When Ginger got home, she was smiling. It had been a perfect evening. They went to see Twelfth Night at the Tampa Theatre and had a lovely dinner. Zac and Ginger talked during the intermission, but they didn't talk about much. She didn't mind; since she had such a lovely evening she'd let herself go out with him again to let him get to know her.
She opened the door to her room. Kris sat at the desk, her arms folded. She glanced at the clock and then back to her sister. �You will tell me every little detail from the second you met up with him to the second he left.� Ginger blushed and sat down on her bed, the upper bunk of the bunk bed. �Oh my God, what did you do that you�re blushing? I hope you didn't let him get too far, Ginger�"
�He didn�t even kiss me. But he did hold my hand the whole time!� she said. She giggled excitedly and she couldn't stop smiling.
�And you�re blushing about it? Ginger, a few hours ago you didn�t want to even go! You actually let him hold your hand the whole time?� Kris asked.
�Yes�I found it rather sweet that he wanted to. We saw Twelfth Night down at the Tampa Theatre and ate dinner.� Kristina shook her head. �He was so sweet, Kris. He like opened doors for me and pulled out my chair. He admitted that he didn�t even watch the show, he was staring at me the entire time.� She shivered in delight. No one had ever made her feel so special before. "My God, Kris, it was the best night of my life. I had second thoughts while we were in the car, but once we got out of the car I was so happy. I gave him my number; he�s gonna call soon.�
�So you like him now? You seem so giddy.�
�I hate being giddy but I can�t help it. Tonight couldn�t have been any better. Everything was perfect, from the food to the show to him.� The phone ringing interrupted her. She grabbed it. �Hello?�
�Hi,� Zac�s voice said. �What's up?�
�Nothing, just chatting with my sister.�
�Who would be�?� he asked. One of the few things that she didn't want let out was the contents of her family. Her family was so messed up�it was hard to talk about. She didn't want to say anything to him about it, but he was so open with her about his that she wanted to return the favor as soon as she mustered the courage to do so.
�Kristina.�
�She�s your sister? You look nothing like her.�
�She�s adopted. Actually, so am I�long story, we won�t get into that tonight," she said, twisting her covers in her hand. She didn't want to mention her parents to him, at least not yet.
�Did you have a good time tonight?� he asked, casually. �You seem a little more open now then at the show.�
�Well now looking back on it, I realized what a wonderful time I had. You made me feel really special. It was great.� He hesitated.
�Would you mind doing it again tomorrow night?�
�Tomorrow? I�d love to! I had such a good time. I was wrong about you Zac Hanson, you are a pretty wonderful guy.�
�I do it for you.�
�It�s really sweet of you to do so.�
She could hear his smile over the phone. His plan was working out so far. �I�m telling you, Ging, I better become a psychic cause I�m good at predicting the future.�
�You slow down, little boy. We�re not done with this roller coaster yet," she told him, glancing over at Kris. She was trying not to listen in, but Ginger could tell she was struggling. She really didn't mind her hearing the conversation, as long as she didn�t comment on it.
"You never know," he said, then paused. "Did I tell you how incredibly beautiful you looked tonight?" Her eyes widened. No you didn't, she thought.
�You�re too sweet, Zac, you need to toughen up. One of these days you�ll find a girl who�ll use you for your money.�
�Ginger, unless you�re using me for my money then it�s not going to happen.� She noted the seriousness in his voice, and she grasped that he wasn�t kidding when he said he wanted to be with her and only her. It was still so early�
�Well I won�t. You�re really serious about this relationship, aren�t you?�
�Absolutely positively.�
�I figured.� She lowered her voice, not wanting Kris to hear. She laid back on her bed, almost talking into her pillow. �Why?�
�It was a feeling. Something inside me just exploded when I saw you in Borders. I have no idea what, but I know it made me want to be with you. I�ve never felt like this before. Frankly, it�s rather bizarre. I mean I don�t even know how to explain it, it�s just��
�There,� she whispered. The same feeling had bounced into her heart that night. Something different. Something else was going on. �Yeah.� Ginger heard a rustling in the background and a few voices. �I have to go now. I�ll see you tomorrow at the curb. 6 o�clock.�
�I�ll be there.�
�I�d wait forever.� She waited for him to hang up, then turned off the phone and put it back in the charger. Kristina noticed and looked up at her.
�And what did he say?� she asked. Ginger smiled.
�He�s really great, isn�t he?�
�You�re avoiding the question, and you barely told me anything about you date. So you have a lot of explaining to do, missy!� She smiled wider and got comfortable.
�Well, he was a half an hour late to pick me up. I was just about to leave when he stopped me. Then I thought that the date wasn�t going to be good and he was going to be an obnoxious weirdo but he wasn�t. He opened doors for me, he pulled out my chair, he let me order first, and all that good stuff. He took my hand to lead me into the building and didn�t let go of it until I got home.�
�How was the play?� Kris asked. She shrugged.
�It was all right. I was pretty much thinking the whole time. I was surprised when he let me off that he didn't kiss me.�
�He�s been thinking about you all this time and he didn't even kiss you?� she asked, shaking her head.
�I guess he was saving that for something to look forward to on the next date. I didn�t mind. He actually drove us there and back.�
�But Zac�s only 15,� Kristina said. �As a matter of fact he just turned 15. He can�t drive.� She shrugged again.
