The Second Date

"No, Matt; it doesn't... asshole," she playfully snapped back, as she flipped me off. I just chuckled at her as I rubbed the shampoo into my own hair.

It wasn't long before we were both washed up, and we finally made our way out of the shower. Rose went to go get a towel for herself, but I offered her the one I had grabbed.

"I can grab one, it's fine, Matt," she said, with a shrug.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I was the one who suggested we shower together, after all."

"Yes, I'm sure. You don't have to do everything for me, remember? You just dry off and go get comfy on the couch - maybe get the movie ready for us? I'll get dried off and join you in a bit." I nodded and dried myself off, then checked my clothes. My boxers were the only piece of clothing that were fully dry, though my jeans and flannel were starting to get there. I slipped into my boxers and gathered my things before heading back out to the living room.

I folded them up and set them on the same chair my jacket was draped over, then headed over to the couch, grabbed the controller, and turned Rose's Xbox on again. That done, I got the movie ready, and it wasn't long before Rose stepped out of the bathroom with a towel draped around her; she had gotten rid of all of her extra assets and was back to her usual appearance - she looked positively radiant. She walked back over to her bedroom door and smiled at me.

"I'm gonna change into some dry clothes, and then we can watch, okay?" I nodded and she slipped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She came out a couple minutes later in much comfier clothes - some black sweatpants and an oversized pastel-yellow T-shirt that had a smiling egg on it, for some reason. "There we go; that's much better." She settled onto the couch next to me and snuggled up against me as she grabbed the quilt and draped it over us. "You ready?" I nodded and started the movie over.

This attempt at watching actually made it past the 20-minute mark, although we spent more time talking about the movie with each other than watching it, and eventually the conversation branched out into broader territory as we talked about other movies and TV shows we enjoyed. As much as I enjoyed our little workout earlier, it was nice to just relax for a while. When we were approaching the end of the movie, I heard Rose's stomach growl something fierce. I looked over at her and grinned, and her cheeks turned pink.

"Ope, I think all the fun we had earlier is catching up to me," she said, flashing an embarrassed smile. She pulled her phone out of her sweatpants and held it up. "You want some pizza? I haven't had Roman's in a while, and it sounds super good right now."

"Oh, I'm definitely down," I said. "It's been a while for me, too." Roman's Pizza was a local pizza joint that delivered to campus and the surrounding area, and they made a killing doing it - their pizza was so damn good. They even set up a little stand late at night selling pizza by the slice for bar-hoppers looking for a quick pick-me-up. Rose nodded at me and smiled as she reached down and paused the movie.

"Sweet. Let me know what you want, and I'll call in the order," Rose said, but before I could even respond, she added, "And before you even say anything, this is my treat, Matt, okay? You paid for lunch earlier, after all." I was silent for a second before I nodded. I had a feeling she wasn't going to take no for an answer, but I also had to remind myself about our conversation earlier.

"In that case, I'll have a medium pepperoni, please," I said, feeling myself blush a bit.

"Gotcha. Breadsticks sound good?"

"Yeah, I'd eat a couple."

"Awesome, I'll go ahead and order for us, then!" With that, she dialed the number for Roman's and put in our order - she ended up ordering a large green pepper and onion pizza for herself. She hung up the phone once she had finished the call, then grabbed her controller to resume the movie.

"Thanks for getting that by the way, Rose." She looked over at me and smiled.

"No problem," she said. "Ugh, now we have to wait for it, though. Hopefully it gets here pretty quickly."

"Maybe it'll be here by the time the movie's over," I said. There were about thirty minutes left to go. Rose nodded and resumed the movie, and we both settled for the last bit. When the credits finally started to roll, Rose got up and stretched for a bit.

"I love that movie so much. There's something about two imperfect people finding happiness in each other that makes me so happy, you know? Yeah, they may be a little bit broken, but when they finally find their other half, and it just melts my heart."

"I get you. Plus, it's got Jennifer Lawrence in it, so..." I said, with a smirk. Rose just rolled her eyes at that, and our attention was drawn to the door as we heard someone knock on it.

"Ooooh, perfect timing!" Rose said, as she rushed over to the door and got the two pizzas and the bag of breadsticks. She thanked the driver and shut the door, then rushed over to the table and quickly set the food down. Rose wasted no time opening the boxes and grabbing a slice of her pizza. She bit into it and smiled, letting loose a satisfied little mmm as she chewed, then swallowed the bite. "So gooood. I definitely needed this."

