My Kind of Woman

5. Date Night

(Double upload since the next chapter ties in with this one, and more of Mio;;))

By a 'chance', Giana had meant going on dates - playing lovers. She got a chance to elaborate once we were alone after practice, waiting for Jackie. We were stood outside the school awkwardly beside one another, both our hair darkened with the pool water. My fingers twitched against my bag strap. I was praying Jackie would hurry up, I was saying it over and over to myself, but I knew she was talking to the coach.

"Did you think about what I said the other day?" Giana asked suddenly.

"A little." I lied. It had been my every waking thought; I had come to obsess over it out of confusion.

"Do you still want to," she paused to look at me, "give me a chance? You can say no if you want... you seem like you wanna say no really."

I smiled weakly at her. "I do, still, honestly. But, what do you mean by a chance?"

Her face became pink as she started to explain. "Like think about me, and I dunno, go on dates and stuff."

"Think about you that way?" I said, referring to the romance everyone had been talking about.

"What way?" She looked a little surprised.

I quirked my eyebrow. "What other way is there?"

Her cheekbones flushed and she pursed her lips. "No other way..."

"So, that's all?" I glanced into the school through the doors, hoping to see Jackie's silhouette form behind the glass. But it didn't. "What other stuff?"

"Whatever you're comfortable with." She said, round eyes shining with the wobbly reflection of the sun. After she spoke, I could see her jaw muscles clenching at the sides of her face.

"You'll have to be specific, Giana. I'm really sorry but when I said I wasn't made for this stuff, I really meant I don't know anything about it." I sighed.

"Okay, you can start by calling me Gi, like Jackie does... if you want to." She suggested, and I nodded, telling her that was simple enough. "And we can call each other and stuff."

I realised the meaning of stuff was always going to remain ambiguous so I stopped asking about it, knowing I was getting nowhere. I figured I'd have to learn along the way. Giana's intentions weren't foul, I knew that. She was a really nice girl, but she was young and a little pushy, and had less patience for me than I'd wished for. It's what I needed the most. I liked the girl a lot - she was strange and interesting, but I didn't know whether I liked her the way she said she liked me.

"Would you want to go on a date with me?" She asked timidly.

"If that's what giving you a chance entails, then yes, I would want to go on a date with you." I smiled at her, and just as she went to speak again, the door to the school burst open and Jackie leapt at us, sliding her arms around my neck. I felt like kissing her again out of relief, but of course, I didn't. The confession from Giana had rocked the friendship strangely, but with the chance I was hoping the friendship would blossom differently.

That afternoon, I walked Giana all the way home and talked a little more about the agreed date. She seemed excited and that alone made me look forward to it more. I wanted her to be happy. Saturday was the day we decided on; she wanted to spend the whole day together. I wanted her to enjoy our date.

__________

So, on Saturday around eleven in the morning, I did my best to make myself look attractive. But I realised as I stared at my half-dressed reflection in the mirror that I knew nothing about how to dress for a date, and truthfully, I was feeling increasingly nervous. Jackie had promised to help me prepare, she'd told me she knew all about first dates like she was an expert and I trusted her.