Twilight had just begun when Ginger walked out of the house. A cold breeze hit her when she turned the corner to the sidewalk, going towards her and Zac's meeting point. She shivered, her thin clothes inappropriate for the sudden cold November weather. He better be there already, she thought. I am not about to wait in this weather wearing what I�m wearing. She saw a figure ahead. She walked a little faster, rubbing her hands on her arms for a bit of warmth. Zac got up as soon as she was close enough and shook his head. �You know, you could have gone back inside the house for a coat,� he told her. She shook her head, her teeth chattering.
�I�m late enough as it is,� she said. He smiled and took his jacket off, putting it on her. �Thanks.�
�Now if I get sick, I�m blaming you.� She smiled slightly and put her arms through the jacket. He waited for a hand to be free before he took it in his. �My God girl, your hands are freezing!�
�I�m known for that," she said, lightly laughing. "But I just walked out here in this weather, I would figure my hands would be cold.� They strolled down the sidewalk and over to his car.
�You do know you are breaking a law here,� she pointed out as he opened the door for her.
�Yes, I know. But I don�t care. I'm not going to meet you anywhere. If you'd let me pick you up at your door, I'd be a lot happier, but I haven't seen your house yet."
"Maybe later." She stepped into the car and sat down. He closed the door and walked over to the other side, climbing in. He looked good tonight. Not that he didn't look good yesterday, but he was trying to look better tonight. It was working. He started the car and pulled out into the road. Ginger looked out the window, watching as the scenery blurred by. The car ride had been uneventful the previous night, so she figured it would be the same way again.
This ride was long. She had no clue where they were going, and for some reason she didn�t want to. �Let me guess, you�re not going to tell me where we�re going,� she asked.
�Maybe you should be the psychic,� he joked, glancing at her.
�Eh�I�ll pass. I don�t enjoy knowing everything.� By the way the car slowed, she figured they were approaching their destination. She looked out the window and there wasn�t much there. They had approached the farmland region of Tampa. Zac stopped the car and turned off the engine.
�We�re here,� he said.
�What�s here?� she asked.
�Nothing. Fields. But it�s twilight, Ginger, and we�re facing west.� She smiled.
�How did I know that I was going to have a good time tonight?� she asked. He shrugged, not saying anything. She scooted closer to him, and he stuck his arm around her. She let her head fall on his shoulder and took his hand.
As the sun began its array of beautiful warm colors�orange, pink, red, and yellow�Ginger felt herself growing more and more used to being with him. She felt herself warming up to him, to the point where she was ready to talk to him about herself. Night fell quicker than they'd expected it to, however. They sat there, watching as the sun set and as the stars appeared. Normally during winter in Florida stars don�t come out, but that night they got lucky.
�I hate to ruin the moment but I don�t want to break the dinner reservations,� he whispered.
�That�s okay, hun.� She didn�t move, and neither did he. �It might help if we moved.�
�You move first.� They laughed. After some debate of laziness, she finally moved over, still gripping his hand. He started up the car with his other hand, and backed onto the road. They didn�t say anything until they got to the restaurant. With as much as they didn't know about each other, and as much as they wanted to know about each other, they didn't talk much. Ginger still had her issues with her past and Zac already sensed that, so he didn't want to bother asking.
Dinner was simple. The restaurant was rather elegant, and Ginger felt out of place. Everyone there was old enough to take something from the wine list except for the two in the corner. When she ordered tomato soup, Zac gave her a strange look. When the waiter walked away, Zac started talking. �Okay, you ordered soup last night, and that�s it. What�s with the soup?�
"I-I just like soup, that's all." She looked down at her bowl. Over the past few years since she'd been treated for her eating problems, she still hadn't promoted herself up to major foods. It was a big control issue and when things went in a different direction than she had planned, like meeting Zac again, she felt herself eating less and less again.
"That's not all."
