The Middle | Hemmings + Styles AU

17. the eagles

"Next time I go on a date, you'll be the last person to know about it," I told Olivia. We were in my room and she was frowning at my chosen outfit of black skinny jeans and a maroon lace top. You're not showing enough skin, she kept saying earlier.

A smirk crossed Olivia's red lips. "So, she finally admits it's a date."

We'd been going back and forth over this ever since I told her that Luke and I had plans for Saturday night. Thank goodness I'd had enough sense not to mention it to Aunty Peg. She'd seemed so smitten by Luke when she met him, if she was twenty years younger she'd probably try and pounce on him herself.

I shuddered. Now there was a disturbing thought. 

Before I could say anything else to Olivia, she tossed a black dress at me. The same black dress she'd spent almost an hour trying to get me to put on.

"I'm not wearing that," I repeated for at least the forth time. It looked incredibly uncomfortable with a short hemline and zero straps. I considered myself to be pretty confident but I could not wrap my head around wearing a strapless dress without feeling like I had to pull it up every five seconds.

"Yeah, you are," she said, exasperated. "Don't you want to blow him away?"

"Maybe but I don't need to be half naked to do it."

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll wear it tonight to see Oliver. I'm going over to his house."

"Why not just go naked? You know the dress won't be on for long."

A wicked grin crossed Olivia's face, causing me instant regret over what I'd just said. I'd spend the next twenty five minutes listening to Olivia talk about her and Oliver's latest sexcapade (involving a hotel corridor and an ice machine) while I put on my face and actually brushed my hair.

"Are you sure I don't look weird or over-dressed?" I asked once I was ready. Thankfully Olivia had finally stopped telling me about Oliver's oral skills.

"Oh, Stel. Only you would think that jeans could look overdressed," she smiled softly. "Now, do you need any pointers? Do you know the signs to look for?"

Signs for what? I wanted to ask, but I didn't because I was quite sure I'd figure it out on my own and I was tired of Olivia acting like I'd never been on a date before. 

Even though, I hadn't really been on a real date, I guess.

But still, I wasn't a complete idiot, and this was Luke. Our conversations flowed as naturally as the ocean makes waves, and thanks to Michael's confession I already knew that Luke liked me at least a little, so most of the hard stuff was out of the way.

"Before I forget," she told me as she was leaving for her own date. "I slipped a few condoms into your purse. Stay safe, have fun!"

When Luke picked me up ten minutes late, his cologne was more prominent than usual and his quiff as high as ever.

"Sorry I'm late," he smiled, his eyes taking a second to brush over my outfit.

"It's okay," I reassured him, while giving myself an imaginary gold star for his obvious approval of my outfit. Take that, Liv. "That quiff isn't going to do itself, right?"

We walked to his car and he opened the door for me. For a moment, I wondered if he did this sort of thing a lot. You know, dates and stuff, or if he was just the typical bang-a-groupie-post-concert type of guy.

Once inside the car, I didn't ask where we were going. Luke didn't say anything either. Instead, he turned up The Cranberries song that was on the radio and before the song had ended, Luke had parked the car.