“Yo, Rae! You got food, honey!” the guy behind the counter hollers, completely interrupting me.
She turns around and holds up her finger, telling him she’ll be a minute. Turning back around, she squints at me, waiting for me to continue. I’ve apparently lost all courage because I don’t say anything. The corners of her mouth tip down briefly. “Well, duty calls, boys. Flag me down if you need anything.”
And then she’s gone again.
“Fuckin’ pussy,” Tucker mumbles next to me. I wasn’t aware he was listening. Guess I was wrong.
I groan because he’s right. I am a pussy. I could have had her number ten times over now if I would just man up. But it’s hard. I’ve been out of the flirting-and-dating game for quite some time so I kind of forgot how to play it.
What if I’m not ready yet? I think I am, but what if this is a sign? Should I just put aside the way she makes me heart skip or how her smile makes me want to tell shitty jokes all day long just to get the corners of her mouth to turn up even a fraction?
If even thinking about dating is this stressful, there’s no way I’d survive an actual date. Fuck. I am so screwed.
Rae
Even with Maura roping me into going on a blind date tonight—she still won’t tell me jack shit about it—the rest of Monday night went rather smoothly. I didn’t really talk to Hudson any more. Other than a “thank you” and “have a good night,” we didn’t exchange any other words.
I was a little disappointed by it, but also relieved. Only because I was bound to make a total ass of myself eventually, since that’s my MO.
I’ve spent all week mildly freaking out about the date and regretting not flirting with Hudson more or getting his number. I’m sure Tanner told him about the double date thing and from what I could tell, Hudson and Tanner weren’t really the best of buds. So he probably has no interest in me now, since I’m more than likely going on a date with someone he knows, which always ends weird. Yay me.
“Knock, knock! You ready yet?” Maura just lets herself into my small room, making herself comfortable on my bed.
She’s dressed in a cute little white-and-black strapless romper with a cropped black cardigan, a bright-red belt and black flats. She’s the only person I know in real life that can pull off a romper. She looks so sexy and edgy all at the same time with her blonde bob, bright-red lipstick, and sultry body. Even though she’s gorgeous, and she totally knows it, she doesn’t use her looks like some other people do. She’s very humble and that’s one of my favorite things about her.
“Just about. Let me get my flats on and I’ll be ready. Do I look okay? Am I dressed appropriately since you still won’t tell me where we’re going?” I’m wearing simple skinny jeans, a fancy, silky army-green tank top, and my usual minimal makeup. My curly brownish-red hair is spritzed with hair spray and hanging naturally. The whole look makes my green eyes pop out more than normal.
“You always look good, girl. And yes, you’re fine. The outfit is perfect.”
I trust Maura with every fiber of my being, so I don’t argue or double-check like most girls would do. I nod and slip my feet into my slightly sparkly black flats. “Ready!”
“Good. We’re meeting the boys there. Wanna take my car or yours?”
“I’ll let you drive since you know where you’re going and I have no idea at all. Because you still won’t tell.”
“Works for me. And you should know me well enough by now to know your little passive aggressive remarks aren’t going to get you anywhere.” She smirks at me.
“Bitch.”
She grins and winks at me over her shoulder as she opens my bedroom door, walking out into the living room. “You taught it to me.”
I laugh and follow her out, spying my sister relaxing on the red loveseat of our small two-bedroom apartment. She has a bag of cheese popcorn in one hand, a bag of Skittles in another, and her e-reader sitting in her lap. She’s wearing lime green sweatpants, a Disney t-shirt, and has her hair up in a messy bun. I’m guessing she’s not going out tonight.
“You look fabulous, ladies! Those boys are gonna have to pick their tongues off the ground by the end of the night,” Haley tells us as we make our way to the front door. “Please be careful. And never leave your drinks unattended. Are you wearing underwear? You should always wear underwear on the first date. You never know what the guy may try. Especially on a blind date. I can’t believe you agreed to a blind date, Rae. That’s just absurd. Completely out of your norm. Just please tell me you’re wearing underwear.”
