Learning to Fly

So, because my life is clearly boring and uneventful, I'm going to sum up the school week in the following way; Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah, me and Caleb stealing a kiss in the bathroom. More blah blah blah. Caleb mouthing off to a teacher and nearly fucking up our weekend, followed by meh. And lastly, blah, blah, blah. That about covers it.

Charlie did come over Thursday night to watch a football game with Jordan. I honestly don't remember who played, but I do remember Jordan laughing maniacally when the quarterback for the red white and blue team got seemingly murdered on a... sack? Yeah, he got sacked. Oh! Patriots! That's the team! Ok its coming back now. Jordan, and Caleb, have a psychotic hatred for that teams' quarterback. I guess seeing him break a collarbone was a joyous occasion.

But back on point, Charlie came over and brought A&D Buffalos, which is this little hole-in-the-wall place in McKinney run by a super nice Asian family and they serve the most bomb-as-fuck philly cheesesteaks and lemon pepper wings. So yeah, she had successfully bought my approval with food.

I woke up Saturday morning in a delightfully cheerful mood. Tonight I was finally going on my first ever date! And if anyone of you asks with who, I'm gonna smack a ho.

I quickly took care of my morning wood and went downstairs to eat some breakfast. Knowing that Jordan was already at work and it was just me and Phillip, I happily neglected to put anything on.

"It's a wonderful day to be nude!" I sang out as I let Phillip out, in reference to a Family Guy joke about Bill Clinton.

I made my way into the kitchen and quickly made sure to top off my pup's food and water before I forgot, and grabbed a jalapeno cheddar bagel out of the fridge, along with some cream cheese, a couple slices of cheddar, and the microwavable bacon Jordan bought so I could have bacon without burning the house down.

I put the bagel halves into the toaster and went to heat up the bacon. Much to my delight, I found a sticky note on the microwave from Jordan informing me there was an over-hard egg in there for me to have with breakfast.

"Fuck yeah! Love you big bro!" I said excitedly as I pulled the paper towel-covered plate it was on out of the microwave and placed my bacon inside.

While all that was happening, I poured myself a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice that Jordan ponies up for and took a big gulp.

God that stuff's good. I thought.

The microwave then beeped at me and I retrieved the bacon just in time for the toaster to finish its job. I quickly spread some cream cheese on both halves and gave each a slice of cheddar before placing the egg Jordan had left me and the bacon on and formed my breakfast sandwich.

It didn't take me long to devour everything and suck down the OJ. I then let my pup back inside and watched him bolt right over to his food and begin to chow down. I took this moment to head back upstairs and take a shower and get dressed. Which took all of about 20 minutes.

From there I played video games (shocking right?), pausing after a few hours to eat some leftover chili Jordan had made last night, and texted back and forth with Caleb when he finally joined the world of the living.

"Can't wait 4 2nite babe. First ate!" he texted me.

"First ate? =P" I teased back.

"*date! U knew wat I meant!!"

"LOL. I did. But I couldn't resist!"

"Ya ya, just be grateful u have a nice dick! Hehe"

";p still picking me up at 7?"

"Yup! Dad's taking us. So no Robbie Jo Extra!"

Well, that severely lessens the chance of Caleb getting grounded last second...

"Sounds good! Ttyl Jordan just got home. Luv you!"

"Luv you more Jess :)"

I grinned like an idiot at that, thankful I was upstairs so the now-home Jordan wouldn't see it and begin wondering what I was up to. Putting my phone away, I went downstairs to greet my brother.

"You're home early," I commented.

"Yeah today was my scheduled leave early day. But we were slow, so Spivey cut me even earlier," Jordan explained as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and handed me a Dr Pepper.

I nodded and took a drink of my soda. God I love Dr Pepper.

"So where are you and Caleb going tonight?" Jordan asked as he plopped down in his recliner and, well, reclined it.

"He really wants to check out that fancy IPIC place in Allen..."

"Fairview," Jordan corrected me with a teasing smirk.

I rolled my eyes. Technical mofo. "Fine Fairview. Anyway, he wants to check this place out and he talked his parents into paying for us to go."

"Very fancy," Jordan commented. "A place that nice sounds almost like a date," Jordan said with a sly smile.

So yeah, that got a reaction out of me. Not like you guys expected anything different out of me by now... But yeah, my eyes opened wide and I began stuttering because that's what I do.

"D-date? I uh, don't, don't know why you'd think that! Just, um, two heterosexual dudes going to a movie!"

