Sunshine just bright enough to be uncomfortable made him squint his eyes and fold down the visor as they rolled through downtown Plano. All kinds of quirky little shops lined the street. He had no idea how half of them could afford to stay open, so niche they seemed. Really, how many dog outfits could you actually sell in a month? Tax dodges, maybe? In any case, Richard Rice was finally in his passenger princess era.
Julie Cohen's brand-new BMW had a plush leather interior, the most comfortable seats he'd ever experienced, and a Sirius Satellite Radio receiver.
"Wow, I've heard about these," Rich said in interest. "May I?"
"Of course!" the girl answered a bit too eagerly. This was the first time they'd been alone together, really alone. It was Saturday, Becca was so sore from a week of workouts that she could barely walk, and Chili's didn't have either of them scheduled, so why not let Julie take him out for coffee?
Rich could think of plenty of reasons why not, but he'd agreed without considering the implications, so this was on him. Was this a date? Well, let's just say he was wearing a very nice button-down shirt that was tight in all the right places but "not slutty" according to his sister. She should know, right?
He glanced at the raven-haired girl in the driver's seat. The crown of her head nearly brushed the roof of the car, even with her seat all the way back. She gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white, her stiff body language providing an amusing counterpoint to the smoothness of the ride.
"You look nice," he complimented, had to give the poor girl something. She really did, wearing a designer blouse and jeans that made her look fancy without being tryhard, an outfit her athletic body filled out well.
"I, uh, I mean, you, thank you," Julie stammered, a furious blush creeping down her cheeks and spreading all the way down to her long, pale neck.
It's a date, he decided. Rich felt a tremendous sense of empathy for her. He could remember well his first time taking a hot girl out in his original life, how nervous he'd been, how he struggled trying to think of the right thing to say, the right way to act. This was the same, just...reversed. It would be best to set her mind at ease now.
"Relax, Julie. You've got me; you won. We're dating now."
The girl's head snapped towards him so fast he heard her neck crack. "Really?" she asked hopefully, her eyes wide in stunned disbelief.
"Eyes on the road," he corrected her, humor in his voice.
"What? Oh, right, of course." She sounded suitably chastised and returned her focus to the path ahead.
"You want this to be a date, right? Not coffee as friends?"
"No! I mean, yes! I mean, I want this to be a date!" Her vocal volume was all over the place, modulating from quiet to loud with every syllable like she'd lost the ability to control it.
"Stop." He put a hand on her forearm to ground her. "You asked me on a date. I said yes. I'm not going to date anyone but you. So that means we're dating now," Rich said reasonably.
"Right, right." Julie's head was nodding along like his logic was absolutely impeccable.
"But we're going to have to set some boundaries."
Julie's voice went small. "Boundaries?"
"Yes, boundaries. It's not something huge, but it's important we agree on this now. You ready to hear it?"
"Of course! Anything! Lay it on me!" Julie was talking like he was about to give her a quest or something.
"It's about physical stuff," he began. Julie visibly stiffened. "Nothing further than kissing until I turn eighteen, okay? That's in February. It's April now. Will you be fine with that? Waiting that long?" With how horny women seemed to be in this world, he was somewhat worried she wouldn't be.
"Hah!" Julie violently exhaled, then started laughing. "Oh, thank god," she said through a case of the giggles. "I thought it would be something crazy. That's fine, better than fine. I'm not super experienced anyway. To be honest, I was kind of anxious about it."
"Wait, really?" He thought for sure Julie would be some kind of player.
"I've had a private quarterback coach since I was twelve. My life is football, Rich. Athletes aren't like you think; we're not partying all the time. Hell, I've got a nutrition plan and a bedtime. This is my first date, like my first date ever, you know? Believe me, the fact that I made time for you means I'm serious."
Rich hadn't realized it was so involved. High school football had never been something he even thought about outside of practice or games. He guessed that was one of the reasons why he didn't play in college.
The silence lingered for a little while before Julie spoke up again. "Uh, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but how about you? Do you have...experience?" she asked hesitantly.
"No. This is my first date, too." In this life, he added silently.
"Good, I mean, uh, not that I would think any less of you, but this being new to both of us is kind of cool, right?"
"I agree completely."
Whatever was wound tightly in Julie looked like it was rapidly unwinding as she eased back in the driver's seat. "Thanks, seriously. You made this so easy, you know? You're not like the other boys, Rich."
In more ways than you know. He fiddled with the satellite radio. "Do they have Howard, I mean, Helen Stern on this thing?"
"Yep! Totally uncensored too. It's wild. They've got music channels with no commercials, every genre you can think of, and tons more talk shows. Once you get used to satellite, you can't go back to regular radio." She considered for a moment. "I could probably buy you one for Tony the truck. How about it? A 'thanks for being my boyfriend' present?"
