Completed RP with ste_redeeming: Date Night
OOC: Takes place on March 1st. Terry and Ste's first date.
Ste had sent a limo to pick up Terry. He had to work that Saturday afternoon, unexpectedly, but he was not going to put off a date with her again. Nooooo way. So he sent the limo and it picked her up at Xavier's Institute, and drove her back into the city. And then it swung by and picked him up from his penthouse.
He had texted her earlier in the day, just to let her know about the limo, and said she could dress nice if she wanted but it didn't have to be fancy, despite the limo. Just... nice. (He quite expected for her to look beautiful.) And he was dressed nice too... khaki pants and a tight black sweater. He smelled like a fresh shower and a light spicy cologne (not too much, just enough) and he was shaven and looked clean cut.
"Why, hello, pretty lady!" he exclaimed enthusiastically as he got into the back of the limo. He looked at her, somewhat sheepish but a charming apologetic smile on his face. "It's about time, I know. I'm really sorry about last weekend, I am."
Terry smiled widely. "It's alright, really. The flowers more than made up for it. Thank you so much. They were beautiful by the way."
She'd already gotten past her 'must-touch-every-button-to-see-what-it-does' phase before they'd picked up Ste, which she was very grateful for since she'd accidentally opened the sunroof while it was raining lightly, causing her to shriek loudly and clamber to the other side of the limo. Now she was familiar with the controls and put on some light music in the background.
She was glad to see he wasn't too fancy-looking, she didn't exactly own anything befitting of another ball. But postponing the date had actually worked in Terry's favor, since it gave her time to buy a nice simple black dress that looked quite pretty on her, and seemed to fit with the dressy casual look Ste was sporting.
She sat back, looping her arm around his. She couldn't stop smiling.
"So where are we going?" she asked.
"Well that's the thing, now isn't it, pretty lady - you look gorgeous, by the way," he added in, but smoothly transitioned back to the conversation. He asked casually, and as if it wasn't completely out of the blue, "Did you ever read those Chose Your Own Adventure books when you were a kid?"
He doesn't really wait for her to answer, just reaches into his pocket and pulls out three envelopes. He hands them to her. "Because you get to chose your own adventure tonight. Read the outside of the envelope, and let me know which you're intrigued with."
A quote was written on each envelope:
"The vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalized by music."
"What do you mean, funny? Funny-peculiar or funny ha-ha?"
"What I dream of is an art of balance."
Terry examined each envelope carefully, but she couldn't see through any of them. She looked at Ste, giving him a soft smile so he wouldn't chide her for cheating. She returned her attentions to the envelopes and stared at each quote.
"Vertical expression of a horizontal desire is dancing, I think," she mused aloud, "Yup. Music backs that up. Funny makes me think of... a comedy club? Although funny peculiar could mean something different..."
She turned the last one over in her hands, chewing a little on her lip in thought, "Art of balance. Art of balance. Huh. Nope, drawing a blank."
She looked to Ste for help, but he wasn't giving any. She gave an amused, dramatic sigh and put the three envelopes behind her back, mixing them up.
"This is not how I play Choose Your Own Adventure," she added, drawing out one envelope. "What I dream of is an art of balance."
Terry peeked at him, full of anticipation. "Well? And then you have to tell me what the other ones were so I know if I guessed right."
Ste grinned at her choice. "That Adventure? Has two parts. Or, well, it can if you're able to in that nice little dress of yours," he said, playfully eying her up. He chuckled when she turned red.
He told the driver number 3, and they were on their way.
"The first part," he said, explaining the adventure, "is more literal. We're actually going to go and see... art!" He laughed. "Original, yeah? I try. At least it's not the same art show that Jean-Paul had planned for today. That would have probably been a bit much on the first date."
He smiled. "Oh, and you were right about the other two. A night of dancing, which we did do recently, or a stop at a comedy club. Next time, maybe."
Terry tried desperately to ignore the way her stomach flipped excitedly at the idea of a 'next time'. Their current date had barely started yet! But she was enjoying every second so far. He really was quite charming.
