Miraculously, my mom said yes when I asked her if I could go to the mall with Michael the next day. Perhaps she felt an ounce of sympathy for me after all.
As I got ready to leave, I rehearsed our meeting over and over again in my mind. To be honest, I was very nervous. I didn't know if I was ready for this. I hadn't dated anyone since...
No, Raiden. Don't go there.
I took forever to pick out my outfit. Finally, I went with a Paramore shirt, a pair of skinny jeans, and my leather vest.
I looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. I hope she likes me...
The movie Sam and I decided on started at 4:30. Unfortunately, thanks to my parents, we weren't heading out until about 4:20.
I rushed out of the car when we finally pulled into the parking lot. My mom told me she'd call me later when she was gonna pick me up. I put on my sunglasses and started across the lot, looking down at my watch. 4:37. Dammit.
I pushed through the double doors of the building, took off my sunglasses, and looked around. After a moment I spotted them.
Michael sat with two girls on a bench by the wall. At first glance, you wouldn't even realize they were twins; they looked so different. I recognized Sarah from some pictures Michael had shown me so I deduced that the girl sitting next to her must have been Sam.
The minute I laid eyes on her, I mouthed a silent "whoa."
Her face lit up into a huge smile when she saw me approach. She stood up to greet me, and Michael and Sarah followed suit.
Michael pulled me into a bear hug. "Way to be late, girlie," he teased.
I stuck my tongue out at him. "It wasn't my fault."
"Oh well," he shrugged. "Sam and Sarah, this is Raiden."
I quickly shook Sarah's hand and then my eyes locked on Sam. "Hey," I smiled.
She was grinning from ear to ear. "Hey Raiden."
We stood there for a moment, eyes locked on each other, both beaming. Michael shook us out of our reverie.
"Ahem, well I hate to interrupt this lovely little meeting," Michael started, pulling my gaze away from Sam. "But me and Sarah's movie started about fifteen minutes ago."
"What do you mean, you and Sarah's movie? Aren't we all going to see Inception?" I asked, confused.
"Nope," Michael grinned evilly. "You are Sam are. Sarah and I are seeing something else." All three of them giggled.
I shot Michael an I-can't-believe-you-set-me-up-like-this look but tried to stay cool. I couldn't believe I was going to be alone with her! I was not prepared for that. Nervousness churned in my stomach.
"Okay," I said, trying not to sound reluctant. I didn't want Sam to misinterpret my hesitancy.
"Well, have fun, you two!" Sarah laughed and took off with Michael to see their movie.
I guess we better head on in," I said. "It's about 4:45."
"Okay."
We went into our theater and found some seats near the middle. The previews were still playing when we came in and I sat down next to Sam, still not believing that I was on a date with this girl.
I kept stealing glances over at her when the movie started playing. I couldn't get over how cute she was.
She was taller than me by a few inches. She had short reddish hair that I was dying to run my fingers through because it looked so soft. Dozens of freckles dotted her cheeks and nose in the most adorable way. The thing that stood out to most about her was her eyes. They were the most breathtaking shade of green that I had ever seen. And she had a smile that lit them up so beautifully that I couldn't even think straight when I looked in them.
