"Yeah! Two points for me!" said Rachel as she did a little victory dance.
Brian stood there in shock. "How the heck did you manage to steal that ball from me?"
Rachel laughed. "It's like I told you before, I rock in b-ball."
"No one is better than the B-Rokster," Brian said with a smirk.
"Looks like you got competition B-Rok," Rachel said as she passed him the ball.
Brian dribbled the ball passed Rachel and she quickly swept it away from his hands. She dribbled it down the court and did a graceful lay up.
"She scores!" She cheered as she walked up to Brian. He was standing there with his jaw dropped. Rachel put her hand on his bottom jaw and shut his mouth. "Close your mouth, dear. It's very unattractive," she joked.
Brian smiled. "You're amazing."
Rachel blushed. "Well, you're not too bad yourself, bud," she said as she punched him on the shoulder.
"You wanna play another game?"
Rachel laughed. "You just can't stand the fact that I beat you, can you?"
Brian smiled and brushed a piece of hair off of Rachel's face. "Come on, lets go get some ice cream."
"Okay, but losers pay," Rachel said as she walked toward Brian's BMW.
"Oh, so now I'm a loser."
"You make it sound like such a bad thing."
Brian unlocked his BMW. "Next time we play basketball I'm gonna cream you."
"In your dreams," Rachel said as she got in the car.
Rachel breathed in and felt a pain in her chest. She tried to subside it on her own, but it was obvious it wasn’t going to happen. She reached for her bag and pulled out her inhaler.
“Are you okay?“ Brian asked.
“Oh, yeah, fine,“ Rachel said as she gave herself a quick puff. “Just a little athletic asthma. No big deal.“
“You sure?“
“Yeah, I’m good, really.“
“Alright, if you’re sure,“ he said then started the car and headed down the street.
“What are you getting?” he asked as they walked into the Dairy Queen.
"I'm thinking of a pineapple sundae."
"Yuck! Pineapple?" Brian said with his nose crinkled
"You don't like pineapple?"
"Yeah, but not on ice cream. I think I'll stick with my vanilla ice cream cone."
Rachel laughed as she stood up to the cashier to order. Rachel pulled money from out her pocket, but Brian stopped her.
“I got this,” he said.
“Brian you don’t have to.”
“I want to,” he said with a smile.
“I was just kidding about the loser paying thing.”
“I know,” Brian said then stood in front of her to pay.
When the received their order, they sat at a booth in the back of the lobby. Rachel took a bit of her sundae and grinned.
"Mmm," she said. "This is good."
Brian gave her a disgusted look "You're the first girl I've seen that eat like that."
"It's not bad." She scooped up a spoonful and handed it to Brian. "Here, try it."
"No way! You're asking the wrong Backstreet Boy."
Rachel grinned. "Well, you're the only Backstreet Boy around. Try it, you'll like it." Brian shook his head. "Damn it, don't be so stubborn," Brian just grinned and licked his ice cream cone. "Don't make me shove this spoon down your throat. Now, try it."
Brian laughed. "Alright, alright! I'll try it." He took the spoon, put it in his mouth, and smiled. "It's not bad."
"See, I told you."
Brian put the spoon back in Rachel's bowl. "I want some more."
Rachel slapped his hand. "Hey, get your own."
Brian laughed. "Sorry."
When they finished with their ice cream, they headed back to his car. Rachel buckled her seatbelt and looked at him with a smile.
"You wanna go to the beach, or do you wanna go back to your apartment?" he asked.
Rachel shook her head. "Let's go to the beach.”
"Alright cool," Brian said as he started the car.
Brian drove to the beach and they both walked along the shore. Rachel stopped and looked at the ocean. Her mind was racing with thoughts of things that were going on in her life. She’d almost forgotten that she was on a date until she was Brian looking at her.
"A penny for your thoughts," Brian said gently.
Rachel looked at Brian. "Oh...it was nothing."
"You sure? You looked like you off in another world."
Rachel was silent for a moment. "Yeah....can you take me home?"
Brian looked at her in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired that's all," she said softly.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Rachel said with a soft sigh.
Brian took her hand and they silently went back to the car. Rachel was silent the whole way back to her apartment. She felt a chill go up her back and she shivered. Brian looked over at her.
"Are you cold?"
"A little."
Brian got a jacket out from the back seat. "Here put this on."
"Thanks," Rachel said and she slid it on.
The scent of Safari reached her nose. She breathed it in and smiled. Suddenly, she felt Brian grab her hand. She jumped a little but then relaxed her hand in his. They arrived at the apartment a few minutes later and Brian walked her up to the door. He grabbed her hand and looked her deeply in the eyes.
Rachel shyly unlocked the door. "Do you uh. . .wanna come in for a few minutes? I don't think Kristin's back yet."
"Sure," Brian said with a smile.
Rachel opened the door and the two went inside then sat on the couch. Brian sat next to Rachel and put his hand on her cheek. "I had a really good time tonight," he said softly.
Rachel shyly smiled. "I did too." A tear came to her eye.
Brian looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Rachel wiped the tear away and sniffled. "Yeah, I'm...I'm fine," she lied.
Brian wrapped his arms around her and gave her a warm hug. He let go and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Good night."
"You're leaving?" Rachel asked in bewilderment.
"You just seemed a little upset. I figured you wanted to be alone. I can stay if you want."
Tears were trickling down Rachel's face, almost making her feel foolish to be crying front of him. "Could you, please?" she whispered.
"Yeah. . .sure," Brian said as he sat back down.
Rachel scooted over and laid her head on Brian's shoulder. Brian gently wrapped his arms around her. They were silent for a moment then Brian linked his fingers with hers.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Rachel sat up and looked Brian in the eyes. The tears were still coming down. "It's really kind of difficult to talk about."
"So, you don't want to talk about it?"
Rachel sighed. "Not right now. It's still kind of hard for me talk about."
"It's okay I understand."
"Let’s just say you know where I'm coming from, and you've been through what I might have to go through." Brian looked at her in confusion. "I've lost, you haven't I?"
Brian let out a soft chuckle. "I think you did."
"Sorry," Rachel said then sniffled.
Brian wiped a tear off from her face. "It's okay. Sometimes thing are best unsaid until the time is right."
"Do you always talk like a Hallmark card?" Rachel said with a slight grin.
Brian laughed. "I have my moments." Brian looked at Rachel for a moment and smiled.
Rachel brushed her hair from her face. "God, I must look like a mess."
Brian shook his head. "No. . .you look beautiful."
"Yeah. . .sure," she said while blushing.
"Come here," Brian said with his arms open.
Rachel scooted closer to him and relaxed herself in his arms. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For ruining your night."
"No, you didn't ruin anything. I had a really good time."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I mean you beat me at basketball. How much fun can a guy have?"
Rachel laughed and smacked him playfully on the face. Brian searched her luscious blue eyes for a moment, and slowly moved closer to her. Their lips lightly brushed together then pulled in to a light kiss. Brian shyly pulled away and nervously bit his lip.
"Sorry," he said softly.
Rachel smiled. "No, it's okay. . .really," she said then gave him another kiss. She settled back into his arms and sighed. "Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For being nice to me."
Brian kissed her on the top of her head. "You're welcome," he said as he held her tighter.
Rachel snuggled closer and closed her eyes. The both sat in silence in the dark living room. She could hear the slow, steady breathing from Brian and her eyes began to droop. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
