In Our Heads

Chapter 12

*****

Cassian slid the knot of the tie towards his neck fixing it into place. He chuckled at the fact that he felt a little nervous. In his mind, he was brushing their meeting off as more of him and Ryan just hanging out while his parents made sure to repeatedly tell him to make a good impression because it was, in fact, a date.

His mother had picked out the entire outfit he was currently wearing, down to the shoes and even his watch. He was quite annoyed by that but she insisted that he 'looked good' for the evening. He was certain that his usual style looked quite good. It was smart-casual, unless he was having dinner with his parents' friends or associates or joining them for work meetings, then it was just formal.

His mother's choice of formal wear was more daring than his usually was. He stuck to dark colour palates and usually only went brighter with his tie when he wore a suit, but she had chosen an entirely beige ensemble that made it look like he was heading to a banquet or award show or something. He did not want to argue with her though and figured he would just work to pull it off. They were going to a fancy restaurant anyway, he should fit right in.

Once dressed, he ran his eyes over himself and had to admit, whether he was overdressed or not, he looked really good. He definitely pulled it off.

He grabbed his phone to check the time, it was just after five, and then slid it into his pocket and made his way downstairs. He knocked on his father's study to indicate that he was leaving instead of opening the door to say goodbye because his father was working and Cassian did not want to bother him. Jonathan would be driving him to the restaurant, and probably picking him up afterwards.

Cassian's mother was currently out with some friends so he headed outside and met Jonathan at the foot of the stairs.

"You look great, Mr Carmichael." Cassian just frowned at Jonathan, earning some laughter from the older man as they climbed into the car.

They drove the 40 minutes it took to arrive at the area of town the restaurant was in, it was right next to a hotel but could not be looked into from the front.

"I will wait in the underground parking around the corner. Call me when you're almost finished," Jonathan said as he stopped the car in front of the restaurant.

"You don't have to wait down there. We'll probably be at least a couple of hours. I'll call you."

"Aright. Have fun."

Cassian smiled at Jonathan before climbing out of the car. He headed into the restaurant and walked up to the little reception area, behind the two people working at the desk was a glowing blue fish tank, the lighting continued in subtle places around the rest of the desk and the huge room around them.

There was not much of a line and he just had to wait a couple of seconds before he made it to the desk and gave them his surname. He was shown to a private room where he found Ryan seated at the table in the centre of the room.

"Ryan," he greeted.

"Hey." The guy smiled as he stood up and Cassian grinned at the fact that he was not the only one so dressed up. Ryan looked very good in the dark suit he was wearing. They greeted each other with a hug before taking their seats again.

"How long have you been here?" Cassian asked, noticing the almost empty wine glass beside the plating set out in front of Ryan.

"About ten minutes, I had a meeting next door before though." He shrugged.

Cassian nodded asking him about the meeting and they settled into talking about Ryan's recent work before Ryan asked Cassian about the interview. It had taken place Friday afternoon and gone quite well, Cassian thought. He was sure he did not have anything to worry about with regard to the school or his admission.