Suddenly, I heard my name being called.
Raya all but pounced on me without me even realizing it was her talking to me. I squealed with pleasure and surprise mixed into one as I laughed and hugged her.
“What are you doing here without me?” she asked.
“Had a date tonight, I’ll have to tell you how Mom set this up for me. But right now, I want you to meet Trevor.”
I walked my best friend over to the doctor and introduced the two of them. And, true to form, my best friend didn’t waste any time in embarrassing me.
“What’s so cool about you that you got to get Harper out on a date?” she asked with all the coolness in her tone of someone who had the world by the tail. Raya was the most outgoing of our friend group, and there were times when I wasn’t quite sure I believed her when she said she was sticking with our promise.
But, I wasn’t going to tell her she was lying, and right now, it was that confidence coming from her that only kept Trevor hooked. I could tell with the way he was hanging onto every single thing she said that he was very interested in what they were talking about.
And, as it turned out, they were discussing me of all people. I shared practically everything with my best friend, so I expected her to really let loose when she managed to catch me out on a date with someone. I would do the same to her if the situation was reversed, of course.
We both knew it was all in good fun. Although, we both knew enough about the other that we were able to really run with the fun of the prank, and there wasn’t anything the other person could do about it. We both agreed if our dates didn’t think it was funny, then they weren’t the right one for us.
Still, there was a level of nerves I felt with her talking to him. I could only imagine the things that she would be able to tell him that would land me in a whole new world in his eyes. I was sure of it. I didn’t know how much about me my mother had told him. But, I knew even she wasn’t able to compare to the things Raya knew about me.
I gave her a pleading look when she started, but with the way she winked at me, I didn’t have much hope she was going to go easy on me. Trevor, for his own part, seemed happy to settle in next to her to talk about me. It gave him another outlet for someone to give him information about me but who wasn’t nervous about the date or how things were going.
She could talk about me as easily as though she was me, and she wasn’t nervous about impressing him in the process. It would be a more genuine way for him to get to learn something about me, but I still didn’t want her to embarrass me, even accidentally.
But, she either didn’t notice me or didn’t care I was giving her that look.
“She’s not one to go out on the town?” Trevor asked, avoiding the question.
“Just not one to entertain the gentlemen, I’d say,” Raya replied. “Unless there’s something about them that just happens to catch her eye. If she went out with you, there’s got to be reason.”
“Let’s hope I’m impressive enough to take her out again,” Trevor said with a wink. I wanted to pour my drink over my friend’s head. Anything that would get her to stop talking and let me be the one to guide the conversation. Or Trevor. Anyone but her, really. I didn’t want her to say anything that would lead to me being embarrassed further.
I knew she meant well, so I put up with her teasing. It also added to the lighthearted tone of our night, which left me feeling good about myself when the time came for me to tell Trevor I had to get going.
“It is a school night,” I said. “I don’t want to be tired for school in the morning.”
“That’s fair,” he said with a nod. “Alright, let’s go.”
He gave me a ride back to my place, and I was surprised when he got out of the car and walked me right up to my door. He wasn’t at all handsy or forward with me, so I was caught off guard again when he kissed me on my porch. I kissed him back, getting lost in the moment before I took a step back toward my door.
“Alright, stud, you better get out of here. Like I said, it’s a school night.”
“You sure you don’t want me to come in for just a little bit?” he asked.
“I’m not that kind of girl,” I said. This wasn’t ever my favorite part of a date, but it was often something I had to do. Only on the rarest occasions did a guy drive me back to my place and not try to go into the house with me, so it came up that I didn’t sleep around, and I had to try to make it seem as natural as possible.
I didn’t want him to take it as a personal rejection, but I wasn’t going to bend my own feelings and standards, either. I just had to throw it out there and hope for the best, I’d found.
The more up front I could be with any of my boundaries, the better.
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” he said, quickly recovering from what had just been implied. “I just really like you, and I wanted to see what inside the house of someone I really like is like.”
I laughed.
“Okay, well, maybe I’ll show you what the inside of my house looks like another time. Right now, I’ve got to be getting to bed, and I feel like you have to, too. Or don’t. I don’t know what you do with your time.” I shrugged.
“I would like that. Please, tell your mom I missed her tonight, and she better not stand me up like that again. Also tell her I’m not nearly as boring as she must have feared, making me get all dressed up and coming out here like this only to not show up herself. People these days.” Trevor shook his head in mock disappointment, and I laughed again.
It seemed that was the one thing I had been doing all evening, and it felt good. I was able to end the date on a note that left me wanting more. Something that left me feeling like this had been a good idea, and perhaps I would entertain the idea of seeing this person again.