"Same here," I said, grabbing a slice of my own pizza. Thanks again." Rose flashed me a thumbs-up since her mouth was full of yet another bite of pizza. Rose's eyes widened as her phone started to vibrate loudly in her pocket. She quickly grabbed a napkin and placed the rest of her slice on it before fishing her phone out of her pocket and checking the screen. She looked over at me with confusion.

"It's... Ryan. Weird - he doesn't usually call," she said, with a shrug as she tapped the screen and held it up to her ear. "Hey Ryan, what's up?" A moment later, she chuckled a bit and blushed. "Yes, he's still over here with me... Oh, no man, you're fine. Don't worry about it." I threw her a confused glance, and she just grinned. Rose was silent for a moment, then another questioning look appeared on her face. "A favor? Um... what did you need?" There was more silence as she nodded a few times, then smiled. "Yeah, sure! That's awesome! I'd be down, for sure; I haven't been out in a little bit, anyway... Oh no, it's no problem. I'll see you tonight, then. Go ahead and shoot me your address and I'll swing by later... around 9:30-ish? Gotcha... Alright, bye." She hung up and shoved the phone back in her pocket.

"What was that about?"

"Ryan's going out to a party tonight with Linsey, that mutual friend of ours, and he wanted me to come, too."

"I see," I said. "Why exactly is it a favor, though?"

"Because he wants me to kind of hold him accountable tonight and keep him from drinking too much." My eyes widened at that.

"Oh, wow. That's... surprisingly proactive of him." Rose nodded.

"I know, right? He apologized for last week, so maybe he wants to make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm gonna try and keep him out of trouble. Someone's got to, right?" I nodded at that.

"True. I normally do, but-"

"-you don't really do parties, right? You mentioned it last week, and even Ryan mentioned something about it." Rose asked, finishing the thought for me.

"He did?"

"Yeah, he just said he didn't want to make you go out of your way for him; that's why he asked me." I frowned a bit at that.

"All the people stress me out. Last time I went to one, it... didn't go so well." Rose nodded, and I was silent for a moment as she picked up her slice of pizza and continued eating. Of course, I wanted to support Ryan, but I just wasn't sure how it would go. Still, if Ryan was trying make some changes for the better, maybe I could take that step, too. I looked over at Rose. "I think I want to go with you guys, after all."

"Wait, really?" Rose asked, sounding a bit surprised. I nodded.

"Yeah. It'll be like that spider therapy, right? I gotta face the fear if I want to overcome it." Rose frowned.

"Matt, if it's Ryan and Lins we're talking about, it's probably going to be a fucking rager - I'm talking full-on, 'room full of spiders' territory. Maybe you should start with a smaller gathering and work your way up from there?" I shook my head.

"No, I want to do this, Rose. I want to support Ryan, too," I said, my voice resolute. "Besides, if it gets too much, I can just leave. Or take a bit of a breather outside, or something." Rose was silent for a bit before she nodded. She finished up her pizza and set the crust back in the box, which was just absolute heresy. "Wait, you don't eat the crust?"

"No way. All I care about is the pizza part, not the gross-ass crust."

"The crust is still part of the pizza, though!" Rose just shrugged and grabbed another slice.

"Nah, it's just plain old bread, Matt. I eat pizza for the yummy stuff. Speaking of bread, I cut the crusts off my sandwiches, too." I rolled my eyes.

"Let me guess: you're one of those people who won't eat the skin on a baked potato, too?"

"Yup! It's yucky," Rose proudly piped up as she took a huge bite of her slice of pizza. I just sighed and shook my head. After Rose finished her bite, she spoke up again. "Anyway, if you really want to go, I won't stop you, but just let me know if you start to feel overwhelmed, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will," I said, just as my phone screamed at me again from inside my pocket, letting me know I had gotten a text from Ryan. Rose jumped slightly at the sudden interruption.

"Jesus, that scared the shit out of me; you really haven't change that yet?" I shrugged and shook my head.

"I don't know, it's kinda growing on me," I said, with a grin.

"At least put the damn thing in vibrate. God, it's so loud."