Oh my god I may as well said your little brother sucks his best friends dick and loves it...

Jordan just blinked at me and went, "Jesse... bud... that was the most painful thing I think I've ever seen. And I've known you all your life."

I naturally was crimson at this moment and refused to make eye contact and told Jordan, "I refuse to comment any further."

Yep. TOTALLY turned this around.

Jordan snorted and shook his head. "You and Caleb are secure in your hetero bromance I know. Teasing is over. But only because that was so ridiculously painful!"

I got off the stool I had been sitting on, flipped my brother off which just got another laugh, and headed upstairs to die of embarrassment of my own causing.

Goddammit it’s 6:37 Jesse! Pick something to fucking wear! I cursed myself as I stood in just my boxers, agonizing over what to wear on my first date. Caleb deserves me looking nice for him... but Jordan will surely notice me dressing up for this and the "date" joke will suddenly become way more serious! I mean, Caleb's not the superficial type, he won't care how I look... but what if I dress plainly and he shows up all dressed up!? WHY IS PICKING CLOTHES FOR A DATE SO DAMN HARD!?

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Ok Jesse, calm your tits. Wear something nice but not too nice. Fair compromise. Now what the fuck is nice but not too nice?

I began looking through my closet and found a nice polo shirt that I felt fit the bill pretty well and threw on some khakis (because khakis are appropriate for all but the most formal of situations). I headed to the bathroom and put on some fresh deodorant and body spray, brushed my teeth and checked the time again.

6:48. Getting there.

I farted around for several long ass minutes, constantly checking my phone.

Goddammit it's 8:02! Where is my fucking boy...

I was then interrupted from my regularly scheduled internal complaining by the sound of the doorbell. I bolted down the stairs and to the front door and quickly opened it.

Caleb stood there looking... Mmm, yeah. If that provides any kind of visual. He was wearing this tight, dark blue collared shirt with a Converse embroiled shield over the right pec, and dark blue faded jeans. Good god this memory is making me hard...

"Hey you," he said with a grin.

"Hey," I said back, also grinning, but probably like an idiot instead of hot as fuck like him.

He looked at me like he wanted to give me a kiss, but he knew it wasn't the time or place, instead he looked behind me and waved at my brother who at some point came out from whatever he was doing in his room.

"Hey Jordan! Congrats on the new lady friend!"

"Thanks Caleb. She seems acceptable," Jordan joked.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. You're already whipped!" I teased. Score for Jesse. Suck it bro.

"Yeah and you're whipped by your best friend, so what's your point?"

Fuck you bro.

Caleb died at that. There are seriously fewer things on the planet that he enjoys more than Jordan getting one over on me. And I have just begrudgingly accepted this.

"Ok that's it! We are leaving!" I declared as I pushed a still laughing Caleb down the walkway and slammed the door behind me to the sound of Jordan laughing as well.

"I know it doesn't need to be said, but I fucking love your brother Jess!"

"Yeah, yeah he's a real Mary-fucking-Sue! You, me, date! Now!"

Caleb snickered some more as we walked up to the Escalade. In order to keep up appearances, I hopped in the back while Caleb went around front and got in next to his dad who was busy doing and epic air drum solo to "In the Air Tonight". Because who hasn't done that?

"You good dad?" Caleb asked with a highly amused smile.

Hey! It wasn't directed at me for once! That's a win! Wait a sec... "Caleb you have so done that same thing!" I accused him with a laugh.

"Yeah, and I'm 14. When I do it, it’s normal. When he does it it's like he's trying to relive his youth!"

Caleb's dad just chuckled at that and replied, "You're just jealous you don't have my mad skills. Now boys, let’s get you to this fancy theater."

It was at this point I realized something, I had no fucking idea what movie we were going to see.

"Uh, Caleb?"

"Hmm?" he said as he turned around in his seat to look at me.

"What are we seeing?"

"Oh did I not tell you that?" he said in a voice reminiscent of Martin Sylvester Huggins.

Ok so as much as I wanted that to be on him, I knew it was on me. I really should have bothered to remember to ask.

"No. That little bit of information was not given to me."

Yeah, I decided to blame him anyway. Because I could.

"Well you should have asked me. Can't remember to tell you everything!"

I hate everyone.

I gave him an annoyed look and asked, "So the movie?" over his dad’s laugh.

"Happy Death Day!"

Why does the name of this movie sound familiar...

I eyed him suspiciously. "What's this movie about?"

