Gabe laughed again. "You are. You're funny and smart, and you have incredible aim, and . . ." He stopped and looked at me in that way that I never understood.

"And?"

"And you've made me think more about stuff, made me want to not be who I was."

"That's a good thing?"

"Oh yeah. A very good thing. You never talked to me like I was stupid, even back when you were explaining the time travel thing. Maybe you just thought I was clever 'cause I was an angel, but you've been d.a.m.n swell ever since."

"Oh . . .well . . . you know . . ."

"And you're beautiful."

"Gabe. . ."

"No, I mean it. I know you don't dress like the other girls, and you're not like a movie star . . . you're not cute. You're not obviously hot . . ."

"Gabe, is this a compliment?"

"Listen, okay? I'm trying to explain something. You're beautiful. That's different. That's deeper. And it ain't just your personality, not talking about that. It's hard to describe. You're . . ." He seemed really wrapped up with getting this right, was squeezing my hands hard in concentration. "Like tonight. You come downstairs, and you glow. And your body looks amazing . . ."

"Gabe . . ." and there was the hotness in the face again.

"And your face," he corrected himself quickly, "your face is just perfect and was the it, felt . . . I can't explain it. It's like, with other girls, yeah they're pretty, and you see it and you think, 'That's hot,' but then you look at you and then it's like . . . it's like when I was little and would just look out into the bayou and just stare and watch, for hours. And my ma would get angry 'cause she thought I was lazy, couldn't figure out what I was doing. I just wanted to look because it was so beautiful, and I thought if I looked away then I'd forget what it was like." He stopped speaking and his body seemed to relax. Like he was finally satisfied with his explanation.

"Gabe." I didn't know what to say. Should I say something back? Like I thought he was so hot that every time he came close to me my stomach would get all b.u.t.terflies? That the first time he'd touched my hand I thought I'd been electrocuted? But he knew he was hot. Did he still want me to tell him that? And besides, it wasn't like I could say anything half so romantic as the staring out into the swamp thing . . .

"Step four is a pretty embarra.s.sing step for you, isn't it?" said Gabe after I'd been silent a little too long.

"Could have used some warning. Like with step two point five."

"I just wanted to say it. So you knew. 'Cause I think you get how clever you are, but sometimes I think you don't get how you look . . ."

"Well, to you . . ."

"To me. Probably to other guys too. But to me matters most, right?" he said with a devilish grin.

"Yeah, sure." I offered a shy smile. "And, uh . . ."

"Yes?"

"You're pretty cool too."

Gabe laughed again. "Coming from you, that's a top compliment."

Fortunately the waiter returned with our first course at that moment and we could let the subject drop as we enjoyed the food. It was beyond amazing. The chef was clearly a real artist.

We ate our way through some Oysters Rockefeller and then turtle soup. It was an excellent distraction from the date itself, as all we felt like talking about was how fantastic the food was, which was being delivered to us fast and furious. We'd share bits of what we were eating with each other. I even found him feeding me once and I didn't think it strange or anything at all. By the third course we were stuffed, but the food was still coming. More customers had arrived at this point, and a band had arrived that started playing a mix of Zydeco and jazz. It was fast and lively, just like our waiter. In fact our waiter had taken to dancing his way out over to us now.

"You're very good!" I said as he placed two steaming plates of Jambalya in front of us.

"Thank you. I'll show you!" He grabbed my hand, and before I could say anything I was up on my feet.

"I'm really not a dancer . . ." I said. Also there's no one else dancing and this is pretty embarra.s.sing.

"Don't think, just dance."

Easy for you to say. I held onto his hand as he jumped around. I started to move a little and glanced over at Gabe who looked like he was about to die from laughter.

"I'm . . . I'm really full . . ." I said when the waiter grabbed my other hand to try to get me more into it.

"Will help the digestion."

I wasn't so sure about that. He turned me around, and now I was facing the musicians and they were all watching me. The guy the tears welled upto0">

Eventually Gabe signaled for the bill and threw down some cash. I knew he'd wanted it to be his treat, still I did feel bad not being allowed to contribute. Then he looked at me and reached out for my hands. This time I was comfortable with him taking them and smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied. We just kind of looked at each other, and it was okay. It was okay not to say anything. My mind wasn't even racing that much.

Then Gabe sighed and released my hands. "We should probably go," he said standing up.

"Really?"

"Hey, it's your parents and their rules."

"Yeah, I guess." I stood up. "Step six. Go home."

"Yup."

We waved goodbye to the band as we pa.s.sed and the waiter grabbed my hand to spin me one last time. Then we walked out of the courtyard, through the now much busier streets, and back to the bike. There were a couple of kids hanging around, looking at it.

"That your bike?" asked one of them as we approached.

"Yeah," replied Gabe opening up the back and pulling out my helmet for me.

"That's so cool."

"Vintage," said his friend.

"You his girlfriend?" asked the first kid, turning to me now.

