Returning Hearts

Chapter 21: First Date

August spends Sunday afternoon with her parents and Jackson's parents after church. Time seems to go by quickly as 7:00 pm approaches and August heads over to her small apartment to get ready for her date. She is dressed and waiting nervously as she hears a knock on the door. Opening the door, she finds Cade and Jackson both standing on the porch.

She smiles at them as they speechlessly stare at her. "Hi."

"You look amazing!" Cade seems stunned in how beautiful she looks in her dark purple dress.

"Thank you, Cade."

She looks over at Jackson trying to ignore the softness in his eyes towards her. "I haven't had time to give Carter a bath. Would you mind to do it?"

Jackson quickly looks over at Cade and back to August. "I will take care of it."

She points over to Carter who is shaking plastic keys in the floor. "He is playing right now in the living room and usually I put him to bed by eight."

"I got it."

"Okay." August puts her coat on as she steps out next to Cade. "Call me if you need anything."

Jackson holds out his hand to Cade. "See you around Cade."

Cade takes his hand shaking it firmly. "Have a good night."

August is surprised by Jackson's politeness towards Cade. She smiles at him saying thank you as she speaks, "Bye."

Jackson smiles back at her. "Have fun." She and Cade begin to walk toward the road as Jackson enters her small house.

"Are you hungry?" Cade opens the car door for her.

"Yes."

"Good." He smiles before proceeding to the driver's seat.

"So, I take it we are going out to eat?"

"Not exactly, but I will feed you." Cade smiles deviously towards August, causing her to feel intrigued.

They pull up to a large building with a large sign that reads Arcade World. August smiles up at Cade as she exits the car. "Is this where we are going?"

Cade smiles cutely at her. "We spent a lot of time here when we were in high school so, I thought it would be fun to come relive some of the good old days."

August smiles at how cute his date idea is. "Do they still have that nasty pizza we would always eat?"

Cade looks curiously at the outside of the arcade. "I honestly don't know. I haven't been here since college."

August slides her arm in his and they walk towards the entrance. "Well, if they do that is what I want." Cade laughs at her as he opens the door.

"Do you want food or games first?"

August looks around the room at all the arcade games remembering how many hours they would spend here every weekend as teenagers. "Fun first." August smiles at him excitedly as she moves over towards the games section. "Since we are old enough to drink now, how about a little wager?"

"I'm listening."

"Whoever wins the most games buys the loser a drink."

Cade follows after her as he rolls up his sleeves. "Deal."

They lose track of time as they take turns on various games around the arcade. August has forgotten she is even hungry as she turns toward Cade in triumph of winning the most games. "It looks like I win."

Cade shakes his head defeated toward her as he talks, "You were always so competitive and such a poor loser, I had to let you win."

"Of course, you did. I will go get the drinks if you go order the pizza." August smiles confidently at him noticing an attraction towards her in his eyes.

"You still like pepperoni?"

"Yes. What is your favorite shot?"

"Oh, we are doing hard liquor?"

"Of course."

"The Afterburner."

"Okay." August kisses his cheek before she takes off to the bar.

Cade is sitting at one of the tables in the eating area talking to a waitress as August arrives back with the shots.

"Thank you." He smiles up at August as he politely dismisses the waitress.

August slides his Afterburner shot in front of him and sits her shot in front of her. "What is yours?" Cade says looking at the white colored liquor in her glass.

"A White Gummy Bear. Have you ever had one?"

"No. It sounds girly."

"Are you saying you wouldn't order a White Gummy Bear when you are out at the bar with all your manly friends?" August begins to tease him.

"Only if I wanted to get made fun of." August smiles at him as he picks up his glass. "Same time?"

August picks up her shot. "1... 2... 3." They both drink their shots quickly as the waitress arrives back with two glasses of water.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress asks as she takes their shot glasses.

"I think we are okay. Thank you." Cade shakes his head to her as he tries to catch his breath from the shot. He looks over to August as the waitress leaves them. "Was that a double?"

August laughs as she responds, "Yes".

Cade joins her laughter. "Are you trying to get me drunk? Who is going to drive home?"

"We can just play a few more games before we leave to sober up if we need to." August begins to feel tingly but she isn't sure if it is from the alcohol or Cade's look in his eyes toward her.

"What is the wager on the next round of games?"

August thinks for a moment. "If you win, I will go on another date with you."

Cade leans up closer to her on the table holding out his hand. "Deal."

August shakes his hand confidently in agreeance.

After finishing the pizza, they make their way back to the arcade room and begin competing with each other again. August slacks off a bit and loses a few games on purpose because she really likes Cade and forgot how much fun it was to hang out with him. He wins the final game then turns toward August. "Looks like you will be going on another date with me."

"I guess so."

Cade hugs her as they stand in the middle of the arcade and August can tell he wants to kiss her. She breaks her eye contact knowing people are around. "So, are you sober enough to drive now?"

"Yes. I should probably get you home." He releases her from his arms.