Chapter 4: First Date

"In the car, I just can't wait

To pick you up on our very first date

Is it cool if I hold your hand?

Is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?

Do you like my stupid hair?

Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?

I'm just scared of what you'll think

You make me nervous so I really can't eat."

- Blink 182, "First Date"

"Hello," a deep voice answered on the other line.

"H-hi," I said nervously, twisting the phone cord around my finger.

"What's up, Emma?" Sean asked blandly.

"Nothing much," I replied lamely. God… That was my answer? "I was just wondering if… You wanted to go out tonight." My heart jumped as I asked him. I laughed nervously, like the bimbo that I am.

He laughed back, thankfully. "Sure," he said, a lighter tone to his voice. "Where?"

"Umm…" I thought. After a moment, I remembered. The phone cable was practically cutting off my circulation. "Do you want to come to dinner with me at Bella Noche?" It was a good Spanish restaurant, just around the block.

"I'd love to," he said. I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

I let out a loud sigh of relief, instantly wishing that it wasn't as loud. "Would it be okay if it was a double date with my friend Nat and her boyfriend Ryan?"

Silence.

I bit my lip. Did he not like double dates, or something? Was I being too straightforward? Thoughts pulsed through my mind as I listened hopefully for his voice.

"That'd be alright," he said softly.

I beamed.

"I'll pick you up at 7?" he asked me.

"That's… Fine," I said, having a hard time breathing.

"See you," he said and hung up.

I hung up, unable to believe it. Now… I just had to find the perfect outfit.

I struck a pose at the mirror, putting my hands behind my head and sticking my chest out a bit. I was wearing a miniskirt in a shade of soft beige, and a silky ribbon for a belt was tied at my right hip. I had on a matching bell-sleeve V-neck shirt in a shade of pale lime green, the same as the ribbon. I looked earthy, but in an almost sexy way. I struck another pose, this time putting my hands on my hips and turning my back to the mirror. I turned my upper half around, checking out how the outfit fit. It was perfect. I beamed and began to do my makeup.

I subconsciously wondered what Sean would wear as I put on some nude colored eye shadow. Nat was already ready; she was spending some time at Ryan's house before the date. They always fooled around before their dates. I rolled my eyes and pulled a thin mascara tube out of my cosmetics bag. I always wear a little bit, because if I wear too much, I get "spider legs."

As I got ready for my first date with Sean in years, thoughts raced through my mind. What will he wear? Will he like what I'm wearing? Will we have fun? I straightened my hair anxiously when I heard the door bell ring.

My heart immediately started racing. He was here to pick me up already! I walked quickly to the door and opened it a crack. Sure enough, he was standing there, a most likely nervous smile spread across his face.

I opened the door completely and flashed him a smile. "Hey."

He looked me up and down, his eyes widening. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, you look really nice, too," I said as I felt my cheeks flush.

He let out a small chuckle and extended a hand to my face. His fingers followed the curve of my chin until they came underneath. He leaned in as he guided me towards him with his index finger under my chin, as if beckoning me. He then planted a tender kiss right on my lips, his Axe cologne filling my nose pleasantly. I wound my arms around his shoulders, not wanting this moment to end.

He pulled away, smiling at me. "We have to get going."

I nodded, my arms still around him. I let go of him with one hand, but held on with the other. As we walked out to his car (a dark green Audi), I smiled at random passersby. I had a feeling that I was going to have a lot of fun tonight.

"So then Don Juan said, "Who the hell is Bill Clinton?"" Ryan said, delivering the punch line to his joke effectively. Natalie, Sean, and I roared with laughter while Ryan smirked triumphantly.

Nat wiped tears from her eyes and asked him, "How do you come up with such great jokes, honey?"

He just leaned back, his hands behind his head. "I have a natural gift, I guess," he said, grinning toothily.

