(Justin's POV)

Maybe it was a little bold to just reach over for her hand like that. But, for some reason I just knew she'd be okay with it. I'm nervous as hell, so I'm really hoping my palms aren't sweaty or something, but in all honesty this doesn't really feel like a first date to me. I mean technically it is the first date I've been on in a long time and that fact keeps hitting me in the face over and over.

However with Callie, its almost like all those innocent lunches at the sandwich shop were our first, second, even third dates and this is just a night in with my girl.

My girl?

Well, I'm not going to throw that down on the table just yet. She's something special but, well... At the moment though the conversation at her apartment plays over in my head and I really wish that I could do this right.

Make a reservation at the only fancy restaurant in town- really show her off, because she's beautiful and she deserves it and she should know that. The car ride is a comfortable quiet, me in my thoughts and her in her own I suppose, but about fifteen minutes later I pull into my driveway and we get out of the car.

"You've seen the hall and the living room but why don't I give you a tour of my place." I offer once we're in the door.

"Alright." She agrees and I reach for her jacket as she slides it off her shoulders, tossing it onto the back of the couch as we pass by. The tour isn't really all that grand, but I'm proud to say that I'm a homeowner at 27. Not to mention, hell yea I'm trying to make a good impression.

The second I got home this afternoon I attacked this place with a vengeance just to make it not look like the bachelor pad that it is. A place victimized by not only my messes, but the messes the three freeloaders I call my friends make when they need a break from their wives and kids.

We eventually wind up back in the living room, and I'm kind of at a loss as what to do next.

"So um, have a seat." I say, making some strange hand-motion towards the couch and she smiles and sits.

"Your house is great." She says and I grin. She's impressed, mission accomplished.

"Thanks." I reply, "Do you um want to order something to eat? I'm not really that great of a chef so I don't want to subject you to that kind of torture just yet. I just thought it would be easier to get some kind of take out. Is that alright?" I'm quite aware that the longer I talk the faster it comes out.

"You know what? Chinese sounds great."

If there's one thing I've noticed about Callie, its that she's pretty easy to read. So, the panic that has been mounting my chest since the moment I picked her up, about how much I don't want to seem like a jerk by ordering take out, now instantly starts to melt away. I can tell by the look on her face that thought hasn't even entered her mind.

I grab the menu and we look it over, well she looks it over- I've practically got the thing memorized. Again, I am not a cook.

I just sit down next to her and pretend to look it over. She looks amazing, I mean she always looks great but I guess because I know she was thinking about me when she was getting ready and just the simple fact that we are spending time together just does something to me.

And good LORD the smell of vanilla that's hovering around her right now has never drove me as crazy as it is right now. Damn women and their perfume. It can be downright deadly.

I want to kiss her. But it's not the right time.

I've kissed her before, and I'm certainly planning on doing it again. But, we're not horny teenagers and there's got to be more to tonight then just making out.

After I call in our order from the kitchen I grab a couple cans of soda out of the fridge before heading back into the living room.

"I grabbed you a Pepsi, is that okay? I don't own any of the diet variety."

"That's fine. But next time I won't be so easy to please." she responds with a wink and a smile, and she reaches for the can.

'So she's already assuming there'll be a next time.' I smile and glance down at the ground. If she talks in that voice all night I'm going to have a problem.

"So the food should be here in about a half hour." I take a seat on the couch next to her and just out of habit throw my arm up on the back. She turns a little and looks at me, her fingers popping the top on the soda can and she takes a sip.

"Okay." She replies. She glances around the room quickly and then looks back at me. I'm starting to get that nervous feeling again, I don't know what to do right now.

"How do you feel about that rematch?" She's smiling and there's a devilish look in her eyes. She gestures to the playstation that's tucked away on a shelf of my entertainment center. "You up for getting your butt kicked again?"

