Spellman Ch. 20

She walked out of her room to check on her dad. He had finished up his dinner over an hour ago and had been watching TV in the living room, but he wasn't in there anymore.

"Dad?" she called.

"In my room, Claire," he answered her.

She went to his room, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. Her dad was sitting up in bed, remote in hand as he flipped through the channels on the TV. Cece checked his pill container to make sure he had taken the last of his medication for the day.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Dad?"

"I'm sure, Claire. Nothing you need to worry about. I'll probably be asleep in twenty minutes anyways." He looked over at his youngest child. "You look wonderful, baby girl. Poor fella isn't even going to know what hit him."

Cece was surprised to find tears welling up in her eyes. Luckily her mascara was built of tougher stuff. "Thanks, Dad."

"Claire?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Can I pray with you?"

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, Dad. Sure."

He crossed himself, and Cece crossed herself as well, despite her usual reluctance. "Lord, I pray that you be with my daughter Claire tonight, that you watch over her, that you keep her safe. Let her guardian angel always be at her side, and your love always be in her heart. I pray that her eyes are open to any signs you have for her, and that your grace would guide her in all things. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen," he said, crossing himself once again.

"Amen," Cece said.

"I love you, Claire."

"I love you too, Dad."

"I think we're both probably a little too old for me to do the Scary Father First Date Introduction, huh?"

Cece laughed, almost snorting. "Yeah, Dad. We both are."

"Well, all right then. You know I'll want to meet him eventually though, right?"

"Yeah, Dad. I know."

Ryan

I pulled up in front of Cece's house just before seven. Normally she'd just come out and hop into my car on her own, but I thought for an actual date I should at least go knock on the door, so I parked and got out of my car. I took a deep breath as I walked up the driveway to the front door.

Knocking on the front door, I shook off my nervousness and straightened myself up. Game time.

"Just a minute!" I heard Cece call from inside.

When the door opened and I saw Cece all dressed up for our date, my eyes nearly popped out of my head, and I thought I could feel steam coming out of my ears.

Of course I had known that Cece was attractive, but tonight she had taken it to a whole new level. Her red hair was done up in gentle curls, and her makeup displayed an amount of sophistication and class she had never even hinted at before. Her Little Black Dress was stunning, chic without being slutty. She wore a pair of small black heels, which along with the dress helped to show off her incredible legs, muscular from her workouts without sacrificing any femininity.

When I finally regained some control over my eyes and looked back up at her face, Cece was smirking at me. "See anything you like?" she asked.

"Wow, Cece...I mean...wow. You look incredible."

"Thank you. Little bit nicer than gym clothes and a messy ponytail, huh?"

"Definitely," I said. "Not that I think you don't look gorgeous at the gym every day, because you do, but...wow. You look like a million bucks. I feel like I need to cancel my plans for tonight and get us a table at a fancier restaurant."

"I'm sure wherever we're going is fine. You look really nice, too, but I already knew you looked good dressed up a bit."

"Well thanks, but if anyone even looks at me tonight all they're going to be thinking is 'How in the world did that guy end up with her?' Seriously, you look amazing. I'm a lucky man to be taking you out tonight."

"I'm feeling pretty lucky tonight myself. Shall we?"

I turned and offered my arm to her. Cece took it and smiled up at me, her green eyes shining. I don't know if I had ever seen her wear any jewelry before, but she had on some earrings that definitely didn't look cheap. Suddenly I felt I might be a bit out of my depth with this girl. I opened the door to the car and helped her in before hurrying around the front to get in myself.

"So, do I get to know where we're going now?" she asked.

Cece

"So this is the Embarcadero," Ryan said as he walked with Cece. "This is where you'll get a lot of cruise ships coming into the San Diego Bay, plus some other historical ships like the USS Midway. It's not super upscale or anything, but I thought it was a good way to get more of the San Diego vibe. I don't think you have something like this in Connecticut."

"Definitely not. This is really cool, Ryan. Thanks for bringing me here, I think it was a great idea."

The two of them walked along the bay for a bit. Cece was glad she had worn the smaller heels. There was a wonderful ocean breeze coming off the bay, and they passed by all sorts of people in the park. Couples, families, people walking their dogs, or riding bikes or rollerblades or skateboards. She enjoyed their stroll and the feeling of being close to Ryan, holding onto his arm as they made their way towards the restaurant. She could hear music in the distance.

"What's that music I'm hearing?" she asked Ryan.

"Oh, I think that's the San Diego Symphony. They're on the south side of the Embarcadero. They do a summer concert series."

"That sounds like fun," she said.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, it is. I know you really like lots of different music, so if you're still enjoying my company by then, I actually got us tickets for a different show at this cool music club after dinner."

Cece brightened. "That sounds great!"

