"i remember the night
i was so frustrated
i touch your hand for the first time"
-
I DON'T KNOW what came into me the day nancy and i decided to go on a date. i had been crushing on her for a couple months, but i never expected she would be interested in women.
i waited for the crush to go away, but it stuck around. eventually, i guess some random spark of confidence hit me, because i remember walking up to nancy while she was at her locker.
we had shared brief conversations before, mainly when i was with steve. she knew who i was for sure, but that didn't mean she liked girls.
7 months earlier
"hey," i said nervously, walking up to nancy's locker. i decided to take advantage of her being alone- as she's normally hanging around someone.
"oh, hi robin," nancy greeted back, looking somewhat confused as to why i was there.
"this might sound really dumb," i start, suddenly wanting to chicken out. i took a deep breath before continuing. "but i think you're like pretty. really pretty. and i honestly am risking everything right now admitting this and i don't know why i'm doing it but i was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime?"
i always had a problem with rambling. whenever i got nervous or it was too silent, i would go on and on about something stupid. i couldn't help it.
i looked at nancy's face, waiting for it to contort into a digusted look or waiting for her to start laughing in my face.
instead, she only smiled. it was genuine and warm, not a mocking smile or a 'i feel bad for you' smile. it was genuine. "i do, actually"
this caught me completely off guard. i almost fell over when she said it, not at all expecting her to actually like me back or want to go on a date with me.
"wait- really?" i asked, waiting for her to bust out laughing and tell me she was lying. to tell me how pathetic i was to actually believe she would like me and slur me or something.
then again, i expected the same thing with steve. i expected him to stop being my friend and hate me. it only brought us closer in the long run.
"yeah, really. i wouldn't lie to you"
"okay... how about friday at 7:00 at the movies?"
"sounds great. i'll pick you up"
-
i remember telling steve that day at work. i wasn't sure how'd he react, since nancy's his ex and everything, but i decided it's better to not keep any secrets.
"so," i said when we were closing, nervously fidgeting with my necklace. "if you were me, what would you wear on a date?"
steve froze in his tracks and looked back at me, a grin spreading across his face. "do you have something to tell me, robin?"
"i'm going out with someone on friday"
"who is it?"
"don't hate me, okay?" i told him, nervous of how he was going to react when he found out i was with his ex. he nodded, so i continued. "um, nancy"
"nancy? as in nancy wheeler?"
"yeah," i replied, sighing. he stared at me for a minute, mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"why nancy?"
i shrugged. "i dunno. she's really pretty and you've always talked about how nice she is and i guess i just started getting a crush on her. i've had one for a few months now"
"a few months? and you never told me?"
"i was afraid of your reaction. i didn't want you to be mad at me"
"why would i be mad?"
i shrugged again, noticing him looking at me. he watched my every move, curious to know the answer. "i dunno. she's your ex"
"hey, if you're happy then i'm happy"
-
when the day came, i still was stressing out over what to wear. steve tried helping- but let's just say he doesn't really know any kind of girls fashion.
"you think i should wear a dress with jeans over it? are you crazy?" i laughed.
"well i don't know!" steve told me, running a hand through his hair.
to be fair, he was trying. he wanted to help. he just wasn't the best with what i needed.
"how about this?" i asked him, holding up a pair of jeans and a black shirt.
"hmmm, how about...." he searched through my closet. after a couple minutes, he held up a jacket. "add this on top?"
"sure," i told him. it was cute. i was suddenly glad that i had invited him over to help.
i went into the bathroom and put the outfit on. looking at my reflection and touching up my hair, i felt ready.
"hey robin? nancy should be here soon. i'm gonna go"
i opened the bathroom door and saw steve outside. "alright. thank you for your help"
"tell me all about it when you get back. don't come off too strong but definitely make some moves. flirt with her. make sure to tell her how pretty she looks. nancy loves compliments"
"thank you. for everything"
"well, it's your first date. can't let you fuck it up too bad"
i laughed, and steve said goodbye once more before leaving. a few minutes later, i heard a knock on the door. fixing my hair a bit more, i rushed down to open it.
-
the date went well, and we had planned another one. the first thing i did when i got home was call steve to keep my promise on updating him.
"hello?" i heard on the other side of the phone.
"hey, i'm home now"
"how'd it go?" he asked, seeming excited to hear about it.
"when she opened the door we both smiled at each other. she has a pretty smile. anyways so we talked in the car ride about various things- you came up at one point- and then we saw a movie. we kept looking over at each other the whole time. she was really sweet. we're going on a second date tomorrow"
"tomorrow? wow. i'm happy to hear that, robin. i'm glad you had a good time"
"thank you"
-
we went on several more dates after that, each one getting progressively better. after one date, we went back to her place and laid in her bed talking.
eventually, i grabbed her hand. she looked over at me, suprised.
"look," i told her. "i'm normally not bold at all whatsoever, but i've really enjoyed our dates these past few weeks. i really like you. would you maybe like to be my girlfriend? you don't have to but-"
she cut me off by placing a kiss on my lips.
"yes," she told me. "i would love to"
and we remained together, without any problems, for the next (and best) six months of my life.