"Yeah, you're not wrong; I'll make sure to change it at some point before we go out tonight," I said as I finished up my slice of pizza (crust and all) and then pulled my phone out to check Ryan's text: he said wanted to talk to me about something when I got home, but he didn't elaborate any further. I looked up at Rose and frowned a bit - I really didn't want to leave, but it's not like I could stay there all day. "Actually, I should probably head home pretty soon. Ryan wants to talk to me about something back to the apartment, and I figure I should probably get out of your hair, anyhow." Somehow, Rose was on her third slice of pizza when I looked up. She swallowed another bite before she replied.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Matt; I like having you around, after all. But, if you've gotta go, that's fine." She looked down at my pizza box. "Just make sure you take your leftovers with you... unless you'd like to come back here after we get back from the party tonight?" I beamed at her.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that," I said with a grin.

"Deal," she replied with a smile of her own, as her eyes turned a dazzling shade of green once again.

I ended up staying a bit longer, eating another slice of pizza and a couple breadsticks before I shut the box and stuck it in Rose's fridge. I washed my hands, then grabbed my clothes from her chair - they were dry enough to wear home, at least. I threw on my slightly damp jacket and made my way over to the door when Rose put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at me.

"I don't even get a hug or anything before you go?" she asked with a grin, though the question was a bit reproachful. "I see how it is." Heat blazed in my cheeks; I had completely forgotten.

"I'm sorry," I said, sheepishly as I headed over to her and embraced her. She wrapped her arms around me in another powerful bear hug and shuffled her weight back and forth a bit as we held each other. "Goddamn, you're strong, Rose. You're seriously going to break my spine if you keep hugging me like this." She kissed me on the cheek and smiled at me.

"Well, maybe this way you won't forget about the hug tax next time," she said, her voice dripping with sweetness. My heart fluttered at the mention of there being a 'next time,' and I couldn't help but grin.

"No, I'll make sure to remember," I said, shaking my head as my cheeks burned even hotter.

"Good," she said, as she freed me from her grip. "I'll head over to your place later. Make sure you get home safe, okay?" I nodded.

"Alright, Rose, I will. And thanks for everything today. I had a wonderful time with you."

"You're very welcome. I had a wonderful time, too," she replied. "See ya later, Matt."

"See you tonight!" I piped up, waving goodbye to her as I headed through the door, then walked out of her apartment building.

The sun was beginning to set as I made my way home, and thankfully it didn't rain again. About ten minutes later I was back at my own apartment complex, and Ryan was sitting on the couch watching TV when I came through the door to our place and threw my jacket on our coat rack.

"Hey, man! You have a good time today?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was great! A bit more... eventful than I expected at times, but it was a really great time overall." Ryan looked at me like he wanted to know more, but he thankfully didn't pry. "So... anyway, you mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Oh, um, yeah..." Ryan said, and he looked a bit nervous as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. "So, er... Cait actually reached out to me. She said she wanted to talk to you sometime soon." My eyes widened at that as I threw Ryan a cautionary glance.

"Really? Why?"

"She didn't go into much detail, but... she said was that she was wanted to apologize to you... and Rose... for her behavior last week. Did something happen between the three of you last Friday?" I let out a sigh; I was hoping I wouldn't have to bring it up to him, but whatever.

"She actually ran into me at Night Owls last week when I was out with Rose. It wasn't pretty when she found out that I was on a date, and things got even worse when she realized that Rose is a Polly." I conveniently left out Rose's little show, as Cait had called it; heat bloomed in my cheeks at the mere recollection, but Ryan's voice thankfully pulled my thoughts back on track.

"Oof. I'm sorry, man. That's rough," he said, frowning a bit. "Yeah, I can imagine you probably don't want to see her again, then." I really didn't, but... if she wanted to apologize to both of us, I figured maybe I should at least make an effort to hear her out, since I didn't handle things in the best way last week, either. I recalled what Rose had said about giving people a chance to own up to their mistakes, and I figured Cait deserved that courtesy, as well.

"You know, maybe I should just hash things out with her, once and for all."

"Oh, sweet. I think that it would be good to maybe get some closure. And, by the way, I know I really should have said this sooner, but I really am sorry about last week, Matt. I really didn't handle... any of it very well, really, and then you even had to come back home because of me, and... well, I just feel bad. I was just sort of embarrassed to bring it up." I had indeed thanked him for setting me and Rose up once he was sober again, but I never did bring up the issue with him, even though it had annoyed me. Neither of us really liked confrontation all that much, so it really had been an unspoken point of contention between us all week; at the end of the day, it seemed neither of us really wanted to address the elephant in the room, so I'm glad he took the initiative and apologized. "I'm going to try and be better about all the drinking from now on, too."

