Friday came, and Emma and Michael were getting ready for their double date with Claire and Phil. "Michael, c'mon! We've gotta hurry, we've gotta be there in half an hour!" Emma told him. "I'm going as fast as I can!" Michael pleaded, tying his tie. "I'm sorry, honey, I don't mean to be demanding. It's just that, you know how Claire is." Emma said. "Actually, I don't. I've never met Claire." Michael rebutted. "Yeah well, you know enough based on the stories I've told you. If we're even a minute late, she'll have a cow!" Emma said. "Maybe things will be different. You haven't seen her or Phil in over a decade. Maybe she's changed." Michael said, trying to stay positive. "I doubt it. Then again, she did used to be a lot more fun to be around in high school. Of course, that's because we were cutting class, smoking and partying. I just want tonight to go well." Emma said desperately. "I'm sure it will." He said softly in her ear, rubbing her shoulders. She seemed to calm down some.
"Thanks, honey. I'm sorry. I know you have a business trip in the morning and this is probably the last way you want to spend tonight." she said. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm sure it'll be fine. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I'm looking forward to meeting Claire and Phil." Michael assured her.
Meanwhile, Jude was driving over to Canoe for his date with Amanda. He'd begun to feel nervous though, as Jonesy pretty much did all the talking for him which is how he'd gotten a date with her in the first place, but Jonesy wasn't here, so now Jude had to face Amanda on his own. He'd hoped he wouldn't say or do anything stupid and blow it. Not only that, while he was stoked to have a date with her and he'd been thinking about Jen less, that wasn't to say that he hadn't been thinking about her at all.
Her long, thick, slightly wavy red hair that was so silky smooth and smelled like lavender, those blue eyes and that perfect dimpled smile did something to him. Not to mention, she also had a very soothing voice. But what he loved more than her looks was her personality. She may have been bossy, nosy and somewhat uptight, but she was also very sweet and hospitable, and she was only bossy because she had his best interests at heart, as well as the rest of their friends. She would drop everything to help anyone of them in a heartbeat if they needed it, even if it inconvenienced her.
But even if she wasn't going out with someone else, there was no way he'd end up with her. Not only was she significantly out of his league (in his opinion anyway), he'd been friends with her since kindergarten, and he didn't want to ruin their friendship. He remembered when she and Caitlyn were worried about Nikki and Jonesy getting together for the same reason, and while Jonesy and Nikki stayed friends, he didn't know that they would. Plus, he didn't think she felt the same way about him, so he had to move on.
He got to Canoe a few minutes early. He'd decided to chill out in the car and wait for Amanda. He was going to listen to some music when suddenly he saw a small white car pulling up. It looked like Jen's car. Oh no! The car pulled up to the empty parking space next to him. "No way! What is she doing here!?" Jude thought. His heart begin racing.
Jen got out of the car with a guy, who must've been Eric. He was about as tall as Jonesy, but was so muscular he looked like he practically lived at the gym. He had wavy dark hair and blue eyes. He was definitely handsome and bore a striking resemblance to Clark Kent, the only difference being that he didn't wear glasses. He wore a white long sleeve button up shirt with a navy blue tie, and black dress pants. Jen had on a black dress with black flats, and her hair had been straightened and she had on hoop earrings. She looked as beautiful as ever. It wasn't fair.
Jude ducked down and turned his head the opposite direction in hopes Jen wouldn't see him, when suddenly he'd heard her say "Jude?" from outside the car window. "Crap!" he thought. He decided to try and play it cool. He rolled down the car window. "Jen, hey! What's up, dudette?" he asked nervously. "I'm just here for my date. This is Eric. Eric, this is Jude, my best friend." she introduced the two. "Pleasure to meet you, Jude." Eric said, extended a hand. "Pleasure's all mine, dude." Jude said. "So, what are you doing here?" Jen asked. "Oh, just, uh, waiting for my date to get here." he said. "I didn't know you had a date tonight, too. That's great, Jude! I wish I would've known, I would've booked you guys a double date with us." Jen said. "Yeah..." Jude laughed nervously.
"Well anyway, we should get going, it's almost time for our dinner reservation. But I hope you and your date have a wonderful time, Jude." Jen smiled, waving at him as she and Eric walked away. "You too, dudette." Jude smiled and waved back. He then decided to dial Jonesy. "Yo, speak?" Jonesy answered. "Jonesy, you've gotta help me, dude! Jen and Eric are having their date here, too! What am I gonna do?!" Jude panicked. "Relax, man. Dr. Jonesy's in the house. You've played baseball before, right?" Jonesy said. "Yeah." Jude said. "Well, going out with a hot chick is no different. You've gotta keep your eyes on the ball. Amanda is the ball. The more you focus on her, the less you'll think about Jen." Jonesy told him. "You sure that'll work, bro?" Jude asked. "Totally. You've got this, man. Now don't blow it. Good luck bro." Jonesy said, hanging up the phone. "Right, Amanda is the ball. Keep my eyes on the ball. Amanda is the ball. Keep my eyes on the ba-"
"Hi, Jude!" Amanda said, causing him to jump a bit. "A-Amanda, hi!" he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." she said. "No worries, dudette." he told her. "You ready?" she asked. "Sure am." he told her. "Great! C'mon." she said, and the two walked into Canoes together.