"The last thing I need is to run into JP tonight. He'll tease me to no end." she shook her head, smiling. She had a feeling no matter how the date went he'd be getting a full play by play tomorrow. "Art sounds wonderful. I don't think I've been to an art show in... well, longer than I can remember, anyway."
She crossed her legs, her foot brushing his calf. She fiddled with the edge of her dress. "What does the second part consist of? Balance, right? It's not something crazy like rock climbing is it? Or, I don't know, tightrope walking? Are we going to be in a circus?"
He bit his lips, trying not to laugh. He raised his eyebrows. "And how's the hockey thing of yours going? Staying upright and, I don't know, balanced, alright on your own?"
He couldn't help it. He laughed, but it was all in light fun.
"A spin around Rockefeller with me could help. I'm not too bad on a pair of skates. Besides, how romantically cliched is that?"
"Terribly cliche," Terry agreed. "And yet I quite like the idea. Falling wouldn't be so bad if you were there to catch me."
She made a face. "Did I really just say that? Now I'm the one being cliche."
"I certainly don't mind," he said, laughing.
A few minutes later, they arrived at an art gallery. It was a smaller one, not one of the big fancy ones full of old art with extremely famous and dead artists. Ste explained that he actually knew the guy who owned the art gallery. And tonight, there was a little opening going on, too, so it was done up nicely, with waitresses and waiters carrying around trays with glasses of champagne and little ouedeurves.
"There is a theme to the artists new works," Ste said as they came inside. He looked at her and smiled. "Powers. Thought we might be able to relate."
"Yeah, just a bit," Terry agreed.
She took his hand as they made their way through the room, feeling more comfortable and relaxed. He felt warm to her touch, and she wondered if it had anything to do with his power, or if the thought just came to her because of the theme of the exhibit. She was happy to follow his lead as he moved around, her eyes taking in everything. It really was a beautiful display. Every so often they'd stop at a particular piece, exchange thoughts and comments, compliment the artist if he or she happened to be around. Terry avoided the champagne, keeping their next activity in mind. The last thing she needed was to be tipsy while ice skating. But she did sample a few ouedeurves, and they were delicious.
"I'm having a great time, by the way," she said, giving his hand a little squeeze. "Thank you."
"Well it's not done yet, so maybe you shouldn't be thanking me," he said lightly, kidding around. More seriously, and with a squeeze back, he smiled, "You're welcome."
They finished up at the art exhibit, and they got back into the limo, and headed for Rockefeller Center. "So, I came to realize that we haven't really gotten the chance to know each other more. Better, anyway. Up for a game?" he said, eyebrows raised. Laughed at her blush. "Of questions. Twenty of them, even. Anything. No holds barred? You ask first."
Terry gave a sigh of relief, only half-joking, because as her blush could attest to, her mind really had expected something else when he first suggested a game. She sat up a little straighter, preparing.
"Alright. Why don't you tell me more about your kids? I know you have a son and a daughter, and their ages, sort of. Your girl's about Katie's age, and your son is a bit older. Ten, right? Oh wait, that wasn't the question. The question was tell me more about you kids. Except that isn't a question either." She smirked at him, rolling her eyes at her own babbling. "Will you please tell me more about your kids?"
He laughed at her. God, she was cute when she babbled. "I don't think you know how to play this game," he said, leaning back into the car seat and putting his arm up against the back of it, past her head. "But, yes, I'll tell you more about my kids."
He smiled, softly, got that little "I love being a dad" smile on his face, like anytime he talked about his kids. "Yes, Audrey is just a little bit older then Katie, but nothing like her, from what I hear. Audrey is dark haired like her mama, and has a loud personality to match. She's really friendly, and a little firecracker." He laughed. "She tries to pout anytime she doesn't get her way and god help her, she gets it with me. Makes her mom a bit frustrated, but, well. We have a good relationship, her mom and me, we're friends. That's helpful."
He frowns, slightly. "Andrew is my son. He's ten years old. His mom and I don't have a good relationship at all, and that's frustrating. But he's a good kid, and I keep in touch with him as much as I can. Knows how to use email now so that's helpful. He's... Well, to be quite honest," Ste says with a grin, "he's like a miniature John. Sort of moody and grumpy, but a good guy, all around. Has his sweet moments. And he loves his little half-sister. It's too bad they don't get to see each other more often. Really too bad," he added softly.
