Long Lost Lady

Chapter 3

                                                             ~ Afternoon the Next Day ~
Gary was running back and forth from his bedroom to the living room, carrying blankets and pillows and rearranging chairs and the couch to make a little fort for him and Sandra. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect for this movie date. He double checked everything, even down to what kind of snacks he had on hand. Gary was in his bedroom, changing into his Han Solo costume from Halloween last year when he heard his mom calling to him from the other side of the house.
    "Gary, your little friend is here!" Gary's palms began to feel clammy, as his cheeks grew slightly warm, and more butterflies fluttered in his stomach.
    "It's ok Gary." he said to himself. "It's just you and a friend watching some movies. Just play it cool. You don't need to be so dang nervous." He met up with Sandra after she beat him to the living room. She had even arrived dressed as Princess Leia, with a fluffy pink pillow in one hand, and a Chewbacca plush toy in the other. Her mom didn't have any bobby pins to help style her hair in the buns, so Sandra went with pigtails as the next best thing.
    "Holy cow, she looks so cute." Gary thought as he felt his face warm up again. He had become so nervous that he felt like he was frozen solid. Sandra admired the set-up Gary worked on and made herself comfortable in the fort.
    "Aren't you going to sit down, Gary?" she asked as she saw Gary still hadn't moved. Gary shook his head as he was brought back to reality, and hurriedly put in his VHS copy of "A New Hope". He sat down next to Sandra, a small gap in between them, as he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by being so close.
    "I like your costume." Sandra complimented. Gary looked down, almost forgetting what he had changed into.
    "Oh, thanks. I like yours too, Sandy. Y-you look really pretty." he replied. Sandra blushed and held Chewbacca closer to her. After the movie played for a while, Gary scooted closer next to Sandra. He was still nervous, but he knew he had to take a shot. He knew he'd hate himself if he didn't.
    "Um...Sandy? Would it be alright if I could...hold your hand?" Gary's face was redder than a firetruck, waiting for her answer, but Sandra said nothing. She just smiled sweetly at Gary and slipped her hand into his and then laid her head on his shoulder. Gary stared straight ahead at the TV screen, as he felt his heart thumping in his throat.
    Before they knew it, they had moved on to "Empire Strikes Back" which happened to be both Gary and Sandra's favorite in the trilogy. The two had become comfortable at this point, getting into the movie and even reciting favorite parts of dialog along with the characters. Then it came to the scene when Han Solo and Princess Leia share their first kiss. As the scene started, Sandra began to quote aloud with Leia, as did Gary with Han.
    "You make it so difficult sometimes." Sandra recited, trying her best not to giggle.
    "I do, I really do." Gary replied, using his best manly voice. "You could be a little nicer though. C'mon, admit it, sometimes you think I'm alright."
    "Occasionally, maybe. When you aren't acting like a scoundrel." Sandra countered; Gary held her hand in his.
    "Scoundrel...Scoundrel? I like the sound of that."
    "Stop that." Sandra playfully tried to pull away.
    "Stop what?" Gary leaned in a little closer.
    "Stop that. My hands are dirty."
    "My hands are dirty too, what're you afraid of?"
    "Afraid?" Sandra blinked; her eyes wide.
    "You're trembling." Gary whispered.
    "I'm not-" Sandra couldn't finish the line as Gary pressed his lips against hers, catching her off guard. There was a moment of silence between the pair once their little kiss ended. Gary looked worried for a moment, scared that he just made a huge mistake and that their friendship was going to be ruined. Sandra's eyes veered over to the tv for a moment and then back to Gary.
    "I think we came in a little early with that part." she joked. Gary chuckled sheepishly.
    "Sorry if that wasn't cool Sandy. I just...I really like you – I mean like-like you." Gary nervously scooted away from Sandra, but she grabbed his hand before he could go too far away.
    "I like-like you too, Gary." she smiled brightly. Gary's heart felt like it stopped. He quickly raised his hand and gave himself a brisk slap across the face.
    "Ow...but good news; I'm not dreaming." Sandra laughed as Gary rubbed the growing red spot on his cheek.
    "Sandy...do you wanna be my...my..."
    "Girlfriend? I'd love to."