Chapter Nine
Flowers on a first date. Crap! How could it have slipped Bucky’s mind to pick up flowers? On his way to the Griffith Hotel, he stopped by a florist and bought a small flower bouquet. His mother would have such a fit if she knew the flowers were more of an afterthought. But he remembered them now and he was still a little early to picking up Angie for their date.
When he saw her at the diner, they had discussed a bit more of the finer details of the date. For example, what Bucky was to do when he arrived at the Griffith Hotel. He was well aware of the rule that men were not allowed above the first floor (Angie had quizzed him at least four times to make sure that he knew it) and he was more than welcome to wait in the lobby. So that’s exactly what he did. He stood close to the doors in the lobby as he waited for Angie to come down, ready for the date.
He did his best not to pace to ease the nerves but he found himself bouncing on his feet while he waited for Angie. It was a Friday night after all so he watched other men walk in, eagerly greeted by their girlfriend with a kiss and they were gone before another word was exchanged. To say the lobby was a bit busy was an understatement and Bucky was visibly relieved when it emptied after just a few minutes. But he quickly learned that that was the least of worries when a woman approached him. He suspected she was Angie’s landlady but didn’t want to assume.
“You’re new around here,” the woman remarked, studying Bucky up and down. She saw the flowers in his hand and looked up at him. “Which of my girls are you taking out?”
“Um, Miss Martinelli, ma’am,” Bucky responded quickly, standing up a bit straighter. “She said I was allowed to wait in the lobby for her.”
Miriam Fry took a breath and nodded. “The lobby, yes. I hope Miss Martinelli has also made you very aware of the rule that men are not allowed above the first floor.”
Bucky nodded. “Yes ma’am. She stressed that it was one of the most important rules you implemented here,” he responded with a small smile, “and I have no intention of breaking that rule.”
“So what is your intention with her, Mister…” Miss Fry asked, raising an eyebrow as she studied Bucky.
“Oh, Barnes. Bucky Barnes,” Bucky responded.
“Right, what are your intentions with Miss Martinelli then, Mister Barnes?” Miss Fry asked as Bucky took a deep breath, glancing up the stairs, hoping for Angie to arrive soon.
“Well, um, this is our first date, ma’am. I’m hoping that…” Bucky started as Angie came up beside Bucky and smiled.
“We’re hoping that this first date will go well enough so there’s a second date, Miss Fry,” Angie responded with a chuckle. “I’m sorry about him, he doesn’t do well with sudden interrogations.”
Miss Fry cleared her throat and shook her head. “It’s quite alright, Miss Martinelli. Have a nice evening.”
Angie smiled and nodded as she watched Miss Fry leave and turned to Bucky. “I’m sorry about her. She’s a bit strict,” she said with a slight chuckle, noticing the flowers in his hand. “You really know how to take a girl on a date.”
Bucky chuckled. “It’s alright. Thank you for the rescue though,” he said as he held out the small bouquet to her. “My mother always says to take flowers to a date and I thought it would be a good idea to start our first date off right.”
Angie smiled and took the flowers. “Oh, they’re beautiful,” she said softly and looked at Bucky. “Let me put these in my room and then we can go,” she said and disappeared up the stairs before coming back. When she came back, she took Bucky’s hand. “Alright, I’m ready.”
Bucky nodded and smiled, leading her out of the hotel and towards the restaurant he had picked out, hoping it would work for a good first date. They walked alongside each other, hand in hand, and Angie mindlessly stroked his hand with her thumb. They were silent for the first few minutes, finding comfort and ease in each other’s presence.
New York was busy on a Friday night and Bucky smiled fondly when Angie would point out her favorite theaters to him. He saw the names of the shows and Angie was excited to tell him about the shows she had seen and the shows she had hoped she’d get a part in one day. Bucky enjoyed listening to her tell him about the shows. He decided he probably enjoyed watching her eyes light up and how excited she was when she did get to talk about it.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated quickly and they spent the first few moments in a comfortable silence as they glanced through the menu. While Bucky glanced through the menu, he stole a peek over his menu every so often to glance at Angie. Her emerald green dress complimented her nicely and it went well with the bold red lipstick she selected for the evening. He thought he was being sneaky in his glances but she caught him at least once and she smirked in amusement.
