The following Saturday Caitlin arrived at the Cinema with more than a trace of nerves and a great deal of anticipation. She was going to flatten them when she saw them, that was her first thought when she spotted Jared lounging idly by a parked car a few metres from the entrance to the cinema, and there was no sign of Candy or Nigel. The closer she got to Jared the harder her heart pounded.
Pinning on a confident look she kept walking toward him. "Hi. Are we early?" Caitlin asked as she reached his side. She thought she was running late. It was a deliberate ploy. She did not want to arrive early and have to deal with a conversation about her running away from that dinner. For they all knew that is what she had done. She certainly did not want to get there early and find herself with just Jared for company.
"I got a message." Jared began somewhat cryptically. Caitlin narrowed her eyes sensing what he had to say was not going to be what she wanted to hear. Panic registered. "Text message from our pair of matchmakers." He told her with a broad grin. Caitlin groaned silently. It looked like this cinema outing was going to involve just her and Jared. "Apparently they can't make it." He quirked a brow as he noted Caitlin's reaction. Ok, so she, unlike him, was not looking forward to being together, and unlike him, wasn't pleased to find that it would be just the two of them on this date. "But we aren't to let that stop us from going."
Caitlin shook her head and huffed out a sigh, wondering how she was going to get out of this situation. Caitlin far from pleased to learn that Jared was here on his own. This was not good. She had counted on Candy and Nigel being here as buffers. Knowing they would be here was the only reason she had shown up herself! She was not ready to face Jared on his known. Not yet. She was usually a confident woman. She intended to develop some sort of mechanism to help her when she did meet Jared. But as yet she hadn't figured out what that mechanism could be. This man was dangerous to her heart and soul.
"So." He looked pointedly at the cinema, and said, "What do you want to do?" Keep it light he told himself, having seen the sheer panic in her eyes when she'd heard Nigel and Candy were not going to be there. He was hoping she would not take the coward's way out but her body language did not look positive.
"Why are you asking me?" She asked with little graciousness which she regretted instantly.
Jared was tempted to laugh. She really knew how to dent a man's ego. Worse still she didn't know she was doing it! Jared stepped closer, "Because I know what I want to do. I thought it polite to find out what you want." He was still frustrated about last night. She'd bolted. They needed to talk and she'd bolted at the first opportunity. But after sleeping on it, he thought her reaction last night was a good sign. She was rattled. That's why she'd run!
Caitlin folded her arms, huffed out another sigh and felt as if everything was about to go belly up. "This is ridiculous." She looked at him and threw him a frosty scowl as she accused, "I guess you have the vouchers."
He smiled, and just the sight of that small gesture had her pulse racing. This is exactly why she shouldn't be here! He didn't have to do anything, he just had to be, and her brain scrambled, her heart thundered, her pulse raced.
"I mysteriously have two. I should have questioned why they gave me two of the tickets." Jared at the time Nigel handed him the envelope last night was still pondering on why Caitlin had bolted. His mind was only half on listening to Nigel, so Jared accepted the tickets without thinking about why he needed to have two. Candy could have kept them until the met up today.
"Yes, you should." Caitlin chastised.
"So I take it you don't want to go on a date." Jared stated quietly.
"A date?" That brought the panic back on. A date. Just him and her. Her shields weren't up. She wasn't ready for this. How was she supposed to survive a date with him?
"Yes, you, me, cinema. Would constitute a date for most people."
"Cinema is fine." Caitlin mumbled.
He chuckled accepting her dig. "Ah, it's me, so.."
"Ohhh!" Caitlin grabbed his arm. She was used to working in war torn, poverty ravaged environments, and here she was letting a date with one man scare her half to death! "Just come on." This was not going to be a big deal, she just had to treat it as a normal event. Him, her, cinema. Normal. Him, her, cinema. Normal. She kept repeating those words as they walked forward toward the cinema
Jared fell just little bit more in love. This is what he liked about her. Her direct, no nonsense approach. She did not filter her response to him. Whether it be in their verbal exchanges or when they kissed. She gave a hundred percent. "You always this bossy?" He teased relieved to find they were on their way to a date with just the two of them.
She ignored his question, and headed for the cinema door. "What are we seeing?" Keep it practical. That should help to stem the nerves. Going to the cinema was no big deal. She did it often enough. With her friends, not some guy who had the ability to make chaos in her heart and head appear the norm. Now was not the time to wish she had spent her youth kissing lots of frogs so that her experience with this prince was one she could handle!
Always a good idea to let the lady choose. That's what his experience had taught him. "What do you want to see?" He countered curious about the expression in her eyes She looked as if she was trying to appear nonchalant.
"Now there's a question." She murmured, then glanced at the boards as they strolled closer. "Sci Fi, comedy, kids, or romance." She surmised as she read more of the detail for each film. "So, what's it to be?" She glanced over her shoulder. Jared shrugged. "Kids, and romance are out."
"What's wrong with romance?" Most of his previous dates would have opted for that without hesitation. In the hope that it set the mood for the rest of the date. Trust Caitlin to be different.
"Nothing. You want to watch this?" She gestured toward the poster.
