Letting my imagination run wildly..

Anthony was wearing a gray t-shirt with white stripes and jeans; his black sweater was draped over his arm. He leaned casually on his seat, his eyes locked with mine, and he was still smiling.

And dear lord, he looked--dare I say it--hot.

"Not what you were expecting?" he said as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Duh", I said. "What do you think?"

He laughed. "You know, I was sort of expecting you to say that you were in the hospital, being treated for severe brain damage".

"You must be so disappointed", I said, pouting.

"You have no idea", he said, with a wink.

"So you'd rather talk to me while I'm lying in a hospital bed?" I asked testily.

Anthony shrugged. "That way I'll be safe in case I said anything to offend you. You wouldn't be able to do anything while your strapped down".

"I thought you said hospital? I didn't know you were referring to an asylum". I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, don't take this the wrong way", he said as he put up his hands in mock-surrender; "I was just having fun".

"Imagining that I'm in a hospital for freaks is fun?" I said. Where the heck is this conversation heading?!

"Alright, you win", he sighed in defeat. "I'm just trying to loosen you up".

"Do I seem tense to you?"

"Kind of. Well, not just you, but everyone else".

"And you aren't?"

"A little bit", he said indifferently.

"Good for you", I said.

He looked at me, as if trying to decipher the truth behind my words--even though there really isn't. His gray eyes scanned my face, then they snapped up to lock themselves into mine again.

"So, what brings you here? Were you doing your homework in the library?" I said before he even had the chance to open his mouth.

"Nope. I was over at Jake's. I heard you shouting to Benedict a while ago. You distracted me from my homework. I could have told you myself but he blocked the whole window", he said innocently.

"I was not shouting! And how was I supposed to know that you were there?" I said indignantly, trying to stop myself from smiling. Goodness, its harder than I thought.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. You were talking to him with raised voices", he said sarcastically. "Better?"

"Better", I agreed, nodding.

I took another sip from my drink, suddenly aware that he was looking at me--again. I tried to act as if it didn't bother me, but in truth I really wanted to poke his eyes out; it was starting to get annoying.

"Do you need to study tonight?" he suddenly asked.

I put down my drink, thoughtfully. We were to meet again at Carly's in the morning; good thing our professors gave us a week off to study for our finals. I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow's study session, but it wouldn't hurt to read a bit when I get back to the dorm. My curfew isn't for another few hours, so...

"Just a little bit", I answered. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thought you'd like to hang out for a while", he said, trying to sound like it didn't matter.

"You mean, like a date?" I said mischievously.

"Maybe", he said, flashing a smile.

I shook my head, but I was smiling. "And what if I don't agree to come along?"

"Then I will tie you up, gag you, then drag you wherever I want to go", he said cheerfully.

"What a way to a girl's heart", I said with a slight edge to my voice.

You wouldn't think that he had eyes from the way he laughed. They just disappeared. Literally.

"So, is that a yes?"

"How much time do I have to think about it?" I vaguely remembered how insistent he was on us going to the beach with him and his gang. Somehow I knew that he wasn't going to stop bothering me until I give in, but a little fun wouldn't hurt.

"About twenty seconds".

"Just twenty?"

"Yup. I'm not extending that".

"Why not?"

"Because we're wasting time!"

"Ugh. You are so impossible".

"Ten.."

"Hey! I thought you said twenty?"

"You already lost the first ten seconds, dear". A shiver went down my spine when he said "dear". Holy crap, what am I getting myself into?

"That's not fair!"

"Tut, tut. Temper, temper".

"Well, your built-in countdown timer's malfunctioning".

"Seven.."

I groaned, but I wasn't mad. I was actually enjoying myself. And he can see that.

"Five.."

I rolled my eyes as he wagged his finger in front of me.

"Four..Three..Two.."

"Fine. Where do you plan to go?" I sighed, pretending to be severely saddened that he was taking me out. But I failed. Miserably. I really need to work on hiding my emotions more.

"One", he ended, his eyes glinting, and his smile even wider than I've ever seen since we first met. I raised my eyebrow at him, questioning him even without speaking.

"It's a surprise", he said, totally unfazed.

"You've been planning this all along, have you?" I said teasingly.

"Of course, not! I wasn't even expecting to meet you today. I'm supposed to go somewhere, this was just a side-trip".

"Is it far?" I asked a little nervously. I couldn't afford to stay out so late.

"Not really. You just have to trust me".

I didn't answer, but my eyebrow shot up again.

"Is that a hard thing to do?" he said. Now he sounded nervous.

Good question, though, I thought. Did I really trust him enough to go wherever he pleases? Or rather, do I really trust him at all?

Well, he has been nothing but nice to me so far; but then, what? Even that isn't enough to start building trust on. I surveyed his face, careful not give away my thoughts. But I didn't need to wait long for an answer; I already trusted him. Then why the hell am I hesitating?

Anthony looks cute when he's nervous; his thumbs were twitching against each other and he was looking at me with--what's that?--fear, in his eyes? No, it must be some trick of the light. But he still looked nervous--and cute.

Slowly, the blood rushed to my cheeks, but I tried to keep them in check. So I looked at him, and smiled.

"No. It's not", I said softly.

He relaxed a little bit, and he was back to his teasing-bouncy self in a flash. He stood up.

"Shall we?" he said gallantly, holding out his hand.

"We're not going to dance, are we?" I said, eyeing his outstretched hand.

"No, silly. I am going to take you to your chariot", he said, still not dropping his demeanor.

"Chariot? No pumpkin-carriage?"

"The pumpkin-carriage is unavailable tonight. At least, with your chariot, you don't have to worry about being home before midnight".

I giggled, then I looked up at him. He was still smiling, and I couldn't help but smile, too. I took his hand. It felt incredibly warm, and soft; and again, a shiver went down my spine. I was tempted to ask if he felt it, too; but thank goodness my brain was still being logical despite these rather odd sensations. And besides, that might ruin the moment. I wouldn't want to be the wet blanket on our first date.

First date, already? Wow. I wonder how the guys are gonna respond to this.

He helped me stand up, and I felt him slip his fingers in between mine. "This way, my lady".

Then we walked toward the door. He still didn't let go of my hand.