“You know, we could actually have a conversation instead of you just staring at me the whole date,” Angie remarked as she folded her menu and set it down. “That is what a date is for, after all.”
Bucky let out a slight chuckle as he lowered his menu and smiled at her. “You’re right, I’m sorry. You just look absolutely amazing tonight,” he responded as the waiter came over to take their orders. After drinks and meals were ordered, Angie looked at Bucky with a gentle smile.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date. Well… a fancy date like this,” Angie confessed with a slight chuckle. “I’ve been so focused on my career and then the war happened and now here we are.”
Bucky shook his head. “Well, believe it or not, this is the first date I’ve been on since before I was shipped out,” he confessed and reached across the table to take Angie’s hand in his. “Well… after the time you and I went out for cider,” he corrected with a slight chuckle. He took a deep breath and looked at their hands. “I’m really glad we’re able to do this without all the confusion and… obstacles.”
Angie shook her head and took a deep breath. “I’m really glad too. I still can’t believe I jumped to conclusions like that. It’s very unlike me and…” she trailed off, letting out a breathless chuckle. She didn’t want to just confess everything, especially on the first date.
Bucky gave her hand a slight squeeze. “I think there’s a lot we need to learn about each other. This is just the first date and if it goes well, I look forward to learning more about you,” he smiled warmly. “What’s your family like? How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“I have four. I’m the middle kid with two older brothers and two younger sisters,” Angie confessed with a smile. “But both of my brothers are married with kids and one of my sisters just got married right after the war ended,” she responded. “So the holidays get… fairly busy for us. But my eldest brother’s kids are starting to get to the age where they can actually help and not get in the way while we’re in the kitchen.”
Bucky smiled a little. “I’m sure a bigger family makes for busy holidays,” he remarked. He had always thought about starting a family of his own, imagining that holidays would get busy for his family when he eventually got married and started having kids. “But I assume it’s a good busy, with it being the holidays.”
Angie smiled fondly at the memories that went through her head and she nodded. “We don’t mind it. I enjoy the traditions with my family,” she said gently. “Do you have any traditions with your family?”
Bucky opened his mouth to answer the question as the waiter brought the meals over for the pair. They had silently agreed to put the conversation on hold while they enjoyed their dinner. Just like he had at the beginning of the date, he stole some glances at Angie and he had a slight smile tugging at his lips when he glanced at her. Angie noticed his glances and instead of remarking about it, she smiled back at him and rolled her eyes at him but she found it amusing that he focused more on her than his dinner in front of him. There was a bit of small talk, Angie commenting on the restaurant while Bucky commented on the wine that she had selected for them.
When dinner was over and paid for, they were walking down the busy New York street once again. Bucky had his arm around her as they walked and Angie’s hand held Bucky’s hand that was around her shoulders.
“You know… you never answered my question,” Angie remarked thoughtfully as they walked towards the movie theater that Bucky had told her about close to the end of dinner. “About family traditions, I mean.”
Bucky thought for a moment and chuckled, shaking his head. “It wasn’t very busy but my family wasn’t as large as yours. It was just my parents and Rebecca. But every year, we’d listen to whatever Christmas program was on the radio. Dad was always drinking a glass of whiskey while my mom would make us kids hot chocolate and we just listened to the program,” he chuckled fondly at the memory.
“That sounds like an amazing tradition. We always baked. The house smelled like any Christmas dessert you wanted,” Angie laughed and looked at Bucky. “The kitchen was always a mess and Mother would always fuss about it but we had fun and she didn’t fuss as much when she just saw all five of us getting along and enjoying each other’s company. I’m sure you understand the frustration of siblings and how they drive you crazy most of the time.”