He turns to her and shrugs. "Those are my kids. Want to tell me a bit about you family?"
She chewed her bottom lip a moment, then shrugged. "Not a whole lot to tell. I'm an only child, my mother died when I was a baby. I was raised by my uncle, and met my dad when I was a teenager. He passed away last year, and I haven't seen my uncle in a few years. I'm uh, not really very close with him."
She made an irritated noise in the back of her throat. "Yeah, that's not how we should be playing this game." She squirmed a little in her seat and gave a mischievous smile. "When was your first kiss?"
If Ste questioned himself or thought he did something wrong, he didn't show it. He remained confident and smirked. "I was thirteen. Darla, beside the school yard monkeybars after school. Yours?"
"Oooh, the monkey bars, huh? In public and everything?" she teased. "Though I guess we have that in common. Fourteen years old, during a game of Spin The Bottle. His name was Mark."
She leaned her head against the seat. "So does that count as four questions or two? I really don't know how to play this game." she admitted, looking sheepish.
"It was just a game to break the how-do-I-ask-more-personal-questions-ice," Ste said, and grinned a bit sheepishly himself. "I'm... not actually sure all the rules and stuff. But, anything you want to know? Just ask me. Whenever. Cool?"
Just then, the limo pulled over, and Ste paid attention to their surroundings. "Speaking of ice... ready for a little bit of skating?"
"Absolutely. Though I wouldn't mind playing that game again sometime." She winked at him, and accepted his hand as they climbed out of the car.
While Ste rented the skates, Terry grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt from their gift shop, because there was no way she was going to skate in a dress. She bought them herself when he wasn't looking. He already did enough tonight without having to buy her clothes. She changed quickly and soon enough they were out on the ice.
"I'm not very good at this," she warned, slipping a little even as she said it. "My brain gets the basic idea, but I think my legs don't."
He held on to her elbow, helping her steady herself on her feet. He laughed. "It's not so bad," he said, skating with ease. "I mean, I only learned a year or two ago, but it just takes a bit of practice. I much prefer heat over ice." He let her go to let her find her own balance, and skated easily around her in large, loopy circles, as comfortable as if he was born on ice.
He reached out his hand and she took it, and they started an easy pace around the rink. "So how's the hockey thing going anyway?"
"It's going well, if you don't count the fact that I use falling as my way of stopping." She gripped his hand tighter as her balance went, but he held her steady and she found it again. "Jean-Paul thinks he's going to beat us all single-handedly, and John won't play. But I'm having fun. You should come see a game sometime."
She watched his feet, noting the way he moved with the skates, and trying to mimic it. Already she felt a difference, felt more steady. And she trusted he'd turn them at the right time so she didn't crash into a wall.
"What do you do for fun, Ste? Besides dancing and ice skating and working out?" She laughed and shook her head. "No wonder you look so great."
It was really saying something that she didn't blush when the words left her mouth. She already felt comfortable enough with him to say that. She smiled softly and went back to looking at her feet.
He took the compliment gracefully and didn't act smug about it, but he knew. Oh, he knew how fit and good looking he was.
"I volunteer with an inner-city youth program. Gang prevention, and drug awareness, things like that," Ste said. "Or, well, that was my cover before Freedom Force went public, but I'm still involved with it because it's a good thing to do. Plus, I can draw from real life experiences." He shot a sideways glance at her, but then continued on quite jovially. "Can you keep a secret? Seriously, you can not tell Jean-Paul or John will have my balls, but."
Ste laughed before he could even get the words out of his mouth. "The reason John won't play is because he can't skate." He laughed some more, remembering when John very reluctantly (and gruffly) admitted that to him. "Ask him about it, and he'll go into a big spiel about how being a teenaged runaway didn't leave time for such frivolous activities, and that whole ice thing he can't stand, but. It is still sort of funny. But don't tell him I said anything," Ste added on quickly, and very seriously. "Balls and all. I wouldn't put it past the asshole to exact revenge."