I can't stop the grin on my face. "You think so do you?" I stand up and pull out the game, and hook it all up and when I turn around she's already standing and got one of the wireless guitars strapped around her.

Its hanging a little low and she's trying to tighten the strap and I use the opportunity to reach for her hands and I rub my thumbs across the backs of her fingers before releasing them.

"Here, let me do it." I know it's a cheap shot, but she doesn't say anything and I'm gonna take what I can get.

"Did I?... Did I tell you that you look great tonight?" It's probably a bit of a random time to mention that but it just comes out.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She replies and I shake my head and laugh lightly. "Now stop trying to sweet talk me, and start the game." She adds. I pull on the other guitar and do as she asks.

20 minutes and two losses later, I finally get to celebrate a victory.

I swear it's just because it's her that I lose. But in the euphoria of finally winning I admittedly get a little cocky and she laughs at me. I throw my arms around her and look down at her.

"What are you laughing at? You lost Hunny." I grin.

"I sooooo let you win." She pinches my side and my jaw drops.

"You did not... did you?" I don't know how much more of a beating my ego can take. At least my boys weren't around to see it this time.

Her eyes are locked on mine and she's smiling and just when I'm about to admit defeat she shocks me by leaning up and kissing me. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't" she says, still staring up at me.

I bite the side of my bottom lip and my gaze flickers back and forth between her eyes and the lips she just kissed me with.

"Do you really care?" I think that's what she says but regardless I just shake my head because right now I just care about kissing her again.

I tighten my arms around her and start to lean down but of course just as her eyes close and I'm about to do what I've been waiting to do all night the damn doorbell rings.

"You've got to be kidding me." I mumble under my breath, but force a very slight smile that she's returning. Her hand pats my chest and she steps away.

"Well I guess our food is here."

Fifteen minutes later we've got the food spread out on the coffee table and we're sitting on the couch again. The television is on, the background noise of some VH1 reality show just drowns out the silence that pops up when we stop speaking to take a bite.

"...So they were divorced when I was really young. They're both remarried now- my dad has two sons, my two brothers but they are quite a bit younger then me." I say, now that we've somehow wound up on the topic of our parents.

"What about your mom?" She asks.

"What about her?"

"Did she had any other children?"

"No." I laugh, "I think I scared her out of that."

She giggles and I shove another piece of general tso's chicken in my mouth. The sound is freaking contagious and she looks adorable with her legs tucked underneath her and her back to the arm of the couch. There's a box of lo mein in one of her hands in chopsticks in the other. We've already discussed how amazed I was that she actually knew how to use them.

I got a good laugh out of her for that remark too. She offered to teach me- but failed miserably when I ended up breaking mine in half.

"I'm sure you did." She replies.

"Hey now. You're being awful mean to me tonight." I tease her. She just rolls her eyes. "Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

She nods. "I have an older sister who lives in Arizona."

"Wow, so parents in New York, sister in Arizona, friends in North Carolina and you in Tennessee. That's quite a spread."

She just nods and shrugs her shoulders, like it's not a big deal. I couldn't imagine being so far away from everyone I knew. But, then again everyone I know is roughly 20 minutes away at any given moment.

"I went where I was needed. And if I say so myself, I'm pretty glad I did." She smiles at me.

"Yea... Do you miss any of it?"

"I'm used to not being around my family. I miss a few of my friends back in North Carolina but the ones that matter know that I'm there if they need me."

"Those that matter?"

"Well, I'm not gonna lie. There were a couple people I didn't mind leaving behind."

"Really?"

She takes a deep breath and she starts to sit up and lean over to put her near empty carton on the table. I reach for it and set it down and she leans back again.

"Yea. Namely my ex. You know, exes are exes for a reason." She laughs lightly and I can tell she feels a little awkward talking to me about this.

"You don't have to..."

"Naw it's all good. He just wasn't the guy I thought he was. He was getting to be pretty controlling and I didn't really need that. I was going to break up with him anyway but before I could end it with him he told me he'd been sleeping with one of my roommates."