Bucky nodded. “I do,” he agreed with a laugh when they arrived at the theater. He walked to the box office up front with Angie right next to him. He led her into the theater with a laugh as they went into the theater to find a couple good seats to watch the movie. Neither of them knew much about the film that was playing but Bucky knew that some people thought it was pretty good and he hoped they would enjoy the film.
Even though Bucky loved going to the theater, especially sneaking in when he was younger, he couldn’t compare those experiences to this movie. He had brief concerns previously but there was just something about sitting close to Angie. His fingers absently played with her curls and when he wasn’t playing with her curls, she was holding his hand. She had her head on his shoulder and they were quiet throughout the whole movie.
When the movie was over, they weren’t in a hurry to leave but Angie knew that she’d have to leave soon to get back to the Griffith before curfew. However, they were having a good time and she wished that the date didn’t have to end soon. While she didn’t date often, she couldn’t imagine an evening going any better.
She walked close beside him, her hand in his with their fingers intertwined. She hummed softly, her head leaned against his shoulder as they walked. “James, thank you for this. I had a nice time,” she said gently and Bucky glanced at her, smiling softly as he kissed her head gently.
“Thank you for agreeing to go out on a date with me. I’m just glad you had a nice time this evening,” he responded and looked around to see the theaters slowly emptying out after the play had ended. It reminded him of when he and Angie were in the cab and he saw so many people just standing around, talking about the play. Bucky stole a quick glance at Angie and smiled softly. He knew she wanted to perform in a play one day and he knew he would support that dream because he saw how she completely lit up when talking about it.
“What are your dreams in life, James?” Angie asked quietly, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You know about mine but I don’t know yours. I know you work on the construction site and you seem to enjoy that but is that what you plan on doing forever?”
Bucky let out a slight chuckle as he thought about the question. “I haven’t thought much about it. I like my job but I want to have a family one day. I had always wanted kids but I also want to find the right girl to settle down with first,” he said as they stopped in front of the Griffith and he took his arm away from Angie’s shoulders and moved to stand in front of her. He took both hands in hers and he smiled. “I had fun tonight as well,” he said as he kissed her forehead gently.
Angie looked up at him and smiled softly as she swung their hands and her smile widened at the gesture. “I’m glad. I’d hate to think that I was the only one who had fun tonight,” she laughed gently as she looked up at him and wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She had kissed his cheek before and he had kissed her forehead or the top of her head. But she wondered if he wondered what it would be like to kiss her. She studied him for a moment and chewed the inside of her bottom lip for a moment in consideration before she threw her arms around him and pulled him down for a kiss.
Bucky was only slightly surprised by the gesture. When they stood in front of each other, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her but he absolutely did not want to rush things. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close, returning the kiss. Her lips were soft and gentle against his slightly chapped lips but he liked the kiss. It wasn’t passionate, rather just a gentle sweet kiss that ended the date rather nicely.
When Angie pulled away, she let out a gentle laugh and moved one of her hands to his cheek. “Well… that was most certainly worth the wait,” she said quietly as she looked up at him.
Bucky studied her and smiled gently. “Absolutely worth the wait,” he agreed and pulled her closer. They stayed in each other’s arms for a moment before Angie pulled away and looked at him.
“I’m afraid I have to go in. I don’t want to break curfew and you saw how Miss Fry could be,” Angie remarked with a sigh. She gave his hand one last squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow, though?”
Bucky let out a chuckle and nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised as Angie’s smile widened and she nodded before heading inside, practically beaming as she went into her apartment. Was she just feeling the excitement of a first date or was she excited at the idea of this becoming more?
Bucky watched her leave and when he knew she was safe inside, he went back to his apartment which was a short walk from the hotel. When he got into his apartment and fell back onto his bed, he replayed the date in his head. He enjoyed the date and he enjoyed the company even more. Even though he looked forward to see Angie at the L&L Automat every morning, he grew more excited by the thought of seeing her the following morning.