I smiled and looked at Sean. He was still slightly laughing, the corners of his eyes crinkling ever so lightly. I grinned at him and put my hand on his, which was lying near his glass of Coke. As my thumb gently stroked his hand, he looked at me and gave me a soft smile. I could practically feel my heart melt.

"Your nachos," the waiter mumbled, putting an enormous plate of tortilla chips drowned in sizzling, orange cheese in the center of our table. Everyone's eyes widened at the gigantic plate, and we all watched the cheese simmer, almost soaking into the chips.

"Thanks," Nat managed to say, eyeing the cheese as if it were filled with a mysterious drug. The waiter nodded briefly and bustled away. Ryan poked one of the chips, and it fell over the side of the dish, bubbling in the cheese, much to the comic relief of everyone at the table.

Sean tried to repress his laughter, but failed. "Are we really going to eat all of this?"

"Nope," I said, covering my mouth with my hand to stifle my own giggles. I picked up one of the chips and peeked under it, watching the oven-hot cheese trickle down in front of me and onto the white tablecloth, creating a noticeable stain. I laughed even harder and tried to wipe it with my equally-as-white napkin.

Ryan picked up a new chip and popped it into his mouth confidently. His face became strained as he clearly gulped it down. "Zesty," was all he said, blinking several times. Another peal of laughter sounded from our booth. Many people in the restaurant whipped around to look at us, giving us deadly glares. We quickly shut ourselves up, but Nat and I remained sniggering softly.

"You know," Ryan said nonchalantly, resting his hands behind his head and leaning back against the booth, "this food is complete shit."

"I know!" I agreed, scrunching my nose in disgust. "Do we really have to keep eating here?"

"Not if we don't want to," he replied, leaning forward now. "We could go somewhere else, if you guys feel like it. How about that new club, Culture Shock?" he suggested, perking up instantly. "I've heard it's really cool in there."

"Whatever you say, sweetie pie," Nat said, nestling next to him and burying her face in between his shoulder and his neck. He grinned and stroked her arm softly.

I glanced at Sean, who gave me a knowing smirk in exchange. I smiled back and gazed at Nat and Ryan again. "I'm game."

"So am I," Sean concurred.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ryan asked rhetorically, instantaneously jumping out of the booth. "Let's just leave without paying."

I laughed slightly and looked back at Sean. He was on the outside of the booth, after all. He extended his hand to me and looked at me through his shaggy, dirty blonde hair, his ice blue eyes twinkling. I nearly swooned.

"Shall we go, then?" he asked, a smile creeping onto his compellingly kissable lips. I nodded and took his strong, warm hand, a small shiver crawling up my spine nonetheless.

I climbed out of Sean's car gingerly, making sure not to get my outfit or hair messed up. He came out after me, looking to the left of me. I turned and caught sight of the club.

The outside had a huge, neon yellow-and-green sign that clearly read Culture Shock. There were tiny fluorescent lights around the sign, this time pink and blue. Just glancing at the quickly flashing and blinking lights gave me a headache. As I pressed my hand to my temple, Sean asked what was wrong.

"Nothing," I said, forcing a smile and walking towards the door. He followed me and snaked his arm around my waist. I felt his warmth on the bare strip of skin that was showing between the end of my shirt and the beginning of my skirt, and I instantly relaxed.

"Names?" grunted the bouncer.

"Uhh… Erm…" I said, panicking again.

"They're with us." The sound of Ryan's deep voice was unambiguous now, and I turned to see Nat clinging onto him as if she were a barnacle. The bouncer nodded and let us through, giving me the evil eye. I cowered slightly and walked inside the club.

The loud, banging techno music was no shock to me, because of the look of the sign outside. It seemed to create a small earthquake within the crowded, sweaty club, seeing as how everyone was either dancing or at least tapping their feet or bobbing their heads. I slipped into one of the booths, which was electric blue and had a platinum silver table. Sean, Nat, and Ryan followed. A bar worker immediately came to our table, carrying a menu of what was obviously booze. He handed it to Nat and she looked it over once, her dark brown eyes darting to the different choices.