"Damn."

She just shrugs her shoulders again. "So, I was more then happy to get far away from them."

"Well, he certainly missed out on something." I reach over and rub her knee and then reach for her hand. She willingly gives it and our fingers wind together and rest on her leg.

"So, how many girls' hearts have you broken Stud?" That infectious smile of hers surfaces and I laugh. Her question sinks in and I clear my throat.

"I don't know if I've got that kind of pull." I reply. Now I know it's lame, but she might have been able to talk about her past relationships, but I suppose I'm just not that good at letting things go.

"Aw come'on. I'm sure you had a girl or two after you in school."

Fuck it. Maybe it's time to let some things go.

"I actually dated the same girl from my junior year of high school until I graduated from college."

"Wow." She's clearly shocked, but she does cover it well.

"Yea, I told you. You don't get that many new people around here."

"That's a long time to be with the same person. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

I don't know if I mind. So much went wrong I don't really know if it's worth getting into. Honestly, I'm scared as fuck to put it all out there. So I take the easy way out.

"It just kind of fell apart. I guess that's the short version. As far as I know, we were together and happy and heading down the same road as everyone else we knew one day, and the next she had her life packed into a few boxes and was heading to California, decidedly without me."

"Oh you did mention something about Hollywood before. The same girl who went to 'find herself?'" I can't believe she remembers what I babbled about the first day we met.

"Yea, one in the same. And I haven't really heard from her since." That's not really a lie. She definitely never tried to contact me. I was the loser who followed her out there and made a fool of myself.

"Well, what you said to me goes both ways." She squeezes my hand. "She missed out on something really great too."

We both turn to look at the television, the initially unnecessary distraction providing a welcome way to shift the topic. Soon after we start talking about which girl with the stupid name Flavor Flav will pick this season and successfully segway from the uncomfortable silence.

I reach for the remote and flip through the channels, finally stopping on one of the movie channels and when I habitually throw my arm across the back of the couch she moves over next to me.

Before I know it, the movie I was only half watching is now ending and I lift up my wrist to read my watch. It's already nearing midnight.

I really don't want to move, it's been nice to just be around a woman. And even nicer to feel her in my arms. But, we both agree that the night has to end some time and she helps me clean up the living room a little bit before we head out so that I can bring her back to her apartment.

The drive back across town seems a lot faster now, and being the southern gentlemen that I was raised to be I walk her to her door. Earning another cute comment out of her.

"So, tonight was really great." I say, sounding every bit like some movie as we stand out in the hall.

"It was." she smiles and her key is in her hand. "Goodnight Justin." She turns just slightly and reaches for the door handle to unlock it.

This night really has been great, and there's only one thing that could make it better.

The one thing that I've been wanting to do, and trying to get to all damn night.

"I'm gonna say goodnight. But, Callie there's something else I've got to say first." That probably sounded confusing as hell.

She turns back to face me again. "Yes?"

I step forward and slide my right hand behind her head, the other hand easily slides around her waist to pull her towards me and I kiss her.

I don't mean some sweet and simple goodnight kiss either. I really kiss her. This girl has really got me caught up in something I didn't think I wanted to get caught up in ever again.

I capture her lips a few times, tilting my head a little and then break away and can't resist kissing along her jaw. Her hands have found their way to my shoulders and I feel her fingertips straining.

I could easily do this all night. I have to force myself not to.

"Goodnight Callie." I mumble, my lips against hers and then kiss her again.

"Goodnight." she whispers back breathlessly and I step back away from her. We smile at each other and I lick my lips and glance at the floor and back at her again.

She nods her head just slightly and I nod back. "I'll call you when I get home."

I say and watch her dissappear through her door before turning around and heading back to my car.

Before you I was only what I let control me
You are a revolution against my own conclusions
And now I say goodbye to the way I used to be
I hear your name in every word I say