Zach and Abby

Chapter Two - Edited

Abby - Edited

He said he would pick me up at seven, so as I stared at the clock and it read 6:15, I decided I needed to get a grip. The word date had been circling through my mind all day, but I refused to actually convince myself that this dinner was a real date. Austin had been out of town recently so I figured this was just Zach being nice and filling in for the boy I usually had dinner with on Friday's.

But, then again, maybe Zach had no idea we went to dinner on Friday's. Maybe he actually wanted to take me out. And then that would lead back to thinking this was a date and the thought cycle would repeat.

According to the clock in the small sitting area, at seven sharp, there was a knock on my door. As I walked over to open it, I thanked god Bridgett wasn't home. I didn't know or really care where she was, but if she'd been home at this moment, I'd probably be fighting her to open the door. She has not closed her mouth once to stop talking about how hot Zach is and how cute their children would be and Zach this and Zach that. I'm never going to tell her about this little dinner thing for fear of what she would do to my life.

I opened the door and the boy I was expecting stood on the other side, smiling widely at me. I couldn't help the grin that spread over my own face as I took him in. Tight t-shirt, snug jeans hanging at his hips – he looked hot; and not because it was eighty five degrees out tonight.

For a few seconds, I let my eyes roam over his tall figure and it was only when he cleared his throat awkwardly did I realize I'd been practically staring him down. That was the second sign that I needed to get this under control.

I was never a girl to be affected by boys; I didn't blush easily and I wasn't one to stutter a lot. Zach brought out both of those annoying qualities in me when Cole never had. It was weird, and I was afraid to dig deeper and find the real reason.

"You look very nice this evening," he drawled, giving me the one sided smirk I'm sure every other girl on campus has had dreams about. I waited a few seconds before I knew I could speak and not sound like I was choking.

"Thank you, so do you." I'm not sure if guys cared if a girl completed them on their outfit, but it was the first thing that came to mind so I said it. His smile grew just a little bit before he backed out of my doorway, allowing me to exit my room and lock the door behind me. We walked over to his car and unexpectedly, he opened my door for me. The warning signs of a date were piling up, but I refused to let myself believe that is what this is.

I thanked him politely as I sat down and he said something romantically cheesy back; along the lines of: only the best for you. I rolled my eyes because I knew I probably wasn't the first to hear that from him, but it still warmed my heart all the same.

He quickly jogged over to his side, cranked the engine and in a short five minutes, we were pulling into the only Italian restaurant remotely close to campus. Zach had brought up the upcoming football game and I was trying to had in whatever knowledge I had of the game, but by the time he started talking about Hail Mary's and blitzes, he lost me. He of course found it funny that I had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn't mind. He was explaining what a full back's job is when we were seated at a table in the middle of the dining hall.

We listened and talked to one another. There was a candle burning in the middle of the table and the whole scene was cute. Conversation felt easy between us, something I wasn't used to when it came to talking with guys. Awkward silences used to be something I was good at creating but they never happened once that night. Zach kept me laughing and smiling, keeping all thoughts of the last time I went on a date far away from my mind.

By the main course, we were remembering stupid things kids in our grade did when we were back in high school. The time Red Tolkins egged the principals car or the time two kids were fighting in the senior wing and managed to crash through a window and continue their fight on the grass outside. We just kept talking about all things high school but the most important and clear memory of mine never came up: the freaking hug on graduation night.

It was a hug. A stupid embrace of his arms around me, probably thanking me for any of the times him and the other football players borrowed my chemistry homework before class. It was a goodbye hug that he may have given to twenty other girls for all I knew. It was a pathetic thing to get hung up on, but still I did. Still it was all I could think about when there was a brief pause in between moments from senior year.

The hug obviously meant very little to him, but then my thoughts drifted to why had he asked me out? I was confused and scared to ask because if I did, he would probably find me clingy and irritating. I would just ask Austin once he came back; him and Zach were bound to talk about things like that, right?

Only two hours later that felt more like fifteen minutes, we had finished dinner and Zach was driving me back to my dorm. He had begun asking me about my favorite things, the topic now being movies.

"I don't know, I guess something like the Titanic, or the Notebook," I shrugged from the passenger, not a big fan of watching movies.

"You're kidding," he scoffed, sending a smirk my way before looking back to the road. "How very typical."

"Excuse you," I laughed, because I couldn't help it. "I bet yours is something like Blades of Glory or ESPN."

"ESPN isn't a movie, it's a sports channel."

He laughed because he found my embarrassment hilarious and I hid my face behind my hair even though it was dark enough outside to hide my blush. My only friend was a guy but he never talked sports with me. And I didn't watch anything sports related on my own time, so somehow I had come to the conclusion that ESPN was a movie. I was going to punch Austin next time I saw him for not telling me sooner how wrong I was.

"Whatever," was my lame comeback, rolling my eyes in the process.

"And my favorite movie is not sports related. If I had to choose a movie, I'd say something like Christopher Nolan's Batman."

"That was my next choice," I told him; it was a lie. I'd never seen that movie either.

He pulled into my driveway and I almost let the question: can we drive around for another little while longer slip out. It was stupid how normal and happy I'd felt while out with Zach. I hadn't smiled that much in a long time and it felt good to be myself in front of Zach when all my life I'd been the kid he'd gotten homework answers off of.

"Thank you again," I said as I got out of the car. To my surprise, he also got out, walking up next to me as I reached the door. When I turned the knob it was locked; I was really thanking my lucky stars that Bridgett chose tonight be MIA for all of it. I unlocked the door and turned around to say goodbye before he pulled into a hug.

Another hug; just what I needed to keep my mind preoccupied and buzzing for the next two years.

Even if it was just my imagination, our bodies fit perfectly together and I leaned my head against his flat and broad chest, feeling it rise with every breath he took. After what I would describe as forever but not long enough, he pulled away and tilted his head down just enough to look me straight in the eyes. So we just stood there, staring at one antoher, me waiting for him to say something because I certainly had nothing.

"Goodnight Abby," he smiled once more before untangling himself from my arms still wrapped around him and backing up towards his car. I told him goodnight and another goodbye, slipping inside once he'd closed his door.

I closed my own door and slid down it until I was sitting on the old, carpeted floor. And I sighed, a happy one, because that had been all I could have imagined our first date going and more. I had finally convinced myself it was a date; and I wasn't going to ruin the moment telling myself it wasn't.