"A serial killer who kills this girl who then keeps waking up on her birthday over and over again every time she's killed until she solves the mystery of her killer!"

Fuck me he would pick a horror movie...

"Ok, Why in the hell are we seeing a horror movie?"

"Because why not?"

I sighed at this.

"Because horror movies aren't my thing?"

"Since when?"

Jesus H. Fucking Christ...

"How long have you known me?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"Literally since I've lived here. And it's not just a horror movie anyway. It's more of a suspenseful, sci fi thriller too. So there ya go!"

I was pretty sure Caleb's dad was enjoying all this based on the smile he was sporting. It's rare he's around to witness me and Caleb like this. But since everyone else found it amusing, I had no reason to think he didn't either. And again, he was smiling.

"Jesse, my boy, keep an open mind. You may in fact find you enjoy this movie! Nothing like a suspenseful thriller with a dash of science fiction to get the mind going!" Mr. Hollingsworth chimed in.

"I'd rather see men and women in tights with ridiculously tragic backstories destroy half the city they are trying to protect. Why is that too much to ask!?"

"Oh they release two of those movies every year! We will inevitably catch one!"

"You say that like you don't enjoy them, and I know for a fact you love them," I said pointedly.

"Well yes... but I have my reasons! Just trust me!"

"Those are famous last words if I ever heard any."

Mr. Hollingsworth busted up at that and even Caleb had to crack a grin.

Finally! Got a win!

We pulled up to the theater and hopped out, thanking Mr. Hollingsworth for the ride. We watched him drive off and turned and looked at the massive building in front of us. The bottom floor was divided into two parts. To the left was an entryway with escalators that lead up to the bar area and ticket counter of IPIC. That was a small area though, to the left the overwhelming majority of the first floor was a bowling alley called PINSTACK.

"Well, this is fancy," I commented.

"Yeah. But I know a guy who deserves it," Caleb said as he smiled at me.

I blushed and couldn't help but smile at that, even if I was smiling towards the ground.

"Shut up you romantic sap."

Caleb's smile turned into a grin and he responded, "You eat it up. Now watch and love it as I get this door for you!"

Despite my flushed face I managed to roll my eyes. I'll admit, he was absolutely right. No matter how cheesy and sappy his romantic gestures may be, I did eat it up. I guess at our core, we all want to be treated like that special someone. At least, I know I do.

I followed Caleb to the door and watched as he opened it and held it for me, making an overly dramatic gesture to beckon me in, like Prince Charming would for his princess (and for the record, I AM NOT REFERRING TO MYSELF AS A PRINCESS!). I blushed a little more because I'm awkward like that and walked through, grateful no one was paying a couple of dorky teenagers any attention.

We made our way up the escalators and into the common area. Directly in front of us was the ticket counter, which Caleb hurried over to in order to get our tickets. I meanwhile took a look around.

Behind the ticket counter I could see several chairs, couches and coffee tables for general lounging. I looked to my left and saw the aforementioned bar. It was one of those oval-shaped ones in the center of the room with a mountain of liquor bottles in the middle and TV's with various sports games on. There were also several stools surrounding raised, circular tables like you'd find in bars as well as several pool tables. All in all, it was pretty swanky.

"What do you mean I can't redeem my tickets because I'm too young to see this movie!?"

Oh no. Caleb's about to go all Krakatoa on someone.

I looked over to see a visibly irate Caleb arguing with the lady behind the counter.

"Look kid I don't care if the tickets are already bought. You're clearly not at least 17 and therefore I can't give you these tickets without a legal parent or guardian present."

"Oh come on this is such bullshit..."

"Caleb!"

He paused mid complaint and looked at me.

"What?"

"We can see something else instead. I wasn't super stoked about seeing a horror movie anyway."

Caleb gave a look like he wanted to argue because he really wanted to be right in this situation, but instead just sighed in defeat and turned back to the ticket lady.

"Fine. What movies can we see that are starting soon?"

The visibly annoyed lady looked at her computer for a moment before looking back up at Caleb.

"Geostorm," she informed him.

"Geostorm!? That movie looks so damn..."

"We will take it!" I quickly cut in before Caleb lost it and we got kicked out of the theater.

The lady rolled her eyes and made the ticket exchange and handed me the tickets. I quickly grabbed them and began walking over to the entrance to the hallway where all the movie houses where, Caleb in an unhappy pursuit.

"What are you so ticked off about?" I asked.

