CHAPTER 15: DOUBLE DATING
It took a lot of convincing for Ethan to let me go on the date. I know it's not like he was jealous or anything, but it was kind of nice to see Ethan all concerned about me going out with Troy. I tried to tell Ethan about how I didn't think Troy could possibly be the killer, but he didn't care. He said that every girl that Troy knew seemed to end up dead. I couldn't argue with that, but I did remind Ethan that this could be an excellent way to get some dirt out of Troy. He finally agreed, if he could come with. I argued with Ethan, but he wouldn't relent, which is how I ended up agreeing to go on a double date with me and Troy and Ethan and...
Ethan called Jenna Martin, first, to see if she wanted to come as his date. He had this idea about shocking Troy into confessing, with Vanessa Martin's look alike. Even if Troy knew about the twin sister thing, it would still be a shock to see a dead girl's look alike sitting across from you on a double date. And, although I could see Ethan's reasoning and I knew his calling Jenna was for a good cause, I tried not to feel jealous or anything as I listened in on his side of the conversation. Ethan explained the details to her and what we suspected of Troy Matthews, but Jenna turned Ethan down. Jenna said it was just too soon for her and if Troy was the killer...she just couldn't do it. She'd jump out of her skin getting anywhere near him.
I could see her point. Ethan wanted to call it off again after talking to Jenna, but I wouldn't let him. I still thought I could get something out of Troy by simply talking to him a little more. Ethan thought I was nuts, but finally agreed to humor me.
We threw around alternative ideas for last minute dates, but Ethan seemed set on one in particular. It was the worst one possible, in my opinion. He was just positive she would say yes. I didn't see how she could say no either, but I still didn't want Ethan asking her. So, I begged.
And, I pleaded with Ethan about his next choice, but he wouldn't listen, which is how I ended up going on a double date with me and Troy and Ethan and Ariel. Can you believe it? My first real date ever and I was going with a potential serial killer, my ex best friend/arch enemy, and the hottest guy in school that I kind of had a crush on, except he wasn't going with me. The potential serial killer who asked me out was pretty cute too, though, and besides, I didn't think he had anything to do with the murders, except for the fact that for some reason he knew most of the victims. So, maybe it would all work out in the end. I hoped.
I did feel a little bit better when I heard Ethan tell Ariel that he expected her to be nice to me. I could hear whines coming from her end of the line, but she must have been so excited about getting to gloat at being Ethan's date, that she agreed anyway. Plus, she was probably hoping that he'd change his mind and accept her Homecoming invitation. Ariel's status as a popular cool girl would go up a couple points if he did. She couldn't not accept.
How in the world had Ethan explained being on double date terms to Ariel? He claimed that I was good friends with Liz. Ariel wouldn't know he was lying. She didn't know any of my friends anymore or that I didn't actually really have any. Ethan told her that I was also a volunteer at the animal shelter and that he had been helping me get through Liz's loss. That was possible, if Ariel really thought about it. She knew I really liked cats, at least. Ethan then went on to explain that this double date was a set up to help cheer me up. It was almost laughable, like Ariel Walker would ever want to cheer me up. She had her chance when my mom was sick and instead she ditched me and since then all she'd ever done was make fun of me and spread malicious gossip. I'd believe she cared when pigs really did fly. Ethan even convinced Ariel to lie about the whole college class thing, so Troy wouldn't know I was lying about being in college. I guess miracles could happen or Ariel was just really, really, really out to impress Ethan. My bet was on the latter.
I went home and massacred my closet looking for something to wear for my first date ever and with a college guy! My cat Scarlett was enjoying it, though. She was busy jumping into piles of clothes, as I tossed them aside. I'm glad she was having fun, but I was in a panic. Troy was definitely cute and if he didn't turn out to be a murder suspect maybe I could explain things and make romantic things work between us anyway, since Ethan still seemed to be oblivious to thinking about me in any sort of romantic terms.
I finally settled on a dress that I had never worn. My aunt had gotten it for me for Christmas the year before, when she took me on a shopping trip. Despite my protests that it was too low cut and I knew my boobs would fall out of it so I'd never wear it, she insisted that someday I might want to wear something sexy and that since I didn't have my mom to buy it for me, she was going to. Then she told me I should definitely hide it from my dad. I had done just that.
It was perfect for a date. It was a dark blue dress that clung to me perfectly and showed plenty of skin. Hey, I know what guys want. I may not normally wear those things, but believe me I know. Besides, even though I was wearing a clingy dress, that didn't mean I would actually give it to him, not on the first date anyway. The dress actually made the strawberry blonde in my hair look nice too. I hoped Troy approved of the cleavage I was sporting. Maybe as a plus, Ethan would notice too. My other outfits had been way more conservative than this. Maybe he needed a jump-start to really see me now that he at least thought I was kind of normal.
