I gave a final onceover at my all black ensemble in the mirror before heading out the door to pick Kayla up for our date. Running my fingers through my hair, I tousled it all off to one side until every strand was perfectly in place. I didn't much care if she thought I looked good or not but my hair was my thing and I had to at least make sure it looked presentable. As for the rest of my appearance, I hadn't strayed from the usual. I hadn't spent an extra five minutes spritzing myself with cologne or making sure my shirt was crease-free. It didn't even matter whether or not I wore clean jeans and had decided to put on the pair that had lain crumpled up in the corner of my room for the past week.

If I was being honest, I was feeling completely indifferent about the date. There were no butterflies in my stomach or sweaty palms like I would have anticipated had I been picking up Vanessa for a night out. Sure, Kayla seemed nice enough but she wasn't my first choice. Not even close. Unfortunately, the person that I would have elected as the number one option to spend my evening with was living her own life acting like I didn't even exist.

So, whatever, I would go out with Kayla and see where it led. At least I was confident that I wouldn't be stuck in a constant guessing game of whether or not she was into me. If Kayla liked you, she made sure you knew it. If she couldn't stand you, then you would also be made aware of that tidbit. I'll confess that her level of transparency with others and the confidence she exuded was a nice change of pace from what I was used to with Vanessa and maybe a bit of a turn-on.

This was why I didn't cancel our date despite the Homecoming football game being so not my scene. I glanced at the clock in the living room on my way out the door realizing I was going to be about five minutes late. But I didn't bother to rush to her place, instead taking the long route so that I could enjoy the changing colors of fall and the breeze that tickled my skin as I belted out Maroon Five's latest track. If Tim Stevens got to her before I did then so be it.

I pulled up in front of her house a little after six pm, my jaw nearly dropping to the ground. Damn! What a sight lay before my eyes. A lush green lawn sprawled out vast and wide before the three-story, brick mansion. A marble fountain was in the middle of the looping driveway with a statue of a Greek Goddess spitting a steady stream of turquoise water from her porcelain lips.

My two bed room home looked like a shack in comparison to where she lived with our yard being barely large enough to accommodate an inflatable pool in the summer time. I was willing to bet that if I had gone around to the back of Kayla's place, I would have been greeted to an in ground pool with a cascading waterfall and a private hot tub. I was so caught up in gawking at her luxurious living space that I hadn't even noticed her standing in front of my car with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed.

"You're late," she huffed as she slid into the passenger seat. "You're lucky that Tim got a flat on the way here otherwise you would be watching the game alone tonight."

I glanced over at her, a wave of floral perfume smacking me in the face. It smelled cheap but I had a feeling that she was not adorned in bargain store fragrance. She probably paid top dollar for that bottle. Her blonde hair shimmered and fell perfectly back into place as she tossed it over her shoulder. As for her skin-tight jeans, they looked brand new and I recognized the logo on her hooded denim jacket to be designer. I was hardly surprised to see her wearing a red plaid flannel underneath which seemed to be the staple of every high school girl during the autumn time.

"Sorry," I muttered switching the car into drive before heading towards the school. "Um...so how was your day?"

"Good."

"That's nice." I racked my brain to think of something else to say but the words didn't flow as easy as they would have with Vanessa. With her, I always had the next sentence prepared before I could even get the current one out of my mouth. And when we weren't talking, the quiet was comfortable. We could just be together enjoying each other's company without feeling the need to feel the void.

The silence stretched on between us for the next five minutes and even though my throat felt fine, I kept coughing just to provide some source of sound in the vehicle. I cleared my throat. "So...do you go to all the football games?"

Kayla shrugged. "If I feel like it."

"Is it your favorite sport to watch?"

She looked out the window as the sun sank slowly into the horizon, casting its golden glow over the naked tree branches. "No."

I nodded despite her not being able to see. "Oh, ok." Give me something to work with, I silently begged. I'm dying here.

The quiet lingered on for another five minutes and finally, when I felt like I couldn't take it anymore; I turned the volume up on the radio. Kayla winced as the tune of the song I had been listening to filled the car. "It's a little loud," she shouted reaching over and moving the dial until the music was barely above a whisper.

She looked around the Jetta making a face at the torn fabric in the passenger seat. "Is this your car?"

"Yup," I replied patting the steering wheel affectionately. "I saved up my allowance for years to get it. My Dad put in the other half as a birthday present for me. She's used, but she runs nicely. Worth every penny."