"I'll just have a Heineken," Ryan ordered, giving the waiter a small nod.

Nat was still searching through the menu. After a moment of silence, she looked up from it and smiled sheepishly, her laser-white teeth gleaming even in the darkness of the club.

"Oh," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I'll have a cherry martini."

Sean ordered a Bud while I continued to decide.

"I'll just have a glass of water, thanks," I said, glancing around me and shifting uncomfortably in the puffy seat of the booth.

"Oh no," Nat said, shaking her head with a smirk. "You never get booze. Why don't you actually live for once?"

I sighed. "Then I guess I'll have a screwdriver," I said, trying to shrug carelessly. Nat beamed and the waiter grabbed the menu back from her. Her smile immediately turned to a scowl.

"How rude," she stated, looking daggers at the man's back as he strolled away.

"Well, the club is… Crowded," Sean said, gazing at the packed dance floor. He was obviously searching for the right words to say. We all turned our heads behind us to the dancing people, watching them grind and occasionally make out with one another.

"Here are your drinks," the same waiter said, coming back with a tray full of different sized bottles and glasses. "A Heineken, Budweiser, cherry martini, and screwdriver." He placed the Bud down in front of Nat, the screwdriver in front of Ryan, the Heineken in front of me, and the cherry martini in front of Sean. We all switched drinks quickly as he walked away once again.

"What a dunce," Ryan said, glancing at the man with a raised eyebrow. We all laughed, as we usually do at his comedic ramblings.

"That's for sure," Sean agreed, popping the cap of his Bud and taking a long swig from it.

"Well," Nat began, "this is our first real double-date, you guys! Cheers!" she raised her martini glass quickly, the cherry inside of it bobbing simultaneously. We all smiled and raised our glasses, too.

"To us!" Ryan declared, lifting his bottle and his chin with a mock-proper expression on his face.

"To us!" Sean and I agreed at once, elevating our bottle and glass, too.

We all clanked our drinks together and watched them all swish in unison. I sipped my screwdriver, and automatically coughed. It was, as I predicted, very strong.

We sat and chatted for a good while, light conversation drifting between all of us. We basically just talked about TSVS, considering that Nat and I go to it. Sean seemed very interested in our college, which was a bit peculiar, because he owns his own auto body shop now. In contrast, I was fascinated on that subject.

After a long time, Nat sighed and leaned back into the bulbous, blue padding of the booth. "I'm bored," she said with a toss of her gleaming, mocha colored hair.

"What do you say we go dance?" I suggested, looking around at everyone at our table. Silence followed, and I shrugged.

"Actually," Ryan began, leaning forward, "I have a sudden jolt of energy from that Heineken. Let's go."

We walked up to the dance floor, and immediately Nat and Ryan began to grind. Sean and I watched them do a few pelvic thrusts together, and there was suddenly an air of awkward silence between us. I blushed and looked down, hoping that the dark lighting in this club would hide most of my face.

"Don't be embarrassed."

I looked up quickly, my hair sticking to my overly-glossy lips. I brushed it away and gazed back at him.

"I'm not."

He smirked lightly and snaked his arms around my waist. He was standing behind me, and I began to sway my hips rhythmically to the loud, banging music. He danced smoothly with me, and our motions eventually flowed together.

The heat from our bodies fronted, and it was unbearable. I slipped my hand behind his head and pulled it forward gently as I turned my own head to the side. Our lips met softly, and I pressed my back a little bit harder on his chest. I drew my lips away from his for a split second to breathe, and then I proceeded to kiss him. His tongue dwelled with mine for a while as I turned to face him now. I drew back from his mouth and buried my head in his neck, overwhelmed by his passionate kisses. So far, this evening had turned out to be unbeatable, and I was planning to keep it that way.