They ended up having dinner at a seafood restaurant right on the bay. Cece ordered a salad to start while Ryan opted for crab cakes, but she ended up stealing half of his food. For their entrees, Ryan ordered the seabass filet and Cece decided to try the scallops. They chatted while they waited for the meals to arrive. Ryan gave Cece some more details about how the first week of school had gone. Then he asked her about her work.

"So when do you actually start doing your shifts over at Eastwood?"

"I'm going in to shadow the other nurse for a couple days next week, just to get a feel for everything, then I'll be working Thursdays and Fridays. I've never worked in a school before, but I can't imagine it'll be too difficult."

"What sort of work had you done before you moved out here?"

"I was a Critical Care nurse, so I worked in the ICU."

"Wow, that's impressive. Definitely seems like if you could handle that then you can handle a couple days a week at a high school."

"It could get a little crazy, but I liked it. I think I want to go back to it, eventually, but I'm where I need to be right now."

"Are you going to try to find my mother so you can dig up some dirt on me?"

"Depends on how well things go tonight, I suppose," she said with a laugh.

Cece actually wasn't sure how to handle that introduction. She was interested in meeting Ryan's mother, but didn't know if it would be weird or not to seek her out. 'Hi, I'm Claire, I went on a date with your son last week.' Maybe they'd just bump into each other, but that was probably pretty unlikely. It was a big high school, and their jobs didn't intersect much.

Their food came and Cece was quite happy with her meal. She could definitely taste how fresh everything was, with the ocean right there next to them. Ryan humored her and allowed her to try his seabass, though he did demand a taste of her scallops in return.

They both declined dessert when it was offered. Cece made an offer to split the check, but Ryan wouldn't have it.

"Absolutely not. I asked you out on this date. I've got it."

"You don't have to do that, Ryan. I'm admittedly a bit traditional in a lot of ways, but I can pull my own weight."

"I have absolutely no doubts about that, but I don't need you to with this. If you really want to pay for something, maybe you can ask me out for our second date," he said, giving her a wink.

"Maybe I will."

Once they were all settled up, Ryan stood up and offered his hand to Cece, which she gladly took. They walked out together and back to his car.

"We could technically walk to where the show is, but I don't want to make you do that in your heels. Driving will be much easier."

"I won't complain about that," she said.

It was only about a ten minute drive before they reached their next destination.

"The Casbah," Cece said. "Sounds cool." The place didn't look like much, but a lot of the coolest music venues didn't, at least from the outside. It was what happened on the inside that mattered. Once they had made it inside, Cece saw the signs for the band that would be performing.

"Lightning Dust? Sweet name. I've never heard of them."

"I haven't either," Ryan admitted, "but this place always has pretty cool bands, so I thought it was worth a shot."

"It's a great idea. I'm excited to hear them." She stood up on her toes and gave Ryan a quick kiss. "Thanks for asking me out."

"Thank you for saying yes."

The venue wasn't huge, but it wasn't a tiny club either, with a maximum occupancy of probably around two hundred. It was starting to fill up a bit. Ryan led Cece over to the bar so they could grab drinks before the show started.

"What can I get you?" he asked her.

"Can I just get a Gin and Tonic?"

"Sure." Ryan waved down the bartender. "Can we get a Gin and Tonic and a Jack and Coke?"

The bartender made their drinks and took Ryan's card to open a tab. Drinks in hand, the two of them made their way through the growing crowd towards the front of the venue, closer to the stage. Cece sipped her drink and smiled up at Ryan. He hadn't gone over the top with the night, just planned a fun and thoughtful evening for the two of them to enjoy. A great first date, she thought.

When the music began, Cece was struck by the ethereal beauty of the female singer's voice, matched perfectly with the subdued, atmospheric synth and keyboard sounds. It was obviously heavily inspired by by electronic music, but still with the soul of indie rock.

Everybody seems to say the same thing

I was in too deep, I was over my head

You hurt me I was too in love, I was afraid

Break the rules I'm an innocent fool

As the crowd continued to grow, Ryan took Cece in his arms and stood behind her. His towering presence was comforting, a shield against the clumsy masses around her. She could get used to this feeling, she thought.

The next song felt almost like it belonged on a Cyndi Lauper album, which Cece loved. The band had a very unique style. She wanted to make sure she remembered to look them up in more detail later.

Take me someplace;

A room lit with only candlelight

In an old fashion style

Lay under the stars for a while

Taking back my love like this because it didn't seem my style

Holding out for something dark and wild

Now I've been waiting to be loved like this

And I'm counting on your smile for the long deserted mile.

The two of them swayed together to the music, and Cece pressed back further into his arms, the back of her head resting against his chest. His hands, which had been on her arms, moved to her stomach, and she felt a flutter there. Her heart beat just a little bit faster.