"I didn't say that." He wasn't into chick flicks. But if that's what she wanted to see, he could tolerate it. His interest was her. Sitting beside her in a semi darkened environment was a good starting point. He was already envisioning draping his arm along the back of her seat.
"So what would you like to see?" She asked with a scowl when she found him studying her.
"What's showing next?" He asked. She read the timing out aloud. "Sci Fi it is." He said. "If that is ok with you." He looked at his watch. They had another hour to go. So deciding to take command he suggested, "Let's go get something to drink, we've got an hour."
"Fine."
"You know you really are doing wonders for my ego." He said dryly.
"Your ego can stand it." She retorted and headed for the door. His lips kicked up at the corners. There she was. His woman! Caitlin waited at the door for him, and scowled again when she saw him grinning happily. Why wasn't he annoyed! Caitlin rolled her eyes, "There's a pub just round the corner, will that be ok?" The more people around the better, was her thinking.
"Sounds good." They walked in silence the short distance, then stepped into a noisy crowded, smoky bar. Jostling past a crowd of teenage lookalikes they made their way to the bar. "What would you like?" He leaned over to ask loudly.
"White wine and soda."
He gave their order then looked around. "It looks less crowded over there." Not by much. Caitlin thought. Jared paid for their drinks and then with a glass in their hands they made their way toward the patch of floor that had yet to be completely occupied. They threaded their way through the huddles of people, with Jared leading the way. It afforded Caitlin an opportunity to see the reaction he garnered as he carved a path through the crowd. Men and women alike took note. The women looked at him and instantly perked up. The men looked at him and instantly scowled in concern, more so when they noted their dates were tracking Jared's progress.
Jared found a small area that offered a trace more room and there was a slight edge near the wall that allowed them to place their glasses on the ledge.
"Not a good idea." He had to shout to be heard above the din in the room. But at least that afforded him an opportunity to lean closer to her. After all if they wanted to hold a conversation they'd have to be closer to be heard.
"Sorry. I..."
"Don't apologise, I was just saying, that's all." He told her. She sipped her drink, wondering whether the noise level would limit their options for social chit chat. Jared inched closer and then leaned to speak close to her ear, "I guess it's obvious what Candy and Nigel are up to, right?" He caught the scent she had dabbed behind her earlobe. It was light and fresh. Jared had to work hard not to nibble on her ear lobe. But that last thing he wanted was to blow this date. So patience is what he recommended.
"When I find them I am going to flatten them for this little set up." Caitlin turned her head to speak so that he could read her lips. Instead she found herself practically lining up for a kiss, as their heads moved into position and their lips were a fraction of an inch from contact.
"Come on, I'm not that bad." He whispered, his eyes darting to hers and then back to her lips. He could not risk the kiss. She had bolted last night after that kiss.
"You have your moments." She murmured, her gaze heating and a frisson of electricity sparked between them. Then someone jostled past and nudged Caitlin back into an awareness of her situation. She licked suddenly dry lips and stepped back. Automatically she reached for her glass. Jared reached for his.
They both took sips and glanced around trying not to make eye contact with each other.
"You were having a good time with Douglas." Jared wanted to work up to the statement Douglas had made about Caitlin believing she wasn't in their league. "At the cottage."
She smiled in remembrance when she thought about Douglas and his stories. "He's nice."
"Yeah, as is his girlfriend." Jared retorted.
Caitlin turned to study Jared. He seemed rather intense. "Are you warning me off?" She scowled.
"No, I'm just telling you his girlfriend is nice." Jared put his glass back on the high table and once again glanced around. If she read his eyes she'd see that he was jealous.
"Surely he's capable of looking out for his own interests." Caitlin muttered.
"Yeah he is."
"So why are you warning me off?"
"You are reading too much into this." He turned back to stare at her. She was frowning. She bit her lip to stop herself from continuing to argue. When she reached for her glass, his hand stopped her. "Ok. Sorry." He waited for her to look at him, "I was ...." He shrugged. "Your relationship with Doug is your affair." He closed his eyes as his clumsy wording registered. "That isn't the way I meant to say what I wanted to say." He grimaced.
"Why don't we just call this off?" She suggested quietly, "I mean we can hardly manage a civil conversation together."
"We can manage really well, if I just remember not to be so bloody stupid."
His candidness broke the deadlock. She laughed. Then took a sip of her drink. They stayed in the bar. Initially they talked about Candy and Nigel. And then Douglas. Jared told Caitlin how he and Douglas came to be such close friends. Then much to her surprise she learnt that Jared had a half sister, who currently lived in Australia. Which had Caitlin asking for more information, information that other people might have considered personal. She learnt that Jared and his younger sister, Ailsa were fathered by the same man. She also learnt that Jared, Ailsa, Doug and Ryan were later in their childhood looked after Doug and Ryan's paternal grandmother as their mothers had all but surrendered responsibility for those children. He seemed very matter of fact when he described his childhood, but from the tenseness in his jawline Caitlin could see that it still had the power to hurt. Given his honesty about his family background, Caitlin found herself telling him about the horrific time in her life, when a robbery went wrong and her mother was killed. That spell of half an hour was the most revealing, not just in terms of personal information shared, but in terms of the fact that subconsciously they trusted each other to have that information.
Fifteen minutes before the film was to start they headed back to the cinema.