"So, his name's Mike?" Cassie asked, jumping onto my bed and curling up beside me.

"Mhmm, remember when we went to Warped in college? In like, 2009 I think? We saw his band play!"

"Aw, that's so cool, Livvy. You're going to have a good time, I can tell," she said, smiling from ear to ear. I knew she was excited that I was showing a personal initiative to go out on a date, rather than her having to force me out of the door.

"Don't play this up, though. It's just a date. One date. Who knows where it'll lead," I wondered out loud, getting out of bed and rummaging through the clothes in my closet.

"What are you gonna wear?" Cassie asked, and I could tell from the shrill tone of her voice she was really hoping to be a part of the selection process.

Just to please her, I said, "Hmm, I don't know, why don't you pick for me?"

"Gladly, step aside," she said taking over the helm and sifting through all my clothes hangers.

"Remember, it's just a dinner!" I warned, knowing that she was fully capable of picking out a tiered boustier cocktail gown for a casual evening dinner.

"Here, I say you go with this," she said, picking out a bottle green dress-shirt with a plunging neckline and a pair of high-waisted black shorts. "Pair it with those cute Oxfords your have and your big black purse, the one with all the studs on it. You have to have an element of badassery to your get-up cause you know, he's all tatted up and in a band and all."

I laughed at her reasoning and started to change into the outfit she picked out. Just as I had taken my clothes off, the bell rang. We both looked at each other in shock.

"Crap! He's on time! What the hell? He's in a band, he's not supposed to be a timely person," Cassie blabbed.

"Stereotypes, Cassie," I lectured. "Anyways, just open the door and stall him, I'll be out as soon as I'm ready."

She nodded and closed my room door behind her. Outside I could hear the indistinct sounds of Mike and Cassie talking, and they seemed to be talking quite a bit, so I decided to take my time. I slowly slid into my shirt and shorts, tucking the shirt into the shorts. I put my phone, wallet, and some lip balm into my bag and zipped it up.

I went to the mirror and stared at myself. More bags under my eyes. Dark circles, too. How attractive of me. I sighed, there wasn't much that he hadn't already seen of me that night at the club, and somehow he seemed to find this appealing, so I settled for a stroke of eyeliner and some gloss like the last time. I doused myself in perfume and puffed up my long dark hair.

"Yep, this is as good as it's gonna get," I said, frowning at myself. "You can do this, Liv."

I slowly walked out of my room, only to see Cassie and Mike sitting on the couch like old friends, laughing at something uncontrollably.

Cassie looked up at me and smiled widely, "Livvy, this one," she said, pointing at him, "I approve! He's hilarious."

I smiled, "Glad to have your blessing, love. Shall we?" I asked Mike.

He nodded, getting up and holding the door open for me. I gave Cassie a nervous smile right before me and Mike stepped out into the cool night.

"You know we really don't have to go someplace fancy, I would really be down for some El Poyo Loco right now," I said as we walked towards his car.

He laughed, "Are you assuming I'll find that charming cause I'm Mexican?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just craving an quesadilla...please?" I asked, looking at him playfully.

"Of course, whatever you want," he said.

We drove in silence, and he let me play with the radio dial. There wasn't anything awkward or forced about the silence. I was so glad that he knew how to be silent. It felt like I'd waited my whole life for someone to be silent with like this. No one can seem to just [i]be[/i] anymore, there always had to be conversation, or activity. I liked that he was so quiet.

Once we were seated in a cozy booth in the crowded restaurant and had placed our order, he finally locked eyes with me in that definitive "lets do this" type of way. I knew he would start with the typical first-date questions.

Deciding to beat him to it, I said, "Olivia Smith, I'm twenty-six. I'm from Florida, I lived there til I was thirteen, then I lived in Virginia for twelve years after that. Which is where I met the wonderful Cassie, who then made me move out here. Oh yeah, I'm an East Coaster, is that a deal-breaker?" I looked at him mockingly.

"Yeah, that's a total boner deflater," he smiled, dipping a chip in salsa and plopping it in his mouth.

"Also, I'm a nurse. I work night-shifts, hence why my face looks like it got rammed by a bus," I continued.

"Mhmm, and?"

"And? What else?"

"Well, there's got to be more to you than your name, age, place of birth and profession, no?"

I nodded. "Of course, but you're going to have to dig a bit deeper to get those out of me."

He smiled again, in that quiet way of his. "That's fair enough."

"Tell me about you," I said, as the waiter came back to our table with our drinks and more chips. He seemed to be as much of a face-stuffing chipaholic as I was, which definitely earned him some bonus points.

