A Funny Thing Happened During The Battle of New York

xi.

I stood in front of the mirror in Steve's bathroom for a hot minute, staring at my reflection. I didn't bring anything fancy to wear; so I settled on a simple knit sweater and skinny jeans that stuck to me like a second skin.

I didn't bother with a lot of makeup, just a bit of blush and some mascara to freshen myself up a bit. I never really wore more than that anyway and I knew Steve wouldn't expect me to be all gussied up for him.

I still felt butterflies practically swarming in my gut as I fidgeted with my hair and brushed lint off my sweater.

This was our first REAL date and I was a bundle of nerves. I didn't really know what to expect and I'm rusty to say the least when it comes to dating.

A knock at the door to his apartment pulled me from my self stare down and I spun around quickly heading to the door. I wondered who could be there, Steve hadn't mentioned he was expecting anyone.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by a petite blonde wearing a pair of dark scrubs. She seemed surprised to see me greeting her.

"You're not Steve." She said by way of greeting.

"Nope." I replied.

The woman shifted awkwardly and I didn't miss her eyes looking behind me as she tried to spot Steve inside the apartment.

"He's not home, he should be soon though." I said narrowing my eyes slightly.

"Oh. Ok. I was just—I was going to ask to borrow some milk."

"Oh! Well I'm sure he wouldn't mind me giving you some," I smiled brightly and I stepped back into his apartment heading for the kitchen, "How much did you need?"

"Just a half a cup." Her voice called from the entryway. I searched Steve's cabinets for a moment finding a cup and then filling it with the requested measurement.

"Oh Kate, hi!" I heard Steve's voice from the living room and came back out, cup of milk in hand.

"Hi, I didn't know you had company."

Steve's eyes found mine and he smiled, "I didn't know I was going to have company either, Wren surprised me."

"What can I say? I like to keep my—boyfriend—on his toes." I said emphasizing the term boyfriend as I handed off the glass of milk. I'm not sure what made me do it, but I was feeling oddly territorial watching the way Kate eyed Steve up and down while he was looking at me. The man remained completely oblivious to her obvious ogling as I imagined hissing at her like an angry cat.

I saw Steve's eyebrows raise out of the corner of my eye, his lips fighting a smile as he wrapped his arm around my waist, and pressed a kiss to my temple. I watched Kate observe our interaction with shrewd eyes and then she blinked once and plastered a fake smile on her lips.

"Well I'll just be getting out of your hair, thanks for the milk." She cooed and then headed down the hall towards what I assumed was her apartment. I didn't miss her eyes flicker down Steve's back before she entered.

"You ready to go beautiful?" Steve asked and I flushed at the compliment, my irrational and intense dislike of this woman vanishing as he smiled at me.

"Ready to go Captain."

——

All in all the date was incredible. He took me to a small Italian restaurant close to the National Mall and then afterwards, as the sun set, we went on a stroll near the Lincoln Memorial.

"She did NOT check out my ass!" Steve protested as we walked hand-in-hand by the Reflecting pool.

"I saw what I saw Rogers, was eye-fucking the crap outta you and that dump-truck."