16. To Date or Not To Date
"When was the last time you went on a date?" Jack asked as he laid spread across her bed with Sophia cradling his feet.
Sophia suffocated a giggle when Libra's eyes widened in surprise at the question. Was it too early to let him know that she had never been on a date with anyone? Libra wouldn't even know what she would do on a date let alone who she'd go on a date with. In high school she wasn't exactly dating material to any of her peers, they hardly noticed her, and now she felt silly diving in to any 'dating game' seeing how long she'd stayed out of it. And who would want to date me in the first place?
"I haven't exactly...you know, in high school I wasn'tâ"
"What she's trying to say," Sophia chimed in after a long while of suppressing her laugh, "is that she has never been on a date with someone."
Libra rolled her eyes at Sophia who seemed to have no trouble spilling Libra's embarrassments to their new friend, but Jack didn't laugh. Instead he winked at Libra and gave her his most compassionate look.
"I didn't date until college and trust me since I've started dating it's been like a drug, sadly enough for me there aren't any cute guys to date here any longer," Jack said and pouted his lips, "I only date seniors and now that I am one it takes the fun out of it." He explained and reached for his soda.
Here sat three late bloomers comparing experiences and it actually made Libra feel better. She let her hair down from her loose bun and fell her heavy locks fall onto her back, after this evening run-in with Dillon and his friends she felt more tired than before. Not that she had spoken to him at all, instead she had chosen to ignore them all completely and only steal some glances at him when she was sure he wasn't looking.
Dillon seemed to be everywhere she was these days and when he wasn't physically there she thought about it, a lot. For someone who had fallen at the brute of his sharp tongue she sure didn't act like it any longer, she was way too soft on him. When he had stepped into the café with the girl on his arm she had felt something close to disappointment. Stop thinking about him now, Libra!
"Why are we talking about dating anyway since it seems like none of us have one?" Libra moaned and forced out any unwanted thoughts she had at the moment.
Jack got up from the bed and wandered around the room, casually dragging his fingers along some of her clothes that were hanging on a chair. He stopped and picked up her denim dress, the one she had recently worn, and held it up against his own body. Jack muffled a giggle as he looked down at himself, as if he imagined how good he'd look in the dress.
Sophia's coughing awoke his daydreaming and his eyes darted in their direction as he put the dress down, "I was just thinking about last night and how jealous you looked when Dillon came in with that girl. Maybe you should ask him out on a date?"
Libra let out a chilly loud laugh at Jack's question. Ask Dillon out on a date, she would never be that stupid. She had to admit; she had been surprised when he saw her with his arm around the mystery girl because he seemed so different now, but he was allowed to date and socialize with whomever he wanted. Libra was here to graduate college and help herself and Sophia through their trauma, not to date or wonder who Dillon Holden was seeing.
"I wasn't jealous then and I'm not now either and for the record; the first guy I ever date will not be a jerk like Dillon Holden." Libra stated firmly and then asked them to talk about anything else, she was done discussing this.
"Jack isn't completely of you know," Sophia said, "what if you were to go on a date with someone else? Anyone but Dillon Holden of course." She continued and shrugged her shoulders when Libra gave her an evil look.
"Who says I even want to go on a date? I have never mentionedâ"
"âyou might not have mentioned it but I saw your eyes just now, you aren't completely impose to the idea," Sophia challenged her; "if we found the right guy would you be into it?"
The question rang in her head and she played out different scenarios in which she was on a date. It had to be someone who shared her interest, so they had something to talk about, and not anyone with Dillon's old or current status. Libra wanted to find someone like her, someone who actually understoodthe real her. Her eyes finally looked at Sophia and she sighed, realizing her defeat. She couldn't believe she was about to agree to something like this.
"If we find the right guy, then fine I'd go. But I have to decide if the guy is right or not, it has to be my choice completely." She said with a stern voice. Leaving this up to Sophia and Jack was a terrifying feeling and she needed to regain some control.
Jack and Sophia's eyes met and their smiles widened victoriously. Then Jack took the range and started planning how they would go about this, leaving a quiet Libra to think about what she had just agreed to. Soon she might be sitting on a blind date with a guy and be totally out of her comfort zone and despite the pit in her stomach telling her it'll be a disaster, something else inside her told her to be excited. A small smile crept alongside the corners of her mouth and she was quick to hide it by sucking her lips in.
What had she gotten herself into?
With her head filled with Jack and Sophia's talk about dates Libra headed to her Non Fiction class. She wasn't completely comfortable letting Sophia and Jack find potential suitors for her but it was better than her doing it for herself â she wouldn't know where to begin. As she walked she opened her Google app and typed in 'how to go on a date?' and picked the first link she saw. If she was going to do this she needed to learn the ropes, as quickly as possible. 'Start with your clothes,' the website encouraged her and before she could read any further she walked into a warm chest.
Libra adjusted herself and pulled back slightly, ready to apologize for paying too much attention to her phone, and then she saw who she had bumped into: none other than Dillon Holden. A smile was etched on his face but it disappeared when he realized she wasn't returning it. She hadn't expected to see him today, even though he had been on her mind, and since the awkward tension at the café she wasn't sure what to say to him.
"Are you alright?" Dillon asked and picked up her phone to hand it to her, but not before glancing what was on the screen.
Too shocked at what he had just done she couldn't form a word or tell him off for peaking at her phone. Instead she snatched the phone from his hands and felt the embarrassment reach her cheeks quickly and then she zoomed past him. She could hear him call her name from behind her but she ignored it â until she was spun around and facing him again. Dillon wasn't a great listener she had begun to understand.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to look at your phone, it wasn't my plan when I picked it up." He said with regret in his voice. But the damage was done now and he had seen what she had googled, he must think I'm such a loser.
Libra's cheeks were burning like they were on fire and she knew she needed to get away from Dillon to make it stop. She was certain he was mocking her internally as they stood here now that he had probably realized that she had never been on a date before. Not that it would surprise him much seeing as he knew her in high school.
"That thing you had googled," Dillon smiled reassuringly, "I can help you if you'd like. If you want I mean." He looked right at her without any shred of doubt.
Libra doubted everything he was saying and felt as if she would soon be swallowed whole by the ground. Why was he being this nice to her? Probably out of pity. Behind Dillon she could see the girl he had been with at the café and she was coming toward them. If there was one thing she couldn't deal with it was any sort of conformation from a girl like that. She needed to leave now.
"Just forget you saw anything, okay? I'll see you around." She mumbled and headed the other direction, hurrying desperately to her classroom.
Before reaching her classroom her phone vibrated in her hand which prompted her to look. She did a silent gasp when she saw the text.
The offer still stands if you want to, just let me know.
/Dillon