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Wrapped in the arms of the guy she liked.
That was exactly how Gwen had wanted her night to go. After weeks of pining for his attention, he was finally right where she wanted him. Granted, she hadn't thought they'd be out in the desert in the middle of nowhere, but she wasn't about to complain. A part of her was even happy they had missed the school dance. Being alone with him was preferable to having her friends pester her about the details of her relationship with Kevin.
'Relationship' was a loose term in this case, since they weren't official yet. Kevin hadn't even asked her out. Gwen was getting tired of that. She liked him, he liked her. She had to set things straight.
She pulled away from Kevin's embrace to see him looking down at her, a warm smile on his face. "Kevin," she began. "What are we?"
His smile slowly disappeared. "What d'you mean?"
"I like you and you like me, but we're not boyfriend and girlfriend. It seems like we're stuck in this 'will they, won't they' phase. What's holding us back?" she asked.
There was a long pause, after which Kevin sighed. Gwen took his hand and led him to his car. He sat on the edge of its hood, and she sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I won't judge you, Kevin. I just need to know where we stand."
He ran his fingers through his hair. "I've done a lotta things I ain't proud of. I don't want you to start dating me, only to realize you made a mistake. You deserve someone clean."
"I don't have feelings for Kevin the criminal. I have feelings for Kevin, the funny, charming bad boy who knows he messed up and wants to be better," she told him. "You're on the right track. You're a better person today than you were yesterday, and you were a better person yesterday than the day before that."
"You should thank yourself for that. Being around you... I dunno, you make me a better person." He couldn't help but blush. He was still trying to process the fact that she had chosen to go to the dance with him instead of one of her preppy schoolmates. Perhaps she saw something in him that he wasn't aware of. "Listen, I wanna be with you, I really do. I just have no idea how any of this works. I don't wanna mess this up."
She smiled, attempting to comfort him. "Well, we both know we like each other. That's the first step. Maybe we can go out to dinner sometime and see where it takes us. Baby steps."
"I'd like that." He put his arm around her, albeit rather awkwardly, coaxing her to look at the twinkling stars spread across the night sky. She leaned into him, in awe of the view above them.
This was definitely a night she would fondly remember for years to come.