Chapter 6

Ranma stood nervously outside of the girl’s locker room, not noticing the strange and appreciative looks he received from the girls that went by, waiting for Shayla to come out. He’d felt like a fool for not telling Shay how he felt about her when they were at the beach earlier in the week and after a long talk with Nathan, he’d finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a real date. He was so deep in thought, he missed her coming out of the exit and almost jumped straight up into the air at her voice.

"Hellooo Ranma-kun," she said, waving a hand in front of his face.

"You surprised me," he said, heart rate slowing down only to speed up again at the sight of her. Today she was wearing a dark blue polo shirt and jeans and looked very cute.

"What’s up?"

"Um, I want to talk to you. Will you come for a walk with me?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?" A slight frown appeared on her face as she moved to follow Ranma down the path.

"Yeah, everything is fine, I just wanted to ask you something." Ranma walked down the path, not really having any idea where they were going, he just wanted to get away from the crowded, more popular areas.

"Ask me what?" They stopped by a bench and Ranma sat down, motioning for her to sit down also.

"When we were at the beach the other day, I wanted to tell you something but I couldn’t," he began.

"Yeah, I’m really sorry Nick showed up. I didn’t even know he was there at the beach."

"Well, it’s not entirely Nick’s fault." Ranma swallowed and took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask you out on a date with me, Shay-chan. I really like you, since the first day we met." He moved closer to her and almost took her hand. ‘Say yes,’ he pleaded inside his mind.
"Yes, I’ll go out with you," Shayla whispered, eyes wide with surprise.

‘Ya-ta!’ Now that he’d asked her out and told her he liked her, he wondered what the big deal was and realized that Nathan had told him as much in the coffee shop last night. "How does a movie around 6:00 sound tonight?"

"Sounds great. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, I’ll come by your place, if that’s okay?"

"That’s fine," Shayla smiled. They awkwardly stood up and didn’t say anything for a few moments, staring at each other. Shayla glanced down at her watch and exclaimed, "I’ve gotta run or I’m going to be late for psychology!"

"Gomen, I’ll see you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Shayla smiled before she turned away and walked down the path at a fast pace. Ranma watched her go until he could no longer see her and turned and ran all the way back to his dorm, jumping over benches, tables and small children in his exuberance.

**

Ranma walked slowly down the sidewalk outside of Shayla’s apartment, watching over his shoulder for the light in her bedroom to go out. He could still feel the pressure of her lips on his and smell her shampoo on his hands. ‘My first kiss,’ he thought wryly, realizing that he’d had 4 fiancées and never had a serious kiss. ‘She probably thinks I’m a freak.’

He saw the light wink out and turned to walk the rest of the way to his dorm. He could get back quicker if he took his usual route on the rooftops, but he was in no hurry and walked slowly, head down in thought. The movie had been nice, but he wanted to spend more time talking to her, not sitting in the dark staring at a screen. He did concede that holding her hand in the theater had been wonderful, though. Afterward, in the coffee shop, he told her about his travelling childhood with his father and she told him of her childhood in the small town she was born in.

Ranma remembered the glare from the waitress as they continued to sit in the booth, talking away, until she started to turn out the lights around them. Shayla, realizing the time, said she had to get back as she had to be at the computer lab bright and early the next morning. "The place falls apart when I’m not there," she commented on the way back to her apartment. Feeling much the same as the computer lab, Ranma could only sympathize. There had been an awkward pause at the door and even though Ranma had taken her hand on the way home and desperately wanted to kiss her, he felt frozen and could only watch as she unlocked the door and turned back to face him, pushing her unruly hair out of her eyes. "So. . . I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?" she ventured, looking down at the floor of the landing.

"Uh, yeah, tomorrow." He looked at her, and suddenly felt galvanized and felt his arms go around her, pulling her to him. She made a small sound and then their lips were pressed together, Ranma thrilling to the unfamiliar feeling. Dazedly he thought, "So this is what it’s all about." Just as suddenly, they pulled apart and looked at each other, breathing hard.

Not knowing what else to do or say, Ranma smiled and said, "I had a really good time tonight," and immediately slapped himself. ‘Idiot!’ He was relieved when she smiled and nodded, looking down again.

"Well, I’d better go in," she said, opening the door. Ranma was tempted to follow her in, but saw Tigger in the living room.

"Goodnight," he whispered again, gaining confidence and kissing her once more.

"Goodnight," she whispered back, gently closing the door.