Dark Night

What comes next

I kept waiting for repercussions at home that week, but there was nothing. Nada. It was as if Saturday had never happened. This was some big-league repression, even for my parents. And to be honest, there should have been some punishment from my dad for the profanity I'd used. But nothing. And I felt something kind of die inside. I wondered if I'd thought that provoking them would show if they cared.

I was still mulling this over on Wednesday at lunch when John asked what I was doing over the weekend. "I don't have any plans yet," I said absently. "You?"

"Just the usual, skating and homework, probably. Worlds are coming up in a few weeks, and I'm kind of dreading the end of skating at the same time I'm anxious to be done."  He smiled at me. "And yeah, I've looked at some of those resources you mentioned for transitioning to a normal life after elite sport. I'm glad I did, there's a lot more than I'd thought  about to consider."

"Would you like to do something Friday night?" I asked, and as his eyes crinkled, I clarified. "As a date. Not just friends." And I listened to myself in kind of horror. Part of me was shaking the pompoms over asking him out, but most of me was cowering in a corner, expecting our friendship to wilt once he declined. My hands started to sweat.

But he beamed instead.

"Yeah, definitely. Anything." And I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. He took my hand, which was gripping my fork like I needed it to fend off a serial killer, gently prying the utensil out of my grip. Laced our fingers together. "I've been trying to work up the nerve to ask you out, but I didn't want to presume..."

I squeezed with my fingers. "I wasn't planning on doing that, it just kind of slipped out," I admitted. He grinned, his eyes soft. "So I don't have any plans for an activity, yet, but I'll think of something."

"I'm a little worried," he said, joking. "With your skills, anything is possible.  It doesn't have to be a big thing. I just want to spend time with you." I smiled for the first time since I'd asked him out. He smiled back, and for a moment, my world was just the two of us. But then the warning bell rang, the one that was serious about us all getting back to class, and it really spoiled the moment. He walked me to my locker, then strode off, grinning. I quickly sent out a group text: Need date ideas for this weekend. And by the time classes were over and I could check my phone again (students at Metro could keep their phones with them in class, unlike us) I had several texts that were curious about my date and had several fun options. Zayna, knowing that I usually had dinner somewhere before going to the library, immediately called for a summit at Panera on Thursday evening, where I was expected to give out more details.

I got to Panera early and had just sat down with my salad when Cass showed up, ordered, and beelined over to me, dropping her jacket and purse on the back of her chair. Zayna, Carol, and Keshondra were right behind; Maya couldn't make it, and she demanded a recap afterward.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Carol demanded to know. "You've never asked for date ideas before."

"It's John,' I said, the corners of my mouth curving upward as I took a bite of salad.

"Oh, well. Finally," Zayna said. I arched my eyebrows at her as I chewed.

"He's been gone on you for months now," Cass said as she took a bite of her panini.

"I wondered if you were ever going to try being more than good friends," Keshondra said before getting up to refill her beverage.

"It's exciting," Cass said. "Finally!"

"What made you get off dead center?" Zayna asked.

"I've been having kind of a shitty week, pardon the language," I said, and Zayna rolled her eyes. "I wasn't really planning on it, but It popped out, and I kind of thought that either almost everything goes up in smoke this week, so I can rise Phoenix-iike from the ashes, or I have something good," I joked kind of flippantly.  And that necessitated an explanation of Saturday night.

"There's so much going on there that is fucked up," Cass said matter-of-factly. "And I'm not apologizing for the vocabulary words. It's like you visited an alternate universe where you have a caring brother. Maybe not, your parents are still hopeless. But at least you have an option with your grandpa." The other girls nodded, and we talked about that first. I felt better inside. They too were on my side and I felt better knowing that it wasn't just me that found the whole sweeping the argument under the rug was weird. It wasn't til after that that we moved on to John. They had several ideas for our date (hopefully the first of many) and they assured me that they thought we were cute together and that it was past time one of us got up our courage.

The next day John turned around in English and asked, with a bright smile, what we were going to be doing that evening.

"Well, I thought it would be fun to go into San Francisco," I said. "I've spent very little time there and I'd like to explore part of it with you." I gave him some options. To my relief, he was enthusiastic, and we chose a walk in the Golden Gate Park's Japanese tea garden followed by dinner. He flushed a little, red washing across his cheeks.

"It's romantic," he said. "The cherry blossoms are in bloom. I'd love to be there with you."

I smiled at him. "Cherry trees, then dinner. I can't wait."

Friday seemed to take FOREVER to be over. But at length, the last bell rang and I raced home to shower and groom. It was chilly outside, and overcast, so I wore my best-fitting jeans and a pretty black sweater with my amethyst earrings. I curled my hair some, but  not tons because all the moisture in the air would make it go flat, and I took care with my makeup, keeping it simple for the same reason. I didn't want to blink and have mascara under my eyes so I used the waterproof stuff, which I didn't really like much but used for drill performances. Although John had seen me miserable and messy before, I wanted tonight to be better.

I drove over to John's, feeling a little trepidation for this first date, and rang the doorbell. Paul answered the door and grinned at me. "John! Some babe's at the door. Must have the wrong address," he shouted.

"That's no way to treat your brother's date," Mrs Tang chided, coming to the door. "Delia, how lovely you look. Come in, John's almost ready." And before I could get farther than the foyer, he swung down the stairs, grinning. His black hair was still a little damp from the shower. He grabbed his black leather jacket and kissed his mom's cheek. "John's curfew is at midnight, dear," Mrs Tang continued. "Have fun, but don't be late."

"Yes ma'am," I said respectfully, and John quickly held the door for me.

"You look particularly beautiful tonight," he said, holding the door for me as I tucked myself behind the wheel. He got in, and as soon as he clicked his seatbelt, we started off. I'd been worried that it would be weird, but it was the same as ever. I was a little distracted, though, he was wearing aftershave, subtle but sexy. It was really nice. Traffic was good, most of the cars were headed out of the city as people left work, so we got to the park pretty quickly and parked. John took my hand as we ambled down the path into the tea garden.