Once Ricki arrived at the party with her friends, she actually began to enjoy herself. They were talking with a few other people they didn't know when Ricki felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Ashton standing in front of her.
"Hi." he said in his southern accent, flashing his white teeth.
"Hi." Ricki said. "Ashton, right?"
"yeah. And you're Ricki."
"Right. You remembered." Ricki said.
"Yeah. I never forget a pretty face." He said shyly.
Ricki laughed. "You're funny, Ashton." She said.
"Thanks. My mom always said I was a ham." He said.
"YOu are. Ricki said. Fifteen minutes later, she was still talking to Ashton. She could tell that he was genuinly nice, but not the brightest crayone in the box.
"So back to the football thing. You say you've never been to a game?" He asked.
"Nope. Can't say that I have." Ricki said with a smile.
"Well would you like to go to one? We have a home game next Sunday. I'm sure you'd have fun." Ashton said.
"I don't know..." Ricki said.
"It would be fun." He insisted. "You could get to see me play!" He laughed.
"Well then, I guess I have to go then, don't I?" Ricki joked.
"Yeah, yeah you do." he said, flashing her his white teeth again.
"I'll go." She said.
"Great." Ashton said. Ricki smiled back at him, feeling her stomach flutter. A guy is NOT what I need right now...but it's just a football game on a Sunday...no big deal. Nothing too serious...
"He's cute." Erin commented as Ashton walked away.
"Yeah..." Ricki said.
"Are you going to go for him?" Elizabeth asked.
Ricki watched as Ashton made his way across the room to talk to another group of people.
"I dunno." She said.
"You should. He's hot." Erin said.
Ricki laughed. "I've known him almost three days." She said.
"So get to know him." Elizabeth said.
"Yeah, he's a football player."
Ricki laughed. "Is that a good thing?"
"Yup. They're always in demand." Erin said.
"Oh." Ricki said.
"You should definitely look into that." She said.
Ricki met eyes with Ashton from across the room and he gave her a casual wave. She flashed him a smile, then turned to Erin. "I just might." She said with a grin.
Zac tensed a little as he felt Susan grab his hand. He looked at over at her and caught her looking at him. He smiled at her, not wanting to look silly. The movie was boring as hell to him, but Susan thought it was great. Luckily, it was in the final scene, and it seemed to drag on and on and on...Until it finally ended.
"That was sooooo cute!" SHe said, jumping up as the credits started to roll.
"Yeah." Zac said with fake enthusiasam.
"I loved the part when they first kissed." She said, linking her arm with his as they walked out of the movie theater.
"Yeah." Zac said again. They got into his car, and they drove all the way home, Susan talking about her 'favorite parts' to the movie.
Once they were at her dorms, Zac killed the engine of the car. This was the part he had been dreading. He looked over at Susan, who was looking at him expectantly. He quickly thought a moment. Should he kiss her? He knew she was expecting it, and he was in college after all.
He leaned over and placed a short kiss on her lips. He smiled a small smile at her as he pulled away. SHe giggled and grinned at him.
She is pretty... He thought to himself.
"Thanks for dinner and the movie. I had a great time." She said.
"Me too." Zac said. It hadn't been that bad. They had talked easily for an hour at the restaurant, and the movie had been the only slow part.
"Maybe we can do it again sometime." She said.
"Yeah. We should." He said.
"Great." She said, picking up her coat and purse. "I'll be in touch." She said, and with a final smile, opened the door and climbed out. Once she was inside, Zac started his car and drove the short drive over to his dorm.