I'd never been on a date where the plan was 100% a surprise. I had low and high expectations at the same time. As soon as I got home from cheer practice, I took a shower, slicked my hair into a low bun, and got started on my makeup.
I was going for a no-makeup, makeup look. Light foundation, concealer, a little bit of sculpting, the usual routine. I wanted to look nice but not over the top.
He told me to dress casually, so I put on a white knit crop top, jeans that had a rip in one leg, and Air Force Ones. I put some gold pave hoops, a few gold bangles, and a nude purse that I borrowed from Naomi.
I finished off my look with some Dior Lip Oil and perfume. I normally did Get Ready With Mes on TikTok, but this was one that I wanted to keep to myself. No one needed to know that I was going on dates for real until it got serious.
I walked outside to a black BMW coupe. Micah got out of the car wearing an Essentials t-shirt, jeans, and some dunks that matched. What really set it off was the gold chain.
"Hi, you clean up well." I smiled.
He gave me a hug. "You don't look too bad yourself."
Micah opened up the passenger's door for me. "I hope you know that was a joke and you look stunning as always."
That made me smile as the door closed.
"So Micah, what are we doing?" I asked him as we started to drive.
"Are you in the mood for barbeque, sushi, tacos, or American?" Micah gave me options.
I thought about it for a moment. "Sushi."
"Same brain." he held up his fist.
I gave him a fist bump.
"How was practice?" I made conversation
"Tiring, but I'm sure you know how it is. I am actually surprised that you're coming out with me tonight when tomorrow is a game day." Micah answered.
I let out a small laugh. "Well, that's why I said sushi, I need something that doesn't make me feel heavy."
"To be honest, I'm kind of surprised that I'm going out too, but I'll trust you this time." I added.
He nodded. "See the goal is to get you to trust me all the time."
"That's going to take time." I reminded him.
"I know, Ro. I know you're a busy girl and I'm a busy guy, but I am always going to make time for you." he reminded me.
I grinned. "You're smooth. Too smooth sometimes."
"What can I say? I try." Micah looked over at me. "How long have you been cheering?"
I noticed that he had gorgeous brown eyes. They weren't super light, but they were noticeably brown.
"I was actually a competitive gymnast until I was about thirteen. I was on the taller side for gymnastics, so skills weren't coming to me as naturally as they did for the other girls, so I quit and tried all-star cheer and it clicked, so after that, I never looked back." I answered his question.
"I could see you as a gymnast. You're going to have to show me pictures one day." he brought up.
"How long have you been playing football?" I wondered.
Micah's arm brushed mine. "My whole life basically. My dad played, so naturally I played, and I'm the only son."
I gently poked his arm. "Is this your million-dollar arm?"
"Potentially this is my NIL arm right now." he joked.
"Do you like football? Like genuinely or do you just like it because you're naturally good at it?" I asked him.
Micah was quiet for a moment. "It's just like anything else you love, ya know? Some days you're madly in love and some days you want to break up and never see it again."
"That's fair." I agreed. "Are we just going out to eat?"
"No." he laughed. "What fun is that?"
We got to one of my favorite sushi restaurants a few moments later, got a table for two, and sat down. It'd been so long since I'd been on a proper first date that I didn't really know what to do with myself or what to say.
"Out of curiosity, when was your last relationship?" I asked him as he looked over the menu.
"To be honest, I never really had a real one." he answered honestly. "Have you?"
I shook my head. "Not really just a bunch of flings."
"Well, here's to hopefully a first for both of us." we clinked our water glasses together. "To be fair, we're only eighteen."
"That is true." I agreed.
He talked me into trying yellowtail jalapeño, raw sushi wasn't my thing, but Micah was already making me try new things. We talked and got to know each other over a lot of sushi and then we got back into Micah's car.
"What's my next surprise?" I asked Micah.
"An activity is the only hint that you'll get." he told me.
An activity indeed. Micah drove us to a mini golf course which I was surprisingly looking forward to.
"Now, we're only doing nine holes since we both have an early morning, but I thought it would be fun to see your competitive side." he spoke as he turned off the car.
My eyes got big and I laughed. "Get ready to lose, Mr. Coleman."
"Oh, you're so cute twin." he got out of the car.
We checked in, got our clubs, and got started on the golf course. I probably should've mentioned that I played golf regularly with my dad, but it was obvious that Micah had some golf experience too.
"Do you play golf for real?" I asked Micah.
"Oh hell yeah," he said after his hole in one. "You can't be a business major and not know how to play golf. A bunch of business deals happen on the golf course."
Micah Coleman is smart as hell.
I should have known that. I forgot we were one and the same. I got so used to Hayden who had to work for everything he got. Dammit, I hadn't thought about him this whole time, but here he was creeping back into my mind.
Shake it off, Ro.
"We're tied right now, so you better step it up or something sir." I looked at him.
He just smiled. "You're funny."
We got to the next one and kept playing. I liked how I felt around Micah. I felt so relaxed and chilled. Plus, I actually had fun and laughed a lot.
Micah and I got to the last hole and it was my turn.
"You know if you fix your stance, you might actually beat me." Micah cleared his throat.
I could feel him come behind me. I could feel his hands on my shoulders, waist, and my heart was speeding up.
"Move your grip up a little bit and go." he guided me.
And sure enough, I got the hole in one that I needed to win. Plus, I got to be close to Micah.
"You're good." I said to him as I turned around.
I let the club drop as I turned to face him.
"I had fun tonight." I expressed.
Gosh, he is so cute.
"Me too." Micah agreed as he put his hands on my waist.
I put my arms around my neck. "Are we going to do it again? It doesn't even have to be this elaborate."
"Oh girl, this wasn't even elaborate," he said to me.
I grinned. "I know, but I also just like spending time with you. Whether it's over dinner, studying, you know?"
He nodded. "I know, but I wanna set a really high bar so you don't settle for a bum again."
As known as - I don't want you to run back to Hayden or be in another relationship limbo.
"Ok." I agreed.
"Thank you for coming out with me, especially during football season and all that." Mcah looked me in the eyes.
Just kiss me already.
Fuck it, I'm going in.
I went in for the kiss and Micah kissed me back.
He pulled back first. "I'm gonna get you back home."
We held hands as we walked back to his car. He gave me another kiss before he left.
It's been a while since I felt like this before and I was so happy that I was getting the princess treatment that I deserved.
"How did it go?" Naomi asked as I walked in.
It felt weird to be gushing about her brother to her face, but she didn't care. Maybe I didn't get it since I was the youngest and I didn't really care who wanted my siblings.
"It went really well." I kicked off my shoes.
"Did you kiss?" she puckered up her lips in a joking manner.
I looked at her. "I feel weird talking about this with you. It's your brother!"
"You did kiss, oh my gosh." Naomi realized. "Whenever you guys start fucking like I don't want to know about that, so please keep me in the dark then."
"Naomi!" I exclaimed. "It wasn't even a thought like we're still getting to know each other!"
She shrugged. "Get ready for bed, sister, we got a long day tomorrow."
And I couldn't stop smiling after everything that happened tonight.