Poor kid. Had no idea what a complicated and uncomfortable question that really was. "I guess so, yeah," I said finally as I took the helmet from Gabe. We made eye contact, and he grinned in the way he always did.

"Dude, you're my hero," said the first kid and held up his hand. Gabe laughed and gave him a high five.

"Where'd you get the jacket?" asked the second kid.

"A gift."

"So cool," said the first kid to the second as they went on their way. "Vintage."

"Yeah. So cool. Totally Luke Perry."

"Yeah."

Well, that was two new things I'd learned there. Evidently I made Gabe look like a hero, and Luke Perry was cool again.

"You're my girlfriend?" asked Gabe coming up to me with a smile.

"Hey, I just said it to make you look good," I replied putting on the helmet before he could interrogate me further.

We got on the bike, and this time I felt like a pro. This time I felt, well, okay, I felt cool. I knew it shouldn't matter what anybody else thought, especially not two kids, but as we drove through the crowded streets and turned heads...it felt nice to feel impressive.

The drive back in the dark was a little spooky, especially once we were off the highway. The only light was from the bike, and we could only see several feet in front of us. For some reason the dark brought back our missi was the esh. Couldon into sharp focus, and I started to feel nervous. About our plan. About the Taking. I didn't want to think about any of it, not right now. I leaned into Gabe and hugged him tighter.

We made it into town, and the lights calmed me down somewhat. I saw Lacy with some of the other cheerleaders and was about to wave to her, until I remembered that we weren't supposed to really be friends. It was so complicated keeping the fake relations.h.i.+ps and the real relations.h.i.+ps straight.

Then we were through town and riding up the drive and stopping in front of the house. Almost like we'd never left. It was a strange feeling.

"Did you see Lacy?" asked Gabe as he took my helmet.

"Yeah, I almost waved."

"She wouldn't have liked that."

"No."

We walked up the steps to the veranda and stopped on the front porch.

Gabe was quiet for a moment, and I could tell there was something on his mind. Finally he blurted out, "You think we can do this?"

My heart was beating a mile a minute now. "Do what?"

"Shooting down the angels."

Oh that. Looked like I wasn't the only one thinking about it then. "I dunno."

"Well, we all know you can, but the rest of us...even after all the training..."

"We can do it." I didn't want to think about what would happen if our plan didn't work. If we accidentally, say, shot a person. Even if we didn't hit anything, we'd still probably be arrested. And with Pastor Warren's tight grip on the town...we could seriously be in trouble. The only way to prove that we were right was to hit an angel.

"Okay," said Gabe.

"Okay? That's it?"

"If you say so, I believe you."

Really? Why? "Okay."

He seemed to relax after that conversation, like he'd been keeping it inside for a while. He smiled. I smiled back.

So, Gabe, we're standing outside, end of date...anything else aside from strategic planning?

He walked up to the door and opened it for me.

I guess not.

"Thanks." I walked inside with him close behind and wandered through the foyer to the back staircase.

"So...goodnight then I guess," I said as we stood in the darkened hallway.

"Goodnight."

We looked at each other. It seemed like he might be thinking about trying to kiss me. Or maybe he was still thinking about shooting angels. It was hard to tell. It looked like I was going to have to make the first move, and I didn't know what to do. Was there something special a girl did when she wanted a guy to kiss her? What kind of signal was a signal?

"Thanks so much for dinner, that was fantastic," I said and I grabbed him in a tight hug. It took him a moment before I felt his arms around me in return, but then they were there and holding me. We pulled apart, and I gave him one last smile before heading upstairs. Finally I could rush into my room and dive under the covers and feel stupid and amazing and totally regretful that I hadn't just gone in for a kiss instead.

I pulled the covers off my head, and lay there in my red dress for a moment. That was my first date. Ever. I think it'd gone pretty well, but, of course, maybe he'd be upset that we hadn't kissed. But I'd wanted to kiss him, I had. And anyway, affected by our power foundkidd he knew that I didn't know what I was doing, and why didn't he try? I mean he'd been the one taking me through all the steps anyway.

Maybe, and I sat upright. Maybe he didn't want to kiss me. But we'd had so much fun. That doesn't matter, I told myself. Maybe he realized that we were better as friends.

But he thought I was beautiful.

Like the bayou.

I threw off the covers, it was way too hot for them anyway, and changed into my Daddy's Columbia T-s.h.i.+rt. I hadn't worn it since that night, I wasn't sure why, there were too many connections to it. But I felt like wearing it now.

In fact...

I climbed quietly down the stairs, out the side entrance and made my way over to the swing. I sat down feeling a strange sense of deja vu. The Taking was only a week away. There were other more important things to think about than kissing boys and going on dates. I breathed in the moist air and tried to clear my head. I was getting pretty good at clearing my head, which was helpful, seeing as it could get pretty messy in there. I felt calm. I felt...ready.

And then I saw him, out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't realized I'd seen him at first, but then it registered, and I turned and watched as Gabe sat down next to me.

"Hey," I said quietly.

He leaned into m didn't see it cominge so quickly I