"I wanted to take you to see Happy Death Day!"

"Caleb, I hate scary movies and Geostorm is the kinda cheesy sci fi flick me and you love to watch on weekends! So, what's the problem?"

Caleb sighed and responded, "I wanted to see a scary movie because I really liked the idea of being able to hold your hand and comfort you during a scary scene, kinda like you see guys do for their girl when they are watching a scary movie on the couch at home. Except, you know, you have a penis and we are in a dark theater."

God. Fucking. Damn. Him. That sweet, sweet sonuvabitch!

I must have started blushing (again) because Caleb quickly gave me a playful tease, "Someone liked that idea!"

"Shut your whore mouth!" I told him playfully as I quickly ducked into our theater while Caleb gave me a satisfied grin.

We took our seats in our own little "pod". Basically, it was two comfy-ass recliners side-by-side with complimentary pillows and blankets within a little surrounding wall that separates us from the rest of the room, giving you and your date a sense of privacy. There was a large armrest separating the two recliners that had a call button for your waiter and was where the little moveable tables you set your food and drinks on where bolted into.

"Well, this is fancy!" Caleb said with a self-satisfied grin as he plopped down in his chair, echoing my statement from earlier.

"Someone seems awfully proud of themselves," I teased.

"Hey, this was my idea!"

"Even a blind squirrel will find a nut."

"What's this about finding nuts?" he said with a cheeky smile.

"You know that was meant as a burn and I choose to believe it worked!" I declared, finally taking my seat as well. That is a comfy recliner...

Caleb suppressed a laugh as I mashed the server button, refusing to allow him the ability to enjoy his little moment.

In a remarkably quick amount of time (Like seriously, who responds that fast?), our server appeared, pressing the button to turn it off and asking,

"Hey there guys welcome to IPIC! Is this your..." he paused for a moment as he looked up and locked eyes with me, recognition filling them. "Hey, I've seen you before. Both of you."

Caleb gave him a confused look, clearly not remembering who he was. I almost didn't recognize him either before it clicked.

"Hey, you're... you're the guy who helped me at the dance."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Caleb's eyes widen and mouth open slightly as he suddenly recognized him too.

"Yeah. That's me. Glad to see you're doing ok."

I flashed back to that night and immediately became embarrassed.

"Yeah, not my finest moment. Thanks, though. For what you did."

The guy smiled at me. "Don't mention it dude. I'm Austin by the way," he said as he offered his fist to me and Caleb, which we both bumped in turn while introducing ourselves.

"Cool dudes. Well, I better get on with the spiel we are supposed to do. So, either of you ever been here before?

Me and Caleb both shook our heads "no".

"Ok no problem, let me just give you guys a couple of menus... there we go. So, we have a chef-inspired Americana menu that you're free to order from throughout your movie. You clearly have already figured out how to operate the call button, so I'll skip over that, but how about I take your drink orders and I'll be back with those and your guys' complimentary bags of popcorn?"

"Wait? The popcorn is free!? I fucking love this place!" Caleb said in an excited, but quiet, voice.

Austin chuckled at that and nodded in confirmation while I quickly ordered a Dr Pepper and Caleb a Sprite (He is genuinely convinced that Sprite and popcorn just go together). He punched the order into his little tablet thingy and asked if we were paying with a card. Caleb told him he brought cash and Austin replied saying that's fine and he's gonna go get those drinks and popcorn now.

"So that's a crazy coincidence, running into him here," Caleb said as soon as Austin left.

"Yeah. Honestly until I saw him again, I had completely forgotten about him."

"I'm surprised you remember him at all Jess. You were so trashed dude!"

"Trashed makes it sound like I was having a great time at that point," I said with a half-hearted chuckle.

Caleb looked over at me, reaching for my hand and taking it in his, giving it a squeeze. "Sorry, I sometimes forget that before all the good that came out of that, you were freaking out thinking I can't even imagine what after you kinda outed yourself to me."

Well... yes and no...

"Yeah, but hey, like you said. Think of all the good that came of me being a drunk dumbass!" I said, smiling at him as I now gave his hand a squeeze.

"Alright guys, got your drinks and popcorn here," Austin announced as he rounded our pods wall.

Me and Caleb quickly let each other's hands go before Austin could see us, and eagerly accept our drinks and popcorn, thanking Austin for the quick delivery.

"No problem guys. So, are either of you ready to order?"

"Umm... not yet. Honestly we forgot to look at the menu!" Caleb said with a laugh.