"I see." She shifted in her seat avoiding the hot sauce stain splotched across the side of the cushion.

More silence ensued after that which was any introvert's worst nightmare and after a few more minutes of painful social anxiety, I was thankful to finally pull the Jetta into the school parking lot. Now, I might not win any awards for navigating first-date conversation but I at least knew the proper etiquette when it came to taking a girl out so I immediately jumped out of the vehicle and jogged around the front of the hood to open the door for her.

I yanked on the handle and she surprised me by actually smiling for the first time since I picked her up. "Thanks. None of my other boyfriends have ever thought to do that for me." Score one for Matt.

I reached out my hand to help her out of the car and she squealed in delight, eagerly clasping her fingers around mine. "Well, aren't you just the sweetest? Keep playing your cards like this and maybe I'll let you kiss me at the end of the night."

"Oh, uh...I," I replied weakly. Gulp. I hadn't thought of that possibility. Locking lips with Kayla hadn't crossed my mind but I realized that given the opportunity, I probably wouldn't say no.

She continued to hold onto my hand as we made our way across the grassy field towards the bleachers that stood on the sidelines from where the game was being played. She gave me a small smile over her shoulder as she led us up to a spot in the far back. Before sitting down, she shook out a green striped fleece blanket she had been carrying and draped it over both our laps as we took our seats on the cool metal. "In case we get cold," she whispered. "We can cuddle beneath it."

I pulled the fabric taut over my legs. At least one girl is willing to get close to me. Images of Aimee chasing me down the halls immediately flashed in my mind. Let me rephrase that. At least one girl that I'm interested in is willing to get close to me.

Kayla reached into her oversized, camel-colored leather bag to pull out a thermos. I watched as she poured steaming hot chocolate into the cap before handing it over to me. I raised my eyebrow but took a sip of the piping liquid immediately regretting it as it singed my tongue.

"Are you alright," she inquired at the face I made. I nodded my head. I appreciated the effort she was going through but the whole thing felt overly cutesy and like she was trying to force a cookie cutter template of the perfect autumn date on me.

Turning my focus towards the football field as the players made their way out onto the middle wearing a sea of maroon and white uniforms; I could immediately feel my eyes gloss over. Even the cheerleaders shaking their flashy, metallic pom-poms from the sidelines as they strutted around in matching skirts and crop tops did little to hold my attention.

I had no idea what I was watching but followed along whenever the crowd cheered or booed. The scoreboard told me that our school's team ended up losing, which really didn't matter to me one way or another. Kayla on the other hand, had gotten super into the game and kept nudging me in the ribs and asking if I had seen this play or that one. No, I hadn't but I responded with phrases like "Yea, that was cool" or "That's too bad. We'll get 'em next time," to make her happy. Chris was right; I really didn't know much about sports. Books were more my thing and I was more than content to keep it that way.

After the game was over, I could no longer ignore how starving I felt. I had offered to buy her something from the concession stands earlier, but she grimaced stating that she thought hot dogs were gross and pretzels were extra carbs she didn't need. Feeling it would be rude to stuff my face in front of her if she didn't have anything, I went without eating. But it cost me one grumbling stomach.

As we walked back to the car, I glanced over at her. "Do you want to grab a bite at the diner?"

I thought I saw her pull a face but she quickly replaced the look of disdain with a plastered on smile. "Sure."

"We can go somewhere else if you would like," I suggested.

Immediately, her eyes lit up. "Actually, I've been dying to try Chez Joseph, that new Italian restaurant at the Swan Feather Hotel. Visions of the measly twenty dollar bill I had in my wallet sprang forth in my head. Something told me that the place she had in mind didn't match the prices of the two-for-one burgers at the diner.

"Um...I would love to go there but I don't have a lot of cash on me." Kill me now.

"Oh." She didn't look at me as she opened the car door and got inside. I knew she thought I was being cheap but could that really be the case when I didn't have a lot of money to begin with?

"Is the diner alright then," I asked once more.

Kayla tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before sifting through discarded CD cases on the floor of my car, frowning at every cover. She shrugged a slender shoulder. So...is that a yes?

Screw it. I'm going to the diner. I'm so fucking ravenous, I'm about to turn cannibal on her right this instant. Besides, it's not like this date can get any worse.

