Night Out

"The movie starts at 7:20 so I hope we get a parking spot right away. Downtown always gets full on Friday nights." He said as we drove through the shadows of the trees. "You look really pretty Cassie."

"Thank you but you're embarrassing me by saying it over and over." I said honestly. I'm never gonna get used to him gushing about me.

We got to the theater just in time and I guess it was our lucky night because someone was pulling out of a parking spot just as we were approaching. We got our popcorn and drinks and we were barely seated when the movie started. It was a story of a hopeless romantic woman and a drop dead gorgeous guy who believes that love is a scam that ruins people's lives. The woman makes it her mission to make the man see that he's wrong and falls for him in the process. In the end, the man fell for her too and turns his life around, like any other romance movie. It was a pretty good movie though a bit stereotypical. During the movie I can see Raiden stealing glances at me from my peripheral vision. Midway, he put his arm around my shoulder and held my hand with the other. I was kinda hoping he's kiss me but he still didn't.

"I didn't know you like romantic movies, I mean you don't look like the type to watch them." I said as we were walking out of the movie, our hands linked with each other.

"I know, most people think I'm heartless." He replied jokingly as he flashed me another one of those dazzling smiles and made my heart skip a beat. He totally has me under his spell now.

"Oh, no. That's not what I meant. It's just that most guys like action or horror movies like the one we saw last time."

"I was just teasing you." His eyes were gleaming playfully. "I just thought it's your turn today. We watched something I like last time so I thought I'd take you to something you'd like."

I gave his arm a playful jab. "Do you get a kick out of teasing me? How are you so sure I like movies like these? I actually liked the Cooties movie." I said matter-of-factly.

"Yes I do like playin' with you. You look so cute when you have that guilty look in your face."

"I told you to stop with all the flattery, you're embarrassing me." I felt myself blush again.

Don't be. I've never heard anyone being embarrassed because she's beautiful. Those brown eyes are just so enchanting." He whispered looking directly into my eyes, holding my chin with his thumb and forefinger and tilting my face up.

I could feel my heart thumping and my whole body went cold so I looked away.

"Cut it out Raiden!" I laughed to hide my nervousness. "let's go grab something to eat."

"Let's go. I know just the place."

We went to Night Owl, a local hangout for teens. There's not a lot of places to go in this small town and most kids go here on weekend nights, or so I heard.

When we went inside, the first person I saw was Taylor and it made me hesitate for a bit. She was sitting at a table with her friends. They all glared at me like they want to make minced meat out of me. Talk about teamwork, I thought. Raiden must have seen them too because I felt his arm around my waist tighten, then he led me to the opposite direction. I guess my luck has run out for the day because the only available seats were in Mark and Heather's booth. I looked at Raiden and he asked if I wanted to go somewhere else. I was about to say yes when Mark called out. "You guys can sit here, it's available."

I guess I'll have to suck it up. Raiden looked at me and I gave him a nod and a shrug. "I'm fine here, are you?"

"I guess", he said sounding unsure. He guided me and helped me get settled on the inner part of the booth. There was an awkward silence as we got settled, probably not knowing what to say to each other.

"Hey Cas, have you met Heather?" Mark broke the silence. I shook my head. "Well Cassie...Heather, Heather... Cassie. Heather is my girlfriend." He said as he introduced us to each other. I can sense Heather's disinterest in me as she flashed me a fake smile.

"Hi, nice to meet you." I said trying to be polite.

"Whatevs," she replied.

"You guys probably all know each other so no need to introduce Raiden." I said.

"Heck yeah, I know him very well." Heather replied emphasizing 'very well' while looking intently at Raiden.

I could feel the air thicken and everyone on the table tensed, including Mark. He stood up "well, I would like to chit-chat some more but we have a movie to catch." Heather started to protest but Mark held her arm friendly and looked at her sternly. "I don't want to be late for the movie Heather." Heather stood up and they left.

We ordered a whole pizza and a pitcher of soda. During the meal, we talked about our families. Raiden's father owns some buildings in town and her mom manages their winery. Wow! And I thought it was just the winery. Though towards the end of his story, I started feeling sorry for him. He complained how his parents never had time for him and yet they're always holding fundraisers for needy people or organizing fun stuff for other children from low income families. I can hear the anger, bitterness and resentment in his voice. "They do give me everything THEY THINK I need but not what I really needed. All I wanted was their attention. Do you know they give me my allowance through direct deposit? haha! They can't even spare five minutes to give me my allowance." He then, caught himself. "Sorry I didn't mean to burden you with all my troubles. Sometimes, when I get started all the feelings I keep inside comes out. All of it, all at once." He looked sheepish and I can see his face was all red, probably from embarrassment.

"It's fine, we all need to let things out once in a while. I do it too with my friends you know, on a daily basis. You can always count on me to listen whenever you need to vent." I assured him because I didn't know what else to say. Raiden seemed like he has a perfect life. You can never really get to know a person until you spend time with them.

I tried to lighten up the mood for the rest of the evening and told him about Therese and my life back in New York. I had fun talking to him that I didn't even notice the time. It surprised me when he looked at his watch and said "We need to go. I promised your mom you'd be home before midnight. I don't want this to be our last date."

I smiled upon hearing that. I don't want it to be our last date either. We paid the bill and left. People are still coming in as we were leaving so this must really be a hotspot. We saw some people we knew so it took a bit longer for us to get out. I was just relieved when we finally got out the door. It was a short walk to the car but it had gotten a bit chilly and I shivered. Neither of us brought a sweater or a jacket and I was glad when he improvised and put his arm around my shoulder as we walked.