That night, Aqualad had said, "Casual," so she had pulled on a pair of designer jeans, a long, sleeve, form fitting white button down shirt, and topped it off with a floppy burgundy hat and matching purse. He picked her up in a rental car and took her to dinner. They went to a battered restaurant near the water. When they walked in the door, Raven wrinkled her nose. The place had a musty odor. Aqualad caught the look on her face.
"I know," he said, but check it out. He motioned through a doorway to their right. The room was dark with dance lights. "
"It's not really - romantic," she thought. "But the booths have really high backs. Nobody's staring at us. That's good."
She tried to relax. A bored waiter came over to the table. He seemed utterly oblivious to the two super-heroes sitting in his section.
"Drinks?" he asked.
"Two long island iced teas," he said.
Raven's eyebrows went up, but the waiter didn't bat an eye.
"They don't card here," Aqualad smiled.
Raven looked over at the dance club, packed with teens.
The drinks came. Aqualad picked his up and sipped.
"Ah," he said, and then glanced over at her. "Lighten up Raven. Live a little."
Reluctantly, she picked up her drink and sipped. She smiled slightly. She wasn't really a drinker, but this did taste kind of like sweet tea. With lemon. She sipped again. The food was ok. The service was ok. They chatted about inconsequential things and then hit the dance floor. Turned out that Aqualad didn't just know the formal ballroom dances she's seen at the Wayne Foundation gala. He could also move it on a contemporary dance floor. He had the innate grace of a swimmer, the experience of an older man, and the confidence of an alpha male. He was perfect. Raven's moves, on the other hand, weren't so good. She seemed to be misplacing her feet a little. From time to time, she would bump into him. But he led so well that he made her feel graceful in spite of herself. Her eye stung. Sweat was actually running down her face.
"Ow," she though. "Wow, I'm sweating. And thirsty."
The couple took a break, and Aqualad ordered Raven another Long Island Ice Tea. They sat for awhile while she drank. The couple watched as others moved around the room. One particular guy turned his head to watch a pretty girl and managed to walk straight into a support column.
"His gene pool could use a little chlorine," said Aqualad, with a snicker.
Raven giggled, "I never noticed how funny you are."
It didn't take her long to get through the drink, and they were back on the dance floor. This time the music slowed, and Aqualad pulled her in close. She was too short to grind his pelvis against hers, but he slid his hands down past her back to cup both cheeks of her ass, and squeezed. A rush of heat ran through Raven's body and her cheeks flushed. A part of her mind argued that people could see, but the rest of her just thought he felt good pressed up against her. She leaned forward and sighed.
And at the end of the evening, they ended up in the back seat of Aqualad's rental car on the beach on Titan island. Again.
Raven took a deep breath as he leaned over and kissed her. Her pulse went up and her hands shook as she reached up around his neck. His lips left hers and began to bestow small, gentle kisses along her jaw line. Fire ran along her skin. He drew her earlobe between his lips and bit gently.
"Ah!" she said, and arched her back.
He put his hand just below her sternum and gently pressed her back down. He returned to her lips and gently explored behind her teeth, wrestling with her own. His right hand still pressed against her chest while his left came up and held the back of her head. He shifted to the other side of her face and put a row of gentle, tiny kisses down her ear. Her eyes flew open as sparks through her skin. Her heart raced, pounding like it was going to fly out of her chest. His right hand shifted up her chest to the top button of her shirt. She'd been expecting this.