Maura and I exchange looks and then burst out laughing.
“How much sugar have you had tonight? Better yet, can I have some of whatever the hell it is you’re smoking? Because damn. You’re nutty as hell, woman. And yes, we’re both wearing underwear.” I’m not entirely sure if I just lied for Maura or not. I know I’m wearing underwear.
“Good girls. Now run along. I’ve apparently got some more sugar to eat and joints to smoke!” She waves as we walk out the door.
As I close the door, Maura turns to me. “Dude. Your sister is so weird. And I love her so much for it.”
“I HEARD THAT! I LOVE YOU MORE, MAURIE!” Haley shouts through the door. That one sends us into another round of belly laughs.
We sober up and start walking down the hallway to the main entrance. I can feel Maura’s stare on me so I look over at her and raise my eyebrow. “I know this isn’t your thing. It’s not even really my thing. But you can back out. I can’t. Last chance. You in or out?”
I look at her, noticing she’s biting her lip a little. It’s her tell. She really wants me there and I honestly want to be there for her. She’s going to need some support. Am I super excited about going on a “blind” date with Tucker? Not really. Mostly because I wish it was Hudson, but still, Haley is right. This isn’t my thing. I’m a relatively private and quiet person. I don’t really put myself out there for guys.
But I’m going to do this for Maura. There was never any doubting that part.
“Of course I’m in, goofball.” I pull her out the front door of the apartment building.
The ride is quick, leaving me no time to regret this, because I kind of already am. We pull into a relatively new little open mic place appropriately named Mic’s. I’m honestly surprised that Tanner would pick something like this, so I tell her.
“Honestly, I was too. He seems like such a player around his friends and brother, but he’s been really sweet in his texts and phone calls.” Maura smiles really big as we walk into the club.
I keep quiet and try to let that soak in. I don’t even know Tanner, but for some reason that doesn’t really sit well with me. But Maura is happy so I brush it off and walk in behind her.
“They’re here!” Maura shouts, practically running over to the table and launching herself into Tanner’s arms, leaving me struggling to catch up.
I finally get a look at the table, expecting to see a fellow soldier, because Maura and I finally confirmed that Tanner was indeed a soldier—a sergeant in the army to be exact. I’m extremely surprised to find an empty seat.
Tanner catches me looking at the empty chair, so he supplies the answer to my unasked question. “He’s in the bathroom. He’ll be right back.”
I nod and grab a stray napkin to give myself something to do while I await the big reveal of my blind date.
“This is a pretty cool place. I’ve been wanting to come here since it opened but never really had a reason to before,” I say, trying to drum up some sort of conversation.
“The drinks are good and that’s about it. Not a place I would have picked, but I did agree to it. This was your date’s idea,” Tanner confesses.
I knew he wouldn’t have picked a place like this!
“I like it. Gives off a good moody, sexy vibe,” Maura says as she eyes Tanner. He waggles his eyebrows at her, causing her to break out in giggles.
Giggles. Like a schoolgirl, not a twenty-two year old. I realize now that Mau
ra may like Tanner a little more than she’s been letting on. I can kinda see why. He’s smooth…a little charming even. But he gives off a Don’t-trust-me-as-far-as-you-can-throw-me-and-I’m-big-so-that’s-not-really-far kind of vibe. I’m a little concerned for Maura’s heart.
I sit back and enjoy the soft music that’s being played from the stage. It’s good. Very fitting for a place like this. I tend to get a little lost in the music so I barely hear Tanner when he speaks up.
“Ah, he’s back.” Tanner nods his head at me to indicate that I should look behind me. Maura gasps.
I don’t look, because I can tell that it wasn’t a good gasp that just came out of her. Is it not Tucker? I honestly thought that was who it was going to be. What if it’s one of his soldier buddies? I’m not big into the whole soldier thing. I mean, it’s amazing that these people are doing what they’re doing for their country, but that’s one of the things that scare me off: the uncertainty of everything involved.