Because we didn't want Troy to know where I lived, we were all meeting at the date location – a hamburger joint that was known for its build your own hamburger menu called The Burger. They really did have the best burgers.
The Burger was always extremely busy, so it wasn't like there was any way that Troy was going to have a chance to get me completely alone and stick a heroin needle in my arm. Ethan wasn't taking any chances, though, and told me that he would be picking me up...for my double date with Troy. His date, Ariel, was meeting us there too. I knew she'd totally hate that. Ariel was a pick me up at my house and open the door for me kind of girl. It would probably be a good idea for the guy to have flowers too if he wanted anything to happen.
If this wasn't the weirdest double date ever already, maybe I would have said something to Ethan about that. Not that I wanted to do any favors for Ariel where Ethan was concerned or anything.
Ethan knocked on my door promptly at seven o'clock. Luckily, my dad had gone over to his friend's to watch a basketball game. I was saved from any kind of explaining about Ethan and the dress. My dad might actually have made me change.
I opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to see Ethan do a double take. I knew I looked sexy! Instead Ethan said, "Maybe you should change."
"Why? What's wrong with this dress?" I demanded. I had looked repeatedly in the mirror for the last twenty minutes and even I had to admit, I looked pretty damn good in this dress. I didn't look fat at all and who knew my boobs looked this good? Not me and now everyone, including Troy and Ethan would. The dress fit me perfectly. I had to admit, my aunt had good taste. We'd have to go shopping again this Christmas in case I ever got asked out on another date.
"I mean, you don't want to give him the impression that you actually like him, do you?" Ethan volunteered, not able to tear his eyes away from me.
"Isn't that the point of a date? To make your date think you like him?" I asked, and then as an afterthought added, "Maybe that's why you don't have a Homecoming date. You're clueless."
I knew it was a petty thing to say, but I was hoping for a reaction and I got one, but not quite the one I was expecting.
Ethan raised his eyebrows, "Ariel already asked me, in front of you if I remember right. And, I could have my pick of any girl. I just haven't asked her yet."
"Wow," I responded with sarcasm.
He could be so arrogant! Well, maybe Troy would take me to Homecoming, once I cleared him of all murder suspicion and admitted to him that I was still in high school. I mean, it's not like nineteen and sixteen (almost 17!) weren't close in age and all.
"I'm wearing this dress. It's perfect," I demanded and to prove my point, walked out of my house, shutting the door behind me, and walked to his car.
If he had been about to open it for me, like a real gentleman would, I didn't wait. I got into the passenger side and sat down, feeling huffy. Who knew Ethan was a prude in disguise? I didn't care if he didn't like my dress. I knew that Troy would.
Ethan got into the driver's seat and looked at me one more time and said softly, "You know, you do look pretty."
And, then he started the car and blared the music, so I spent the rest of the drive trying to figure out if he meant that as just an apology or if he really thought I actually looked pretty. Guys were so confusing.
The Burger was packed when we arrived, even though it was a Wednesday night. People loved this place. Maybe it was the weird burger combinations you could make – hamburger with pineapple and goat cheese, anyone? If you wanted, you could have that. I was a little more traditional – hamburger with swiss cheese and avocado. Mmmm, avocado. Sometimes, I even added mushrooms.
Ethan and I were early, so we got a booth and sat down, waiting for Ariel and Troy to arrive. There was still a sort of weird tension between Ethan and me, so I spent the time staring at my menu like I wasn't sure what I was going to order. I did get absorbed by looking at the different milkshakes, though, so I didn't see Troy walk in the door until he was almost at our table.
"Hey, Kait," Troy said, sliding into the booth next to me. He looked at me, appraisingly. "You look awesome!"
"Thanks," I said, smiling back at Troy, but not before I saw Ethan scowl. "Oh, and this is Ethan."
Ethan's scowl had disappeared and he had on a smile instead as Troy turned to look at him, "Hey, man."
They shook hands. Ethan was a good actor. You'd never know that he was really thinking that Troy might be a serial murderer. Poor Ariel. Now that I thought of it, she really didn't know what she was walking into. I almost felt sorry for her.
"Ethan!" I heard her squeal a moment later, as she walked toward our table.
Troy was studying the menu, but looked up to study Ariel as she walked up. He was totally checking her out, even though he was on a date with me. Strike one against him, but even I had to admit that Ariel looked amazing. I was a wilted flower compared to her tonight, and I had thought I looked pretty good. Ariel had curled her hair, but she had the I-always-look-this-good-effortlessly thing going on. I wish I could look good effortlessly. I had spent over two hours getting ready for this date.
