Chapter 11
I straightened my yellow tie in the bathroom mirror, putting the finishing touches on myself before my double date with Nicky and Lucille. I took a deep breath as I looked at myself.
"You can do this," I repeatedly told myself in my thoughts. I was so nervous about the date that every time it popped up in my brain, I felt extremely nauseous. Kate knocked on the bathroom door from outside.
"You okay, Rod?" She asked, her voice muffled by the door. "We're gonna be late." I sighed and combed any of my stray hairs back.
"I'll be right out, just making final touches!" I looked at myself one last time, gulped, then exited the bathroom. Kate was waiting for me with a timid smile on her face. Her dress was purple with patterned rhinestones across the waist. The dress was knee-length with one shoulder strap that had a large bow of the same color on it. The bow's center was aligned with rhinestones in a pattern similar to the one on the waist of the dress. She had on a pair of beautiful silver heels, about 3 and a half inches tall, with straps that went across her ankle like an anklet. Her makeup looked like it took her hours of effort to do, even though I knew it took less time than that. Her hair was done up in a bun with her side-bangs covering her forehead and some strands of her brown hair were hanging down from the sides of her face. She held a clutch purse in her hands and blushed, looking down at the floor.
"How do I look?" She asked timidly. "I hope I didn't go overboard." I smiled and took her hands.
"You look beautiful, Kate. You didn't go overboard at all." Kate blushed more and giggled.
"Thanks Rod," she replied, "You look good too." I laughed nervously, blushing bright red.
"Aww, thanks, sweetie." I opened the door of my dorm and linked arms with Kate. "Shall we go?" Kate laughed sweetly and nodded.
"Onward, my friend! Hehe!" We walked together all the way to my car, then I drove us to Chez Amour. I helped Kate out of my car and we walked inside together, hand in hand.
"Good evening," said a waitress waiting at the door. "Do you have a reservation?"
"I believe so," I replied, "We're supposed to meet another couple here, but I'm not sure what they made the reservation as."
"Oh, alright," said the waitress spritely. "Maybe you could point them out to me?" I nodded.
"Certainly." I looked around the restaurant carefully for a few moments, then I spied Nicky and Lucille feeding each other pieces of bread. I grunted with annoyance and pointed to the booth they were sitting in. "That's them." The waitress nodded and grabbed two menus for Kate and I.
"Follow me, please." She walked us to Nicky's booth and we sat down across from them. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order," said the waitress before she left.
"Well, well, well," said Lucille, "Still playing this little game?" I growled.
"There is no game, Lucille." I put my hand on Kate's and raised our hands up for Lucille to see. "See? We love each other very much, yes we do. Isn't that right, dearest?" Kate was looking off into space, daydreaming. I cleared my throat. "Dearest?" Kate turned and looked at me.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, right! I love Rod. He's the best." Kate smiled and I kissed her cheek lightly, making her blush lightly and move a little away from me.
"She's just too kind!" Lucille rolled her eyes and picked at a roll on the table. Lucille was wearing a skimpy red dress with no straps. Her breasts were practically hanging out of it! She tapped her acrylic claws against the table impatiently.
"Where is that stupid waitress?" She said. "I'm practically wasting away." Nicky patted her shoulder gently.
"Don't worry, baby," he said, "I'm sure she'll be back soon." Lucille brushed his hand off of her and began scrolling through the menu. Nicky was wearing a tuxedo with a bowtie that was slightly crooked. His typically messy hair was now combed back, allowing me to see more of his...beautiful features. I swooned at the sight of him and twirled my fork around on the table, daydreaming.
"Rod," said Nicky, his eyes sparkling from some sort of unknown light source, "you look so beautiful tonight." I purred.
"Do I? You look even more beautiful." Nicky chuckled and put his hand over mine.
"I bet you look beautiful even without your fancy clothes." I blushed bright red and giggled.
"Oh Nicholas, you feisty boy." I swear, at that point I thought I was going to drool.
