Chapter 11 – Just a Kiss

"Farthest you've ever traveled from home?" I asked, dipping another fry into our shared plate of ketchup.

"New York, once. I took the bus, which was awful. Just me, a backpack of clothes, and my guitar. I only did it to say I did it, but I'm glad I did. I saw how huge the world is just by visiting one city. Same question."

I blushed and hung my head. "I've never been out of the state."

"Really?"

"Really. All my family has always been here, and we just didn't ever leave."

"I'll have to take you to Mississippi sometime then," he smiled. "It's not New York, but it's not Louisiana."

My blush intensified again, and the smile that hadn't left my face in an hour widened. My smitten was totally showing.

"Your question," I said.

"How old were you when you had your first relationship?"

"Twenty, and it was in college, you?"

"Seventeen, high school sweetheart, but it ended when we went off to college."

"What did you go to college for?" I asked.

"I went for business, for two years, but I dropped out because it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. I love music, and even if I never make it big I figure that if I'm doing something I love then it's not a waste of my life."

I smiled, yet again. "That's a very nice way to look at it."

"I'm a positive person," he grinned, dipping another fry into ketchup and popping it into his mouth.

"My question," I said. "We're getting to the big issues here."

"Oh boy," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Bring it on."

"Political views?"

"I'm not any specific party, but I'm definitely more liberal than conservative."

"Same," I said.

"Okay, big issue, big issue… Where do you stand on abortion?"

"Pro-Choice, you?"

"No uterus, no opinion," he laughed. "But I do believe what a woman does with her body is up to her."

"Good man. Do you want kids?"

"I do want to be a father someday, if the right woman comes along. You?"

"As of right now in my life, I can't see myself being a mom, but I'm not opposed to it either. I think if it happens, it happens, and I hope it's with someone I can see myself raising a child with."

"Are you religious?" he asked.

"I grew up going to church every Sunday, and I believe in God still, I just don't think a person has to go to church to get into heaven anymore."

"I never went to church growing up," he admitted. "My mom is a Christian, and she taught us about God and Jesus, but made it clear that it was up to us what we believed. Now I guess I'm agnostic. Does that matter to you?"

"No," I shook my head. "I think if I was a die-hard or something it would, but it really doesn't."

"Whose question is it?" he asked.

"Mine. Hmm… What are you doing on Tuesday afternoon?"

"Interesting question. As of now I have no plans, why?"

"How would you like to meet me here to have lunch? And then if you have no plans that evening, maybe a movie?"

"I would like that very much, but I have bad news," he said.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, that counts as three questions, so I get to lightning round you."

I laughed and threw a fry at him. "Ass!"

"Prepare yourself," he said, so I took a deep breath.

"Ready."

"What's one thing you hate with a passion?"

"Snuggies."

"Favorite book?"

"Harry Potter series. They're magical."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"No," I said, then paused and said, "Have you?"

"No," he answered.

We both stared at each other for a moment, until Alcide broke the silence by chuckling.

"You really hate Snuggies with a passion?"

"Ugh," I groaned. "How dumb do you have to be that you can't work a blanket? Please don't tell me you own one."

"Well…"

"Seriously?"

"Calm down, I don't ever use it. My niece gave it to me when she got me the Spongebob slippers."

"Oh, well that's cute then," I smiled. He did look adorable in those slippers.

"I see how it is."

"I love little kids. I wish my brother would have some so I could spoil them rotten."

"That is always fun. Nothing like giving a kid a sugar high and sending them home for their parents to deal with."

"So evil, but I'd do it to my brother as payback for various childhood wickedness."

We were finally down to the last two fries, so we each ate one, then Alcide insisted on paying the bill. I left the tip on the table, and then we went back out to his truck.

"This was a lot of fun," I said when he started the engine and pulled onto the road.

"It was. I'm looking forward to Tuesday. I do have a question though."

"I thought the question and answer portion of the evening was over," I teased.

"Ahh, but this is a serious one."

"Shoot."

"What's the rule about how long you have to date someone before you can call them your girlfriend?"

I was grinning like a fool on the outside, and on the inside I was jumping up and down on my childhood bed screaming, 'He wants me to be his girlfriend!'

"I think that depends, really. If you ask a girl to be your girlfriend, then ask her on a date, then she already has the title. But if you ask her on a date first, I think it takes at least three before titles are given out."

"And if the guy has tried twice before to date her, and this is the third time, does that mean he can go ahead and call her his girlfriend?"

"I think maybe he should ask her if she wants to be called that," I said, still smiling wide.

"Sookie," he said, quite seriously. "May I call you my girlfriend?"

"Hmm, I don't know if we've been dating long enough."

"S-Seriously?" he asked, glancing at me quickly. I let out the laugh I was holding in.

"Yes, you may call me your girlfriend, but I get to call you my boyfriend."

"Deal."

"Why do I feel like I just made an agreement with a boy in grade school over giving him my dessert for his veggie?"

Alcide laughed, and then his laughter tapered off. "I have one more question."

"Okay."

"The guy you were dancing with, that was the same guy you were meeting for breakfast that day I took you, right?"

"Yes, that was the same guy. His name is Eric, and he's my best friend. If you have any issues with that, you need to tell me now."

I was surprised I hadn't really had to deal with this until now, but Quinn had been the only guy I'd really dated since Bill, and he never saw Eric as a threat that I knew of. There was absolutely no question for me though, if Alcide had a problem with me being friends with Eric, then we simply wouldn't date.

"As long as there are no romantic feelings there, I don't mind your best friend being a guy," he said as though he was choosing his words carefully.

"I think I should probably go full disclosure here and tell you that Eric and I almost shared a kiss once, but it was a one-time thing we worked through, and we're just friends now."

"As long as you're just friends, I'm okay with it."

"Good. And you should also know that he's deaf. He can read lips though, so just annunciate and make sure he can see your mouth. I can translate for him or he'll write down his responses."

"He's really deaf?"

"Yes. We actually met when I yelled at him in the book store where he works because I thought he was ignoring me, but it turned out he couldn't hear me."

"Oooh, that's embarrassing," he teased.

"Yes," I laughed, "it was! But then I started a sign language class and he tutored me. We've been friends ever since."

"I'd love to meet him sometime."

"I'm sure you will soon. Besides, I need to get his impression of you," I warned.

"Impress the best friend, got it," he grinned.

We were almost to my building then, so I told him where to turn and park, and then we were at the awkward moment when decisions are made. Do I invite him up? Do I ask him to walk me up? Would he think I was inviting him up if I asked that? Or do we just end the night here, and would he be okay with that? In the end, I figured that if he tried this hard to get one date, ending it here wouldn't deter him. It felt like we had something good, something I didn't want to screw up by pushing too fast simply because I wanted to get laid.

"Thank you, for dinner, and driving me home," I said, and opened the door.

"Sookie?" Alcide asked before I started to climb out.

"Yeah?"

"May I kiss you goodnight?"

My heart? It melted, just a little.

I nodded, and he scooted closer to me on the bench seat. He tucked my hair behind my ear, and then let his hand linger, brushing my cheek with his thumb as he said, "I've been wanting to do this for a long, long time."

Then he was kissing me. His lips were full, and surprisingly soft, and they moved against my own with an understated hunger that made me appreciate knowing he was holding back. Just as the kiss started to really heat up, Alcide broke it.

"Just a kiss," he said. "That's all I wanted."

Sleep was the only thing that removed the smile from my face that night. I couldn't wait to see him again.

Hi again! I hope you're still enjoying this. Thank you all for reading and commenting! You make this all worth it :) To everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving, I hope you have a peaceful one!