small sip before handing it back. She sat rigidly through the first half of the movie while Steven half reclined his seat. He let his hand rest on the gearshift, sipping from the bottle occasionally. He offered it to her again and noted approvingly that she took a longer swig this time before handing it back. He briefly closed his hands around hers holding the bottle before taking it and when she didn’t try to pull away, he grasped it gently and lowered them onto her lap. They sat there for the remainder of the movie that way, Steven surreptitiously moving his fingers along her thigh every now and again when it coincided with something on the screen. At the interval, he let her hand go, and asked if she wanted some popcorn or anything else from the cafeteria. She said no softly, but at least she turned her head and looked at him when she answered. Steven waited in the line at the cafeteria with two choc top ice-creams and thought she, Kate that is, wasn’t bad looking at all really, just dowdy and very, very conservative. He noticed all the youngsters everywhere “yuk” he thought to himself.
“Beg your pardon” he heard a voice say.
The cashier was directly in front of him, her name tag identifying her as ‘Abby’. He flashed her one of his winning smiles.
“I’m really sorry… Abby. I was just thinking, here it is Friday night and a spunk like you is stuck taking money of fools like me”.
She raised an all knowing eyebrow at him, and cocked her head to one side as if considering whether she should take him seriously or not.
“It’s not ‘alf bad actually, I clean up and can be at the Club by ten-thirty and don’t ‘ave to be back ‘ere until six-thirty tomorrow night”.
Steven took the obvious offer.
“I’m by myself, so what club would that be”?
She put his change into his hand and slid her index finger along his palm.
“Yeah, well I don’t do this regular you understand, meet guys here I mean, but you know the Jet Club, well it’s there, see ya maybe”.
Then she was turning to the next person in the line. Steven glanced at her as he walked away from the cashier’s desk, and even in her issue brown uniform dress, he could see the makings of a nice body. He took the picture of her shoulder length blonde hair, and cheeky smiling brown eyes with him as he walked back to the car. Kate still sat rigidly behind the steering wheel, just like she had from the moment they’d arrived almost two hours earlier. Doesn’t matter if she does or if she doesn’t now, Steven thought as he opened the door, I can’t lose.
“I… I almost thought you weren’t…” she started.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” Steven smiled at her, and reached out his hand holding the cone for her.
“Thank you, I do really like these, but you shouldn’t have..” she started off again.
“It’s alright, everybody likes ‘em”. Steven was starting to get a bit annoyed with the way Kate almost stuttered out every thing that she said to him. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand and she grabbed his wrist, her eyes a little frightened. He turned her head to face him. “Kate, relax! I don’t bite and I’m not going to do anything to you. Wanna sit in the back seat”?
He stretched himself between the front seats and into the back without waiting for her answer then tilted the passenger seat forward against the dash to afford himself an uninterrupted view of the screen once more. He could see the variables going on in her head, and when she pursed her lips tightly together, he thought that it was over. There be no way she’d move from the safe haven of that steering wheel, or the pedals under her feet, the gearshift by her left hand, THE drivers’ seat. She lowered her gaze as the lights dimmed for the ads before the start of the movie.
“At least pass me the Coke” he asked.
He heard her say “Where did you put it”?
It was so soft and tingling with nerves he almost didn’t recognise it as her voice.
“The coke, oh, at the base of my seat”.
They both almost collided heads, she as she moved suddenly to look for it, and he, because he thought she wasn’t going to get it.
“I found it… oh!” She exclaimed as she realized that he was leaning up beside her, almost kissing distance if that’s what she had wanted. Instead he sat back again, and patted the seat beside him.
“C’mon then”.
She clutched tightly at the neck of the bottle, and once again, that lengthy hesitation before she acted. He held out his hand when he saw that she was now going to join him, but instead she offered him the coke bottle.
“I was trying to help you” he said softly. He took the bottle and placed it by his side without taking his eyes from hers. He knew that even without being able to see her eyes, she was looking at him and the light from screen would make his own eyes visible to her. “C’mon” he offered again.
She lifted her left leg and then almost swiveled herself around her seat, and only took his hand as she alighted onto the back seat. Her momentum pulled them together but this time without hesitation, she bent forwards and away from him and hit the lever on the base of the drivers’ seat to fold forward as he had done. He still clutched her hand though and when she sat back, he held it firmly, pulling her to him. She shifted slightly in the seat until their hips contacted and then he put their hands down to rest once again on her thigh.
He did not look at her, he watched the opening credits on the screen. Steven stretched out his right leg and rested his foot up against the gearshift, placed the coke bottle between his thighs with his left hand and undid the lid. He offered her a drink without taking his eyes off the screen or releasing her hand, and when she reached to take the bottle from him he felt her left breast crush into his upper arm. Her nipple was erect and it felt hot against his arm and Steven felt an almost imperceptible tremor flood her body. She moved away from him quickly and drank sparingly once more. She took another drink, a longer one.
“Like it”?
“What… I what”? was all she could stammer back.
“The drink. Are you comfortable”?
Steven looked back at the screen again, knowing she was less nervous when he wasn’t looking at her.
“I’m fine, thank you” she replied.
“Look, when you are more comfortable, later on, do you think I could, well, you know, put my arm around you?” Steven asked turning his head slightly toward her “you know, when it gets a bit chilly, it’s so nice snuggling up with someone you really like!”
“But, the blanket…”
“Great idea, yeah, we’ll put the blanket over us too. Are you cold now?” He looked directly at her this time. She was looking straight ahead at the screen but her head was shaking no! “It’s okay, I told you I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. Relax!”
He grasped her hand a bit tighter in his, and jiggled it a little higher on her thigh. She turned her head to him now, and whispered.
“I’m… I’m sorry Steven, it’s just I am nervous, and it’s just, with my mum and all, I’ve just never been out with a boy before, and I will try to relax, I’m really sorry, I don’t want to spoil things, between you and me, and my Mum, well…". Her voice trailed off and Steven wasn’t sorry she finished but he gleaned enough from what she’d said.
“How old are you Katie?”
“What,