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He nods, and glances back at the tv.
“Vanessa and I are going out tonight.”
He slaps the couch, and scoffs, but doesn’t respond. He cups his face.
“Listen, I’m a hypocrite, but her friend showed up at the party and asked if I found her attractive. Did you expect me to lie?”
He nods enthusiastically.
I’m the one that told him not to flirt with the moms and here I am going out with one. I have to at least go out with her. Online dating has been a monumental mess, and she’s the first girl I’ve met in person that has piqued my interest, and I have to go with my gut.
“It’s one date. Her friend pushed her, it’s unclear if she actually wanted to go out with me or she only did it to get her friend off her back.”
A part of me hopes she is excited. She has only been single for a short time, and I will be careful. When kids are in the picture, we have to tread lightly.
“You needed to hear it from me, but I’m a grown ass man and don’t need your permission to go on a date. You are the one that has been pushing me to do this, maybe not with her, but with strangers.”
Tristan has a right to be pissed off, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to cancel with Vanessa. We agreed to one date and I plan to make it enjoyable. Maybe she will want to go out again.
“I gotta go get ready. See you later, man.”
He will get over it. There are plenty of women, and it’s not like he had eyes only for her.
I text her before backing out of the driveway, and heading to my house to change.
Me: Want to make sure we are still on for tonight?
She might be rethinking this, and it won’t surprise me. Vanessa doesn’t have to go out with me just to please her friend. I have seen the way she looks at me, and she might not want to admit it, but she wants me, too. Vanessa is not good at hiding it.
My truck comes to a stop in my driveway, and I jump out and walk inside to get ready. Tonight isn’t supposed to be romantic necessarily, because she hasn’t expressed she has feelings for me, so I want to take her somewhere casual and friendly. It will help take some of the pressure off the night. Tonight, I just want to get to know her better. Cut the bullshit, and give me the truth. A peek at the real Vanessa.
I throw on a pair of jeans, and a green striped button up. Is she going to dress up? Tonight can’t be any worse than the dates I have been on from online. There have been some doozies.
My phone buzzes against the bathroom sink and I brush my teeth.
Vanessa: Yes.
The one word response throws me off. Is she not looking forward to our date? Or is she just playing hard to get? Either way, she isn’t backing out, and that gives me the opportunity to show her the kind of man I am.
It irks me how women are always complaining that there are no good guys left, but they purposely gravitate toward the men that don’t give them the attention they need. Meanwhile, I’m over here just waiting for my queen and nothing. Bad boys are trouble, and usually it ends in heart ache, so why not just trust the good guys? I’ll never understand.
I gargle some water to clean out the leftover toothpaste from my mouth, and then grab my keys. Her house is only a couple blocks away, but I like to be early, even if it means I have to wait.
The truck backs out of the driveway, and turns on Sycamore and then her street. There are two cars in the driveway, and my guess is Tina is there. Vanessa is probably regretting saying yes and she is trying to talk her into having a good time.
I’m not one of those guys that pressures women. First dates are typically how you get to know someone, and I don’t expect anything else. Vanessa is going through a lot and it might be beneficial to be the person she can talk to. Everyone needs an outside sounding board, right?
I open my door, and gracefully walk up to her door, and knock. Tina opens it, and gestures me inside to sit on the couch.
“Fair warning. She’s a mess. Give me five more minutes.”
Their voices are going back and forth inside, but they aren’t loud enough for me to make out the words. Vanessa has a screech to her voice, and Tina has her hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. Is going out with me really this bad? Maybe this is a bad idea and we should just call it off. My head falls into my hands.
“Ready to go?” Vanessa says, grabbing her clutch off the island and standing by the door.
Her eyes aren’t puffy, but she is wearing a lilac dress with a jean jacket and black wedges. The dress gives me full view of her long legs, and the color compliments her beautiful eyes.
“You look beautiful.”
