
“Yeah!” she said, smiling.
The hostess took them to a quiet couch in the back of the café. It was in the corner and cordoned off by beautiful curtains. It was a private couch, perfect for a first date. She was excited that they’d left the movie and even happier to be spending the rest of the night here with Brian.
The two sat down next to each other on the couch and opened their menus. The server came over and lit the candle that was sitting unlit in the middle of their table.
“Can I get you two started off with anything?” the server asked, looking at Rachel first. “Miss?”
“Oh, I’ll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream, please!” She said.
“An you?” the server asked.
“I’ll have the same,” Brian added. “Thank you!”
“Do you know what you’d like for dessert this evening or do you need a few more minutes to look over our menu?” he asked.
Brian looked over at Rachel and said, “Chocolate fondue?”
Rachel nodded and smiled. “With extra strawberries, please!”
“Can we do the chocolate fondue for two, with extra strawberries?” Brian asked.
“Sure thing! It’s fantastic, have you had it here before?” the server asked.
“Nope, first time!” Brian said.
“Well, you two are in for a real treat,” he said, as he jotted down their order and walked away.
“It’s nice to be here with you,” Brian said, turning to her. “It’s refreshing to finally go out with someone who’s down to earth and everything.”