I checked my wall clock and saw that I only had forty minutes until I had to meet Grant at the movies. Not a lot of time, but not too little to ruin anything. I just had to take a quick shower, choose a cute outfit and then call Kat when I was ready to go.

Laurie was off with Chrissie buying the stuff for the party, so I had the house all to myself until I left. The place was quiet, but that was to be expected. It was weird not seeing Dad watching TV, but he should be on a plane to Kansas for the weekend. It was the most time he'd spent out of the house since losing his job, and he was visiting Uncle Cletus, so it was for the best.

I quickly stripped down to just my panties and wondered for a brief second why that seemed odd to me, then quickly hopped in the shower. I had this second weird sensation that the water seemed warmer than usual, but I ignored it. I assumed it was just me feeling all hot and bothered or something. Nothing to really worry about.

My hair seemed longer, though. Weird.

I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and wrapped a towel around my chest. As I blow-dried my hair, there was a knock at the door. Was Laurie home already?

Dad answered my silent question by asking, “Ashe, is that you, honey?”

Oh shit! If Laurie came home with all the stuff for the party and Dad was still here…

“Yeah, Dad!”

“Where’s your brother?”

Great, I had to answer that question. “I think he’s on a date with Chrissie.” I had to ask, “Weren’t you supposed to be on your plane by now?”

“Delayed for some weird ass reason. Taking off at about six tonight.”

Six, was only an hour away. Granted, the airport itself was less than a half hour away, and it was tiny, so Dad probably wouldn’t need to wait too long to get on the plane. We only had a tiny airstrip with like three planes in total. This town wasn’t huge or anything.

I could use that to my advantage. The movie theater wasn’t too far from the airport, I could get a ride from Dad and wouldn’t need to call Kat. That would save me some of her annoying teasing, though I’d need to worry about Dad giving me “the talk” about how to deal with my boyfriend.

I opened the bathroom door and he was standing there, doing something on his phone. “Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?” He looked up from his phone and had this weird look on his face, almost like he wasn’t sure what he was looking at.

“Can you give me a ride to the movies?”

“Oh, seein’ something tonight?”

“Yeah. I dunno what yet.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Who are you going with, young lady?”

I reached around behind myself and grabbed my other arm. “Grant,” I answered, knowing my face was beet red.

“Really? Hmmm… Football player, your best friend… Have you two been foolin’ around?”

I’m pretty sure my face went from beet red to tomato red. “Dad!”

He laughed, then patted me on the shoulder. “Oh, calm down, honey, I know you better than that. Yeah, I’ll take you to the movies so you can spend a couple hours in the dark with your boyfriend.”

I smiled, threw my arms around him and almost squealed, “Thank you, Daddy!” I hadn’t called him “Daddy” in years. I felt like a little kid again, for whatever reason.

I hurried into my room and unwrapped the towel and let it drop to the floor. Getting him to take me to the theater would be another benefit, because then Laurie and Chrissie could get home while he was taking me, and then he’d drive off to the airport. This would actually all work out just fine, it seemed.

I opened my underwear drawer and rooted through my panties to find just the right pair. I found a cute pink pair and slid them up my legs. I knew exactly what bottom I was going to wear, so I quickly retrieved the little black miniskirt and stepped into it. Next I pulled on a pink bra. For whatever reason, it felt like I’d never worn one before, but I knew I had for years now, so whatever was wrong with me was something I’d need to deal with later. I grabbed an orange tank top out of my closet and dropped that over top of me, making sure it covered my bra straps well enough. Didn’t want Grant getting any ideas, after all. Last but not least, I slid my feet into a cute pair of bright pink flip flops.

Fifteen minutes left before we needed to go, I sat down at my vanity and started painting my nails. Yellow was my absolute favorite color, but today I wanted to go pink. Maybe it was just because I had a boyfriend, or maybe I just wanted a change for a day. Like Mrs. Morfran said, “beauty is change”. Grant, hopefully, loved me either way, though.

A little blush, a little eyeliner, some bright red lipstick, my makeup was finished and perfect. Next came jewelry. I put my cute heart necklace on, then grabbed a silver charm bracelet. My last piece of jewelry was a pair of heart shaped stud earrings that I bought alongside my necklace. I hadn’t worn them since I bought them, and this seemed like the best time.

I took a quick look in the mirror and realized that I hadn’t really styled my hair. It just fell in loose curls, just barely hitting my shoulders. I liked that look a lot, especially as the ends brushed past my shoulders. I wondered how long I’d had this sort of casual “style” without realizing it. I cursed myself for not noticing sooner.

