While Ryden was changing, Brian and I had sorted out where we were going. It was Basix Cafe, over in West Hollywood, and I'm sure that my Ghost t-shirt was kind of appropriate for where we were going. A few moments later, Ryden came down the stairs, and I just looked up at her. The same sloppy bun, black leggings, and this time, she even put on black lipstick. Mm.

"Lookin' good." I complimented. She nodded, signifying a thank you. I could tell she was blushing. That's all she ever did around me.

"Thanks." She said, walking over and sitting by me. I pulled her close, and from beside me to onto my lap, and nuzzled the back of her neck with the tip of my nose.

"You smell nice." I chuckled, pulling her closer and breathing in her scent. She must have went through my cologne, too. She nodded again.

"I like going through your things. It lets me know what type of person you are. And you're a very organized person. I put everything back in it's place so don't worry." She said, laying her head back.

"I've got nothing to worry about." I stated, patting her sides gently.

"Good. I don't plan on snooping often." She said. I nodded.

"That's fine. Just stay out from under my bed. You'll get lost."

"I actually didn't plan on that. If it's anything dirty, you're safe." I nodded again. "Where are we going?"

"A little cafe in West Hollywood. I've never been there, but Brian says it's great. I think it's Basix Cafe or something along the lines of that."

"Sounds basic." She said, chuckling. I laughed, finding that funnier than I should have, and I kissed her cheek gently. She paused a minute, and blushed more. "You're cute, Zee. Taking me out tonight was a great idea on your part."

"Well I mean I honestly was going to wait a while to take you out, but Brian suggested tonight instead for a double date." I said, pulling a hand back to run it through my hair and to the back of my neck.

"He was just trying to be nice." She said, clapping my shoulder once. I nodded.

"I know, Ry." I replied. "He beat me to it. I wanted our first date to be just us. not a double date."
She turned to me and straddled my lap.

"Then when we get home, we can curl up and watch movies and have a few beers."

"Are you even legs to drink?" I asked.

"I am when it's just you and me, and no one else knows about it." She said, giving me a smirk and a wink. I smirked back, resting my hands on her waist.

"You need to get up so I can get dressed and ready for tonight." I said. "As much as I enjoy you sitting on my lap, that's not going to get anything done." I pat her waist a couple of times and
nodded. She nodded back, then got off of my lap.

"Are you gonna gel your hair back like you did when you picked me up? I thought that was cute." She giggled. I nodded again.

"I always have my hair gelled back. It makes me look, and feel, sexy."

"But you're even sexier with it down." She said. I got up and shrugged.

"Not to most people. Now stop talking, woman. You're distracting me." I pushed. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Go get ready then." She said, shooing me off with her hands. I nodded, then walked to my bedroom.

*Ryden's POV*

I waited for Zack to get back, and I just fidgeted. He was probably going to look all nice and fancy, and me? Oh, I'm just wearing leggings and his Ghost shirt. No big deal. It seemed like hours before he actually came back downstairs. I grabbed my phone, and the first thing I did was take a picture of him. As soon as he knew what I was doing, he shielded his face with the back of his hands, and I giggled.

"Lemme take a picture." I said, making a kiss face. He sighed, and got into a comfortable pose. "Now smile." I commanded. "I will not have a picture of you on my phone not smiling. I want it as my lock screen so I can show you off."

"You? Showing me off?" He asked, smiling. I took the picture, and like I had said, set it as my lock screen. He walked over to me and sat down.

"Let me see it." He said, leaning over my shoulder. I put my phone out of his reach, but he overpowered me, and sat on my lap to get it. I gasped for air, and tried pushing him off.

"You're killing me, Zack!" I screeched. He chuckled, and climbed off my lap.

"I'm not that fat."

"You're not fat at all. you're just heavy and I'm so tiny." I said, leaning against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head.

"That's why I call you kitten." He said. "Your love for Hello Kitty, and the fact that you're really small, like a kitten."

"Make sense." I said, nodding into his shoulder. "I can act like a cat too. Brian said it was cute, so it must be true." I yawned. God, he smelled great. he smirked.

"Act like a cat for me." He commanded. I nodded and crawled onto the floor on my hands and knees, crawling around. I nudged his knee with my nose a little bit, and giggled, then started purring. He chuckled,

"Is this cat enough for you?" I asked, resting my elbows on his knees. He leaned over, running his hand over my hair and pretended to scratch my ear, then nodded.

"That's cat enough for me. Now come on. Our date is in 30 minutes." He said, getting up. He reached down, then pulled me up to my feet, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walked out the door.

---

*Zack's POV*

We had arrived at our destination, Basix Cafe. After helping Ryden out of my car, we walked out back to the outdoor cafe, and sat down. And me, being the gentleman that I am, and trying to impress her, pulled out her chair for her to sit down. She smiled, sitting down, and pushed herself in, and I did the same.

"Is there anything you want to drink?" I asked, looking over the small menu they had placed on all of the tables. She nodded.

"I'll just have a glass of water until everyone gets here. Is that okay?" She asked. I nodded. Brian and Michelle weren't here yet, but it was only 10 till, and it was getting kind of chilly, but yet it was still light out, and the sun hadn't set yet. If Ryden needed it, my jacket was in the back seat of the car.

"Yeah, that's fine." I said, waving over a waitress, ordering her glass of water and a bottle of Heineken for myself. The waitress looked young. Not too much younger than Ryden. Honestly she was kind of cute. Oh well.

"It's so nice outside." She stated, looking around. I nodded in agreement.

---

*Ryden's POV*

I had looked over at the arch where Zack and I had entered and I had seen Brian and another girl that must have been Michelle. She was only to his shoulders and had shoulder long blonde hair, and her facial features had really stood out. It made me upset that he hadn't told me about her sooner. Maybe giving him the silent treatment would be a good idea. I watched as they came in and sat down. Brian and Michelle sat across from us. Michelle looked up at Brian, and kissed his cheek lovingly, while Zack obviously cleared his throat.

"Michelle, Ryden." Zack said. "Ryden, Michelle."


I nodded towards her and took a sip of my water that the waitress had previously brought us. I rolled my eyes when Michelle held out her hand, but I shook it quickly, then pulled my hand back, wrapping my arm around Zack's. Brian glared at me a moment, then reached his hand under the table to, i'm assuming, hold Michelle's hand. God, something smelled like sex, and it wasn't Zack or myself. I wiped my hand on my leggings, and went back to Zack.

"I don't know her and I already don't like her." I leaned up to whisper in his ear. He pat my side.

"Don't talk then. Say your throat hurts or something." He whispered back. I glanced at Michelle and she looked hurt that we weren't including the two of them in our conversation.

Notes