19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

January quickly turned into February. Not much changed. Steve and Jessica still spent as much time as they could together, at her house or on dates. Steve still spent the night when his parents weren't home. He used the room that was his now to put some of his clothes in, but he never slept in there. Ms. Henderson hadn't seemed surprised by that at all, so he was glad she hadn't expected their sleeping arrangements to change.

Jessica had yet to spend the night at his house or spend too much time at his house at all, really, because they usually just found it easier to stay at her place. However, Valentine's Day was coming up and Steve really wanted to do something special – something where they wouldn't have any interruptions in the form of Dustin or anyone else.

He'd already bought the gift he was going to give Jessica – it had happened purely by chance; he'd been at the mall a few towns over and had seen it in a window display. It was cheesy, completely cheesy, but he thought it fit them and he knew Jessica would love it.

The hiccup was that he wanted to have dinner at his house. His house where his parents were never there. He didn't want to go out to a restaurant; he wanted to have actual quality alone time with her, but he knew that would never fly. Jessica was sure her mom wouldn't allow it and he knew Jessica wouldn't lie and say they were going somewhere else. He couldn't trick her either, and just take her there. It would break the trust she had in him, and he never wanted to do that.

With all that in mind, Steve decided he had to talk to Jessica's mom. He picked a day that Jessica was working and headed over after basketball practice. Ms. Henderson seemed surprised that he had come over without Jessica being there.

"I actually wanted to talk to you. Run something by you before, uh . . . before Valentine's Day."

They were in the kitchen. Ms. Henderson had decided he needed a sandwich without actually asking if he'd wanted one, but he didn't mind. He would eat it because she was making it for him.

"Oh, are you and Jessica doing something special?"

"I have something for her. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay." He had her undivided attention once she was done fixing the sandwich.

"I'd like to have dinner with her . . . at my house. My parents won't be there. And I know there's this unspoken rule that I can't have her at my house because my parents aren't there, but I really want a more private place. Somewhere people from school won't be. Also somewhere Dustin won't be. I mean, he's great, but –"

"But it's Valentine's Day."

"Yeah."

"What would be your plans for that evening?"

"Well, my gift and dinner. I even plan on cooking something or cooking together because she always enjoys that. It would be two- and-a-half to three hours tops. From six to nine."

Steve hadn't realized exactly how nervous he was until now. He could see Ms. Henderson thinking about it. She could say no – she could, and it would ruin his plans for Valentine's Day.

"The fact that you're asking bodes well," she said. "You realize that if I give you permission that I'm trusting you to not let things go further than dinner and I'm expecting you to not break that trust."

"I don't want to break your trust. You let me stay here when you really didn't have to and you've even given me my own room. I just . . . it's our first Valentine's Day and I want it to be special for Jess."

Ms. Henderson smiled and let out a small sigh. "Okay. I still want her back by ten, but yes you can have dinner at your house."

Steve was actually surprised; he hadn't expected a yes. He gave her a very happy smile and a thank you before tucking in to enjoy his sandwich.

Valentine's Day just happened to land on a Tuesday in 1984, which was good because it meant that Jessica didn't have to work that day. She and Steve hadn't really talked about it, but she knew Steve so she knew he would want to do something.

When she arrived at school the morning of the 14th Steve wasn't waiting for her in the parking lot like he normally did, which just furthered her belief that he was planning something. On any other day he would have told her if he couldn't meet her outside to walk her in – and maybe steal a kiss or two before class started.

She started to worry, though, when she made it all the way to her locker without seeing him. Maybe he was sick and maybe that was why she hadn't heard from him. Maybe he couldn't even talk, so he hadn't been able to call and tell her he wouldn't be there.

Her thoughts stopped, though, when she opened her locker door. There on the hook where she would normally hang her jacket was a silver chain with a key hanging from it. It was about half the size of a house key. She carefully pulled the chain from the hook so she could get a better look at it. She could tell it was new – it was shiny. She was confused, though, because there was no note or anything with it.

Was she supposed to know what it meant?

Steve came up to her, then – so he was there, and he appeared healthy enough – and leaned against the locker beside hers. He made sure she paid attention to the arm he was leaning on. He had a long sleeve shirt on, but the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

She assumed what she was supposed to pay attention to was the new leather wrist band he had on because right in the middle of it was a silver heart shaped medallion – and in the middle of that was what looked like a hole for her key to fit in. Just to be sure, she lifted her hand to his to check – and of course it did.

"Steve . . ."

She really didn't know if she should laugh or cry. On the one hand . . . it was a very cheesy gift. On the other . . . she knew that even if it was cheesy Steve meant exactly what it represented.

