Flower Girl | h.s.

5.

Harry

Daisy: Would you like to possibly meet up sometime? I'm free any night of the week.

The text message shouldn't have caught me off guard– this should have been expected. Of course she wouldn't have asked for my number if she thought that there wouldn't be something to come of it. Maybe I was just a bit naive to think that this was just for fun.

I couldn't remember the last time that I had been on a date. A proper date, I guess. There had been times when I had gone out with Niall and had gotten a bit too drunk and fumbled home, climbing over someone in the back of the Uber and being a little messy.

That happened rarely, usually only when the kids were out of town or were with our grandparents for the weekend. They usually stepped in every once in a while to take them off my hands in the summer so that I could take a break from the daily routine that we had managed.

I loved it; I loved them. But it was nice to have a break every once in a while. It was the kind of break that meant I could wake up five hours later than usual, eat dinner whenever I wanted, have friends over to drink and stay up until the early morning hours.

Maybe this wasn't even properly a date, but a meet up, if that meant a bit more casual. It clicked in my brain that this evening would be a time that I would actually be alone. I was planning on catching up on a few TV shows alone while I waited for both of them to be done their respective Friday night activities; Lottie was going to that bonfire on the beach– one that I wasn't too keen on her attending, but I'd let her have fun for her first freshman 'party', and Brooks was going to a sleepover for a birthday party. Both would be out of the house, until at least midnight. Lottie wasn't too good at following rules, so I knew that the midnight curfew meant an hour or so later.

I pondered the message for a minute, my head rested on the back of the sofa as I sat in silence. The only sound was the white noise of the fan that sat directly above me on the ceiling, my eyes wandering to the Food Network show that was playing on the TV, no sound coming from it.

Harry: I'm taking my sister to a beach bonfire tonight, around 6 or so in Santa Monica. I'll have a little free time, if you're available tonight by chance? I know Friday nights can be booked, so no pressure.

If I was being honest, I needed her to agree to this because I wasn't sure when I'd have time otherwise.

I was usually free on Friday nights, it was a blessing to have most weekends off from the restaurant, but that was because they knew I had the kids. I was able to attend sports games and be present in their lives while they were free from school and other obligations.

I got up from my spot on the couch and walked to the kitchen to start clearing it off from breakfast that morning. I placed a few dishes in the dishwasher, wiped down the counters, and went upstairs to start a load of laundry.

My phone buzzed in the pocket of my sweat-shorts as I grabbed ahold of it, holding the laundry basket in the other hand.

Daisy: You could come over to my place after you drop your sister off! We can order food, or I'll pick something up. I'm about a block from the beach. I'll text you my address :)

I bit my lip reading the message, being brutally honest with myself if that was something that I was up for. This was the kind of thing that I hadn't thought about in a while, and it made me nervous to recognize that it was a normal thing to date at this age.

I just never got the opportunity to do so, and it freaked me out a bit. I had never seen relationships work out the entire time I grew up; my mother was a failure at most things, but specifically herself and her children. We suffered because of her ability to connect with others and maintain relationships– not that it was usually her fault, the men she picked were horrid from the beginning to the end.