"Happens more than you think dude. Just buzz me when you're ready!"

As Austin walked off to presumably take care of other moviegoers, me and Caleb began reviewing the menu.

"Ooohhh! Lobster rolls! Served with a pink chili sauce and old bay seasoned potato chips," Caleb read aloud in a mock French accent, acting like he was a fancy chef.

I giggled at him and replied, "sounds delish Chef French Caleb! But that's a little too high class for this middle-class boy."

"Sacrebleu! I am sorry Mademoiselle! Allow me to make another suggestion!" he said, keeping up the terrible over-the-top French accent as he scanned the menu, me meanwhile trying my hardest not to laugh.

"Ah ha! We shall share the delicious warm biscuits, served with the black forest ham, cheddar cheese and, the crème de la crème, maple butter! Mwah!" He finished with that exaggerated kiss thing chefs do when they are blowing a kiss or whatever, causing me to snort horribly and let out a cackle that I'm surely gonna get made fun of for later.

"Hey quiet down dude, people are trying to enjoy their previews!" Caleb hushed me, while giving me a shit-eating grin.

I just gave him a brief look before reaching over and slapping him, causing him to fight off a laugh himself. I then took a serious look at the menu and decided that pulled pork grilled cheese sounded bomb as fuck.

"Dude. That sounds bomb as fuck," Caleb said after I told him my choice, telling me what I already knew.

"Well you know the rule, you have to get something different so we can sample off each other," I told him, reminding him of me and Jordan's dining out policy.

"Crap. Really hating that rule right now. Ok lemme see. Hmm... Buffalo spring rolls? Tempting. Oh! Angus sliders! Well, I can have a tiny burger anytime. What about fish tacos? Nah, I'm gay; that would be contradictory." He gave me a stupid grin at that while I made an icky face at that to be dramatic. Mostly. Caleb gave a short, half-suppressed laugh at that before continuing his dinner debate. "Ok I know what I want! Buttermilk fried chicken! Get some real food in me!" Caleb declared excitedly as he put his menu down and hit the call button.

A few moments later, Austin reappeared (Jesus H. Christ he's fast! How many other people are not in here!?), ready to take our order.

"What'll it be guys?"

"I'll have the pulled pork grilled cheese," I told him as I handed him my menu.

"Excellent choice. What do you want as a side?"

"Oh shit sides! Umm... What where the options again?" I asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Try the truffle fries. They are pretty badass."

"Oh that does sound good. Yeah, gimme that!" I said excitedly.

Austin smiled and put my order into his tablet before turning to Caleb.

"And what about you, guy?"

"I'm not your guy, friend."

Caleb what the fuck are you doing...

"I'm not your friend, buddy," Austin replied with a knowing smile.

Oooohhhh... South Park. I know what's happening.

"I'm not your buddy, guy!" Caleb finished with a satisfied grin, showing he approved of Austin (Though, I didn't understand what approval he was looking to give. But it's Caleb. Sometimes you're better off trying not to understand him.). "But since you asked, I'll take the fried chicken with maple bacon and for my side, since — unlike somebody — I looked at everything," he gave me a sideways glance and a smirk, "I'll have the waffle fries. I'll trust the jalapeno-cheddar sauce is top notch."

I am going to kick him in his mother fucking taco.

"Friend, I would drink that stuff by the gallon," Austin replied as he finished putting the orders in and flashed Caleb a grin. "Alright, previews are about to start. I'll be back with the food hopefully shortly into the movie. Need anything else, you know what to do."

We thanked Austin and proceeded to get comfy in our seats, going max recline and getting underneath our blankets and making sure the pillows were placed just right. Once we were both comfy we began to watch the previews as they flashed across the screen, making the occasional comment or joke about them. After about 15 minutes of this, the movie began and right on cue, Austin arrived with our food.

"Here you go guys. Everything look good?"

We both looked at our delicious plates and nodded an emphatic "yes". Austin gave us a thumbs up and told us to enjoy, reminding us once again to hit the button if we needed anything.

So, in case any of you fine readers out there haven't seen Geostorm, I won’t ruin this wonderfully terrible sci-fi flick. But it was so bad it was good. But I honestly do enjoy Gerard Butler (AKA, King Leonidas!) movies so I might be biased. Food was absolutely delicious too. Me and Caleb made sure to trade plenty of bites with each other and nothing was good; it was all great.