Terry laughed good-naturedly. "My lips are sealed. Promise. I would never make fun of him for that anyway." She gestured to herself. "Come on, like I'm really that much better."
Her voice softened, and she added a little more seriously, "It's good, what you do. Helping people." She avoided the last bit he'd mentioned, not because it bothered her, certainly she had her own share of transgressions in the past, but she just didn't want to push it. Maybe if they played 20 questions again she'd bring it up. She squeezed his hand, even though her balance was fine.
He squeezed her hand back, and they continued their skate, with light chat and making up stories about the other skaters they saw there. After nearly an hour, and some fingers starting to freeze and muscles starting to ache, they decided to take their leave of the rink. Ste returned the skates and Terry got changed back into her dress and coat.
"Not that's more like it," he said, handing her one of the hot chocolates he bought for them, and eyed up her legs, laughing. They started to walk back to the limo. "Come on, lady, your chariot awaits. Thought I'd ride in the limo back to the Institute with you, give you some company," he said, grinning.
"You're too kind," she said, grinning back. She looped her arm around his, resting her head on his shoulder, well upper arm really, as they walked.
They climbed back into the limo and were soon on their way. Terry couldn't help but notice that they were sitting much closer to each other this time.
"Well it's official," she said. "I had a wonderful time. This was really too much Ste, I'm usually a dinner and a movie type of girl. I can't believe how much you did. Thank you. So much."
She kissed him lightly on the cheek, pulled away a few inches, paused a moment. Gave the smallest hint of a smile, and kissed him on the lips.
He kissed her back, gently, but very interested. He brought his hand up to lightly rest on her cheek.
He leaned back and smirked, a little bit, "Well, I do have two more dates planned, you know. We could always try those ones some other time. If you're interested?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in her direction. He really wasn't all that concerned on the answer.
She rolled her eyes at him because really, would she have kissed him if she wasn't interested?
"Very," was all she said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Good," he said confidently, and kissed her again. It wasn't as if they didn't have a little bit of time for it.
Ste had sent a limo to pick up Terry. He had to work that Saturday afternoon, unexpectedly, but he was not going to put off a date with her again. Nooooo way. So he sent the limo and it picked her up at Xavier's Institute, and drove her back into the city. And then it swung by and picked him up from his penthouse.
He had texted her earlier in the day, just to let her know about the limo, and said she could dress nice if she wanted but it didn't have to be fancy, despite the limo. Just... nice. (He quite expected for her to look beautiful.) And he was dressed nice too... khaki pants and a tight black sweater. He smelled like a fresh shower and a light spicy cologne (not too much, just enough) and he was shaven and looked clean cut.
"Why, hello, pretty lady!" he exclaimed enthusiastically as he got into the back of the limo. He looked at her, somewhat sheepish but a charming apologetic smile on his face. "It's about time, I know. I'm really sorry about last weekend, I am."
Terry smiled widely. "It's alright, really. The flowers more than made up for it. Thank you so much. They were beautiful by the way."
She'd already gotten past her 'must-touch-every-button-to-see-what-it-does' phase before they'd picked up Ste, which she was very grateful for since she'd accidentally opened the sunroof while it was raining lightly, causing her to shriek loudly and clamber to the other side of the limo. Now she was familiar with the controls and put on some light music in the background.
She was glad to see he wasn't too fancy-looking, she didn't exactly own anything befitting of another ball. But postponing the date had actually worked in Terry's favor, since it gave her time to buy a nice simple black dress that looked quite pretty on her, and seemed to fit with the dressy casual look Ste was sporting.
She sat back, looping her arm around his. She couldn't stop smiling.
"So where are we going?" she asked.
"Well that's the thing, now isn't it, pretty lady - you look gorgeous, by the way," he added in, but smoothly transitioned back to the conversation. He asked casually, and as if it wasn't completely out of the blue, "Did you ever read those Chose Your Own Adventure books when you were a kid?"