The next song had a driving bassline and a much more pronounced drum track. As they moved together, Cece noticed a certain pressure growing against her from behind, which sent her pulse into overdrive.

We've all been waiting to find what we need

We've all been waiting to find

Our situations all align

Our situations all align, yeah

When there was a break in the music, Cece turned to Ryan. "I think I could use some water and the restroom," she said.

He nodded. "Yeah, sure." Taking her hand, he cleared a path through the crowd toward the bar. "I'll get the waters while you use the restroom."

"Great, thanks."

Ryan

I got the bartender's attention and ordered a couple glasses of water while I waited for Cece to return. As far as I could tell, the night was going really well. Cece seemed to like the band. I was really enjoying holding her close as we listened to the music together. Having her incredible ass pressed up against me had led to certain things coming up, but if it bothered her she didn't show it. She certainly hadn't moved away.

With wide open eyes

I'm so tired of this lie

In the city tonight

This is messed up

I keep everything to try

Tonight I've made up my mind

"Ryan!" I turned towards the sound of my name, then immediately felt a sinking feeling in my gut. Shit.

"Hey Tessa, Serenity. Fancy meeting you here."

"It's a rare Friday night when we're both off, so we decided to check out some music," Tessa said. "What have you been up to? Haven't heard from you in a bit."

"Oh, you know, been busy. School started up this week."

"Right, I forgot about that. Are you doing anything after this? Seren has a lead on a party that should be pretty cool."

"I'm actually on a date right now."

"Oh really? Well, we should probably get out of your way then. Don't want to cross the streams too much, right?"

"Sorry, I don't want to just blow you two off, but-"

"Don't worry, we get it. Totally cool. I'd still like it if you texted me every once in a while, though. A girl's got needs."

Cece

Cece came out of the restroom and made her way towards the bar. Ryan was easy enough to spot. As she got closer, she noticed that he was talking with two girls, one a short blonde with breasts that were almost comically large on her small frame, the other a taller black girl who had curves for days. She was surprised by how strongly the jealousy flared up when she saw the two girls talking to Ryan. He's mine tonight, she thought.

At first she thought the two were just strangers chatting him up at the bar. He was a very attractive guy, it wouldn't be too surprising to have something like that happen. But when she got closer she could tell that they were chatting like they already knew each other.

Cece decided to stop snooping and just walk up to them. She slid into the spot at Ryan's side, bringing his arm around her. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting." She looked to the girls who had been talking with Ryan. "I'm Claire."

"Tessa," said the blonde. "Serenity," said the black girl.

"How do you two know Ryan?"

The girls looked at each other for a moment before Tessa answered. "Oh, we've just run into each other a couple times now around town. Small world in a big city, you know? He's pretty memorable though, don't you think?"

Cece nodded. "Yeah, I'd say so."

"Well, we'll let the two of you get back to your date. Just wanted to say hi," Serenity said.

"Thanks, nice to see you again," Ryan said. He handed Cece a glass of water as the other girls left. "Here's your water."

"Thanks," she said, taking a few sips. "So how many times have you 'run into' those two?"

Ryan looked confused for a second. "Uhh, just twice, I think? Well, this would be the third time, I guess. Serenity only once before this. They're roommates."

"Got it. I guess it really is a small world."

"Guess so. You want to get back out there?"

Cece took another long drink of the water. "Sure."

She let Ryan lead them back through the crowd, closer to the front again. The two other girls were quickly forgotten as Ryan wrapped his arms around her once more.

We moved softly in the wind

We moved slowly to keep them from wondering where we've been

Oh now love Never again

Never again my love never again

It was close to midnight by the time the show wrapped up and the two of them made it out of the venue and back to Ryan's car. He opened the door for her once more, helping her inside. The drive back was quiet, but Ryan reached over and she happily let him take her hand as they drove. She ran her fingers along the top of his hand and up his arm.

When they arrived back at Cece's house, she reluctantly released his hand so he could get out and open her door for her. She held onto his arm as he walked her to the door.

"I had a great time tonight," she said as they stood in the doorway.

"I did too. Thanks for joining me. I'd love to do it again, if you're interested."

Cece nodded. "I'd like that."

Ryan moved a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear before leaning down to kiss her. Their first real kiss. She had stolen a few from him before, but this one was all him. She melted into him as their lips met. He slipped his other hand onto the small of her back, pulling her closer.

When they separated, Cece could feel the heat rising in her chest. "Goodnight, Ryan."

"Goodnight, Cece."

She pulled her keys out of her clutch and opened the door. Safely inside, she leaned back against the door. She heard him walk away and then start his car.

Cece pulled out her phone and sent a message to Carrie.

He gets an A.