"I don't want to talk about it, okay Zac?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I'm just interested in you. I don't know anything about you and every time I ask you say you don't want to talk about it! How am I supposed to get to know you if you don't say anything? How are you supposed to get to know me? I haven't heard you ask one question about me since we met."
"Zac you keep asking me questions about subjects that I don't feel comfortable talking about. You can't ask me about food, you can't ask me about my family and you can't ask me about me because I have so many problems that I don't want you to know about."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know you yet."
"How the hell are you supposed to get to know me? You're not asking anything! Ask me something and I'll tell you. Ginger, you're such a beautiful person, I just want to get to know you better. I can't get to know you better until you open up."
"I'm not going to open up."
"Then what are we doing here?" he asked, throwing his napkin on the table and sitting back. She crossed her arms, surprised at his rudeness.
�Do you want me to leave?" she asked, raising her voice. "Because I can just go home and we'll forget about this. I don't need you prying.�
He huffed, really not knowing how to respond. �Whatever,� he told her, looking away.
"Fine." She got up and left the restaurant. She got halfway down the street and was waiting for the signal to let her cross when Zac caught up with her.
�Why the hell did you leave?�
�Um, hello? I thought you had a brain in there! I asked if you wanted me to get up and leave, and you said whatever, so I left!�
�At least let me drive you home, Ginger. It�s cold out here and it�s a while back.� She looked at him wide-eyed.
�Okay, I don�t get this. You�re being nice now, what happened?�
�I can�t just let you walk home, you�d freeze. Come on.� She looked away, crossing her arms. "Please, Ginger?"
�No.�
She started walking again. He headed after her, trying his best to keep a step ahead of her. She ignored him, walking faster. �Go away, dammit!� she suddenly yelled, stopping. He looked surprised; evidently he didn�t expect her outburst. �Why don�t you leave me alone? I plan on walking home and I don�t need you to follow me there. Aren�t you afraid someone will steal your precious car?�
�I don�t care about the car. I don�t want you to go home like this. It�s too cold and it looks like it�s going to rain soon. If you get caught in this then you�ll get really sick and I don�t want that.�
�Is that the only reason you�re following me? So I don�t freeze or get caught in the rain?�
�I care about you, I don�t want you to get sick.�
�How sweet. Go away Zac.� She started off again, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Zac!" He held onto her gently, trying his best not to hurt her little arm. He held it just tight enough to keep a firm grasp on her so she wouldn't run off again.
�Come back with me. I�ll drive you home.�
�Don�t expect any kind of gratitude, Zac. I�m doing this so you�ll shut up and leave me alone.� He smiled. �And don�t smile, you�ll just make me feel bad for walking out on you.� He kept his smile and they walked back to the car. In the car on the way home, she began to think about why exactly she walked out on him. The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and she shook her head.
"The reason I eat soup is because I was anorexic for a few years and I guess you could say I still have a problem with it. I do it when something changes in my life because when things change and I can't control them I search for something I can control, and that's what I eat."
"So you're not the type of girl who pigs out when she's upset, are you?" he asked, looking over at her for a moment before putting his eyes back on the road.
"No, I guess not."
"Well, I'm the kind of guy who pigs out all the time. I'll have you eating good in no time." She reached over and took his hand.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I provoked you to leave. I should be the one apologizing. You wouldn't have left if I didn't insist on getting to know you."
"You have every reason to want to get to know me, Zac. I'm just not the most open person in the world. My life�my life isn't exactly the best one out there. It's certainly not the worst, but it's not the best either."
"Well, at least you get along with your sister."
"I love my sister," she said, wrapping her arm in his and resting her head on his shoulder. "We do get along really well. That's because she's my best friend. We're weird best friends cause we don't ever fight, but we're still best friends."
"I used to be best friends with my brothers. We're still close, but I can feel us drifting apart. It's because they're both in the position where they can move out of the house and be on their own while I'm still stuck at home for a few more years. It just seems that they're getting so much older than I am."
"It'll slow once you get a bit older. I don't have that problem. Kris is only twenty days older than me."