He doesn't really wait for her to answer, just reaches into his pocket and pulls out three envelopes. He hands them to her. "Because you get to chose your own adventure tonight. Read the outside of the envelope, and let me know which you're intrigued with."
A quote was written on each envelope:
"The vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalized by music."
"What do you mean, funny? Funny-peculiar or funny ha-ha?"
"What I dream of is an art of balance."
Terry examined each envelope carefully, but she couldn't see through any of them. She looked at Ste, giving him a soft smile so he wouldn't chide her for cheating. She returned her attentions to the envelopes and stared at each quote.
"Vertical expression of a horizontal desire is dancing, I think," she mused aloud, "Yup. Music backs that up. Funny makes me think of... a comedy club? Although funny peculiar could mean something different..."
She turned the last one over in her hands, chewing a little on her lip in thought, "Art of balance. Art of balance. Huh. Nope, drawing a blank."
She looked to Ste for help, but he wasn't giving any. She gave an amused, dramatic sigh and put the three envelopes behind her back, mixing them up.
"This is not how I play Choose Your Own Adventure," she added, drawing out one envelope. "What I dream of is an art of balance."
Terry peeked at him, full of anticipation. "Well? And then you have to tell me what the other ones were so I know if I guessed right."
Ste grinned at her choice. "That Adventure? Has two parts. Or, well, it can if you're able to in that nice little dress of yours," he said, playfully eying her up. He chuckled when she turned red.
He told the driver number 3, and they were on their way.
"The first part," he said, explaining the adventure, "is more literal. We're actually going to go and see... art!" He laughed. "Original, yeah? I try. At least it's not the same art show that Jean-Paul had planned for today. That would have probably been a bit much on the first date."
He smiled. "Oh, and you were right about the other two. A night of dancing, which we did do recently, or a stop at a comedy club. Next time, maybe."
Terry tried desperately to ignore the way her stomach flipped excitedly at the idea of a 'next time'. Their current date had barely started yet! But she was enjoying every second so far. He really was quite charming.
"The last thing I need is to run into JP tonight. He'll tease me to no end." she shook her head, smiling. She had a feeling no matter how the date went he'd be getting a full play by play tomorrow. "Art sounds wonderful. I don't think I've been to an art show in... well, longer than I can remember, anyway."
She crossed her legs, her foot brushing his calf. She fiddled with the edge of her dress. "What does the second part consist of? Balance, right? It's not something crazy like rock climbing is it? Or, I don't know, tightrope walking? Are we going to be in a circus?"
He bit his lips, trying not to laugh. He raised his eyebrows. "And how's the hockey thing of yours going? Staying upright and, I don't know, balanced, alright on your own?"
He couldn't help it. He laughed, but it was all in light fun.
"A spin around Rockefeller with me could help. I'm not too bad on a pair of skates. Besides, how romantically cliched is that?"
"Terribly cliche," Terry agreed. "And yet I quite like the idea. Falling wouldn't be so bad if you were there to catch me."
She made a face. "Did I really just say that? Now I'm the one being cliche."
"I certainly don't mind," he said, laughing.
A few minutes later, they arrived at an art gallery. It was a smaller one, not one of the big fancy ones full of old art with extremely famous and dead artists. Ste explained that he actually knew the guy who owned the art gallery. And tonight, there was a little opening going on, too, so it was done up nicely, with waitresses and waiters carrying around trays with glasses of champagne and little ouedeurves.
"There is a theme to the artists new works," Ste said as they came inside. He looked at her and smiled. "Powers. Thought we might be able to relate."
"Yeah, just a bit," Terry agreed.
She took his hand as they made their way through the room, feeling more comfortable and relaxed. He felt warm to her touch, and she wondered if it had anything to do with his power, or if the thought just came to her because of the theme of the exhibit. She was happy to follow his lead as he moved around, her eyes taking in everything. It really was a beautiful display. Every so often they'd stop at a particular piece, exchange thoughts and comments, compliment the artist if he or she happened to be around. Terry avoided the champagne, keeping their next activity in mind. The last thing she needed was to be tipsy while ice skating. But she did sample a few ouedeurves, and they were delicious.