Best part of the whole experience though? About a third of the way through the movie, after we had finished eating, I was resting my hand on the large armrest that connects both recliners and houses the table tray and call button, when I felt Caleb reach over and take my hand in his. I tensed up for a moment but quickly relaxed as I remembered we where secluded away in the dark theater and looked over at him. He was totally focused on the movie but there was no ignoring his loving, satisfied smile.

I gave a smile of my own and resumed watching the movie, loving every second of the experience.

As the movie came neared its end, Austin came by and dropped off the check. Sadly, this ended me and Caleb's hand holding.

I watched as Caleb squinted at the bill, attempting to read it in the dark theater before putting it down and pulling out his wallet, retrieving a wad of cash and placing it in the fold of the bill and shutting it, resuming watching the movie.

Once the movie ended, we contracted our seats and hopped out, both of us stretching out and happily talking about all the things we liked, hated and thought were corny as hell about the movie as we headed out of the theater and into the hallway.

As we made it into the lobby Caleb paused and took out his phone to text his dad and let him know we were out of the movie. He then turned to me and kindly informed me, "Dude. I gotta take a crap!"

"Ok, so like, again, I don't ever need the specifics of your bowel movements," I told him with a shudder. "Just leave it at `I gotta go to the bathroom.' Please."

Caleb just laughed and headed off for the nearest restroom as I resigned myself to the knowledge he wasn't going to respect that request. Again.

I swear to god he lives to test me.

I went over to one of the chairs they had against the back wall and took a seat while I waited for Caleb to do his business. As I sat there minding my own business, I noticed Austin walking up out of the corner of my eye and I turned to face him.

"Hey enjoy the movie?" he asked.

"Eh, it was a B sci-fi movie. So I personally did. Can't speak for the rest of humanity!" I joked.

"Yeah that one definitely wasn't one of King Leonidas' finer films," Austin replied with a chuckle. "Where did your boyfriend go?"

Nuclear alarm bells started going off inside my head as I suddenly felt like the temperature of the room had been cranked up. I nervously stammered, "W-what?"

Austin gave me a look and followed up with, "The guy you're with? That's your boyfriend, right?"

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit. He knows. How the fuck did he figure it out!? Did he see us holding hands!? I didn't think he did...

Apparently I had been frozen for a bit too long because Austin's look changed to one of concern and he softly told me, "Hey dude I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I Just assumed you guys were together. If I got it all wrong I'm super sorry."

At this point I was sweaty as hell and was refusing to look at him, my eyes glued to the floor, as I began taking short, quick breaths hoping I wouldn't have an actual panic attack.

"Jesse? You ok?"

"H-how."

"How? How what?" Austin asked, a bit confused.

"Me and Caleb. How did you know?" I asked so quietly I'm surprised he heard me.

"Oh! Um, well the school dance? After I left you with your friends, I decided I should have just gone out with you guys to make sure you were ok. So, I made my way outside and began looking to see if you guys were still around. I didn't at first and I almost went back inside before I heard the sound of someone crying." I felt my face flare up at the mention of that. "So I headed towards the sound and I looked between some cars and saw you on the ground crying while your friend... Caleb right?" I nodded. "While Caleb was holding you. When I saw that I kinda just assumed ya know?"

Oh my god. If he saw that and came to that conclusion... No no no. This is bad...

I gulped and began to tremble some as the fear that Grant, Rhett and most importantly Jordan could all have easily come to the same conclusion. I then felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped slightly, looking right at Austin.

"Hey dude don't worry. I don't care if anyone's gay. And besides me, no one else at the dance saw you guys. Your secret is safe. Promise," he reassured me with a friendly smile. "And honestly, I wish I could meet a girl who cared for me like Caleb seems to for you."

Upon hearing him say that I felt myself just relax. I wasn't sure why, but I believe I was just so ready to believe him that I just went with it. The power of hearing what you wanna hear, I guess.

"T-thank you, Austin."

"Hey don't mention it!"

"So you knew as soon as you saw that?" I asked.

"Well, I strongly suspected it. Let's be honest, straight guys don't normally do that for other straight guys," he said with a laugh.

Even I had to crack a small smile at that, "Yeah, maybe. So did something else convince you then?"

"Well, running into you two here together, dressed up pretty nice. Looked a lot like a date to me. So I figured, `Yeah, they are dating'."

I groaned and said, "God we are so obvious."

