second date
essa pov
One evening, while Cass and I are watching Netflix, my cell phone starts to ring. I pick it up, surprised to find I don't recognize the number. Perplexed, I answer with a confused, "Hello?"
"This is Essa, right?" comes a voice.
"Uh, yeah. Who is this?" I ask, exchanging a confused glance with Cass.
"Draven," says the voice, and my heart skips. "We went on a date a few nights ago."
My heart speeds up and I say, "Oh, sorry, I didn't recognize your voice. Hi!"
I can hear him laughing. "So, hey, I was wondering if you'd like to go out again tomorrow night?" he asks, and I have to hold back an excited squeal. I make excited hand motions to Cass and she gives me a weirded out, "what the hell is wrong with you?" look.
"Yes, I'd love to," I say as calmly as I can. "Anything in particular I should wear?" I ask, remembering how I had to wear a dress last time.
I can hear him laughing again. "You just need a pair of roller skates. You do have some right?" he asks. I start to nod before I remember he can't see me and I want to face-palm myself.
"Yeah, I have a pair," I tell him, leaving out the fact that I've never used them. "What do I need skates for?"
"It's a surprise. I'll pick you up tomorrow at five. Sound good?"
"Okay..." I say, and then there's a click.
Cass looks at me eagerly. "Who was that?"
I smile excitedly. "Draven. I have another date!"
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The next day, preparing for my date, I wear a blue pair of leggings and a long white t-shirt. I wear my sneakers, holding my skates in my hand. I'd prefer not to fall on my butt first thing.
Draven picks me up on time, and again I ask why I need my skates, but he just smiles and says it's a surprise. I'm relieved to find he's just wearing jeans and a t-shirt so I don't feel underdressed.
Shortly, we pull up at a medium-sixed, one-story building, and I realize why I needed my skates. Of course, we're going to JC's , the roller rink. Even from the parking lot I can hear the music blaring and see the flashing lights. "I didn't think people actually came to roller skate," I comment.
He laughs. "Yeah, mostly people just come and hang out, but I like to actually skate for a bit."
We walk inside and my eyes widen. I've only been here a handful of times, and it never ceases to amaze me. The kids lingering around the walls, the teenagers smoking in one corner, video games line the one wall, and in the middle of the floor the roller rink where only a few kids are actually skating. On one wall there's a place to rent skates, but since Draven and I brought our own we just strap them on and I stand shakily.
Letting out a sharp squeal, I wobble and grab the railing. Draven gives me a strange look. "You don't know how to skate?"
I shake my head. "No. The skates were a gift from my birthday, but I've never used them," I tell him, embarrassed.
"Here," he offers, extending a hand to me. "I'll help you."
Shakily, I take it and he pulls me out to the middle of the floor and helps me balance. "See, not so bad," he says gently, letting go of me. "It's easy." He skates away a little, and I struggle to stay upright. "Come on, see if you can keep up with me."
He begins to move away slowly, watching me the whole time in case I fall. Timidly I begin to skate after him and promptly fall on my butt. Draven laughs and comes back, pulling me to my feet. "Maybe that was a bad idea. Come on, just hold onto me." For several minutes we skate around the rink in laps. Then he says, "Here, I can show you how to skate backwards." Still holding my hand, he starts skating backwards and I squeal, gripping his hand tighter, freaking out. He spins me around so that I'm in front of him, facing him and skating forward instead. "There, is that better?" he asks, and I nod.
After a while we go back to the edge and I pull my sneakers back on. "I don't think skating is my thing," I tell him apologetically, but he says it's fine and we end up playing some of the arcade games along the wall. Draven just keeps popping in what seems like an endless amount of quarters, and even gets the new high score. I'm beside him, playing my own game, though I'm not near as good since I hardly ever play video games.
Draven and I get slices of pizza before we leave, and we chat, both of us hyper, as we walk back to his car. "You know, you're like the most awesome girl I've ever hung out with," he tells me as we're standing in the parking lot.
I blush. "Yeah? Well, you're pretty cool too, for a rich guy," I tease.
He pretends to be offended. "What does that mean?" he asks, feigning being aghast.
Smiling, I poke him and we both laugh. "Seriously, though," he says, holding my hand. "When Bobby told me you wanted to go out with me, I never thought I'd end up liking you so much." I can't hold back my blush and my eyes widen as I see him begin to lean in. The next thing know he's kissing me, and I'm kissing him back. My heart's pounding, but when we both pull away we're smiling at each other and we climb into his car as if nothing happened and the whole way home we're quiet, but I'm floating on a cloud.