Smokin Gun

First Dates: Part III

Brantley's POV

I looked up from where I was leaned against the counter of the bus and my heart skipped a beat at the blonde walking towards me. I hadn't seen Stephanie since we had gotten on the road a month ago. I had either been busy or she had been sick. I had missed her like crazy. We had had an agreement since we were teenagers that if we were both single we spent Valentines Day together.

Back in the day it had been an excuse for us both to go out and get drunk. I saw the smile spread across her pink lips as I handed her the rose in my hand. She lifted it to her nose to sniff, blushing slightly. Take that Coach, I thought smugly. I knew what my girl liked. I reached over and tugged her into my arms wrapping her up tight. I pulled back after a minute and looked down at her as I kissed her on the cheek.

"Missed you sweetheart," I said softly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Missed you too rockstar," she said smiling as she pulled away to grab a glass out of the cabinet to put her rose in some water.
"So what trouble do the boys have lined up for tonight?"
She sat the glass on the counter and turned around to smile at me.

"They went bowling with Michael, Canaan, and their bands. I told them I wanted to hang out with just you tonight," I said giving her a soft smile before reaching for her hand. She looped her fingers with mine and grinned.

"Sounds good," she said giving me a heart stopping smile. I reached over and cupped her cheek in my hand.

"Steph, I know I've been a bit of an ass when it comes to you and dating since David's been out of the picture. And I missed out on Valentine's Day since you were sick. So, think we can ignore the whole friends thing for just tonight and let me take you out on date to make up for it?" I asked looking down into her eyes.

She gave me a grin and nodded her head. I tugged her outside and walked around the front of my truck to open the door for her, helping her in. I walked around to the drivers side and hopped in. Stephanie gave me a funny look when I opened up the console and dug around until I found the black bandana I had been looking for. I gave her a sheepish smile as she glared at me.

"Do you trust me sweetheart?" I asked with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and turned in her seat slightly with her back facing me.

"You know I do B," she said with a laugh. I tied the bandana around her eyes and turned her around to wave my hand to make sure that she couldnt see. Satisfied that she couldn't see, I put the truck in drive and headed out of the back-parking lot the buses were in.

Our destination as only a few blocks over but with traffic it was going to take a little bit. We caught up on all the stuff that had been going on that we forgot about when we were on the phone. It was times like this I remembered all the little things I missed out on at home when I was on the road. I knew I left a piece of my heart behind every time I left, but I felt a little more settled every time she came out on the road with us.

Stephanie's POV

I went to adjust the blind fold over my eyes and Brantley tugged my hand back and twined his fingers with me.

"No mam," he said with a laugh squeezing my hand. "We are almost there. No peeking. "
I poked my lip out a little pouting which only made him laugh harder. I felt the truck come to a stop and turned my head towards him. He tapped a finger on my nose.

"Be back in just a second sweetheart," I heard him say. What in the world was this man up to I wondered. A few minutes later I heard the back door open then shut before I felt him climb back in the truck and put it back in gear. We drove for another minute before he stopped again. I heard him get out again and start pulling something from the back seat. Ok, I was seriously curious at this point.

A few minutes later I heard my door open and a hand reach out to grab my waist. Brantley scooted me over to the edge of the leather seat before placing both hands on my waist and sitting me down on the gravel. He wrapped an arm around my waist and helped me walk to the back of the truck. He lifted me up to stand on the tailgate before hopping up beside me. He reached behind my head and untied the bandana.

I blinked against the change in light for a second as I looked up at his smiling face then looked around. I let out a gasp before I smiled. I saw the huge movie screen in front of us. I looked down and saw the pile of pillows and blankets in the back of his truck and grinned. I hadn't been to a drive in movie in years.

"Well," he asked with a playful smirk. "Did I do better than the football coach so far?"

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck and acted like I was considering it.
"Well...... depends on the movie?"
He grabbed the belt loops of my jeans and pulled me closer.

"How about Sweet Home Alabama?" he whispered huskily in my ear knowing that it was one of my favorite movies. I tapped my chin in thought.

"Hmm..... Ok you have the coach beat but still coming in second to the science teacher who got Luke Bryan tickets," I said smiling as I played with his necklace. He rolled his eyes and popped me on the ass with a smirk.

"I can still one up him too. I'll provide them with a case of beer each and I can guarantee a personal concert from Luke, Jason, and Thomas on my back deck if that's what your little heart desires," he said giving me a wink.

"I dont know.." I drawled out.
"There's this other guy that I have really want to see in concert. May cost ya. Think his name starts with a B or something."
He chuckled before pulling away from me slightly and sitting down to put his back against the pillows and stretching out his long legs. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me down between them. I leaned my back against his chest and noticed the movie was starting. I shivered a little when he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Sweetheart, with that particular artist I can promise the up close, personal, VIP experience if that's what you want," he said before kissing my neck softly.

"May have to take you up on that later rockstar," I said turning my head to give him a peck on the lips.
"Now where is my popcorn?" I said with a smile. He rolled his eyes and pointed to the basket on the other side of us. I grabbed the bucket of popcorn and a water for each of us and settled back against him. It was getting cooler since it hadn't gotten dark, so Brantley grabbed one of the extra blankets and tossed it over both of our legs.

"This is awesome B. Thank you so much. How did you pull this one off?" I asked turning my head to look at him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I had the idea and was looking around and got Mike to call the owner since they are only open on weekends. Turns out his daughter is a huge fan. She and two of her friends will be hanging out with us backstage tomorrow night. The movie was easy because they show romances throughout the month of February for Valentine's Day and I asked him if they had this one," he said with a smile as he sipped his water.

A little while into the movie I felt his chest vibrate against my back as he laughed.

"What?" I asked shifting to look at him.

"These two remind me of us. Always go to do something to piss the other one off," he said with a grin. I laughed along with him because he was right. We had been friends for so long we could push each others buttons with the ease some married couples didnt even have. I turned to my side and snuggled further into his chest, sliding my arms around his waist under his jacket.

"Cold baby girl?" he murmured.

"A little," I said getting settled. He pulled the blanket a little higher and tugged me a little closer propping his chin on the top of my head.

"Thank you for tonight B,"I said quietly. "It means a lot."

He shifted and rolled me to where I was on my back looking up at him. He lifted a hand to brush my long bangs off my forehead and smiled softly down at me.

"Anything for you sweetheart," he said leaning down to brush my lips with his. "I'd give you the world if I could."
He deepened the kiss as he wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer. I got lost in the kiss and for a minute I wondered what it would be like if things were always like this. If we didn't have a promise to keep things simple between us to keep our friendship intact. But for tonight I was going to hold on with both hands to whatever this was going to be and keep the memories close to my heart when come tomorrow morning, things went back to being business as usual. Tonight, however; so far, was the best date I had ever been on.