August Rain

Chapter Seven

It wasn't even that big of a deal. It was just a friendly outing with my ex. But it really wasn't. We were seeing a movie, and it actually was a date. That's the part that made me nervous. I didn't want to get hurt again, but Jimmy was changing and that was apparent to not only me. The band saw it too, Jimmy was pushing people away a lot less which helped out when recording.

I could've sworn I stared at my closet for 15 minutes or more. Nothing I had was the right thing. But I knew Jimmy wouldn't care. He never did, because he liked everything I wore. To him it wouldn't matter, he always said he preferred to look at my face instead of my outfit. That never failed to make me feel special to him.

It was only a movie, I reminded myself. Since it didn't need to be that big of a deal I decided on a baby blue shirt and dark jeans. I tried to calm my shaking hands enough to put on a simple coat of makeup.

Gosh, why was this so nerve-wracking? I've met him before, and I know that he is extremely sweet. Maybe the problem was that I was worried that the spark between us was truly dead. Had we really faded out with almost 3 years apart? Probably, I mean it was 3 years. That's a long period of time to still love someone without contact.

I walked down the stairs to grab some shoes and check that Jimmy hadn't been waiting for me. Luckily, he wasn't anywhere I could see. I sat down and tied my shoes thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong. Not much came to mind, which was comforting. I thought of everything that could go right. We still love each other, we get together, continue our relationship, get married, and have a happy life together. That sounded alright to me.

A knock on the door came sooner than I would've liked. I had everything I needed with me other than courage.

I opened the door and was met with the wild but calming eyes of James Page.

"Hello", he greeted.

"Hi Jimmy", I smiled at him.

His appearance was as expected. Jeans and a plain black shirt. He made that simple outfit look like a masterpiece.

"Ready to go?", he asked sweetly.

"If you are"

Jimmy took my hand and led me out to walk to the movies. It wasn't a far walk, so we both felt comfortable walking the distance. Not many people came to the movies around this particular part of town. If anyone was there, it would be a few old couples who wouldn't recognize Jimmy or me. Besides, the only way they would know me is if they were a Yardbirds or Led Zeppelin fan. That was a rare occurrence with people of that age.

With it only being around 7:30, it wasn't too dark. The sunset had just finished and the stars were starting to pierce through the sky. The air was starting to cool down for the night and the first week of September was coming to a close. The leaves had just started to change colors and it felt like the world was piecing itself back together from the hot summer.

"Anything on your mind?", Jimmy asked.

"Not much", I replied softly.

He always would ask me that when we were together before. If I was being quiet, looking around at nature, or writing something down, he would ask me that. Jimmy's number one goal in life had been to make sure I was satisfied and happy. He loved when I would be inspired by something and always strived to let me go on tour so I was able to explore.

I felt like bringing that up but I didn't want to get too emotional on the topic when we might have another chance.

"So I was told by someone that you had a beard. Tell me about that", I laughed.

Jimmy shook his head and laughed.

"Well, it was a pain in the ass during summer. So at the beginning of August, I had it shaved off. I think it looked alright but I probably won't let another beard grow", he chuckled.

"Did you have any crazy hairstyles happen while we've been apart?", he asked.

"No, but I have had a crazy friend", you replied.

Jimmy looked in confusion at you.

"Well basically, this friend was absolutely smitten with her coworker and decided to take initiative. So she took his lunch bag and snuck a piece of paper with her phone number on it, into his sandwich, so he would find it. He ended up eating it and getting sick. So the next week she tried again but put a big banner on his desk. We aren't friends anymore, but it was an interesting phase"

"Did he end up calling her?", Jimmy asked.

"No, he ended up having her fired for being a creep", I smiled.

Jimmy lightly laughed and continued walking to the movies. There was no line when you got there and it was a calm atmosphere for a movie theater on a Friday.

"What movie do you want to see?", he asked me.

"You can pick", I smiled.

Jimmy nodded and walked up to get tickets.

"Two tickets for (insert a movie) please", he said. "Oh and uh could we get a medium popcorn please?"

He grabbed the tickets and walked me to the theater. It looked like it was just the two of us and an old couple. I didn't have an issue with that. Besides, I had no desire for us to be doing anything where an old couple would judge us.

Like most movie theaters, this one was cold. It was also the beginning of autumn so that probably played into it. I hadn't thought to bring a jacket so I rubbed my hands against my arms.

Jimmy quickly found our seats around the middle of the theater. We were almost at the edge of the row and had a decent view of the screen. Not that we needed it right now, the previews were still going to be playing for another 5 minutes.

I had been watching the screen when I felt something drop into my lap. I looked down to see Jimmy's jacket placed over my legs acting as a blanket.

"I couldn't help but notice you looked a bit cold", he commented.

"Thank you", you gave him a smile before turning back to the screen.

I pulled the jacket farther up on me so that it would cover my arms.

The movie started and Jimmy was now hyper-fixated on it. It seemed as nothing would shake him from the trance he was in. The sight made me laugh out loud by mistake.

"What's so funny?", an oblivious Jimmy asked.

"Just you staring at the movie so intently", I laughed and put a piece of popcorn in my mouth.

Jimmy went to his default reaction; laughing and shaking his head. It was cute though. The way his dark curls bounced around his head and how his light laugh sent a soft smile to his rosy lips.

Throughout the movie, Jimmy would look over at me to see what I was doing. About halfway through, he held my hand and we didn't let go until we got up to leave.

"Did you enjoy the movie?", Jimmy asked while walking me up to my house.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. What about you?", I replied with a smile.

"It was nice. I hope you enjoyed the whole date, I liked getting to go out with you for the first time in a while", he said shyly.

I smiled at him. "It was great Jimmy. Thank you"

A light blush was dusted on his cheeks. He was clearly really happy to be given another chance with me. And I couldn't turn him down, because I wanted to be with him.

"I'll see you sometime soon", he planted a light kiss on my lips before turning to leave.