"I appreciate the apology, but you're alright, Ryan; it really wasn't that big of a deal. Besides, everything worked out in the end, anyway." He immediately perked up, and just like that he was cheerful again.

"Thanks, bro. You're the best," He raised his fist for a fist bump, and I awkwardly reciprocated; I didn't want to leave him hanging, after all.

"Thanks, Ryan. Anyway, speaking of you laying off the drinking, I heard you're going to a party tonight with Rose and her friend?"

"Yup!" Ryan chirped. "I'm excited to go out, but I'm gonna do my best to go easy the booze - I figured like two drinks or so, at the most, since I want to keep a clear head tonight. Rose will be there to help keep me in line on that front. I know how you are around too many people, though, so I didn't want to ask you to come out with us."

"Well, about that, I actually... was planning to come along, too. Just to kind of... see how it goes, I guess."

"Oh, really? That's fucking awesome, man! You can meet Linsey, and we can all hang out together! This is gonna be great!" He pumped his fist in the air excitedly, and I just smiled and shook my head at him. I was happy that he was excited, and it would be nice to try going out for a change, but I just hoped the party wouldn't be too crazy. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling I was going to end up regretting it as the memories of the first and last party I went to creeped back into my thoughts. It was when Cait and I had only been together for a month or so, and she had insisted on walking me back to my place when it became too much for me, only to grump at me and complain all the way home. I let out a sigh and pushed those thoughts away - at least Rose would be there with me this time around.

"We're heading over there at 9:30, right?"

"Yup! So, we've still got a couple more hours to go before it's time to head out." I checked my phone to find that it was just past 7 PM. "Well, I'm gonna go play some games or something until Rose gets here."

"Alright, man. Have fun." I nodded and headed to my bedroom, setting the bag with my book down on my desk next to my computer. I plopped down into my desk chair and slid it over in front of my TV. I grabbed my controller and turned on my Xbox. I had played for about an hour when I realized I should have gotten Rose's account name when I was back at her place. I pulled out my phone and shot her a quick text, and soon enough we had friended each other and were grouped up in a party for some games.

"Oh, shit. It's almost time for us to head out. I should head over there soon," Rose said over voice chat. I checked the clock to find that the last hour hours had seemingly flown by in the blink of an eye.

"You're right. Damn, time flies when you're having fun, huh?"

"That is does. Hopefully this party tonight will be fun, too. You still feeling okay about it?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm a little nervous, but maybe it won't be so bad. At the very least, we'll be able to hang more."

"Exactly. And if it gets to be too much for you, we can head back to my place early." I thought about Cait's constant complaining after the last party, but I brushed it off as Rose spoke up again. "Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and get off of here and get ready to head over there."

"Gotcha. I'll see you soon," I said, just before I shut off my console and let out a sigh as I stared at my frowning reflection in the dark void of the television. Anxiety welled in my stomach at the thought of going to this party, but I was doing it for Ryan - plus, Rose would be there, too. It would go better this time; I just had to stay positive. I rolled my chair back over to my computer desk and pulled the book out of the bag before placing it onto my desk and tossing the bag; I resolved to start reading it later.

I left my bedroom to find Ryan hovering around the table, which had a few shot glasses on it. He had a bottle of vodka in his hand.

"I didn't expect to see you doing shots," I said.

"Well, we have to pregame a little bit; it's the rules. I'm only going to have one shot before we go, Matt. These other glasses are for you and Rose, dumbass. You do want one, right?" I nodded after a moment, hoping it might help with my nerves. "Awesome." Ryan set the bottle of vodka on the table and motioned toward the shot glasses sitting next to it. "We'll wait until Rose gets here, then fill these bad boys up and knock them back before we head to the party - it isn't too far away, thankfully." I flashed him a thumbs-up and sat down on the couch, and it wasn't long before he plopped down next to me. His eyes were glued to the action unfolding on the screen, where the football game was still going on the TV, but I just pulled out my phone and scrolled absentmindedly for a bit; unlike Ryan, I didn't care much for sports.