Rocket's Red Glare

First Outing

"Are you sure?" Joe tried to gently ask. He needed to make sure she was okay with this.

"Joe," Holly stuttered.

"I don't mean to push," Joe tried to counter. "I'm worried about you, Holly. You haven't left your apartment much. And I have this stupid habit of over-worrying about people, so congratulations. I'm over-worrying about you."

"I'm honored," she giggled.

"Are you going to be okay meeting me here?"

"Of course," she said sounding about as confident as she felt.

"How about this," Joe offered, "what if I came and picked you up?"

"I don't want to make you come all the way back here just to take me to lunch and then bring me home before going all the way back to work."

"Holly," Joe said, gently interrupting her before she could spiral too much. "I don't mind."

"You really don't have to do this," Holly mumbled. "I can. . . I can drive myself."

"But you're not comfortable driving," Joe said more like a statement than a question.

"I'm not," she whispered.

"I am so I'm coming to pick you up," he chuckled.

"Joe. . ." Holly started but Joe gently cut her off.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

After they hung up, Joe quickly went back to his trailer and changed into his normal clothes. While Joe got ready and headed back to their apartment building, Holly changed her outfit several times.

She wasn't sure what to wear to go to lunch with an actor. She wasn't even sure what she should consider this lunch. Was it just lunch? Was it more? She didn't want to assume certain things. Especially when they only really started talking to each other and becoming friends.

Holly's heart jumped into her throat when someone knocked on her door. She walked over and answered it, pleasantly surprised when she saw Joe standing there.

"You ready?" He asked, smiling sweetly at her.

"You could've texted me you were here," she said, still surprised. "You didn't have to park and come all the way up here."

"I wanted to," Joe shrugged. "You ready to go?"

Holly's breath got caught in her throat when Joe reached for her hand. She intertwined their fingers as she let him lead her to the parking garage. They got in the car and started heading to the restaurant.

Joe looked over, his heart dropping when he saw Holly nervously playing with her hands. He reached over and gently grabbed one of her hands, instantly intertwining their fingers.

"We don't have to go," he whispered. "We could pick something up and head back to your apartment. Holly, the last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable or like I'm forcing you to do this. I just thought. . . I thought that if you were with someone, you'd be more comfortable out in public."

"You're right," she mumbled. "And I would be more comfortable in public with someone. Especially someone I trust."

"If it ever gets too much, please let me know," Joe said.

"Joe," she whispered. "You don't have to jump through hoops for me."

"I just want to make sure you're comfortable," he said, slightly relaxing. "More importantly, I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me."

"I'm not uncomfortable around you," Holly said quickly. "Actually," she hesitated to continue, "you're the only person who I feel completely comfortable around."

The tension between the two was heavy. Neither one of them could ignore it.

"So, where are you taking me?" Holly asked trying to lighten the tension.

"There's a small café not too far that I like," Joe smiled. "It's kind of hidden so not a lot of people go there. This means there wouldn't be a lot of people and it would be just us. Plus, it's a ma-and-pop place so they don't care who I am. I thought it would be a great place for us."

Holly's heart did a backflip. Joe put so much thought into where they would go for lunch. Every decision he made, he made with her as the focus.

* * * * *

Joe was right. When they got to the café, there was only one other customer there who was eating while working on his laptop. The owners already knew Joe's order. Holly skimmed through the menu before deciding what she wanted.

Throughout lunch, the two talked about everything they could think of. Joe loved how well they flowed together. He has never connected with someone as well as he connected with Holly, but he can't help but feel like there was still this space or wall between them that he couldn't get through; that she wouldn't let him through.

Meanwhile, Holly was amazed by how hard Joe has worked to get to know her. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't holding back from him. She was worried that the second she opened up to him, he'd realize how crazy she was and wouldn't want to be around her anymore. She couldn't lose the only person she felt comfortable around.

"I'm really glad that you agreed to go to lunch," Joe said.

"I'm really glad that you convinced me to go to lunch," Holly said, a blush slowly rising to her cheeks. Joe noticed and he couldn't help but smile.

"I'm sorry if this isn't exactly what you had in mind," Holly started to say. Joe shook his head and reached over, gently grabbing her hand.

"What I had in mind was taking you to lunch so we could talk and get to know each other better," Joe said. "And that's exactly what happened."