Rich wanted to say no, but it sounded like this was something Julie really cared about. "I'd like that."
"Consider it done!" Julie said excitedly. She pulled the BMV into a parking lot behind a coffee shop with a sign that said "Ground Rules". "Ground Rules is new, but it's already popular. Some critic for the Dallas Morning News wrote an article about it. I read the whole thing on the internet."
"Well, if it's on the internet, it must be good, right?"
"That's what I thought, too!" Julie said eagerly as they walked in.
Ground Rules looked pretty chill, with a menu written on a chalkboard and a sparse interior with cozy couches, little tables spaced around a tile floor, and exposed brick walls. It would be years before places like this actually became trendy. Rich enjoyed soaking up a little bit of history.
"Listen, Rich," Julie whispered in his ear after staring at the menu in silence for a good sixty seconds. "I've never gotten coffee before. Do you know what's good?"
Rich studied the menu himself. The line wasn't long, and they'd be ordering any minute. "Do you like chocolate or milk better?" he asked.
"Chocolate," Julie answered instantly.
"Then you want something called a cafe mocha. That's like coffee plus chocolate."
"Word, word," she replied like this was profound wisdom. "What about you? I'm paying, you know. My Mom's rich. See how they've got some treats too? Like muffins and shit. You can get whatever you want."
Rich took a look at their little bakery section and made a decision. "Okay, then. You're getting a cafe mocha, and I'm getting an americano. Get two chocolate croissants to go with it, one for each of us."
Julie ordered for them both, and they got a cozy little table in the corner. "This smells amazing," she said as they sat down.
"Let it cool a bit before you start sipping," he warned her.
She paused with the cup at her lips. "Right, you're smart, Rich." Setting her drink down, Julie started munching on her chocolate croissant. "Ah maw gaw," she said with her mouth half full, "this is amazing!" Her long legs were bouncing happily.
"Thought so," Rich said, and took a bite himself. "Chocolate croissants are the ultimate food to have with coffee. Muffins are mid compared to this."
"Mid, yeah, definitely mid." Julie was probably going to agree with whatever he said at this point, which was fine. She took an experimental sip of her coffee and went totally still.
"Too hot?" he asked worriedly.
She shook her head silently, eyes squeezed shut, in pleasure or pain, he couldn't tell. "Best boyfriend ever," she said after swallowing.
He laughed out loud. "That good, huh?" His americano was also quite good. Who knew some hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in random ass Plano, Texas would be on this level?
"Rich, seriously, I was so worried about today, but you noticed I was nervous and you helped me." She reached across the table and timidly took his hand. "Even something like helping me choose the right coffee, you have no idea how much it means to me. I swear I'm going to be the best girlfriend ever."
They were having a nice little moment when Rich saw a squad of Stinger soldiers get out of a van outside. When Julie saw it too, she completely flipped. "Daughter of a bitch! Today of all days? Rich, sweetie, can you stay here while I deal with this?"
Julie deal with Stinger? He couldn't let that happen; it wasn't safe. "But I-"
She squeezed his hand tighter. "Trust me, okay?" Her eyes were so imploring and her tone so sincere, all Rich could do was nod. "Stay here, I've got to go get something from my car."
Rich was fully prepared to transform into Future Hero in the bathroom, or right here, if it looked like Julie was in danger, but he needn't have bothered. Julie didn't go anywhere near the Stinger soldiers when she left to go to her car. Somehow, Spider Queen Nyte picked just that moment to appear, but she wasn't leading the Stinger mooks; quite the contrary. She was screaming at them.
He couldn't quite make out what she was saying through the coffee shop's storefront glass wall, but body language was enough. There was pointing and shouting and scolding. The Stinger soldiers hung their heads low in shame while Nyte launched into a furious tirade over their many deficiencies. Her goth girl makeup, especially the purple eyeshadow, was already running. Apparently, Spider Queen Nyte was one of those people who could get so mad they burst into tears.
Shoulders slumped in shame, the Stinger soldiers climbed back into the van they had come in, looking quite defeated. Once they drove off, Nyte left as well. Rich returned to his half-eaten croissant and half-drunk cafe americano, hoping Julie was okay.
Five minutes later, his date returned. Julie's face was wet with tears of her own, and raw like she'd been scrubbing it. She pulled him into a tight hug. "Rich, you must've been so scared! Don't worry, I'll make sure they never come anywhere near you again! This didn't ruin the date, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course not. It wasn't your fault," Rich muttered into her shoulder. He noticed the boots she was wearing looked an awful lot like the ones Nyte wore. It was probably nothing.