The Crowded Room

2. Prickly Situations.

"Smile!"

"Please, stop."

A quick flash blinds me momentarily.

Mila's eyes are coloured in beau blue that protrude a significant amount of childlike wonder as she smiles my way wickedly. Her pale hands clasp dauntingly onto her cellular device as she holds the camera my way. Caught like a deer in headlights, I freeze.

"This is for Pierre, to show him how nervous you are for tonight, it's so cute."

Freshly out of an almost half an hour shower I am now standing in a fluffy pink towel wrapped around me as I am contemplating on what to wear for tonight with a glass of red gently embraced between my fingers. I weigh the options displayed before me and cringe at myself. This is so stupid. All of this effort, nervousness, just for a simple guy.

Well.

Maybe not that simple.

"Did you shave?"

Mila lays casually and comfortably atop my bed and wiggles her way under my comforter like it's her cocoon of comfort with my kitten fast asleep under her long golden locks. She lifts her eyebrows scanning my figure awaiting an answer and I immediately stiffen uncomfortably.

"No."

She sighs a deep sigh and gives me a pointed look, her cat-eyes pinning me to my own bedroom wall.

I'm consequently trapped.

I know what she wants to say before she says it and so instead, I quickly choke her words.

"I'm not planning on having sex with him on the first night Milano."

She plops her head on her elbows looking at me with pure fascination whilst scratching Mabel's head. The kitten doesn't open her eyes, she instead starts to purr a low vibrational purr.

" Who said anything about sex, not me. And technically, it's not the first night."

I deadpan as she smiles my way in a brilliantly bright manner before she sees my unamused face and sighs.

"At least shave your legs."

I roll my eyes and try to think of a few more excuses as to why I blatantly refuse to shave any part of me.

"Plus, you know I'm on my period right now, wouldn't want to gross out a potential mating partner."

She furrows her brows and scrunches up her nose.

"Ew, don't make a comparison like that, and don't say mating like he's some type of animal."

"We are all animals Milano."

She rolls her eyes playfully as she untangles herself from my duvet to pour us some more Pinotage disturbing Mabel in the process, the kitten doesn't seem upset, instead she nonchalantly stretches herself out further on the pillow she already occupies. Belly exposed, the kitten sighs.

Ah, what ails you my little unemployed freeloader?

Mila stretches her arm out extending the wine glass my way. I clasp the glass in my hand as before and start to drink the warm liquid like a greedy child. She then retreats into the snugness of my bed once again relishing in the purrs that Mabel fabricates.

Is it a good idea to drink this much before a casual date? Is it even a date? Technically, we are going to watch his friend, Phil, whom I remember for his eccentric looks, DJ his last set at this supposed posh restaurant in Town. So, in actual fact, we didn't specify any of those date or no date details.

No, stop overthinking this. It's just good music and casual dinner with his friends.

I drop the towel and instantaneously feel goosebumps rise from under my skin all the way up to my exterior. Quickly, I throw on an oversized Nirvana shirt and mismatched pajama pants to try and conceal myself from the crisp cold,

I start to pace up and down.

I dont' think I should do this. Girl alone with a bunch of males? Having to initiate conversation with all of them? Trying to be nice and trying to be myself?

Which one is it? I can't do both!

This whole situation makes me want to pull my hair out.

"Calm down, you're even making me anxious."

It's like she can read my thoughts, but I'm sure even a stranger could read me like a book right about now. I must be quite a sight to see; a vulnerable mess in a mismatched clothes with an overfilled glass of wine drinking it like it's water, pacing up and down. It's taking just about all my remaining sanity to not bite my nails or to go into a full-blown panic attack. The agitation I'm feeling starts to rise further within myself and I become increasingly annoyed by the second.

"What if everything goes tits up?"

"Okay Lulu, you really must relax. Everything is going to be fine and if you feel overwhelmed by everything, remember I'll be there to save you and then we can make a quick run for it. But I'm sure that there will be no need for that at all."

I take a deep breath and let her words sink into the seeps of my consciousness.

Fuck this.

"You're right. I am going to be fine. I am a bomb-ass, gorgeous, independent woman that has no need to be nervous over some guy."

Not just some guy.

"Yes!"

I take a huge gulp of my wine feeling the burning sensations simmer all the way down my throat and continue.

"Tonight is going to play out flawlessly. I am going to look beautiful; he's going to look beautiful and were both going to be beautiful together."

God, I hope so.

"I have no reason to be so nervous, him and I do have a magnifying connection."

"Yes! And yes!"

Mila is all about the hype. I know she loves the fact that I'm trying to boost my own confidence. Her smile never fades as she looks at me, cheering me on enthusiastically.

"Bestie, you've got this."

I nod a little too hastily. Though, my nervousness is still very much evident.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

I give her a genuine smile but still feel my anxiety bubbling underneath the surface like a volcano ready to erupt. I take a nervous breath as I stare at myself in the mirror, it's just me. A average girl with average looks.

He's got to be satisfied with all this, right? With me?

She flamboyantly lifts herself from the bedcovers and comes to stand behind me, the kitten still in a deep sleep on the pillow. She gently places her head on my unoccupied shoulder and her hand rests on my other shoulder and gives me a gently squeeze. She looks at me through my reflection.

The action places me in a tranquil state almost immediately and I close my eyes to enjoy it.

"Come, you're getting ready at my place."

I give a sigh of relief as I at least wouldn't have to shower at her place.

When a giggle slips past my lips, she looks at me with her eyebrows lifted in question.

The water pressure in her shower sucks ass.

I grab my things, toss them in a bag and shrug it over my shoulders. Mila picks Mabel up and places her under her arm, the kitten doesn't protest, still in a daze from her short-lived nap. As we make our way outside in the cold, I shove the door closed behind me. We near the car and I halt as realization dawns heavily on me. I dump the bag on the tar and make a run back inside hastily.

Mila doesn't question my actions at all, instead she delicately puts the kitten in the car along with herself and patiently waits for my return.

Can't forget the wine.