Austin laughed at that and replied, "Well, you're not as incognito as you think. But I also have a gay older brother in college so I might be more adept at picking up on the signs than others after dealing with him sneaking around for years. So I wouldn't sweat it too much," he divulged before his face then turned more serious. "But seriously, the world isn't as hateful as some people think. I'm not saying be all `out and proud', but don't be afraid of who you love man. Like I said, I wish I had someone who cared about me like your boy does."

Austin gave me a grin and held out his fist, offering me a bump. I gave him a small smile in return and bumped his fist, and thanked him for his kind words.

"No problem at all dude. But hey, I gotta get back to work. Next movie will be seating soon. You take it easy and thank Caleb for the awesome tip for me!"

As I waved goodbye, I oddly felt a lot better.

Maybe people really do know about us and don't care. Have I been worrying myself to death all this time for nothing? I wondered. If he could figure it out, then I have to consider Jordan has too...

"Ready to go Jess?"

I was taken from my thoughts at the sound of Caleb's voice and looked up at him standing in front of, having successfully ninja’d me.

"Yeah, all ready."

Caleb cocked his head and looked at me. "Everything ok? You seem like you were flustered or something."

I shook my head and replied, "Nah I'm good. Promise. I should be asking if you're ok! Take a long enough crap?" I asked teasingly.

Caleb laughed and replied, "I wasn't gone THAT long! Jeez!"

I laughed too and told him what Austin had said. About the tip. Not about the "knowing about me and Caleb" part. I'll tell him later.

"Glad he appreciated it. He did a good job. Plus, I kinda wanted to thank him for what he did at the dance. So I made sure to tip him really good," Caleb said with a smile.

"Well you clearly did," I said as I stood. "Your dad almost here?"

"He should be..." Caleb was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. "Speaking of the devil! There he is now!" Caleb announced before quickly answering his phone. "Hey, Dad. Yeah, we are in the lobby. Be right down." He hung up and looked back at me. "Yep! He's waiting out front. Shall we?"

We headed down the escalator and out of the building, quickly seeing Mr. Hollingsworth in the Escalade and heading over to him, hopping inside.

"Hello boys! How was the flick? Jesse scream at all?" Mr. Hollingsworth teased.

"Ok, all of y'all may love making fun of me now. But I will have my revenge one day! Mark my words!" I declared, probably unconvincingly. But hey, it felt good.

I saw Mr. Hollingsworth grin in the rearview mirror while Caleb rolled his eyes, unconvinced of my threat as I expected before he turned to look at his dad and said, "We didn't get to see Happy Death Day. Apparently we aren't old enough to see a rated R movie without an adult present." The annoyance was clearly evident in his voice.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that boys. What did you end up seeing?"

"Geostorm," Caleb informed him.

"I believe I caught a preview or two of that. How was it?" Caleb's dad asked as he pulled up to Stacy Road and turned on his right blinker, waiting for several cars to pass.

"It was a fantastically cheesy sci-fi movie that we had no business spending money to see in a theater, much less that one!" I told him before me and Caleb proceeded to fill him in on the plot.

After the last of a few chuckles, Mr. Hollingsworth agreed that while it was definitely worthy of being a guilty pleasure movie, it probably wasn't the best choice of movie for the venue.

Mr. Hollingsworth dropped me and Caleb off at my place just as it appeared Charlie was leaving. She and Jordan were both standing out front next to her truck (A 2016 burnt orange Ram 1500 Longhorn Edition for future reference) chatting in that way that implied they were trying to say goodbye, but they didn't really want to say goodbye. As me and Caleb got out of the Escalade, they turned to face us and waved. We waved back as we watched Jordan look back at her and make a gesture in our direction, which she nodded to in return.

Jordan then made his way over towards us, saying "Hey guys" and giving each of us a high five before walking over to Mr. Hollingsworth's window and began catching up with him. While he did that, I motioned for Caleb to follow me and we walked over to Charlie, who gave us a big, friendly smile and an excited wave.

"Hey Jesse! How's it hanging?"

"It's hanging, I guess. You fixing to head out?"

"Yeah. Gotta get home so I can do chores in the morning. I'm guessing this is the Caleb I've heard so much about?" she asked as she turned and smiled at Caleb, who predictably lit up at the mention of being talked about (Seriously, he is a low-key attention whore. Sometimes.).

"And you must be Jordan's new lady friend! Nice to meet ya!" he said in an extremely cheerful tone.

How the hell can anyone be so excited to meet another human being?