"I'm having a great time, by the way," she said, giving his hand a little squeeze. "Thank you."
"Well it's not done yet, so maybe you shouldn't be thanking me," he said lightly, kidding around. More seriously, and with a squeeze back, he smiled, "You're welcome."
They finished up at the art exhibit, and they got back into the limo, and headed for Rockefeller Center. "So, I came to realize that we haven't really gotten the chance to know each other more. Better, anyway. Up for a game?" he said, eyebrows raised. Laughed at her blush. "Of questions. Twenty of them, even. Anything. No holds barred? You ask first."
Terry gave a sigh of relief, only half-joking, because as her blush could attest to, her mind really had expected something else when he first suggested a game. She sat up a little straighter, preparing.
"Alright. Why don't you tell me more about your kids? I know you have a son and a daughter, and their ages, sort of. Your girl's about Katie's age, and your son is a bit older. Ten, right? Oh wait, that wasn't the question. The question was tell me more about you kids. Except that isn't a question either." She smirked at him, rolling her eyes at her own babbling. "Will you please tell me more about your kids?"
He laughed at her. God, she was cute when she babbled. "I don't think you know how to play this game," he said, leaning back into the car seat and putting his arm up against the back of it, past her head. "But, yes, I'll tell you more about my kids."
He smiled, softly, got that little "I love being a dad" smile on his face, like anytime he talked about his kids. "Yes, Audrey is just a little bit older then Katie, but nothing like her, from what I hear. Audrey is dark haired like her mama, and has a loud personality to match. She's really friendly, and a little firecracker." He laughed. "She tries to pout anytime she doesn't get her way and god help her, she gets it with me. Makes her mom a bit frustrated, but, well. We have a good relationship, her mom and me, we're friends. That's helpful."
He frowns, slightly. "Andrew is my son. He's ten years old. His mom and I don't have a good relationship at all, and that's frustrating. But he's a good kid, and I keep in touch with him as much as I can. Knows how to use email now so that's helpful. He's... Well, to be quite honest," Ste says with a grin, "he's like a miniature John. Sort of moody and grumpy, but a good guy, all around. Has his sweet moments. And he loves his little half-sister. It's too bad they don't get to see each other more often. Really too bad," he added softly.
He turns to her and shrugs. "Those are my kids. Want to tell me a bit about you family?"
She chewed her bottom lip a moment, then shrugged. "Not a whole lot to tell. I'm an only child, my mother died when I was a baby. I was raised by my uncle, and met my dad when I was a teenager. He passed away last year, and I haven't seen my uncle in a few years. I'm uh, not really very close with him."
She made an irritated noise in the back of her throat. "Yeah, that's not how we should be playing this game." She squirmed a little in her seat and gave a mischievous smile. "When was your first kiss?"
If Ste questioned himself or thought he did something wrong, he didn't show it. He remained confident and smirked. "I was thirteen. Darla, beside the school yard monkeybars after school. Yours?"
"Oooh, the monkey bars, huh? In public and everything?" she teased. "Though I guess we have that in common. Fourteen years old, during a game of Spin The Bottle. His name was Mark."
She leaned her head against the seat. "So does that count as four questions or two? I really don't know how to play this game." she admitted, looking sheepish.
"It was just a game to break the how-do-I-ask-more-personal-questions-ice," Ste said, and grinned a bit sheepishly himself. "I'm... not actually sure all the rules and stuff. But, anything you want to know? Just ask me. Whenever. Cool?"
Just then, the limo pulled over, and Ste paid attention to their surroundings. "Speaking of ice... ready for a little bit of skating?"
"Absolutely. Though I wouldn't mind playing that game again sometime." She winked at him, and accepted his hand as they climbed out of the car.
While Ste rented the skates, Terry grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt from their gift shop, because there was no way she was going to skate in a dress. She bought them herself when he wasn't looking. He already did enough tonight without having to buy her clothes. She changed quickly and soon enough they were out on the ice.
"I'm not very good at this," she warned, slipping a little even as she said it. "My brain gets the basic idea, but I think my legs don't."
