Rain Check?

~22~

Chris POV

  "Sure you still want that second date with a fangirl?" Dempsey jokes with me even though I thought I already told her I don't see her as a fangirl, but I get the feeling she's willing to give me an out if I so wish to take it.

  I don't want the out.

  "Nah," I tell her, my head agreeing with my words. "I don't want a second date. I want the third, the fourth, the fifth, the months of anniversaries."

  My own words surprise me a bit, and from what I can tell they shocked her too. She says my name, barely audible, almost softer than a whisper.

  There's too much that I've decided I like about this woman to toss it aside because she's a fan of a comic book character that I just happened to portray for ten years. 

  As she put it earlier, she's a Steve Rogers fan, not a Chris Evans fan.

  I'd be lying if I didn't say how much it meant to me to hear her refer to me as Carly's brother, Ethan's uncle and the guy who asked her to dinner that happened to be named Chris.  It made my heart skip a beat, reminding me that I've not been known as those things for many years outside of family. 

  Could this be what normal feels like?

  And that's when I confirm my own thoughts aloud with her. "I want to see where this can go, if you're willing to try it out with all the cards on the table."

  She hesitates, for longer than I'd like, causing me to feel like this will end before I walk back out to my car. "I'm just confused," she finally admits.

  I sit back against the couch again, her hand still in mine. "Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you, Demi."

  "Why?"

  I blink a couple of times, trying to see if I can register exactly what she means from the single word. I'm not sure I can. "Why, what?"

  Dempsey's hazel eyes watch me thoughtfully, watching me in a way that I'm not sure I've experienced before.  She releases my hand, pulling her knees to her chest, resting her chin there as her arms wrap around. "Why me?"

  Well, at least there's more than one word this time. But it's a question that I'm not sure I can adequately answer at this point. I just know there's something. Something about her. Something that she makes me feel about myself even. 

  "Why not you?" I chuckle quietly. "You're beautiful for one-"

  Her hands immediately let go of her legs and cover her face. "Hey," I take her hands in mine, removing her from her hiding place. "You can't ask me why you and then hide from me when I give you an honest answer." 

  "But, you called me beautiful," she shakes her head. "You've never said that to me."

  "Ah, but I have called you cute."

  "Dogs are cute," she reminds me. "It's a nice word to use without coming off as though you're hitting on someone."

  "Demi, I was hitting on you the first day I met you at the gas station when I called you cute, and when I teased you for your choice of made up cuss words. I hit on you that night at Tara's. Why do you think I wanted you to play beer pong with us? Or making you smile while playing that stupid game."

She points a finger at me, "Because you're the boy on the playground pulling on the girl's pigtails?"

 I ignore her, although she has a point. "Why do you think I ran after you when you went to your car? Or tried to get you to come back inside. Not to mention, I hung out with you most of the night on the field trip."

  "You said you felt out of place otherwise," she tells me. But assure her it's more the enjoyment of her company.

  Okay, looks like I'm gonna have to admit a little something that I've kept out of conversations with my family the last couple of days. "When you were teasing me about dropping the apple, I fought absolutely every instinct within me to not lean over and kiss you right then." Her eyes grow wide, surprised. "But, I didn't think it was quite appropriate given the setting we were in and well, ya know your job and all."

  'Not to mention when I danced with you,' I think to myself, choosing to hold that information to myself a bit longer. 

  "You didn't treat me like a celebrity, which has made all of our time together more personal to me. Hell, even when I was very openly flirting with you it didn't quite seem to phase you."

  "In my own defense," she frowns, "I can be sort of terrible with that sort of thing, even though I did find you attractive."

  This girl, I can't. She's just so damn adorable.

  "You call me out, and I appreciate that," I laugh. "You fit right in with the rest of my family because of it. They already adore you, so why wouldn't I?"

  I watch as she stands up from the couch, moving towards the center of the room. "How can this work, though?" 

  I follow her, grabbing her arm to stop her from pacing. "Well, I think it starts with another date, and continuing to get to know one another," I duck my head down a bit, making sure she looks at me as I speak. "This works like any other dating situation."

  She doesn't seem convinced. "But you're you-"

  "And you're you," I stop her. "We are two people, with two separate jobs, and two separate lives that want to get to know one another. Right?"

  Dempsey takes a shallow breath, exhaling through her mouth, the smell of coffee still on her breath, fanning my face. "Right."

  "So, then that's what we do."

  "But, regular people don't have to worry about being plastered across tabloids and websites," she points out.

  "You're right," I commend her. "And we can play this out however you want, whatever you're comfortable with. I'm completely fine with dating you without making it known to the world, but I want you to know that I want to take you out. I don't want to hide away with you while we get to know one another. But, if that's how you want to play this out, then I'm game. You're in control of this, Dempsey."

  I see the slightest glint of mischief come across her face, as she seems to be holding back a devious smile. "Okay, with that look, I'm intrigued. Talk to me," I request with a smirk myself.

  "I'm in control of this?" she repeats my statement, but in the form of a question pointed towards me.

  "Yes," I drag the word out, my eyes narrowing a bit as she takes a step closer to me.

  "So, hypothetically, if I, a person in control of our situation," she points to herself, "asked the guy I barely know, but have gone on a date with, to kiss me, do you think he would oblige my request? I mean, hypothetically of course."

  My brows raise a bit while my lips turn up a bit, enjoying not only where this is going, but how natural this is beginning to feel. "Hypothetically?" I repeat, biting my smile back a little. I pull out my acting skills, sucking in a breath through my teeth, even pocketing my hands in my jeans and rocking on my heels. "I mean, it's possible I suppose, but it would depend on whether or not she felt comfortable enough asking such a thing."

  "Good to know." 

  "I agree," I say, now crossing my arms against my chest.

  "Chris?" 

Her playful look continuing, making me take a step closer to her this time. "Dempsey?"

  "Kiss me?"

  I let my smile finally grow. "With pleasure."

*Unedited.

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