"That's me!" she said in an equally cheerful tone. (There legit might be too much cheerfulness here...) "It's awesome to meet ya as well dude!" she then finished as she offered Caleb a fist bump that he happily returned.

"You and Jordan have a fun evening?" I asked.

"Totally. Fucked his brains out!"

Oh dear god I'm gonna hurl!

I made a gagging sound (not at ALL exaggerated) and made like I was gonna throw up. Because I legit thought I was. Meanwhile Caleb and Charlie about died with laughter.

"I am so not ok with knowing that!" I said as I gave both of them a disapproving glare.

This got another round of laughter from them as Jordan walked up, a curious smile on his face.

"Ok who messed with Jesse?" he asked.

Caleb's grin got about as wide as I had ever seen it.

"Oh no you don't..." I began to say. But there was no stopping Caleb from letting Jordan in on what happened.

"Charlie let Jesse know you guys got all hot and bothered in the bedroom!"

Ok I might hurl for real this time...

Jordan gave one of those open-mouth smiles people do when they silently laugh and their heads tilt back slightly. Clearly, he approved.

"She totally is with the program here!" he said happily as walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder, giving her a little squeeze.

"I totally approve of her Jordan!" Caleb announced.

"I. Hate. All. Of. You."

And with that I turned and marched inside, flipping them all off as I did.

Later that night I was laying in my bed, having succeeded in not hurling, watching The Ranch on Netflix (absolute greatness if you haven't watched it. Also, Ashton Kutcher is hot) using the laptop Jordan gave me as a hand-me-down (officially, it was to help with homework. But I'm pretty sure Jordan knows I watch porn on it too. I mean, he had to know right?). I had just finished laughing at a scene where Beau Bennett ridicules Ashton Kutcher’s character for being an idiot when Caleb came into my room having finished playing a couple matches of Halo online.

"Hey babe," I smiled at him.

"Hey cutie," he smiled back as he hopped onto my bed and pecked my lips before turning it into a full-fledged make-out session.

I happily engaged him in some good old-fashioned tongue wrasslin', placing my hand behind his head and intertwining my fingers with his beautiful locks of hair, both of us moaning softly into the others mouth before finally breaking apart.

"God I've wanted to do that all fucking date!" Caleb declared, leaning back in for one last soft peck.

I returned the peck and gently glanced his check with the back of my hand, gazing into his eyes momentarily before replying with, "You could have done it as soon as we got upstairs you know."

"Yeah, that's true. But I didn't want to risk getting too into it and making some noises we wouldn't be able to explain to Jordan," he explained with a chuckle.

"This is a valid point," I agreed as I moved my laptop onto my nightstand. "So are you saying you wanna make those noises now?" I wiggled my eyes as I said that.

"Tempting but I don't wanna wake Phillip," Caleb said with a snicker as he gestured to the foot of my bed where little Phillip was passed out.

"You're not serious," I said in disbelief.

Caleb let out a laugh and replied, "No I'm not. At least about Phillip." I gave him a questioning look. "Call me cray cray, but right now I'd love nothing more than to cuddle up with you and go to sleep. Just sounds like the perfect way to end our first date."

Goddammit he's so romantic I think I'm beginning to understand those stupid chick flicks!

"Sound good to you Jess?"

I smiled lovingly at him and leaned in, giving him a firm kiss. As I pulled away, I smiled again and said, "Sounds perfect babe. Hit the lights?"

Caleb smiled back and got off my bed, stripping down to his boxers (I took off my pajama pants and t-shirt), and turning out the lights before rejoining me in bed. I rolled over on my side and felt him climb in behind me and get under the covers. He then scooted up so we were spooning and draped his arm over me and hugged me tightly. I responded by snuggling into him and placing my hand over his.

He then nuzzled me from behind and said, "I couldn't have asked for a better time tonight Jess. Thanks for going out with me."

I smiled and replied, "Even though we didn't get to see your horror movie?"

"Even though we had to see a cheesy sci-fi disaster movie." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I love you Caleb."

"Love you too Jesse."

And with that, Caleb kissed the back of my head and we lay there in total bliss, waiting for sleep to take us.

I'm so, so sorry this took so long to get out. Just, a lot going on. But does that sound like a good first date to all of ya'll? If I’ve somehow kept you interested this long, big event coming next chapter! Which has also been posted because you readers deserve it!

Please email me anytime at JesseJamesNiftyEmail@Gmail.com and I'd be more than thrilled to respond to any and all comments, questions and yes, constructive criticism!