He may still have his heart, but she held the key to it.

Her eyes suddenly decided they wanted to cry – and he hadn't even said anything yet. Steve, who had been smiling brightly and still was, pulled her to him, held her and rubbed her back for a few seconds. It helped her calm down.

"They're happy tears, I promise," she said. "I love the necklace and what it means."

"I'm glad. I wasn't even looking for it. I just happened to see it and knew that was what I wanted to get you."

She pulled away enough to look up at him. "That makes it even better."

He bent to kiss her and she gladly let him. She knew they were in the hallway of the school, but she really didn't care. Besides, it only lasted a few seconds.

"Okay, so . . . plan to be picked up at 5:30 today for dinner at my house. I'll cook, if that's okay, and –"

"Steve, I can't go to your house. Mom would freak if she knew we went and stayed for any length of time without your parents being there."

She noticed that his smile changed a little, became something less bright and more serene. "Actually, I already asked her and she was okay with it as long as you're back by ten. I think it was because I actually asked and she seemed to appreciate that. She trusts me, I guess. And even if she didn't, you do, so . . . We can have dinner and maybe even watch a movie or something before I have to get you back home."

Jessica felt herself smile now. This was her first Valentine's Day with Steve as her boyfriend, her first Valentine's Day with a boyfriend, period, and she knew that Steve was trying to make sure she enjoyed it.

"I love you, Steve Harrington."

"I love you, too."

The school day went by fairly uneventfully aside from gym where the class was starting endurance training for the physical fitness test they would be taking soon. They would need to work up to being able to run a mile in six minutes or less.

Jessica hated gym class anyway, but the fact that they were going to have to go outside to run for the first half of class made her hate it even more. Steve was in her gym class, though, so there was that.

"I still don't know why we couldn't just do laps in the gym," she muttered. "It's the middle of February. We're all gonna get pneumonia and die."

Steve, who was beside her, couldn't keep from laughing at her. "You won't even notice the cold once you get your heart pumping."

"If you say so."

"Quit your bellyaching, Henderson. You're one of the fastest runners we have," the coach said.

It was true. She was fast, but she had no endurance at all. She was more a sprinter than a long-distance runner.

At least they had been allowed to wear sweatpants instead of their usual shorts. Steve ended up being right, though. Once she started running, she didn't notice the cold as much. She started out strong, fast, but because she didn't pace herself, she became out of breath after about four minutes.

Her side began hurting, so she slowed to a walk. She needed to catch her breath.

Steve slowed down with her. She knew he didn't need to, with his naturally athletic self, but she was glad he had.

"You okay?"

Normally Steve would've already been through most of his third lap already. She slowed him down big time when he tried keeping pace with her.

"Yeah, I'll be okay in a minute. You don't have to wait."

Steve shrugged. "It's not like this is a grade. I'll walk with you."

They continued on at a leisurely pace until the teacher blew his whistle to get everyone's attention. The running part was over. They could go back inside.

After school was over for the day Steve still met Jessica at her locker and still walked her out to her car, but they didn't spend much time there. They would be seeing each other later and they both had things to do before then.

As soon as Jessica walked through her front door her mom called her into the living room.

"Yeah?"

Her mom was sitting in her usual chair. It appeared as if she had been waiting for Jessica to get home.

"Mom?"

"Come sit with me for a few minutes."

Her mom was more serious than she normally was. It made Jessica wonder if something bad had happened.

"Everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. Are you still planning on going to dinner with Steve?"

"At his house, yeah. He said he asked."

"He did." Her mom smiled a little, her eyes settling on the necklace around Jessica's neck. "What's the key for?"

It was Jessica's turn to smile. "Steve gave it to me. It, um . . . matches his wristband. It has a heart on it."

"That' s really sweet. Steve's a good boy."

"Yeah, he is."

"It's because he's a good boy I told him that he could take you to his house for dinner. I'm trusting him." Her mom became serious again. "I'm trusting you. His parents won't be there; Dustin won't be there."

"Mom!"

"I'm just saying. You guys are teenagers and you're in love. Things happen, but I'm trusting you guys not to let them. You're still in school and you're not adults yet . . ."

"Mom, I really don't need the talk. I . . . I know what you expect and Steve knows, and would it help to hear that I'm not ready for that anyway?"

Just like that Jessica saw relief fill her mother's face, her whole body even.

"That would help a lot. I know if you're not ready, then nothing's going to happen. You won't let it and Steve won't pressure you."

"Good. Great. So, this conversation is over?"

"Yes. You're free to go get ready."

The only other time Jessica had moved so fast was when she'd been battling the demogorgan. She'd never had such a mortifying conversation with her mother and she hoped to never have another one.