Shit. He’s probably the exact opposite of my type. Actually, I don’t really have a type, but if I did, I’m sure he’d be the opposite of it.
I don’t want to turn around. I don’t want to know who it is because it’s obviously not who Maura was expecting and that scares me. I just want to go home because I hate dates. I hate blind dates.
“Sorry about that.” I freeze as my date sits down next to me. “I went to the bathroom and got a phone call I couldn’t miss.”
I know that voice. It’s a voice that’s been haunting me for the last three weeks. A voice that I honestly can’t get enough of. A voice I’ve been dying to hear again. A voice that makes me want to love blind dates.
I suddenly don’t want to go anywhere. In fact, I kind of want to stay here forever.
I turn toward my “mystery” man. “Hudson. Good to see you again.”
Hudson
I look like a fucking fish. My mouth is hanging open and I can’t seem to get it to shut—at least not right this second. I’m also fairly certain that my trouble-inducing eyes are as wide as saucers. Rae is not who I was expecting. And judging by the look in her eyes, I’m not who she was expecting either.
I didn’t even know they were the double date type of friends. Or friends in general. I just assumed they were coworkers when I saw them talking at Clyde’s. So, Rae? Yeah, kind of the last person I was expecting.
As I had guessed, Tucker managed to get his ass out of the date and get me to go in his place. But he couldn’t really help it. I heard him getting big-time sick at work earlier today and he says he’s been at home puking his guts up for the past couple hours. But that’s not going to excuse him for leading me to believe that this blind date was with someone other than Rae.
Fucking asshole! That’s a big deal to me. I would have put a bit more effort into it…like dressing a little nicer, and actually being here to greet her when they came in. Actually, that last part is a lie. It was Joey on the phone, and I wouldn’t have missed that for anything.
Then again, I also kind of want to kiss that asshole because I have a feeling he completely set me up.
I finally give myself a little head-shake and find some manners. “Rae. It’s good to see you again, too. I had no idea you were my mystery date for the night.”
“Trust me, I’m equally surprised.” She looks over at Maura who seems to be trying to discreetly shake her head back and forth.
“It was supposed to be Tucker!” Maura shouts, looking at Tanner with accusing eyes.
“He got sick at the last minute and asked Hudson to step in!” Tanner defends.
I chuckle. “Well, I’m very pleased with the outcome. I apologize for not being here to greet you. I truly did have an important phone call to attend to.”
“That’s okay. Is everything alright?”
“Perfect.” My mother had called about Joey, who is apparently sick too, and was wanting to talk with me.
“Good. This is a nice place you chose. I really like it.”
Thank God! “I’m glad you do. It’s one of my favorite places to come for drinks and good entertainment.”
“It’s a fucking performance club! That’s weird as shit. Why anyone would want to embarrass themselves in front of a bunch of strangers is beyond me,” Tanner interrupts.
“It’s not that bad, Tanner,” Maura says shyly.
“I think there’s something brave about it. Strangers performing for strangers. Opening up their hearts on the stage, leaving it all up there, airing their dirty laundry. Very freeing and brave,” Rae says, peeking over at me. I dip my head, agreeing with her wholeheartedly because that’s the exact reason I like the place.
“Whatever. You’re all on crack,” Tanner huffs.
I look at Rae and roll my eyes. “I completely agree with you.”
She smiles and picks up the menu. “I’m starving. What are you getting, Maura?”
I think I just fell in love with her mouth. Again.
I stare at her, not even bothering to look at my menu. I have never in my entire life heard a date say she was starving. Like ever. Not that I’ve been on many dates, because I haven’t. Not an actual date at least. Not in about three years. But I’ve had friends tell me about theirs, saying the girls barely eat and constantly hold their hands over their mouths when they chew, which has to be annoying as hell.
Add all that to the fact that she is so damn adorable, and I know I’ll be a goner if I spend more time with her. Her eyes are such a deep shade of green they almost look black, but they are so damn beautiful, so honest. Her peach complexion, slight dusting of freckles across her nose, and long brownish-red hair just bring more attention to them.
