Jim and Rebecca drove over to the mall, quickly finding Rick and Brandi when they got to the movie theater. Introductions were quickly made all around.
Seeing that Jim and Rebecca had been holding hands as they arrived, and continued to do so as they waited to get tickets, Brandi asked how long they had been dating.
Jim answered, "We met three weeks ago, and have been dating for a week."
Brandi continued, "And no one has yet bothered you about being... you know..."
Jim queried, "What? Teenagers? Recent transfers?"
Brandi laughed, "No. You know," her voice dropped here, "lesbians."
Jim and Rebecca looked at one another. She answered, "We hadn't thought of ourselves that way. No, nobody has even mentioned that to us."
"Wow," Brandi said in amazement. "Not even in school?"
Jim responded, "Well, only a couple of people there know. Beth's brother is the only one who seems to have a problem with us dating, although we're not sure if that's the issue there."
Rick interjected, "Doesn't he want you to be happy, Beth?"
She looked up at him a little oddly. "I'm sure he does. But perhaps he thinks he's a better judge of my happiness than I am."
By then, they'd gotten their tickets, and were looking for seats. Since the theater was pretty empty, they had many choices. They ended up near the middle, though Jim and Rebecca made sure they were behind the other patrons.
They all talked a bit more until the movie started. Once it did, Jim raised the armrest between his and Rebecca's seat, and a very serious make-out session commenced. When, a few minutes in, he felt a hand work its way underneath his top, he said, "Mmmm" in appreciation. In response, he placed his hands under her top, one in front, and one behind her. He started working the one in front upwards, and got quite a surprise when it ended up directly on her breast. When he got to moving that hand around more, it was her turn to make sounds of enjoyment.
They were both just starting to really enjoy themselves when they heard Brandi loudly whisper, "Stop it!" They looked over, but couldn't really see what had happened, except that Brandi had her arms crossed in front of her, and she and Rick both looked annoyed.
A little embarrassed, Jim and Rebecca turned to watch the movie for a bit, each keeping an arm around the other. To their surprise, they found it was keeping their attention well. It became clear that it was about a love triangle, but it had a man and a woman each chasing a second woman. Their methods of wooing were getting more and more outrageous as the movie progressed, until finally the prey's sister was hurt by their schemes interfering with each other.
At that point, the woo-ee, tired of the competition, set the two of them up. The last scene had the hunters sitting at adjacent tables in a fine restaurant, each waiting for the other woman to show up. It finished with a shot showing them becoming aware of the other, and turning their heads towards each other, fading to black as their eyes met.
Brandi surprised them all, by mentioning that this sort of thing was why she only watched indie flicks. "Hollywood movies would never give an ambiguous ending like that," she remarked.
They adjourned to the restaurant, talking about the movie as they went. On arriving, they were immediately seated.
While waiting for the waiter to come take their orders, Jim mentioned that he needed to use the lavatory. Brandi stood up, too, saying that she would go, too. They let Rick and Beth know what they wanted, and left.
When they got to the restroom, Brandi asked Jim about how he'd met Beth. He told her about the dance, and how they couldn't take their eyes off each other, and started to talk about how incredible the rest of the evening was, but then she asked how he knew that Beth would be receptive. He answered that Beth had come right up to him, and taken his arm, so he hadn't had to think about it, really. "But is there something more you're wondering," he asked.
Avoiding his question, she queried back, "Do you think I'm pretty?"
"Of course. You're gorgeous."
"Well, then answer me this. How do I find someone like you, or Beth, if no women talk to me in that sort of way?"
"Oh! Oh, boy. That explains a bunch of things I hadn't realized were bothering me. I hate to say it, but I don't think there's anything Beth or I can tell you. My situation is so weird that I'm sure there's nothing I can say to help. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone, and I'll keep my eyes peeled, to see if there's something I can do. What are you going to do about Rick, though?"
"That's easy," she laughed. "I'll just say that I had a good time, but won't give any indication that it should be repeated." She gave him a hug, and said, "Thanks. I feel better, just from having told someone else. And hey, if you have a falling out with Beth, give me a call," she joked.
When they returned to the table, Beth was there alone. She looked a bit irked, and answered their question by saying that Rick was in the bathroom.
"Sorry we took so long, sweetie. Brandi just needed an ear to listen." He glanced up at Brandi; seeing her shake her head, he continued, "I'll tell you about it later."
They talked about the movie a bit more, finally coming to a consensus just after the food arrived. They agreed that the two stalkers must have ended up together.
They waited a couple of more minutes for Rick, but finally proceeded to eat. When they finished their food, Rick still hadn't shown up, but they still had a very good time.
Jim ended up paying for the whole meal, as well as driving the two girls home.
When he and Rebecca left Brandi's house, Rebecca changed back to herself, and then told him why Rick hadn't returned. It seems that he felt the need to hedge his bets, and made a very tacky pass at Rebecca when they were alone at the table. She, in turn, had slapped him resoundingly, then watched him leave. "I can't entirely complain, though. It's the first time I've hit him, where he hasn't been able to hit me back."
"I'm glad to see you kept your sense of humor about it, but man, does he owe me," Jim remarked with exasperation. "I'm going to have quite a talk with him, soon."
As he was saying that, Rebecca realized that they were getting close to home, and disguised the car to look like a much showier car.
After giving Rebecca a very long kiss, and dropping her off, Jim drove off to sit for a while before calling Rick. Remembering the earlier problem he'd had with the jeans, he doffed his skirt before calling Rick. He got Rick to change him back, and agreed to talk tomorrow before hanging up. I'll deal with that tomorrow, he thought.
With that in mind, he finally drove home.