"Rod?" I shook myself out of my thoughts.
"Huh? What? Me?" Nicky laughed a little.
"The lady needs to know what you wanna order." Lucille smirked at me and I blushed red.
"O-Oh," I said timidly, "I-I'll have the um...chicken breast, please." Lucille chuckled.
"The only breast he would ever want." I growled at Lucille, I could feel my cheeks flushing red with anger. I swear I even bent my fork!.
"Okay!" Said the waitress, "Your food will be ready in a few moments. Any drinks?" Nicky was about to speak, but Lucille beat him to it.
"We'll have a round of your finest Brandy."
"Oh no no," said Kate, "not me. I'll just have a water."
"What's the matter, sweetie?" Lucille ran her acrylic claw up Kate's neck, who shoved her hand away. "Afraid of loosening up a little? Or is it too much for you to handle?" Kate huffed.
"No! I can handle it just fine!"
"Good!" Chuckled Lucille. "Then four rounds of Brandy for all of us. Use the big glasses." The waitress nodded as she scribbled down the order on the notepad.
"Alright. I'll be back with your food and drinks." The waitress left and I regretted not saying anything about my drink. I had never drank any kind of alcohol before, let alone a heavy alcoholic drink like Brandy. I didn't want to get drunk, I didn't want to say anything I didn't mean. I ran my fingers through my hair nervously when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked up and saw that it was Nicky.
"Hey, Rod, buddy, are you alright? You look a little distraught." I was a little taken aback that Nicky knew what distraught meant.
"Oh, well," I said, putting on a fake smile, "thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I was just thinking about my homework, that's all." Nicky laughed a little with a smile.
"Only you would be thinking about schoolwork while you're on a date." Nicky looked at Kate, who was putting her napkin on her lap, preparing for the upcoming food. "Your girlfriend is really cute, Rod. I think she's your type." I chuckled and twirled my fingers through a strand of my hair as I admired Nicky's beautiful facial features.
"Yeah," I said dazedly, staring at Nicky's manly neck, "definitely my type." Nicky laughed nervously and snapped his fingers in front of my face. I blushed in embarrassment and immediately brought my focus onto my surroundings.
"Gee, Rod," said Nicky with a laugh, "you sure are spacing out a lot. What were you staring at?" I gulped and adjusted the collar of my tie so it wasn't so tight.
"Well," I said a little anxiously, "I-I..." In that moment I remembered Nicky's bowtie. "Your bowtie!" Nicky looked down at his neck.
"My bowtie?"
"Yes!" I said, a little louder than I meant to, "It's crooked!" I leaned over and began to retie Nicky's bow. "Honestly," I continued, "how you could ever leave the house with a messy tie is beyond me." I straightened the tie and brushed bread crumbs off of it. "There, perfect!" Nicky smiled and patted my back.
"Thanks, buddy! What would I do without you?" My eyes widened and I laughed louder than I expected to. Everyone turned around to look at me and I blushed bright red as I covered my mouth and sunk deep into the booth. Lucille smirked at me devilishly.
"Was that a laugh or did someone step on Bert from Sesame Street?" The people sitting in the booth next to us starting laughing and so did the waitress, who arrived with our food just in time to hear me laugh like a clown. Even Nicky was laughing right in front of me. I felt my bottom lip quivering against my hand and I felt my eyes stinging, but I had to be strong. Tearing up would've made things so much worse.
"Here's your food," said the waitress as the laughter died out. She placed everyone's plates in front of them and handed us our drinks. "Hope you enjoy your meal." Mortified, I picked up my fork and tried my best not to make eye contact with Lucille or Nicky. I didn't want to make them choke...well, actually that's a lie. I really wanted Lucille to choke on her own stupid remarks. I mentally prayed for her demise as Nicky tried to make small talk between Kate and Lucille. He tried making comparisons on their interests, but they were too different to even make the smallest comparison. Lucille liked porn, Kate liked Spielberg. Lucille liked bright colors, Kate liked subtle tones. Lucille liked erotic magazines, Kate liked Shakespearian plays. I rolled my eyes at Nicky's failed attempt to "get the girls bonding" and then he surprised me with his next question.