"That's because you're both adopted."
"You do know more about me than you give yourself credit for. Not many people know that me and Kris are sisters. They all think we're friends that always seem to be together. We don't have very many other friends, and the ones we do have, don't know us very well. You know I'm adopted. No one knows that outside the family. Unless we go out together and are seen as a family, no one knows."
"Were you adopted at birth or what?" he asked.
"No, I was five. You see, my parents died in a car crash and I really didn't have any other relatives that could take care of me. A neighbor put me in an orphanage. I was there a few days before I got adopted. Kris was already there; she'd been adopted at birth." She looked out into the road, noticing that they were nearing the drop off point. She didn't say anything until he pulled the car up to the curb. He shut off the car and looked at her. "As corny as it may sound," he began, "I still have to ask. Do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Well�to tell you the truth, I didn't before. But I do now."
"I barely know you and I'm falling in love with you," he admitted. She smiled. It felt awkward being in the car, so she parted from him.
"Come on," she said, opening the door. "Walk me home." She got out of the car and waited for him to be by her side again. She linked her arm in his and they walked down the sidewalk. It'd gotten cooler now that the sun went down, but she still had Zac's jacket on so she wasn't cold.
"Is your house far?" She shook her head.
"No, it's right on the corner." She pointed at the corner and the two-story house at the end. "That's it right there."
"So you've lived here all this time and I never noticed?"
"Nope. I'm just a second away." They walked around the corner and up to her front door. "So�this is it. Nothing glamorous. I'd invite you in, but my father wouldn't like that." She stood in front of him, her back to the door.
"You know I'm leaving tomorrow," he said, looking down at their connected hands then back up at her. "I don't know when I'll be back."
�I�ll miss you.�
�I�ll miss you more.� He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before he pulled her into a hug. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. �You�re beautiful, Ginger. I�ll be back as soon as I can.�
�I wish you wouldn�t go,� she whispered.
�But I have to.�
�I know,� she breathed, barely perceptible. Her eyes were still closed, visioning the two of them being together longer than they could. She knew it was just about to end. Two days ago she had forgotten about him. Yesterday morning she hadn�t cared for him. Now she loved him. They stayed in an embrace for as long as they could.
�How many children are we going to have, Zac?� she suddenly asked. If his plan were going to work, it would be beneficial to know how many kids she'd have. He was already right about this part, he might be right about the rest of it.
�Two. A girl first and then a boy.�
�Good.� He gently pulled away from her, and looked at her. �I�ll see you.� He nodded.
�Soon.�
She turned around, her eyes watering. The last thing she needed was to cry. He was going to be back soon, so it wasn�t like they�d never see each other again. It wasn't like they were breaking up.
�Ginger?� she heard, softly. She stopped, and turned around. Zac grabbed her and kissed her. It took her a while to respond, but she finally did, kissing him back. It was simple and beautiful. It lasted for as long as she could linger on, yet it didn�t last long enough.
She pulled away, and smiled. �I love you, Zac.�
�I�ll bet you five bucks I love you more.� She leaned against the door again, and it opened. She stopped herself from falling in.
�That did not happen,� she said. He was laughing. �You shouldn�t laugh at me, hun. Wipe off the lipstick before you go home.�
�Loser.�
�Excuse me? I believe you�re the loser here,� she said, crossing her arms. He was still laughing at her but she gave him a look and he stopped.
�I wasn�t the one who fell inside the house.� Her look remained. �Sorry.�
�Goodnight, Zac. I�ll see you soon.�
�You too. I�ll be back before you know it.� He kissed her again and she watched him walk away before she closed the door. She turned around and Kristina stood there, shocked.
�Um, hi.�
�You kissed him?� she asked.
�He kissed me.�
�Still. Yesterday morning you didn�t want to go out with him! What happened?�
�A date happened.� Kris gave her a look. Ginger shifted awkwardly, and the warmth around her arms surprised her. She looked down. She still had his jacket on.