He held on to her elbow, helping her steady herself on her feet. He laughed. "It's not so bad," he said, skating with ease. "I mean, I only learned a year or two ago, but it just takes a bit of practice. I much prefer heat over ice." He let her go to let her find her own balance, and skated easily around her in large, loopy circles, as comfortable as if he was born on ice.
He reached out his hand and she took it, and they started an easy pace around the rink. "So how's the hockey thing going anyway?"
"It's going well, if you don't count the fact that I use falling as my way of stopping." She gripped his hand tighter as her balance went, but he held her steady and she found it again. "Jean-Paul thinks he's going to beat us all single-handedly, and John won't play. But I'm having fun. You should come see a game sometime."
She watched his feet, noting the way he moved with the skates, and trying to mimic it. Already she felt a difference, felt more steady. And she trusted he'd turn them at the right time so she didn't crash into a wall.
"What do you do for fun, Ste? Besides dancing and ice skating and working out?" She laughed and shook her head. "No wonder you look so great."
It was really saying something that she didn't blush when the words left her mouth. She already felt comfortable enough with him to say that. She smiled softly and went back to looking at her feet.
He took the compliment gracefully and didn't act smug about it, but he knew. Oh, he knew how fit and good looking he was.
"I volunteer with an inner-city youth program. Gang prevention, and drug awareness, things like that," Ste said. "Or, well, that was my cover before Freedom Force went public, but I'm still involved with it because it's a good thing to do. Plus, I can draw from real life experiences." He shot a sideways glance at her, but then continued on quite jovially. "Can you keep a secret? Seriously, you can not tell Jean-Paul or John will have my balls, but."
Ste laughed before he could even get the words out of his mouth. "The reason John won't play is because he can't skate." He laughed some more, remembering when John very reluctantly (and gruffly) admitted that to him. "Ask him about it, and he'll go into a big spiel about how being a teenaged runaway didn't leave time for such frivolous activities, and that whole ice thing he can't stand, but. It is still sort of funny. But don't tell him I said anything," Ste added on quickly, and very seriously. "Balls and all. I wouldn't put it past the asshole to exact revenge."
Terry laughed good-naturedly. "My lips are sealed. Promise. I would never make fun of him for that anyway." She gestured to herself. "Come on, like I'm really that much better."
Her voice softened, and she added a little more seriously, "It's good, what you do. Helping people." She avoided the last bit he'd mentioned, not because it bothered her, certainly she had her own share of transgressions in the past, but she just didn't want to push it. Maybe if they played 20 questions again she'd bring it up. She squeezed his hand, even though her balance was fine.
He squeezed her hand back, and they continued their skate, with light chat and making up stories about the other skaters they saw there. After nearly an hour, and some fingers starting to freeze and muscles starting to ache, they decided to take their leave of the rink. Ste returned the skates and Terry got changed back into her dress and coat.
"Not that's more like it," he said, handing her one of the hot chocolates he bought for them, and eyed up her legs, laughing. They started to walk back to the limo. "Come on, lady, your chariot awaits. Thought I'd ride in the limo back to the Institute with you, give you some company," he said, grinning.
"You're too kind," she said, grinning back. She looped her arm around his, resting her head on his shoulder, well upper arm really, as they walked.
They climbed back into the limo and were soon on their way. Terry couldn't help but notice that they were sitting much closer to each other this time.
"Well it's official," she said. "I had a wonderful time. This was really too much Ste, I'm usually a dinner and a movie type of girl. I can't believe how much you did. Thank you. So much."
She kissed him lightly on the cheek, pulled away a few inches, paused a moment. Gave the smallest hint of a smile, and kissed him on the lips.
He kissed her back, gently, but very interested. He brought his hand up to lightly rest on her cheek.
He leaned back and smirked, a little bit, "Well, I do have two more dates planned, you know. We could always try those ones some other time. If you're interested?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in her direction. He really wasn't all that concerned on the answer.
She rolled her eyes at him because really, would she have kissed him if she wasn't interested?
"Very," was all she said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Good," he said confidently, and kissed her again. It wasn't as if they didn't have a little bit of time for it.