Chapter 1769 - The First Date (3)

"A drive-in movie theater?", Becca asked when Gabriel stopped the car at their designated spot on the massive lawn in front of the huge white screen which was showing commercials. He said a movie, so she assumed that it will be the standard cinema experience with cramped seats and all the accidental-touching that the darkness provides.

He hummed in confirmation and got out of the car.

Becca watched Gabriel as he got two pillows and a blanket from the trunk.

"This is one of the things I always wanted to do but somehow I never got a chance to. Do you mind?"

Becca shrugged. "It's fine. It's just unexpected. I assumed that we will go to a standard theater."

Gabriel paused and looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"Is that where you usually go on a date?", he asked.

Gabriel saw that Becca lowered her head and he cursed himself for the blunder.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I asked that."

Actually, he knows. Her words made him think of a boy next to her, touching and who knows what in the back row of a dark theater and he was consumed with jealousy.

Bacca was overwhelmed by many emotions and none of them were warm and fuzzy. Any infatuation she built up so far was shattered at the thought that he thinks she is a promiscuous girl. He didn't say it, but she can read between the lines just fine.

"Is that what you think of me?"

Gabriel could hear the hurt in her voice and he wanted to apologize again, but she was still talking...

"Is that why you got those pillows and blanket? Keep them back. I want to go home."

Gabriel closed his eyes and counted to five before responding. "I said I'm sorry."

"Sorry does not fix things, Gabriel. If you don't want to take me home, I will manage. Thank you for the ride and for dinner. The evening was great up to one minute ago."

Gabriel saw Becca getting out of the car and he tossed the pillows and blanket on his seat before rushing to block her way. 

"Please, Becca… give me a chance to explain. If after you hear me out, you still want to go home, I will take you."

Becca took a step back, to increase the distance between them, and crossed her arms over her chest, silently giving him permission to speak.

Gabriel inhaled forcibly. Talking about his feelings turned out to be harder than he thought it will be. He learned early that there are things he needs to do and that his feelings don't matter so he ended up suppressing them to the point of ignoring them. And he never explained his reasons to anyone because in the Long household, only the actions and results matter. The longer he is with Becca, the more he finds out that he is not a well-functioning human.

"You said that you thought it will be a standard movie theater and I assumed that is because you were there previously… with someone else… and I was jealous. I am sorry."

Becca expected several things but this… "Jealous? Of what?"

"The thought of another man by your side."

A number of expressions flashed over Becca's face until it settled on a frown. "We don't know each other. Even if your assumption is correct, you don't have the right to be jealous. Jealousy implies that I belong to you and I don't. And just to set the record straight, this is my first date. Thanks for ruining it. Actually, the ride and the dinner were great, so you scored on two out of three. If I add the flowers, that makes it three out of four and statistically, it's a success. Can you take me home now, or should I call a cab?"

The information that this is her first date hit him hard. He remembered Becca's story of how her mother dragged her around the world, and she didn't have much freedom, and that in the last two years she is focusing on her education. This is her first date… and he ruined it.

"I know it's my fault for speaking without thinking, but do you really hate me?"

Becca rolled her eyes. "Hate is a strong word. Don't be dramatic. Nothing you say will change the fact that you accused me of serial-dating and you even got the pillows and blanket to make it more comfortable while getting frisky. Well… it's not going to happen."

Gabriel panicked. This turned from bad to a total disaster. "Getting frisky? No, no… you got it all wrong. I saw on the website photo where people lay on the hood of the car and watch the movie. And I thought of giving it a try. The pillows are so that I don't need to put my head on the hard windshield, and it would not be right to get only one pillow for myself. And the blanket is completely optional… it helps if it gets chilly, or against the mosquitoes."

Becca exhaled before admitting: "Fine. I jumped to conclusions about the pillows and the blanket. I am sorry for assuming that you are a lecherous man."

Gabriel saw this as his chance to fix things. "And I jumped to conclusions based on your comment about the type of the theater. That makes us even. Right? I hope you know that I never thought of you as a serial-dater, but the mental image of any boy touching you was uncomfortable; not because I want to own you, but because I see you as a pure girl and I hope that my behavior so far is in line with that. Can we set aside the last few minutes and resume like they didn't happen? I would like to get a perfect score for your first date."

Becca relaxed and responded with a small nod.

Gabriel gestured toward the car. "You are welcome to stay in your seat if you wish, but I will try the hood-experience. The blanket is for you because my clothes cover me up well, while your cardigan can cover either your arms or your legs but not both…"

As Gabriel spoke, Becca realized that her temper got the best of her. Her mother didn't protect her and more than once she spotted mother's lovers giving her strange looks and the only way to keep herself safe was to push people away and throw a tantrum before they get a chance to get too close. And she did the same with Gabriel. Now she felt guilty. This is a date, isn't that the occasion where people get close to each other?

Becca accepted the pillow and the blanket with a barely audible 'thank you'.

"What do you want to drink? Is popcorn fine? We can get the one with extra butter and get messy. They also have candies and hotdogs…"

Gabriel spoke while checking the console from where he can place the order, and the order will be delivered to their parking spot.

They just came from dinner, so neither of them were hungry. They got a soda each and a big basket of popcorn. It all arrived with a handy tray that had grooves for cups and the basket so that it does not topple. Gabriel and Becca settled on the hood of his car with the tray in-between them.

The movie started and only then Becca realized that it's a superhero movie. She likes comedies, but when Gabriel asked her if she has preferences she responded that anything is fine so now she can't complain. Well, it's better than a documentary or a horror movie.

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