I’m in awe. Knowing that this woman isn’t afraid to be herself—or at least the version of herself that I have seen so far—and that she’s impossibly gorgeous is such a huge turn on. And I barely know her.
I carefully pull my phone out and send a text to Tucker because I’m positive at this point that he set this up on purpose. Rae is just too much like the type of girl he’d pick for me.
Me: I see you, asshole.
He responds immediately.
Tucker: I see you, too, dick.
And then something occurs to me.
Me: Are you even fucking sick?
If not, he’s a good damn actor because I had heard him puking earlier and he looked pretty damn sick to me.
Tucker: Ha! Nope! Thanks for letting me out of work early by the way.
I barely manage to hold in a laugh. Yep, I’m kicking his ass.
Rae
We just finished ordering and I’m dying to strangle Maura for this date. “Maura, bathroom?” I ask sweetly.
“No, I’m good.” She’s not even looking at me.
“Maura!” I put a little more bite behind her name this time, causing her to finally look at me.
“Fine,” she huffs. “Would you boys please excuse us?”
I turn on her as soon as we enter the bathroom. “What the fuck, Maura? You set me up with Hudson! And then say it was really supposed to be Tucker when you know I like Hudson! You didn’t give me a single heads-up. Thanks for nothing, bestie!”
“Chill, woman! It was originally supposed to be Tucker. But only because he’s Tanner’s brother. Tanner wanted him here, not me. Besides, I figured we could grill Tucker on Hudson. Get some info or something. If I had any choice at all in the matter, I would have picked Hudson from the start and I would have at least warned you about that. You know that.”
I huff out a big breath and turn toward the sinks. I lean against them as I eye myself in the mirror. Maura starts primping next to me.
“Just relax, Rae. It’s okay. Hudson was obviously as surprised to see you as you were to see him. It’s all gonna be okay. You two are really cute together by the way. Like ridiculously cute. And you can tell he likes you. He keeps leaning in toward you.”
I know she’s saying all this just to make me feel better, but a part of me wants to desperately believe she’s right.
Because I like Hudson. I don’t even really know him, but I can tell that I’m going to like him as a person. Or at least I really hope I will. I’m usually a good judge of character. I can look into someone’s eyes and read them correctly just about every time. And I really hope this is one of those times, because when I look into Hudson’s eyes I see determination, love, longing, familiarity, hope, and even sadness. I want to find out what causes each and every one of those feelings I see. I feel like I have to know.
“I can see you doubting me. You think I’m just saying all this to make you feel better. I’m not. Look at me, Rae.” She turns me toward her, staring me directly in my eyes. “I promise I’m not lying to you. I can see something there. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s something. And I think you should explore it.”
She knows my eye thing so I know she means business when she tells me to look her in the eye. I study her closely.
She’s telling the truth.
I exhale loudly. “Thank you.”
She nods and then we exit the bathroom because that’s all there is, all that’s needed between us: honesty and trust.
As we walk back to the table, I can tell that Hudson and Tanner are in a heated discussion of some sort. Huh. Wonder what that’s about. Tanner flicks his eyes over Hudson’s shoulder and sees us, causing them both to stiffen a bit and stop talking. I mentally shrug my shoulders and brush it off. Whatever. It’s none of my business anyway.
The table is quiet when we sit down. I’m not sure what exactly they were talking about, but whatever it was, it’s lingering here. I attempt to distract them both because it honestly looks like they may jump over the table at one another.
“So, do you come here often?” I ask Hudson. Hudson laughs and Tanner just gapes at me. Maura rolls her eyes but not in a bad way. It’s more of an Oh-my-god-did-I-really-take-her-out-in-public way. She loves me.
“Uh, kind of.” He takes sip of his Dr. Pepper. “Tucker actually plays here a lot—at least once a week. That’s how I discovered the place: watching him play.”
Here's to Tomorrow Page 5
