The Middle | Hemmings + Styles AU

20. this isn't a date

The following Saturday I did something that I'd rarely done the entire time I had worked at the CD store: I took the day off. Not without some persistence from Grunge first.

"Have you forgotten that I used to run this place long before you came along?" My boss grumbled on Friday afternoon, his patience wearing thin with my hesitance. 

"Yeah, but..." I tried to think of a reason to bring me into work but I couldn't.

Truthfully, I didn't know why I was so worried about taking the day off. I'd just become so used to spending my Saturday's at the store, running the show on my own. It seemed strange to be handing over the responsibility. 

Even when I was at school, I'd always loved spending Saturdays at the store rather than laying in bed hungover from some lame party the night before. "But nothing," Grunge smiled, looking up from the stack of Grinspoon CDs he'd just unboxed. "Now get out of here," he said playfully. 

So on Friday night, I messaged Luke on Facebook: Paint your nails black and get out your best wrist cuff, we're going to see The Forgotten Kids tomorrow night. 

He'd replied almost instantly: Are you asking me out on a date? 

No, I wrote, trying not to smile too much as I imagined him smiling that cheeky grin. Simply two friends going to a gig together. 

And what about after the gig? 

Unexpected butterflies had whirled through my stomach. What about after the gig? If you play your cards right... I sent, and then logged off before I'd have to decide exactly what I meant by that. 

On Saturday afternoon as I got ready - black jeans and a basic grey t-shirt, Olivia would have been horrified - it occurred to me that regardless if it was a date or not, I liked the way it all felt so casual. 

There were no expectations, no need to answer questions like where this was going? Or were we exclusive? Or was this moving to fast-or-too-slow-and-did-you-want-to-come-over-and-meet-my-mum? I shuddered, thinking about all of that.

This, on the other hand, was casual and fun. Which suited me just fine. I had a feeling it suited Luke too. I mean, he was a nineteen year old boy at the beginning of what seemed like it might be a successful music career. It seemed like committing to an actual girlfriend would be the last thing he'd want. 

It was funny to think that my parents were just my age when they met, and that they were married a short year later. I couldn't imagine meeting my soul mate at eighteen, and the thought of getting married - despite my parents long, happy marriage - made my skin crawl. I wondered what my grandparents were thinking, letting my mum run off into the sunset with a kid she claimed to be the love of her life. We often joked that Aunty Peg was the crazy one, but maybe my mum was the real rebel here. 

As I was getting ready, Olivia sent me a bunch of texts each more terrible and brazen than the last: Don't order food. If that boy sees the way you eat like a wild, starving animal he'll be out of there before he can even pay the bill. Then, Wear a skirt, no underwear. It'll drive him wild. And finally, Second date qualifies for oral sex. For you, make him wait until the third. 

We've agreed that we're just going as friends. Now let me get ready, I wrote back to her, even though I was already ready. It hadn't taken much. We were going to spend three hours in a small room with sweaty strangers, it's not like I was Cinderella going to the ball. 

When I opened the front door to see Luke standing in a pair of black jeans and an Offspring shirt, I was surprised that not only was he on time, but Michael was standing beside him too."Hi," I smiled at them both, moving against the door to let the pair inside. "You forgot your black nail polish."