I woke up the next Saturday morning to hear the phone ringing. At first I thought it was one of dad's coworkers, so I was about to go back to sleep, when I heard dad calling for me from downstairs.

I sat up in surprise until I remembered I had a date with Dennis today. I climbed out of bed and prayed Dennis hadn't accidentally given away what we we're going to do to my dad. I went downstairs two steps at a time, and dad looked up at my approach.

"Hi dad. Good morning."

"Hi. Dennis is on the phone."

"Thank you."

I took the phone from my dad who kept his gaze on me as he left the hallway. I could tell he was still watching me from the kitchen. But I did my best to ignore him as I brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Octavia. I was calling to let you know I'm going to head over to your house in about 20 minutes. Or do you need more time to get ready?"

I looked down at my clothes to see I was still wearing my light blue jammies. I had no idea what I was going to wear but I'm sure I'll figure something out.

"Octavia?"

"I'm still here. Yeah I'm going to need more time. Give me 10 extra minutes please."

"Alright. I'll be there to pick you up in half an hour."

"Okay. I'll be ready by then."

"Heh heh, by the way are you still in your jammies?"

What the- How did he know?

"Shut up."

"Ehehehehe." Dennis laughed on the other end.

"Hehhehehehhaha." I really couldn't help but laugh back at him.

"Anyways be there in 30."

"See you then."

"Alright bye Octavia."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned around to see dad staring at me while preparing my breakfast from the kitchen.

"Well dad I'm going to have to get ready but I'll be back to eat my food when I'm done."

My dad gave a nod in response as I nervously went upstairs trying to figure out what the heck I was going to wear. My clothes we're all very similar, and if I wore something too nice on the date my dad was going to get suspicious. At the same time, I still wanted to wow Dennis and I couldn't do that if I wore something I always wore.

I spent most of the morning making my hair as big as possible, and the outfit I ended up choosing was a pair of high waisted pants and a lace shirt. Normally I dressed more conservatively but today I wanted to wear something a little different. I had just slipped on my shoes when I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly dusted off my pants before heading back downstairs.

Would he like my outfit?

How is he going to look in his?

Will dad figure out that we're going on a date?

These questions plagued my mind as I placed my hand on the doorknob. I opened the front door and when I set my eyes on Dennis I felt my face flush.

He was wearing a white and yellow striped shirt that was vaguely visible underneath a royal blue blazer. His pants reached past his waist like mine and he even went to trouble of combing his hair and putting a little gel in.

"I- Umm...Ahem! I- I like your outfit."

"Thanks. You look great."

"Thank you. Umm, shall we go now?"

"One minute young lady."

"Okay dad! Come in for a bit while I talk to dad about something real quick."

"Alright."

I swallowed my throat as I let Dennis inside the house and I told him to wait in the livingroom. I went to the kitchen to see what dad wanted, who unceremoniously put the toast he made for me in my mouth.

"You haven't eaten your breakfast yet. Eat your food and then you can go with your friend."

"Mmkay dad..."

I awkwardly ate my food as I looked at Dennis to see what he was doing. He had picked up an old family picture. I was about maybe 7 or 8 in that photo. I just wanted to eat my food and get out of the house.

I couldn't see Dennis's expression from here but his shoulders were shaking slightly so he was probably laughing. I practically scarfed down my food and swallowed my glass of water.

"And done. I'll see you later dad."

"Have you taken your medicine yet?"

"Yes all five bottles of prescriptions as per usual. One pill each. I should be good for the rest of the night. Can I go now?"

"Okay if you're sure..."

"Yes! I'm sure. Bye dad!"

"Bye Octavia."

I sped walk around the kitchen counter to the living room to Dennis. He had his full attention on the photo in his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. I was looking at the pictures and couldn't help myself. Is this you and your family?"

"Yeah that's me and my mom and dad."

"You're an only child?"

"Yes, it's just been me and dad since my mom well..."

I turned to see dad who was pretending to put away the dishes was intently listening to our conversation.

"Here is not a good place to talk about it. Let's go." I whispered trying to let Dennis know that it was a sensitive subject to discuss. He took the hint and followed me to front door.

"Oh and Dennis?"

Dad please don't.

