James was a nervous wreck. He could feel the peppery prickling of what he knew would be sweat beads beginning to form on his back, sending chilling shivers down his spine. He battled with himself in his mind, trying desperately to fight his body's natural response to such an important, yet nerve-wracking occasion. Gritting his teeth through it all, he held on to his smile as he led Billie to his deep sapphire Jeep Wrangler.
James, being the prospective doctor that he was, had multiple vehicles that held his name. Billie had never been persuaded by his material things, but James did notice that on the various occasions he would drive this particular vehicle, her eyes always lit up the slightest bit.
Of course he chose it for his first date with her.
"Ocean," Billie said, sliding her palm across the car's body as they walked toward the passenger door. Ocean was what Billie had unofficially named the Jeep, and James had always just went with it.
"That's her," he grinned, opening Billie's door for her. As he shut it, he managed to formulate a string of words without his voice cracking. "You've never ridden in her, have you?"
Billie tilted her head out of the open window at James.
"There's a first time for everything, right?"
As James moved around to the driver's side of his car, he couldn't help but wonder if Billie was referring to just riding in the car, or finally agreeing to a date with him.
Billie was still admiring the car's interior as James slid into the driver's seat. He kept his eyes on her as he went to crank up the vehicle, sending the car trembling with vibration and making a sound holier than holy water itself. Billie's reaction was priceless; as her skin raced, her eyebrows jumped up, and her eyes rolled back the slightest bit, James smirked to himself.
Then, turning his eyes onto the road in front of them, James brought his right hand down to the gear shift and began to manually change gears as the car increased in speed. This caught Billie's attention immediately.
"She's a stick shift?" Billie asked, a smile on her face. "I can't believe I never knew that."
James winked.
"Now you know."
Billie's mind was absolutely whirring, but of course, with her thick brush of pride, she wouldn't let him see that too quickly. No, Billie was set on making sure she was impressed. And she didn't know why, but she went with it.
And decided to push her limits.
Shoving her long lighting bolts of hair behind her back, Billie brought her shoulder up to her chin and peered over at him, batting those long eyelashes at James.
"So . . . when are you gonna let me drive her?" She tried, pushing that flirtation incredibly hard. Normally, she knew James would see right through this. But tonight, he was on a mission to impress her, and Billie was well aware.
So, to take full advantage of such a fragile situation, and to tack it on a little harder, she bit her lip.
And boy, did it work.
James cocked an eyebrow and chuckled.
"You want to drive her?"
"Are you offering, or just asking a question I've already answered?" Billie replied, slyly.
James suddenly stopped the car, put it in park, and threw up his hands.
"By all means."
Billie's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
Without answering, James exited the vehicle and came around to her side. He leaned an elbow against the open window then, smirking at her.
"Well?" He asked, nodding at her. "Scoot over."
Refusing to let him even have a chance to change his mind, Billie did just that and hopped right over into the driver's seat. James was quick behind her, securing his seatbelt once he got inside.
Billie had fire in her eyes; she was rushing with endorphins already just five minutes into this date. If she had paused to think about it, she might have put on a better front. But her excitement got the better of her, and without a second of hesitation, she shoved that car into first gear.
In surprise, James's eyes widened.
"You know how to drive this thing?"
Billie giggled giddily as she easily moved into second gear whilst picking up speed.
"Don't act so surprised. I'm the coolest chick you know."
James couldn't help but smile, acknowledging the validity of that statement. He began to chuckle then as Billie continued switching gears, picking up more and more speed until she couldn't shift anymore. He pressed a button on the car's dashboard, and within seconds the roof of the vehicle folded away behind them, exposing their hair to the breeze. Billie's long locks, though contained by her beanie, still floated like bright cyan waves, cutting rugged streaks through the air.
"Woohoo!" She cried out, her heart racing with excitement. James threw a fist in the air and let out an enthused howl, freed of his nerves within seconds, simply because he remembered that times like this were what made her so special to him.
----------
"IN-sanity!" Billie said loudly, her heart going wild behind the cage in her chest. She'd pulled over once she'd hit a dead end, but her blood was still rushing with the excitement of driving her dream car. She turned to James, her chest heaving, her cheekbones high with a smile. "You definitely should not have let me do that."
James laughed.
"Why? That was awesome."
"Because I'm gonna want to do it again!" She said frankly, unbuckling her seatbelt. James did the very same, and the two of them circled around the front of the car to exchange seats. Only, James stopped her in front of the car, meeting her halfway, face to face. He caught her by the shoulders, and she nearly stumbled at this surprise.
"Well," he smiled. "What if I say you can do that whenever you want?"
Billie scoffed, shaking his grip.