"So Rod, when did you know Kate was the one?" I coughed as a piece of chicken went down the wrong tube in my throat. I gulped and smiled awkwardly.
"W-Well, I knew Kate was the one when...when she...uh..." Kate looked at me, her eyes filled with fear and confusion on what to say. I thought of something cheesy, yet romantic, that I thought I read in a book before. "When I looked in her eyes for the first time, it hit me like a lightning bolt." Lucille made a gagging noise while Kate smiled brightly, her cheeks lightly flushing red.
"Wow," said Nicky, "that's exactly how I felt when I saw Lucille for the first time." I winced and bit my bottom lip, keeping eye contact with my plate.
"That's so sweet of you to say, Nicky," said Kate, "but, I wonder, has Lucille ever said something similar to that to you?" Nicky looked like he was ready to speak, but then he froze.
"Huh..." he said softly, "I guess...Oh! There was this-...oh wait, I said that...Hmm..." Lucile grunted in anger.
"Who cares what's said?" She said aggravated. "After all..." She ran her claw along Nicky's chest. "Actions speak louder than words, right?" Nicky blushed red and I felt my food travel back up my esophagus. I chugged down my drink to wash back whatever was coming up back into my stomach. After about a half an hour I started to feel a little dizzy. I tried to shake myself out of it, but it wouldn't go away. My vision started to get blurry.
"Rod?" I heard Nicky say, "Rod? Are you alright, pal? You look a little sick." I put my hand to my forehead to check if I had a temperature, then I realized that my drink was empty. "Come on," said Nicky, placing his hand over mine, "I'll take you to the bathroom." I nodded softly and stumbled out of my seat. Nicky chuckled and put my arm onto his. "Hold on to me," he said softly, "I don't wanna see you fall and get hurt." I giggled and blushed intensely as I held onto Nicky's arm and walked with him to the men's room. He stopped in front of sinks and propped me up onto the hand dryer so I could regain my balance.
"T-Thanks Nicky," I hiccuped. I blushed as I covered my mouth. "Excuse me." Nicky half-smiled and nudged my arm playfully.
"Hey, no big deal." I smiled awkwardly as Nicky ran his index finger across my cheek. "I think you might be a little drunk. Which is weird cause I didn't see you drink more than a couple glasses." My eyes widened.
"A couple?" I slurred, holding my head as the room began to spin. "Oh sweet Jesus." I stumbled off the hand dryer and fell forward into Nicky's arms.
"Careful, buddy!" He said laughing. "Good thing I was hear to catch ya, huh?" I looked up at him, his eyes twinkling in the crappy bathroom light. He smiled down at me, his teeth glistening.
"You're so sweet," I said with a stupid smile painted across my face, caressing Nicky's cheek.. Nicky blushed and looked to the ground.
"Aww gee thanks, Rod," he said bashfully, "but uh, maybe I should take you home. You don't look well." I leaned a little closer to Nicky's face and nuzzled his nose with my own, chuckling quietly as I did so.
"Oh Nicholas," I slurred, "I've never felt better." Nicky gulped and tried to take a step back, but his back hit a stall door.
"R-Rod," he stuttered with a nervous smile on his face and sweat dripping down his forehead, his eyes darting from left to right, "y-you're kinda freaking me out." I smirked and ran my fingers across the back of his neck as I moved closer to Nicky's face so we were a lips distance away.
"Maybe that's a good thing." I pressed my lips against Nicky's and kissed him hard and passionately. His lips felt as soft and smooth as they did in my dreams. At the time, it had felt so beautiful and so wonderful that I didn't care about anything that was before or would follow. Looking back on it now, I wish I hadn't drank so much...