Becoming Somebody

Chapter 19 - Definitely a Date

'Why did I tell him it would be good for him to come inside?' Charlie asked herself. It was so unnecessary. Honestly, her parents would have been happy to just glance out the window to make sure he didn't have face tattoos, and they would be fine. Hell, even if he had face tattoos, they probably would still be fine.

She might have overestimated her family's ability to be normal. She wasn't even sure if her mom would come out of her room to meet him, and when she told her dad she was going on a date, he looked at her like he didn't realize she was into boys yet.

When Cassius arrived, her mother did come out to make an appearance. Her dad did that whole, "You know, I have a shotgun," joke, which made her cringe.

Courtney gave him a once over, and then gave Charlie a look that said, 'Be careful.' As soon as everyone met, Charlie grabbed Cassius' hand and dragged him out the door, before anyone started to attempt conversation. It went well enough, no need to push their luck.

They walked out to Cassius' car, which by the way, was so cool. Charlie didn't know anything about cars, but it was all black, from the windows to the tires, and it looked fast. Her nerves kicked into overdrive after they buckled in and drove off. There was something so surreal about being in this boy's car, and going on a date with him after crushing on him for over 5 months. It made her head spin.

Charlie was grateful that they had decided to go to a movie, because that meant for at least an hour and a half, she didn't have to talk. Cassius was sweet and funny, but since he was a little older than her, she still felt intimidated. He didn't seem nervous at all, which made her think he probably had a lot more experience dating than she did. She let her hand rest on the armrest when she sat down in the theater, and he took it, interlacing her fingers with his like she hoped he would.

After the movie, they left the theater still holding hands. They walked around the outdoor mall for a little while, talking. He told her what kind of music he liked, stuff she didn't recognize, but some of which he had played on the car ride over. There was a lot of screaming in it. He liked soccer but that was about it for organized sports. He was much more into skateboarding, and he surfed occasionally. They talked about people at school, and he eventually brought up Nick.

"So how long did you date Nick for?" he asked.

"He was my boyfriend for a few months," she answered. "Have you dated anyone at school?" she asked, hoping to get some clarity on the Caitlyn situation.

"Not really," he said, but the way he said it meant there was more to it than that.

She gave him a pointed look, waiting for him to explain.

"Have I been on dates with girls from school? Yes. Has any girl at school been my girlfriend? No," he clarified.

"Well do they know that?" Charlie asked him.

He looked at her curiously, "Why, what happened?"

She told him about the Caitlyn incident. He looked upset, but also slightly amused at Caitlyn's audacity. But mostly upset.

"Wow, I'm sorry she did that. We're definitely just friends. I mean, I guess if I'm honest I could tell she liked me, but I never lead her on. I'm friends with lots of girls. I drove her to a party once, but that wasn't a date," he said.

"Like how this is a date?" she asked, suddenly feeling bold.

He squeezed her hand. "This is definitely a date."

A warm rush of happiness flooded her body when he answered. It was getting a little late, so they walked back to his car so he could drive her home. When they arrived, he got out of the car and walked her to her doorstep. Her heart started pounding fast. This was the part of the date where you kissed goodnight, right?

He walked her up the stairs to her front door, but stopped her just before she got to the top. She turned around to face him, now eye to eye because she was on the step above him. He wrapped her in a hug, and released her. He didn't lean in to kiss her, but just as she was starting to feel a huge wave of disappointment, he said something extremely unexpected.

"So, you wanna like, be my girlfriend?" he asked, slyly.

She blinked at him several times in shock. He just stood there waiting for her to answer. She couldn't help but break into a huge smile.

"Uh, yeah, I do."

He smiled back just as wide. "Sick! Goodnight Charlie," he said before turning around and walking away.

"Goodnight," she said, watching him leave.

The boy had never had a girlfriend, but after one date with her, he just asked her to be his. He hadn't even kissed her goodnight! She didn't care. She was Cassius Green's girlfriend. She. Was. His. She said it to herself several times, but she still couldn't quite absorb it. She didn't want to go inside her house just yet. She wanted to stay out here in this impossible moment for a little while longer, so she sat down on her front steps and just stared out at the street where his car had been.