Right Where You Left Me

chapter fifteen

He was going to be arriving to pick her up in fifteen minutes and she was nowhere near ready.

Rayna had gotten a text from Steve earlier that day reminding her that he would be coming to pick her up at 7. Since then she slowly began to get ready, having a shower, drying her hair, dancing around the guest bedroom she currently occupied at Bucky and Emily's house... it was a long process. Maybe she was dragging it out because she was nervous, but she was also excited. She had missed Steve, even though she had tried to move on. The part of her heart that was his still ached for him.

When she was halfway through styling her hair, while singing loudly to Taylor Swift, Bucky banged on the bedroom door. "He's going to be here in an hour! I know how slow you are Rayna!"

She stuck out her tongue at the door and continued. Maybe it was time to pick up the pace a little bit.

And now her hair was done, a light layer of makeup applied, but she had no idea what to wear. Rayna just stared at the meagre contents of her bag and sighed. Yes, most of her belongings, including her clothes, were still in Oliver's apartment. There was nothing here to wear for her second first date with Steve.

She groaned in frustration then heard another knock at the door.

"Ugh, Bucky go away! I know he is on his way but I have nothing to wear!"

 "I think I can help you with that," a small voice said from behind her.

Rayna whipped around and saw that Emily had opened the door a crack and was peeking in. "Buck was starting to worry that you were going to back out, so he sent me to help."

"Emily," she sighed. "I only have what I bought at Target last week and what I brought with me from Clint's. These are not date outfits!"

With a smile, Emily held out her hand and nodded her head down the hallway. "Come with me."

Rayna obliged her and followed until they were in front of her best friend's fiancee's closet.

"Pick whatever you would like, Ray. We're the same size so that's not a problem. But you have to choose like, right now."

She glanced over at Emily with widened eyes. "You know, no pressure or anything."

They laughed briefly then Rayna stepped into the walk-in closet. There was so much to choose from, and not enough time to really think it through. What colour should she go for? A dress? A skirt with a cute top? Add a jacket? What about jeans? She looked back at Emily with a look that screamed 'I am overwhelmed' and her friend pointed at the rack of clothes to her right.

"In the middle there? See it? Navy blue cocktail dress. There. Put that on, grab a pair of shoes and let's go! He'll be here any second."

Rayna nodded, grabbed the hanger that held the dress, and worked as fast as she could to put it on. When she extended her arms to show off how she looked, Emily gave her a wink and a nod, then the doorbell rang.

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Not wanting to be the kind of girl that ran to the door to open it for her date, Rayna waited in her borrowed bedroom for a few minutes while she listened to the low tones of Steve and Bucky's voices chatting to each other. How they always found something to talk about she would never understand. Did they ever run out of topics? Surely if you were talking to someone every day you would eventually have nothing left to say.

With a deep breath and final look in the mirror, she opened the door and made her way into the living room. Steve immediately turned his head to look at her, and rose to his feet. He was wearing an off-white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and fitted black jeans. It was simple, but still made him look incredible.

His eyes roved over her until they met her gaze. "You look beautiful, sunshine."

Rayna felt herself blush as she smiled at him. "Thanks. You look pretty great yourself."

Steve matched her smile and took a step towards her, extending his hand. "Ready to go?"

She nodded and placed her hand gently in his. It felt just like she remembered. Soft, but strong. The heat of his body radiated off of him, warming her skin. Her heart fluttered at the look in his deep blue eyes, and it almost became hard to breathe.

"Ready," Rayna replied softly.

His smile brightened as he gave her hand a little squeeze, then started guiding her towards the door.

"Don't keep her out too late, punk! She has a strict curfew!" Bucky shouted as they were on their way out.

Rayna rolled her eyes and responded. "Bye Bucky! Don't wait up!"

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The evening had been going so well.

Steve had helped her into the car, and they made small talk as he drove her to the nearby Italian restaurant. She couldn't keep her eyes off of his right hand, that he kept clenching and flexing as he rested it on his thigh. Rayna knew that he desperately wanted to rest it on her knee, but was glad Steve knew it was maybe a bit too soon into their reconnection to do that.

When they arrived she waited in her seat for him to come around and open the door for her, because she knew that he would be upset if she didn't. And after letting the host know they had a reservation, Steve tucked her chair into the table before seating himself.

After ordering drinks and an appetizer to share, they started to fall into more comfortable territory. Reminiscing about their life before his disappearance, and Rayna telling funny stories about things he had missed. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him, with the way his eyes sparkled and he seemed to be so happy to be there with her.

In her heart, Rayna felt peaceful. She had come home. He was her safe place. And the love that she knew he still held for her hadn't wavered for a second since he found her again.

Clearing her throat, Rayna set down her wine glass. She extended her hand across the table towards him, and his eyes were bouncing between her and her palm.

"Steve, I just want you to know that..."

Just as his fingers were grazing her open hand, she heard a familiar voice coming up behind her that she had hoped she would never hear again. No, not now. Not in this moment. Not with what she wanted to say to Steve.

"Well, look at this. Rayna and Cap. You two didn't waste any time."

She clenched her jaw and looked at Steve, who had completely tensed. Shit.

"Oliver." Rayna moved her gaze upwards to meet the cold blue eyes that she now realized she had tried to use as a replacement for Steve's. "What are you doing here?"

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I warned you! Now things are going to be a bit crazy!

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