Postgrad Partners

Tori and Jade's First Date (Sorta)

"It took her that many tries to memorize the song?" Tori blinked, finding that mental image hard to see, "But I heard from one of our friends that she once sang it perfectly!"

Nora chuckled again, "Oh, the song wasn't the problem! She was obsessed with the video itself; everything from the framing to her body language while singing. She told me that everyone was getting so worried about their singing that they'd probably forget that they'll be on stage, too!"

Tori nodded, finally understanding. It made her gulp, realizing that she was exactly in that crowd of perfecting her singing over her appearance—and yet, ultimately became the one Mason chose. "W-Well, I can definitely see where Jade gets her musical talent from!"

Nora waved away the compliment, "Oh, stop! I haven't been in the music scene in so long—I'm rusty, believe me!" She sighed and smiled nonetheless, "It was enough for Piper, at least..."

"Piper?" Tori blinked, trying to recall the name, then suddenly remembering, "Oh! You mean that woman who came to your hotel room last—"

Throwing professionalism out for a brief moment, Nora quickly covered Tori's mouth and brought a finger to her lips, "Tori! Not here!" As both of them slowly settled back down, Nora took a deep breath. "Well...I guess that leads into what I was about to ask you, anyway."

Tori's eyebrows raised curiously as she mumbled, "Ask me what?" against Nora's palm, which was promptly removed after. "Um...ask me what?" She could tell Nora was looking very nervous about whatever she was about to ask.

"Tori, how would you and Jade like to go out with me and Piper for dinner tonight?" Nora maintained a straight face through the whole question, but when Tori wouldn't answer for several seconds, she started to worry if the young woman didn't hear her or was simply caught by surprise.

With a casual smile painted on her face, Tori was screaming internally.

"We're going on a double date with my mom?!" Jade nearly crushed the coffee cup in her hand when she heard the news.

Tori quickly darted around them, hoping that outburst didn't attract too many ears. Luckily, she saw that no one was looking at them beyond a startled glance. Feeling glad she chose a very isolated table in the café, she sharply whispered, "Your mom said it's partly to make up for the 'freak-out first day' and partly because it's her first date with Piper! She just wants some familiar faces around to keep her calm!"

Jade's eyebrows furrowed as she leaned close and whispered just as sharply, "You know who else hasn't had a first date yet? Us! This was not the first date I had in mind for us!"

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"It doesn't matter anymore because you shanghaied us into being my mom's 'dating wheels'! Besides, why does she need help on a date? I'm living proof that she's gotten to home base before, right?"

"Jade, I don't know, okay? But if we help her with this, it'll score some trust points in our favor, won't it?"

With Tori lightly jabbing her propped elbow on the table, Jade relented with a groan and took a big gulp from her coffee cup. "Fine! We'll do it!" Tori celebrated with a little dance in her seat, but then Jade suddenly leaned in close, grabbing the neck of Tori's shirt. "But be warned: I'm considering this our first real date, so prepare to have your mind blown, Vega~"

With a quickly fading smile painted on her face, Tori was screaming internally...and could swear Jade was glancing down for a second.

After coming home straight after work, Jade locked herself in her room, leaving Tori to get every detail from Nora about where and when they were meeting for dinner. At 7:00 pm, Tori emerged from her room, using her tablet as a mirror since Jade had occupied the bathroom. Setting the device against the kitchen counter and the adjacent wall, she straightened out her red jacket, the white-striped top underneath, and her dark denim jeans that she hoped didn't look too casual for a date night. She briefly knelt down to secure the straps of her shoes, but caught a glance at a pair of red lace-up boots, followed by a pair of black jeans and a dark tank top covered by a jet black leather jacket.