I didn't see Ethan's immediate reaction to Ariel, but he seemed preoccupied as she slid into the booth next to him, and I mean right next to him, since he only said, "Oh, hey, Ariel."
We did the introductions all over again and then it was an awkward silence as we looked at the menus. At this point, I felt like I had the thing memorized. I had decided on trying their peanut butter banana milkshake, in addition to the burger. I wanted to see how it would compare to Wired's. It couldn't be as good, but hey, I wanted to experiment. Let Ariel order a Diet Coke and a salad with nothing on it. I was a real girl.
The waiter came by and we all ordered, Ariel shooting a smirk at me when she heard my totally unhealthy order. Whatever. Ethan and Troy ordered burgers and shakes too, so Ariel was the weirdo with her salad, dressing on the side.
"So, Steampunk art is what exactly?" Ethan was asking Troy, while Ariel was busy trying to seem interested.
"I was trying to explain it to Kait. Its background is really science fiction and fantasy. It's got a Victorian feel to it, but with modern objects. Has anyone here seen Hayao Miyazaki's movie, Castle in the Sky or the anime Steamboy?" Troy asked.
"I've seen both," I said, trying to remember more than just the stories from those movies. Working in a video store had its perks sometimes.
"Me too," Ethan added.
Ariel just nodded.
Ethan continued, playing up his interest to keep Troy talking, "So, you actually make things look like they do in those movies? That's pretty cool. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi."
Ariel was unusually silent. She obviously knew nothing about anime or science fiction. Actually, it looked like Ethan had more in common with Troy than either me or Ariel. Too bad there was no way that they were actually going to be friends.
The burgers and shakes came (with a salad and diet Coke for Ariel) and Ethan and Troy had monopolized the conversation moving on from Steampunk art to talking about Cyberpunk novels like Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson. They both wished that someone would make it into a movie.
Although it was great that Ethan was getting a chance to get to know Troy and see how he couldn't possibly be a psychopathic killer (unless he was really, really good at hiding it, being that he didn't give off a creepy vibe at all), I hadn't had any sort of chance to try and talk to Troy about the dead girls. Not that I knew how I was going to bring the subject up or anything. I mean, I couldn't just interrupt Troy and Ethan's conversation and go, "Excuse me, but Troy, what do you know about four girls overdosing on heroin?" That would just be a party killer.
I think Ariel and I were getting equally bored. It wasn't like we were going to talk to each other, so we were stuck listening to the science fiction chat that the guys were having. Ariel had spent a little of this time trying to get a little closer to Ethan than I liked. She put her hand on his arm and a moment later, he casually brushed it off, while making a point to Troy. She put her hand on his leg, at least I hoped it was his leg, but he moved over. The girl was trying. I'll give her that. Thank goodness, Ethan wasn't having any of it. I mean, I know I was on the date with Troy and all, but I didn't want or need to see Ariel hanging all over Ethan. What Ethan did on his own time was fine, but I didn't want to know.
I needed a break from the cyber/sci-fi talk, so I interrupted a discussion of the movie Bladerunner, "Hey, Troy, can I get out?"
Troy looked at me like he was just remembering I was there - so much for the lasting effects of my dress. I heard the conversation resume as I walked to the restroom.
A few minutes later, I was washing my hands and debating how to get Troy to myself. I needed him alone if I was going to interrogate him. I knew Ethan wasn't going to go for it, but I had an idea. There was a small arcade at the back of The Burger, just past the restrooms. Normally, I ignored it. I went there for the food and I hadn't played video games since grade school. I will admit to having been pretty great at them back then. Right now, though, I just needed a few minutes alone with Troy and the arcade might be a great distraction, away from everyone.
And, then Ariel walked into the restroom and broke off my planning, "Are you as bored as I am? Those guys should be on a date together."
Ariel headed straight for the sink next to me and started re-applying her make-up. First powder was applied, then eyeshadow, and eyeliner. I guess it wasn't as effortless as she made it look.
I was going to regret what I was going to say next later, but it had to be done, "Hey, Ariel, how would you like to help me get a few moments alone with Troy?"
It took Ariel a second to figure out that also meant that she would get a few moments alone with Ethan. She turned to me with the most real smile I had seen on her face since we had been friends. I almost felt a pang of sadness at not being friends anymore. Almost.
"What do you have in mind?" She asked, halfway done with applying cherry lip-gloss.
I caught myself hoping that Ethan wouldn't be tasting that lip-gloss when Ariel had him to herself. I pushed that thought away. I was doing this in the name of the investigation. It was for Liz and all of the dead girls. I was trying to let the world know what really happened to them. That was more important than any jealous feelings I was having. Still, could I help it if I wished that I could be the one distracting Ethan by making out with him with cherry lip-gloss?