"Yeah, okay . . . ," she rolled her eyes and pushed past him, intentionally bumping his shoulder as she made her way back into her seat.
James laughed to himself briefly, before deciding to get back into the driver's seat. Billie had moxie, and that was something he always had to remember. She wasn't easily charmed.
Easily excited? No doubt.
But not easily charmed. She wasn't the type to fall for those old tricks. She had to be convinced. She had to be impressed.
And James had to put in the work.
But he liked that. He didn't know why, but he always had.
"So where are we going?" Billie asked once James had turned the car around and peeled away. "Not like, to a movie, right? Because I can sit in the dark and eat, for free, at home."
He chuckled.
"No, not a movie. I thought that was a little too cliche." He glanced at her. "Besides, I know you're not into those types of things."
"Then where?"
James took a left turn down a gravel road, his coy smile growing as they arrived at their destination.
"Actually, you almost brought us straight here."
The headlights of the car beamed brightly through the thick of the night, highlighting what appeared to be a highly graffitied skate park just ahead of them. It was littered with kids that looked to be high school teenagers out past curfew, perched on top of a half pipe with their boards at their sides.
Billie smiled at the sight before her, genuinely surprised at the choice James had made for their first date. Then, she turned to him and saw that he was watching for her reaction. Unwavered, she cocked an eyebrow.
"I didn't bring my board," she tested, her tone indicating that it was his move.
James pulled up one corner of his mouth.
"You think I haven't thought that through? Come on, Blue. Give a guy a little credit."
Shutting off the vehicle, James exited at the same time as Billie, meeting her at the rear of the Jeep. He then pulled open the back hatch, first grabbing one completely beat-up board with damaged wheels, before grabbing a second, incredibly nice, nearly squeaky clean board. Presenting them to Billie, he raised his thick brows.
"Which one do you want?"
At the sight of the nice new board, Billie's eyes widened, glued to it in awe.
"How did you get this?" She fawned.
James extended the board to her, his eyes never leaving her face.
"A friend of a friend."
Billie scoffed in surprise as it met her fingertips.
"James, this is a seven-hundred-dollar skateboard."
James's smirk was smug as he shut the hatch to his Jeep and walked near the park.
"So, are we gonna skate?"
Though Billie was still caught up in what was the amazing item that sat betwixt her palms, she couldn't help but laugh a bit at James's remark.
"You're a doctor," she said, jogging quickly to catch up with him. "You don't skate."
"Prospective doctor," he corrected. Then, he bumped her shoulder with his. "And don't pretend you know everything about me."
As Billie climbed the half pipe, James noticed right away the eyes of the teenaged boys that followed Billie's every movement. She moved like a real professional, board under one arm, nothing but scuffed up wood beneath her feet. Despite all this, he knew that wasn't why they were staring. She looked amazing, and easily caught the attention of other men.
But James wasn't threatened.
She was his date.
And that was an amount of pride that he'd waited a long time to have.
"You coming up?" She yelled down, and James shook his head.
"You first," he grinned.
Billie needed no hesitation and, as if she'd done it since the day she was born, slid that board beneath her feet and began soaring down that ramp. As she flew, she held the brightest smile on her face, absorbing the impossible speed of that fancy board. She met the other end of the ramp then and impressively caught some air, twirling half way and soaring right back down again. This continued for some time, and all the while, everyone that watched was absolutely amazed.
The girl had real talent.
But James already knew from his years in high school with her, that those kids hadn't even seen the half of what Billie could do.
"You're slacking on me, Blue," he called out, teasingly. At this, Billie reached the first end of the half-pipe, jumping off of her board and kicking it up into her hand.
"Excuse me?" She said back, her heart racing at both the exhilaration of the speed and the threat of a challenge. "I've never slacked on anything in my life! Do you know who I am?"
"I know who you used to be!" He smirked. Then, he shrugged. "But, I also know it's been some time. Maybe you're a little rusty. I don't blame you."
Billie knew exactly what he was doing; getting that rise out of her. In a normal circumstance, she would have likely collapsed. She was still recovering from that long grueling day at school and work, not to mention the hours she'd spent working on her homework.
But right then, at that moment, Billie's abilities were being threatened. And while her heart was still pounding from driving that Jeep and riding that new board, something in her gave her a second wind. She stared at James a moment, her lips tight with nerve, and the determination to prove that statement completely wrong. Then, she turned toward the teens, who were waiting for her to prove herself to them.
Her heart set, she shoved that board right back beneath her feet, narrowed her eyes, and showed that seven-hundred-dollar skateboard what it was like to be royally fucked.
And as she dropped the jaws of the gazing teens, James's eyes twinkled with pride.