"Well, you've probably Googled me. So, you know I'm in a band and all of that. I'm going to be really conceited and assume you've heard our music and like it, because anyone with decent taste does, which you certainly seem to have. What else would you like to know?"

"Well, there's got to be more to you than what can be found on Google, no?"

"Touche."

We ate in silence for a while, and yet again, the silence was whole. I smiled to myself slightly and I couldn't help but get a good feeling about this.

"But why'd you move to San Diego?" he asked.

And there it was. The question that I dreaded, and frankly, didn't really have an answer to. Where do I begin? Should I begin at the beginning? Or should I paint the first-date joyful picture of nonchalance and omit all the ugly bits?

I could have gone another way, but when I looked into his eyes there just seemed like there was something in there that seemed to genuinely care. Just in the way he had looked out for me at the club, he seemed to want to know. Before I knew it, I found myself blurting out the truth.

"I was, uh, engaged to my college boyfriend, John. He passed away in an accident. So, there I was, twenty-five and widowed and it just made sense. Cassie and I were room-mates in college, as well. She's originally from here, so she moved back once we graduated. The second she found out, she called me up and told me to move out here with her, and I never really stopped to question it. I just packed a bag and drove. There's never really a shortage of jobs for nurses."

I fiddled with a paper napkin in my hands, realizing that I'd just dropped the biggest bomb on this date possible, not only laying out a total dealbreaker, but also making myself appear as damaged goods. I braced myself for a kind sign that this was going to be our last date. Since he was pretty awesome, I figured he'd at least do it in a creative way.

I felt a weight on my hand, I looked to see that his colorful fingers were stroking mine very softly. "Hey, look at me," he said, softly but authoritatively.

I looked up and met his eyes, realizing that there were tears in mine. Without caution, a single tear sped down my left cheek and I immediately wiped it away.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Olivia," he said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I bit my lower lip and took a really deep breath. I looked Mike straight in the eyes and said, "I know this probably isn't how you pictured this evening going, and you really don't have to go through this. I totally understand if-"

"Eat your quesadilla," he said, curtly, looking down at his rice and eating a huge spoonful.

"I-what?" I asked, puzzled.

"You haven't taken a single bite, you're the one that made me downgrade to this place, I was gonna take you to Olive Garden. Now, eat up," he said, smiling.

He's even awesomer than I originally assumed him to be, I thought to myself as I gently bit into my quesadilla. I wondered what was going through his mind as we continued to eat in silence.

"So, we just recently found out we're going on tour to Australia this year," he said, perking up with excitement.

"Oh really? That's great! When?"

"We're not sure yet, but yeah, some time later in the year. We're off now for about a month and then the relentless touring begins."

"It must be tough, huh?"

He looked at me curiously, "Tough? Most people assume its all glamour and rock n' roll."

I shook my head. "Not me. To me it seems like an amazing dream, but the more you dream the farther you are from reality. Don't you ever miss home? Your friends?"

He shrugged, "All my friends tour with us or do what we do..."

"You know what I mean," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I'm twenty-eight, you know? Sometimes I just wake up and wonder, like 'Is this it?' Is this all I want to be doing when I'm this old? I just don't even remember aging this much, I've left a lot of myself out on the road, but I love what I do."

"I know you do," I smiled at him, glad we were talking about him rather than me. I liked the spark that lit up in his eyes when he spoke about his band.

The rest of our date went by in a blur of snarky jokes and sarcastic comments, with a few moments of hidden emotion shining through. That seemed to be our style. Mike refused to let me split the bill, and once he had paid, we got up and left.

As he walked me up to my house, he shoved his hands in his pockets. We got to the door and I looked up at him, but he seemed transfixed on his shoes. I cleared my throat, and he seemed like he was snapped out of a deep thought.

"Look, Olivia-"

"You can call me Livvy, or Liv, " I said.

"Livvy, look, I'm going to be really honest. I'm not this person. I am not this guy that goes up to a girl at a bar and is nice to her for any other reason but to get in her pants. I don't know why I made an exception for you, I don't know if it's the fact that you like whiskey, or the fact that you're absolutely gorgeous and hilarious, or I don't even know. I just know that I had a lot of fun tonight, all things considered. I don't want to promise you anything that I can't deliver, and you seem to have a lot to get through yourself. All I know is I really like you, and I'd like to see you more often, at least until I leave..."

I nodded, "Yeah, me too."

And then, in what seemed like a fluid motion, I stretched up and kissed him on his cheek. He pulled me into a hug and we remained in an embrace for a few seconds before he let go, waving slightly, and then walked away. I couldn't help but feel slightly giddy, in the best possible way.