The Bet

I Watched It Begin Again

As soon as Ana gets home she quickly texts Chris letting him know she'll be at the park in 15 minutes. Ana changes into jeans and a light cable knit sweater since it was the beginning of fall and the nights were starting to get colder.

Once Ana had Poppy attached to her leash the duo made their way to the dog park. Ana began to feel nervous making her way towards the park. This was the first time she and Chris would be hanging out by themselves. She had so many thoughts running through her mind. Was this a date? Technically, it was a play date for Dodger and Poppy. But what if it was a date for her and Chris? Should she have fixed her makeup? Crap she definitely should have fixed her makeup. She rubbed her eyes earlier and probably smeared her mascara everywhere. As Ana and Poppy reached the dog park she immediately spotted Chris and Dodger a few feet away from them. Ana unleashes Poppy and throws a rope towards Dodger so they can play tug of war with it.

Chris immediately notices Ana walking towards him. Smiling he hands her a cup of hot chocolate before giving her a hug. His breath is taken away at the smell of her sweet flowery perfume. He can't help but think how good she smells and how beautiful she looks as he rubs his hands up and down her back. Ana takes in his scent as well it's an outdoorsy smell with a hint of mint. Her heart palpitates at how warm and safe she feels in his arms. Ana is the first to pull back but she honestly didn't want to. Smiling at him and taking a sip of her hot chocolate she thanks Chris for her drink.

The two take a seat on a bench just far enough away from the other people who are at the park but still close enough to keep an eye on the dogs. Chris turns to Ana after a moment of silence, "so I realized earlier today that you know all about my family but I know nothing of yours. Care to share with me?" Ana laughs, what do you want to know Mr.Evans?" He chuckles, "well tell me about your mom. Do you have any siblings?"

Ana takes a sip of her drink before answering Chris, "well my mom's name is Marie, she's a nurse. She remarried when I was 12. My step dad's name is Owen. He's a firefighter. I have 4 older brothers, Andres, Alex, Alonzo, and Abel." Chris looks at her shocked, "damn, your parents really must of wanted a girl." Ana laughs almost spitting out her hot chocolate, "well technically I was an accident. My mom was done having kids after Abel but then a year after he was born she was pregnant with me. She told my dad to get snipped and she would get her tubes tied so there was no chance of getting pregnant again." They both laugh at that. Chris can't help but feel so at ease with Ana. He thinks back to the bet wishing he never made it. He would need to talk to Jacob and just tell him the bet was off. Hell he'd give him his Tesla just so Jacob would drop it if he had to.

They're silent again before Chris gently takes her hand. "Can you tell me about your dad?" Ana is quiet for a moment, "well his name was Hector, he was a construction worker. But when we moved to the hill country he quit his job and started running a small farm on our land." Chris gently asks "Can I ask you how he died?" Ana stares at the ground for a few minutes before sighing, "He died in a car accident. The driver who hit him was 3 times over the legal alcohol limit. He survived but my dad died on impact."Ana quickly brushes away the tears that shed and Chris wraps her in comforting hug. He's silent before whispering "I'm so sorry" to her.

They sit in silence before Chris pulls away placing both hands on her cheek. He gently rubs his thumbs across her cheeks wiping her tears away. She leans into his touch and they stare at each other before Ana breaks their trance like state. Chris clears his throat, " do you want to get something to eat?" Ana nods her head, "yeah we can have something delivered to my house since it's not too far away." Chris nods in agreement, "sounds good, I left my car at Scott's house anyway." They grab the dogs and start their walk back to Ana's.

While walking back to Ana's house they both keep brushing their hands against one another. Finally, Chris takes initiative and grabs Ana's hand intertwining their fingers. Ana blushes a deep shade of red while looking down at the ground. Once they are at her house the food arrives shortly after. Ana grabs plates, silverware, and pours them sweet tea. They eat in silence for a little bit before Ana breaks it, "wanna play 20 questions?" Chris smiles nodding his head yes, "you go first." Ana taps her finger to her chin thinking of what to ask Chris.

"What's your favorite candy?" Chris pretends to think for minute before answering, "starburst jellybeans." Ana gasps, "mine too! My stepdad and I always buy the big container of them from Costco." Chris laughs, god she loved to hear him laugh. He smirks at Ana before asking his question, "are you team Cap or team Ironman?" Ana rolls her eyes, "obviously, team IronMan." Chris stares at Ana in shock while she laughs a full belly laugh, "I'm kidding! I'm team Cap. Although my brothers are definitely team Ironman." Chris laughs again grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles, "good I would hate for this to end before it even started." Ana chuckles but her stomach is doing somersaults at the thought of Chris and her dating.

They continue to ask each other questions even after the initial 20 questions. They moved to the couch to continue their game. Chris was shocked to learn that Ana was obsessed with rock music and that her favorite song was Cherry Bomb by The Runaways. Ana laughs at Chris' shocked face, "before my dad died he bought me their cd and that was the one song I would listen to on repeat. Much to my mother's dismay." Laughing, Chris pictures a small Ana listening to it while probably banging her head to the song.

As their laughter dies down Chris grabs Ana's hand and rubs his thumb on the back of her hand. Ana wasn't used to so much contact from a man before. With her ex boyfriend he wasn't much of a hand holder and he was rarely affectionate with her so it was a nice to know Chris was already so different from her ex. While looking at Ana all Chris wanted to do was kiss her but he had to make sure he didn't fuck up by moving too fast. Clearing his throat, "well on Friday a group of us are going to a bar do you want to come?" Ana nods, "yeah, that's sounds fun. But I should tell you Jacob invited to me too." Chris looks at her confused, "you've been hanging out with Jacob?" His question comes out harsher than he intended to but it makes Ana retract her hand from his. "Well no, but I ran into him at the deli during my lunch break and he invited me."

Sighing, Chris gently reaches for her hand again and she lets him hold it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound so harsh." Ana shrugs, "it's fine. But it's getting late we should probably call it a night." Chris sighs as the both stand up. He attaches Dodger to his leash, scratches Poppy on the head, then moves towards the door. Ana walks them out but before Chris walks further away Ana grabs his hand pulling him into a hug. He smiles wrapping his arms around her petite frame. Ana pulls back slightly, craning her neck to look up at him, "I had a great time tonight." Smiling down at Ana he cradles her cheek, "me too. I can't wait to see you on Friday." He bends down to kiss her other cheek causing her to turn that shade of red he loves so much. They say their goodbyes and Ana watches him walk across the street before leaving in his car.

After Ana finished her night time care routine she lays in bed thinking about her time with Chris. Already she's feeling so many things for him. She's still hesitant to fully open up to him. But she can feel all her walls come crumbling down when she's around him. She turns to face the window thinking this could be the beginning of something beautiful.

As Chris lays in bed he too is thinking of his time with Ana. She's the first person to take interest in just him and not Chris Evans the actor or Chris Evans Captain America. But guilt washes over him as he thinks about the stupid bet he made with Jacob. He takes his phone off the charger from his nightstand and texts Jacob.

— Wednesday 11:43pm—

Chris:
I'm done with the bet.
You can have my car for all I care.
But you aren't to pursue Ana anymore

Jacob:
We'll see...