We turned around to see dad addressing Dennis beside me. I gave my dad a look to quietly tell him that nothing like that was going on. Dad hesitated and chose his next words carefully.

"I just wanted to say have her back no later than 9:30. And no funny business."

Well he chose his words as best as he possibly could.

"Yes sir. Have a good day sir."

Dad said nothing else as I happily went outside with Dennis to his pickup truck.

"Sorry about my dad. He's a little overprotective like that."

"No worries. If I was a dad and my only daughter was leaving with a strange guy he's never met I would be hesitant to let her leave too."

"So are you a strange guy?"

"No! I'm not- I- Ugh I lost my train of thought there..."

"Hehehhahaha! It's alright, I know what you meant."

I laughed as Dennis opened my door for me and I happily climbed into the passenger seat. He made his way over to the driver's seat and started the car.

"So what are we doing first?"

"I got us movie tickets. You want to try and guess what movie we're going to go see?"

"I don't know what's out. So my guessing game is terrible. You might as well just tell me."

"Okay fine. I got movie tickets for ET."

"ET? What kind of movie is that?"

"I think it's a kind of alien movie."

"Ooh Science Fiction. Interesting choice."

"Well it was either that or the endless selection of horror movies."

"Thank you for not choosing horror. I can't stand those kind of movies."

"Do you get scared?"

"Yes! Like I'm talking screaming and covering my eyes throughout the whole film."

"Well it's a good thing I picked this one. Don't want you to be getting scared on our first date."

"Thank you I appreciate that."

~

Everything about the movie was perfect. The movie effects, the music, the characters were all so heartwarming and funny, and the ending made me tear up a little. Dennis's reaction was hysterical, everytime something funny happened he would burst out laughing.

I found my self shaking my head at him in slight disappointment while also giggling along with him during the funny moments. Especially the scene with the little boys sister and ET.

When the movie ended the audience gave the film a standing ovation and we both stood up and clapped along. It was crazy how the movie premiered in the summer but I guess because it was so popular they keep it in theaters this long.

"So what did you think of the movie? Did you like it?" Dennis said as he threw his soda and popcorn into the trash bin outside.

"I loved it! I definitely want to see it again." I responded as I threw away my popcorn and drink.

"I'll try to get a copy for the VHS and we can watch it together sometime. If you want."

"I'd love that."

I laced my fingers through his and he froze in surprise. We looked right into each others eyes outside the cinema.

His smile slowly crept up as he looked at me fondly. I smiled back at him as he closed his hand over mine. I felt my cheeks go hot as I shyly looked away and we walked back to his truck together hand in hand.

"Do you want to grab a bite to eat?"

I could barely form any words in my mouth right now so I simply nodded. Dennis chuckled slightly at my response and guided us back to the truck and took us to a cute diner about a couple blocks away.

Today I was eating a lot of food my dad had forbidden me from ever eating. But I didn't really care anymore, I just wanted to let loose a little for once. Me and Dennis both laughed as we dug into our burgers with fries.

"So tell me, how many siblings do you have?"

"I'm the oldest of five siblings. I have four younger sisters at home."

"That's so sweet. How old are they?"

"The second oldest is 10. And then my other three sisters follow behind at 8, 7, and 6. Their names are Heather, Sue, Kenny, and Helen."

"What are they like?"

"Very girly. I'm talking lots of tea parties and barbie dolls."

"You're so mean. Every little girl grows up like that."

"Not when you're the older brother of said girls. They often make you their fairy godmother or their evil stepmother."

"Yeah but still."

"Hahaha, I'm totally messing around with you, Octavia. I love spending time with my sisters. They often make their tea parties very fun and creative. I actually don't mind playing those games with them. Even if their favorite is usually Cinderella or some other princess like that."

"Hey! Cinderella is actually a pretty good story. Well at least the Brothers Grimm version."

"Brothers Grimm? I haven't heard of that one."

"Really?"

"Nope."

"Well I've definitely got a book for us to check out later."

"Oh no should I be worried?"

"Nope. I promise it's only slightly morbid."

Dennis nearly spat out his drink and I bursted out laughing at him. He was laughing as well while trying to clear his throat. That just made us laugh even harder.