I almost slid down the stairs, I was moving so quickly. I’d just managed to finish getting ready before Dad and I had to leave. I stopped in front of him and did a little goofy runway pose. I used to do that all the time when I was a kid. It’s how I got my nickname, “Flashy” Ashley. I’d just put on cute clothes and model them for Mom and Dad. I hadn’t done it for awhile, at least since Mom died. It made me miss her some more.

“You’re seeing a movie dressed like that?” Dad asked.

“What? I wanna look good for Grant.”

“Trust me, if he’s anything like I was at your age, he’s probably gonna be picturing you naked most of the time, anyway.”

I rolled my eyes. “Dad…”

He chuckled. “I’m just givin’ ya shit, honey, don’t worry about it. Now get your ass in the truck so I can drive you to your boyfriend.”

I just smiled.

Later…

I gave Dad a quick hug before getting out of the truck. He just gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me to have a good time before driving off to the airport. We just managed to miss Larry and Chrissie showing up at the house, and luckily they didn't pull any bags out of Chrissie's car.

I couldn’t remember the last time Grant and I went to the movies together, but this was a very different situation. Today, we weren’t just going as the best friends we’d been ever since we were kids, it was as a boy and a girl seeing a movie together on a date. As far as I knew, we were just seeing a movie, though I couldn’t say I’d be disappointed if we ended up going to dinner afterward or anything like that. It’d be romantic. And, honestly, romance was something I’d be very interested in.

Grant was waiting for me in the lobby. When he saw me, it was just like this morning on the bus, his eyes were so bright it was like he was seeing me for the first time. Actually, though, it was probably just him realizing that the girl in front of him was his girlfriend, not just a girl who was his friend. In a way, he really was seeing me for the first time.

“Hey, Ashe,” he said as I got closer to him, “you look… Wow…”

I giggled. “You’ve seen me in stuff like this before.”

He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I know, but… I mean… This is the first time we’ve been here like this. It’s the first time you’ve dressed like that for us.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged myself close to him. “I didn’t dress this way for us. I dressed this way for you.”

He laughed. “Okay, that was kinda sappy.”

I kissed him and then lightly tapped him on the nose with my finger. “Hey, you lemme have a soap opera moment.” I giggled again. “Just remember, you’re gonna havta draw moments like this when we get Joey and Brenda together.”

He nodded. I noticed his hand was on my ass and I didn’t have any problem with it. “I guess you’re right.”

I smirked. “I’m your girlfriend, I’m always right.”

He rolled his eyes. “Already with that stuff, huh?”

I kissed him again. “Yup.”

He smiled. “I shoulda known. Well, how about we go decide what to see?”

The theater had this big billboard with the posters for the movies they were currently showing. It dominated one wall of the lobby, right behind the ticket booth. There were sixteen screens, though we didn’t get every movie that was out in our theater. It was mostly the big ones. There were some we’d already seen together, and I wasn’t really sure what it was I wanted to see.

“Um… Slender Man or The Meg?” I asked.

He scratched at his chin. “Are those really our only choices?”

“We’ve seen almost everything else already.”

He chuckled. “We shoulda started dating earlier this year, then.”

“Hey, you just needed to ask.”

He kissed my cheek. His lips were so warm. “I’m up for The Meg, how about you?”

Not like there was much choice. “I’m game for Jason Statham fighting a super shark,” I answered.

Like a classic boyfriend, Grant paid for the both of us, which was a good thing, because I didn't even realize I didn't bring my wallet. I coulda sworn I had my purse with me, though in my haste to leave before Laurie got home, I probably forgot about it. He even got the popcorn and drinks, too, which was an extra I wasn't expecting. I was so glad he didn't try the whole “cut a hole in the popcorn bucket and slip your dick through” trick on me. Wheeler once told me of a time he did that to his now ex-girlfriend Valentina Hodges. She converted to lesbian shortly after that.

When we walked into the theater, I was amazed. Friday night and the place was almost completely empty. It was us and another couple who were already busy making out in the third row. I wanted this to be a classic date, where Grant and I sat in the back row and we could cuddle as much as the crappy seats would allow.

Lucky me, he obliged.

The lights dimmed for the previews shortly after we sat down. I held my soda with one hand while Grant held my other. I don't know what it was, but there was something so… Unique about this whole situation, something I'd never felt before. Certainly I'd gone to the movies with other boyfriends, why did this feel so new and exciting? What was different about this one?

Then I realized exactly why this one was different. This wasn’t just some guy I saw with a good looking body and a winning smile, this was Grant. He’d been my friend for so long that this went beyond mere boyfriend/girlfriend like it had been with every other guy I’d dated. He’d always been sweet to me, and while this was our first real date, we’d always been close enough that people had treated us like we were dating. Hell, Kat was amazed this was our first date, because she thought he was my rebound guy whenever I was between boyfriends.

