"When you're dreaming with a broken heart, the waking up is the hardest part..." -- John Mayer 'Dreaming With A Broken Heart'
17
She was surprised to find herself so nervous about her date. She had never been like this... Of course she had never had official dates with anyone. But she still wondered if it was normal; If everyone felt this way before their first big date.
"So you know this is your first big date?" Hailey asked as she worked at straightening Tessa's hair. It was like Hailey could read her mind.
"Oh yeah? I hadn't thought about it," she pretended like she had never noticed that she had gone almost twenty-one years without having an official boyfriend or official dates.
"Yep. I brought my camera and I'm taking pictures," she told her matter-of-factly.
"OK, mother," she laughed as Hailey finished off the last section of hair and patted her on the shoulder.
"You look so cute!" Hailey gushed as she pulled at the hem of her light blue, short-sleeve, button-up shirt. "I'm glad I found those pants in your closet." She pointed at the trouser jeans that still had the price tag attached - until ten minutes ago.
"Me too, they're so comfortable," she smiled at herself in the mirror. "I do look cute!" She blushed as she heard the doorbell ring, while Hailey jumped up and down excitedly as she ran around the room looking for her purse.
"You're not taking pictures," Tessa argued.
"Yes I am."
"No you're not," she opened the door and made her way down the hallway and to the stairs.
"Yes I am," Hailey was following behind quickly, just waiting to snap the first picture. "You'll thank me one day."
"No, Hailey, I won't." She said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to still be single, with thirty cats and a passion for knitting."
Tessa grabbed the doorknob and smiled cheesily as Hailey held her digital camera up and snapped a quick picture before she opened the door. When she opened the door, Teddy was standing there in a dark blue button up, looking casual but dressy at the same time. They stood there smiling at each other like kids in middle school who were too shy to be the one to speak up first... Then Hailey intervened with her camera.
"What did I tell you about that?" Tessa asked as she glared at Hailey.
"That it would make you an old hag one day," Hailey smiled cheesily. "Now stand together for a minute so I can get a really good one for the photo album."
Tess rolled her eyes, but stood a little closer and wrapped her arm around his waist just long enough for Hailey to take the picture. "OK Hailey, we're leaving, lock the door behind you!"
She grabbed Teddy's arm and began pulling him quickly down the driveway to his car... His new car.
I wonder when he got that..."Nice Civic," she commented. "Its a new one, right?"
He nodded. "I figured it was time to give up the truck, plus I think Rick was going to start charging me for using it."
"Haha, yeah. Its nice, I like it." She smiled at him as she got in the passenger seat. "It will blend in well around here."
He chuckled a little. "I didn't think about that."
"So where are you taking me?" She smiled anxiously. "I'm tired of waiting."
"Well. I'm tempted to make you wait," he teased as she whined like a little kid. "OK, OK. So I did some research and I discovered that a restaurant
besides Chili's exists in this town."
She giggled as he joked about her friends' love for the restaurant where they spent almost every Monday night.
"So I'm taking you to Outback." He told her and she clapped her hands excitedly.
"Yay! I love that place," she smiled at him and he laughed.
"Good. Because I thought you'd be mad I was taking you somewhere other than Chili's."
"Please, I'm so sick of that place. The only reason we actually go there is because its the only place Cooper and Lauren will eat," she told him as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "They're the little primadonnas of the group."
"I noticed," he laughed as they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. He gave her a shy smile before they both hopped out of the car and began their short walk to eat their dinner.
- - - -
"So, have you bought a guitar yet?" He asked curiously as they worked on their appetizer.
She shook her head as she chewed quickly. "No, I'm waiting for the price on this one guitar to go down. I mean, its already on sale, but its still kind of expensive, and I can't exactly afford it yet."
"I know what you mean." He nodded as he sipped his drink.
"I'm thinking about taking up the piano too, though. We've got an old one sitting in the living room, ya know, and I've always wanted to be able to sit down and just wow everyone at Christmas or Thanksgiving or something." She said. "Plus, its not that hard for me to teach myself 'cause I taught myself the guitar."
"Oh yeah?" She nodded. "Thats tough to do sometimes, though."
She nodded again. "I get frustrated a lot, but its all worth it in the end."
"True," he replied and a comfortable silence fell over them for a while. They just sat there together, eating their appetizer and observing each other as well as the other customers sitting around them.
Finally, she spoke up. "Ya know, I have never been to dinner with a guy before."
"Really?" He asked curiously.
She nodded again - something she was beginning to realize was a bad habit - but chose not to finish her statement because she wasn't exactly sure if he considered this to be a date or not. He was technically still attached to Calli, after all. And what if he was just trying to spend time with her and he was just hungry?
Instead of going in that direction any longer, she chose to tell him everything. "So, did you know that I haven't spoken to my dad in four years... No, five years."
His eyes grew wide as the waitress brought their food and sat it in front of them.
She smiled nervously as she began working on her food. "He left us when I was sixteen. And I don't blame him, in fact, I'm not mad at him. I just wish that he would've taken me with him sometimes."
"Why did he leave?"
"Well, my mom was severly depressed for, like, five years and he had done everything he possibly could for her... We all did. And she just had her moments when she was happy and great, and then just the slightest thing would remind her of my sister and she would just go blank."
"What happened to your sister?" She cleared her throat and looked away nervously. It still bothered her to talk about it. "You don't have to... Ya know, if it bothers you."
She nodded as the two of them finished their meal in silence before paying for their food and leaving. Not until they were in the car and on their way back did either of them speak, but it wasn't about what she had told him, which slightly worried her.
"So, I hate to just like, eat and then take you home, but I have to be in Atlanta tomorrow because I'm going to New York to visit my parents," he told her.
"Oh." She knew she sounded a little disappointed, but she couldn't help it. They had just gotten the chance to spend time together and now he was flying off again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to take it if she was actually in a real relationship with him.
"Yeah," he replied with the same disappointment.
"Do you have to get home right now or can you come in and hang out for a while?" She asked curiously.
He gave her a playful smile. "I can come in."
- - - -
Their evening had started out watching stand-up comedy on Comedy Central, which was fun, but the best part came when they pulled out Tessa's CD collection. She put six of them in her stereo and set it to shuffle. The opening notes of 'Across The Night' by Silverchair began to play.
"You listen to Silverchair?" he asked as she laid in the floor facing the ceiling. "I just didn't see you as a Silverchair type I guess."
She smiled at him as they continued to listen to at least ten more songs before he realized it was getting really late.
"I hate to just leave," he said again and she nodded as they stood on the porch a few minutes later.
"Its OK. But when you get back you have to make up for it," she told him and he nodded as he moved in close and gave her a light kiss on the lips.
Did he just do that? What about Calli?His phone began to chime, signalling a text message. "Its Calli," he whispered as he shut it and stuck it back in his pocket. It took her from the top of the world to reality, and it wasn't exactly a soft landing. It felt as if her heart had fell ten stories and then been stepped on.
He gave her a shy smile before saying goodbye. He walked back to his car slowly as she stood there with her fingers resting lightly on her lips as if she was holding the feeling of his kiss there, while her elbow rested on her left arm across her middle. He stopped to wave just before getting into his car and driving off.
She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, the ID read TY, bringing her down from her slight natural high and into reality, where she was the most confused she had ever been.
"From dream to reality," she whispered to herself as she pulled her back off the door and made her way back to her bedroom where she hoped her dreams had slightly better endings than this night had.
, but whatever you feel makes the story awesome. Haha!