�Well it didn�t stop him. He was fine at it. He's not going to get pulled over or anything." She rolled over on the bed and looked at the ceiling. "I can't wait for tomorrow�"
�What�s tomorrow?�
�We�re going somewhere again tomorrow. I�m not sure where, but I know we�re going. I hope it�s just as good as tonight was.� She sighed. �Kristina I was totally wrong about him. Zac is the greatest guy I have ever met in my life. I�ve never had so much fun going to see a play and eat dinner. He just was so right��
�Looks like someone�s in love�� she kidded.
�I guess I am.� She sighed and pulled the covers over her head. �Goodnight Kris,� she said, muffled through the covers.
�Goodnight, Ginger.�
The next morning Ginger woke up and went downstairs. �Hi mom,� she muttered to the woman sitting at the kitchen table, and grabbed the pot of coffee from the coffee maker. She poured herself a cup and put some milk in it before walking towards the living room.
�Good morning, hon. How do you feel?� she asked, sweetly. Ginger shuddered and stopped.
"Oh, fine," Ginger said. She took her cup and headed out of the room. �Bye mom.� She ran back upstairs, careful not to spill her coffee, and went into the first door on the left. Kristina was awake now, on the computer, as usual. Whenever Ginger wasn�t in the room, Kris found her way to the computer until she kicked her sister off.
�Hey chica,� Kris said. Ginger climbed back up to her bed, putting her cup of coffee off to the side. She hadn't even taken a sip of it.
�Don�t plan on wanting to do anything with me today, I�ll be asleep until five. If I sleep later I give you permission to slap me.� Kris rolled her eyes and went back to the computer. Ginger went back under the covers and closed her eyes. As soon as she felt myself drifting again, the phone rang. Reaching over, she picked it up. �Hello?� she asked.
�Hey,� Zac�s voice said. �What's up?�
�Oh, nothing. What�s up with you?� she asked. She knew him well enough already to recognize his phone voice, but she still had a hard time dealing with him on a personal level. He'd been Zac Hanson to her for such a long time that she'd forgotten that he could be a real person like he had been the previous night. For a reason she felt she could open up to him, but not nearly as much as she could.
�I just found out we�re leaving tomorrow and we won�t be back for a while�� he said, letting his sentence trail.
�Which means tonight has to be really great,� Ginger hinted. She heard him laugh.
�Meaning tonight has to be really great. Since we�re leaving on short notice, I�m pushing our meeting back to five. Is that okay?� he asked. She smiled.
�Yeah. I give you permission to punch me if I fall asleep.�
�Why would you fall asleep?� he asked, sounding lightly confused. She smirked, and saw Kris roll her eyes.
�Cause I'm tired. I'm always tired. Maybe I have narcolepsy.�
�That�s okay. I can wake you up. I'm good at it."
�Where are we going tonight?� Ginger asked.
�That�s for me to know, and for you to find out. It�s a surprise.� She rolled her eyes but made a small begging sound. �And there�s no way you can bug it out of me.�
�Why does it have to be a surprise? I hate surprises," she said, pouting.
�You�ll have to learn to live with them, cause I give many surprises. Trust me, you�ll get only a sample tonight.�
�Lovely, Zac.�
�You just sound so thrilled,� he said, mocking sarcasm in his voice. She laughed and looked over to Kristina. She was obviously trying to hide her interest in the conversation.
�I think we have a fan of our relationship here, Zac.�
�Oh really?� he asked, �Who?�
�Kris. You don�t have to hide your interest, kid. I can see it in your eyes that you want to know what�s going on.�
�So if I do? It�s not every day my little sister gets more attention then I do!� she said, rather loudly.
�Little? Kris, you�re only 20 days older than me!� She shook her head.
�I�m still older.� Ginger rolled my eyes and hopped off the bed. �Don�t dent the floor now, Ginger.� She paused. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay," she said, trying to wave it off. She walked out of the room before Kris could say anything else. She wasn't mad at her; she can't be mad at her sister. Kris was such a good person that she never could get mad at her. They'd never had a fight; they'd never had anything to fight about. Her words just hit close to home.
�Like I don�t get enough sibling rivalry over here,� Zac muttered in the phone.
�We don�t rival. It�s all jokes."
"It doesn't sound like you're joking to me," he said.
"She just hit a nerve. It happens." Ginger walked out of the room and down the stairs. Kris would come looking for her in a minute, apologizing over and over, so she wanted her time with Zac before Kris did it.
"Well, what nerve did she hit?"
"Something I don't want to get into, Zac. You really don't need to know about my past and how screwed up it is," she said, sitting down in the living room. She could hear her parents conversing in the other room.
"What could be so screwed up about you that isn't screwed up about me?" he asked. "My life hasn't been peaches and cream, you know."
"No, I don't know." She sighed, looking around the room. "Maybe we can get into that tonight. I don't think I'm ready right now. I'm not in the mood right now." She put her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes; something in her mind had snapped and she was close to tears.
"All right. I'll see you tonight."
"Bye."
"Bye." She hung up the phone and let it drop beside her. She looked up as Kris walked into the room.
"Hey," she said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Ginger replied. "I'm perfectly fine. I've just got a lot on my mind right now. So, are you helping me out tonight or am I going to have to go on this date without makeup?" Kris smiled.