Steve was right on time, five-thirty, as he'd said he'd be. He went inside the Henderson house to say hi to Dustin and Ms. Henderson. He didn't have to wait because Jessica was already ready and waiting in the living room.

She had on a dress he'd never seen before – long-sleeved, blue, with a V-neck. It came down to just above her knees. She wasn't wearing leggings this time; she was going to be so cold going outside even for the few seconds it took to get to his car. The necklace he'd gotten her was perfectly placed, the key stopping just above where her dress started.

Her mom was in the living room as well, but Dustin was nowhere to be seen. He was probably with one of his friends. The Wheeler's house was still hangout central for the kids.

"You look really beautiful, Jess," he said as soon as he'd entered the room. He'd sort of stopped and stared for a few seconds, but he got himself together pretty quickly.

Steve had never really seen Jessica act bashful, but the smile she sent his way now was definitely a shy one. She'd obviously put some effort into her outfit and was glad he'd said something about it. It could also have had something to do with the fact that they were going to go back to his place, and even though he knew nothing was going to happen, it would be the first time they'd be alone. Every other time they'd hung out they'd always been around other people – even when they'd stayed at Tina's the month before there had been other people in the house.

When they were in the car, he turned to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said immediately. "I'm okay. I just . . . Mom gave me the talk when I got home. It was weird."

"Ah . . . What – what did she say?"

"Well, you know, she's trusting you and she's trusting me and I basically had to tell her that nothing was going to happen because . . ."

"Because what?" he asked after waiting a few seconds for her to continue.

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Because I'm not ready for it to."

Steve wondered if that was why she was so nervous. Jessica knew him, so she knew that he'd taken girls to his house before because his parents usually weren't there, and she also knew what usually happened when they were there.

He grabbed her hand to get her full attention.

"I meant what I said when I told you we were just having dinner and watching a movie. I'm not expecting anything."

"I know." She let out a long sigh. "I do know that. I just . . . it was the whole talk with my mom. She said that things happen, you know, because we're teenagers and hormones and all that stuff, so I just had to know that we were on the same page with this."

"We are definitely on the same page here. I like being able to stay at your house whenever I want, and I really like that your mom trusts me with you."

She smiled. "Yeah, that is nice." She squeezed his hand. "Let's go."

Steve ended up fixing something simple for dinner. Neither of them wanted dinner to take up too much time, so they settled on baked chicken over yellow rice with broccoli as the vegetable. They each had one glass of wine with their dinner and they talked and laughed while they ate.

"I'm glad you decided to do this," she told him. "It's really nice, so much better than going to a crowded restaurant."

"I thought you'd appreciate it." Steve leaned back in his chair. "Now that I know your mom won't really mind, I might ask her if we can have a party here, for your birthday next month."

"Steve, I don't want a party."

"Not like a party-party. I meant like just have it here. Your mom and Dustin and the others."

"Oh. Well, that would be okay." She grinned then. "You know, after I turn eighteen, I'll be dating a minor until June . . ."

Steve grinned back. "Uh-oh, you might get in trouble."

"So much trouble." She laughed lightly while shaking her head. "Anyway, what movie do you want to watch?"

"I picked out a few of mine that I know you like, so any of those are fine."

Jessica and Steve washed the dishes after they got done eating and then they went into the living room. Steve had placed the movies he'd picked on top of the TV set, so Jessica went to go look through them. There was a CD player placed on an entertainment center in the corner of the living room. The CD player was a newly released invention – new and expensive. It was something Steve had actually wanted, so his parents had bought him one along with a few CDs.

Music filled the room and Jessica turned to face Steve.

"I thought we were watching a movie."

"We have to dance at least once. It's Valentine's Day."

Jessica smiled because Steve was just grinning at her openly.

"Just once?"

"Well, if you want to watch a movie, yeah."

A slow song came on then and Steve made his way to her.

"You know I'm just as good at dancing as I am at skating," Jessica said as he took one of her hand in his and placed his other on her waist. She put her free hand on his shoulder. "This might not end well."

Steve pulled her closer and she followed his lead; they mostly just swayed together. That was it, just swaying, but it felt like so much more. Steve was looking at her with such adoration that it made her breath catch in her throat. She was so lucky to have found someone who loved her as much as Steve did. She was lucky that she loved him just as much.

She got just about as close as she could so she could place her head against his chest.

"This night is perfect," she said softly. "Thank you."

As the music continued playing, they ended up just moving back and forth while holding each other, both having wrapped their arms around the other.

They both came to the unspoken agreement that they wanted to keep dancing instead of stopping to watch a movie.