She didn't protest as I parked my car beneath the neon flashing sign of the restaurant. Wordlessly, she followed me inside right to the spot beside me at the booth. I gave a double take at the bold move but kind of liked the fact that I hadn't managed to turn her off just yet.

"So tell me," she began twirling a lock of golden hair around her finger as she studied the menu. "How's a hunk like you still single?"

I shrugged. How was I supposed to answer that? Well, you see, I pined after this girl for a whole year before she decided that I wasn't worth it and now I'm trying to make up for lost time. Oh, don't forget the part before that where every other girl thought I was a complete loser.

Kayla pressed on though, saving me from having to make that admission. "I would say that Vanessa was a fool to let you go, but I'm glad she did. It worked out rather nicely for me." She gave me a gleaming toothy grin. "I just feel badly that she dumped you in front of the entire senior class. How rough for you that must have been." She tsked as she shook her head. "That girl is heartless."

Picking up the menu, I scanned the list of entrees even though I already knew that I was ordering the least expensive item; the fries and slice of cheese pizza combo. This was not the conversation I wanted to be having on a first date or actually, ever.

"What are you having?" I nodded in the direction of her own menu. At that moment, the waitress came over setting two glasses of icy water down on the table in front of us. I reached for my cup and took a long gulp, grateful for the distraction.

Kayla lowered her gaze to the selection of choices she had to choose from. "I don't know. Maybe a salad." Her blue eyes sparkled as she ran her foot up my pant leg. "And then for dessert, how about you?"

She giggled while I coughed and sputtered on the sip I had been taking. Well then! This girl was definitely Vanessa's opposite in every way possible.

It appeared that Kayla was starting to warm up to me and had gotten over the initial awkwardness of making conversation because while we ate, she chatted away about her favorite movies: Rom Coms, interests: shopping, and her idol: Taylor Swift. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't have fit a word in edgewise but it was becoming quite apparent we had nothing in common and that this would never go past one date.

I blew out a long breath when the check finally arrived. I couldn't whip out my wallet fast enough; tossing everything I had onto the table and not even bothering to wait for my change. The waitress would be getting a nice big tip. It would be worth it.

"You ready," I asked. But her answer wouldn't have changed anything because I was already shrugging on my jacket and nudging her out of the booth.

She slid over and stood up but stayed blocking my path as she turned to face me. "I think out of all of Taylor Swift's albums, Midnights is definitely my favorite."

"Yep." Let's goooo. I gave her another gentle push but she kept chattering as we walked out the door. "Don't get me wrong, Reputation was amazing but don't you just love the concept of her writing about her sleepness nights?"

"Yep." I quickly started up the car, peeling out of the lot towards her house. Fifteen minutes later, I arrived after having to suffer through a monologue on why Gossip Girl is better than Riverdale.

"Call me crazy," she continued. "But I just believe that Chuck and Blair will always be goals." She sighed dreamily. "What do you think?"

"Yep."

"Well," she said beaming at me from ear to ear. "This was fun."

Thank Heaven it's over, I thought as she turned to open the car door. I was certain I had almost made my escape when she faced me once more and uttered the dreaded words, "We should do this again."

I grunted a noncommittal response, not wanting to lead her on but afraid she might slap me if I turned her down. I dared a peek at her to find her gazing back at me expectantly, a funny look in her eye. Before I even realized what she had in mind, she had already leaned in and grabbed me by the back of the neck pressing her mouth firmly against mine.

The move caught me off guard and I almost pulled away but it occurred to me that her plush lips felt rather amazing as they caressed my mouth. I suppose it couldn't hurt to make out a little. After that disaster of a date hadn't I earned it? I threaded my fingers through her silky soft hair which smelled of apples and kissed her until my lips felt raw and chapped.

When we were good and breathless, we moved away from each other. I was sure I could have progressed things if I had wanted to and she wouldn't have opposed but the interaction was more than enough to satisfy me. After all, this was my first date ever. There was no need to rush it. And I certainly didn't need to have another Aimee on my hands.

Panting, Kayla wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Wow," she breathed. "You're a great kisser Mattie. " She turned once again to open the door, briefly pausing to glance at me over her shoulder. "I'll see you at school?" Winking at me, she got out of the car and disappeared down the massive cobblestone walkway before I had a chance to even answer.

Something tells me that whether I want it or not, this first date won't be our last.