The lights finally went out and the logos (there were a lot of logos, like almost a minute of logos) went by. The theater still hadn’t populated at all, so it was still just us and that other couple that I swear had moved from making out to having sex, because I could hear something that sounded like moans.

I looked over at Grant and saw that he looked like he was about to fall asleep. He looked so cute like that, but I didn’t want him to fall asleep because I knew I’d fall asleep at that point. Instead, I took a chance I didn’t even realize I’d been wanting to take: I climbed on top of him and pressed my lips to his. He woke up with a jolt, but as soon as he realized what was going on, he grabbed hold of my hips and held onto me. I could tell by his “reaction” (if you know what I mean) that he had exactly zero problems with what was going on.

Later…

I gave Grant another kiss as he left me at the front door. He then walked back to his house and I enjoyed a wonder view of his ass as he did. The cool breeze blowing up my skirt then reminded me that I needed to get inside or else I’d probably stand there just thinking about all the making out we did during the movie.

Y’know, now that I think of it, I had no idea what happened during that movie. I was laying on top of Grant the whole damn runtime, enjoying his tongue mixing with mine. Oh, and I let his hands slip around places I probably wouldn’t have with any other guy on a first date. I felt he deserved a treat.

Larry was sitting on the couch watching TV, already drinking one of those beers he got with Chrissie this afternoon for the party tomorrow. “Jesus, you spent like fifteen minutes on the porch kissing,” he said, with a laugh.

“Who are you? Dad?”

“No, but you coulda texted me and warned me about that.”

“I was busy. I didn’t even know he was still here until I got out of the shower.”

He patted the couch cushion beside him, so I sat down. He then handed me a beer. “Well, we got lucky. And from the way you were watching Grant walk back to his house, you got pretty lucky tonight, too. Am I gonna be an uncle?”

I coughed and nearly spat some beer out. “Uh, we didn’t fuck, you asshole. It was a movie, we just made out for two hours and then he walked me home.”

“Hey, don’t act like it didn’t cross your mind.”

I legitimately couldn’t deny that. Letting Grant have his way with me wouldn’t have been the worst thing to happen to me, and hell, even being pregnant with his child wasn’t something I was completely against. Still, I was sixteen and that was way too young to be thinking about making babies with my boyfriend. “It didn’t, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter,” I lied.

He put his arm around me. Larry could be an asshole, but he was still a great brother. “If I told you that Chrissie and I have had sex in the movie theater, would that put you at ease?”

“Uh, no, and you haven’t.”

“But how would you know?”

“Because Chrissie’s my friend and I’d know if you two had sex anywhere, including the movies.”

“What if I told you I had pictures?”

“You don’t have pictures.”

He sighed. “You’re right, I don’t.”

“And besides, if Chrissie had had sex, she’d have blown up her Facebook about it using vague but obvious terms, like that time you two snuck out Biology to grope one another.”

He smirked. “Good times.”

“Whatever.” I gulped down the last of my beer without even realizing I’d drank so much of it, got up, walked to the kitchen and dropped the bottle in the trash. “I’m gonna go do some writing and then head to bed. Don’t forget, we’ve gotta get up early to get everything ready, since the party has to end before the game.”

He raised his bottle in affirmation.

I walked upstairs, then into the bathroom to wash off my makeup. After that, I went to my room to change from my skirt and tank top into a nightie. I tied my hair into a cute ponytail and sat cross legged on my bed. I figured I’d get about a half a chapter done on the webcomic and then some done on that story for Creative Writing.

As I worked on the webcomic, I realized about seventeen pages in that I’d created a new character that shared their name with the lead in my Creative Writing story. Huh. Looks like I’d accidentally created a shared universe between something Grant and I were doing for fun and a school project that I was just having fun doing. I wondered how he’d react to that. Maybe when we got the website set up for the comic, we’d set up a section for side stories I could write. I could come up with a whole town full of characters that each had their own story, kinda like Stephen King did with his stuff.

My phone buzzed. I grabbed it and saw that Grant was texting me that he’d gotten home.

c u tmrw big sexy I texted with a wink face emoji.

c u babe Babe! He called me babe! I felt butterflies in my stomach. Words couldn’t explain how excited I was that this new stage in our relationship had happened.

About an hour and a half later, I pulled my blanket over top of me, shut off the lamp on my nightstand and went to sleep thinking of what I’d wear during our party tomorrow. I’d even try to work it into the webcomic to make Grant draw it eventually.

Tomorrow would be a day to remember.