Plus One - Chapter 6: Blind date

[deedee_sims]

Warnings: Blind date (as the title says), mention of BDSM feat someone has a dirty mind, computer science jargon, aerosol, pitiful bowling skills, discussion of a musical that I haven't seen (yet)



Me: Not quite ready, but I'll go.
Lainey: thx!
Lainey: promise i wont get mad this time
Lainey: when do u finish classes?
Me: At 3
Lainey: meet u at the store then
Me: Alright :)



I let out a sigh. I really hope it will go better than last time.

***



"They said we have to wait half an hour," Lainey pouts as she sits down next to me.



"You really thought if we came earlier than your appointment, they’d let us in?"
"Uh, kinda?" She shrugs. "At least you have time to prepare!"



"I can never have enough time to prepare for wedding dresses," I admit, to which she hits my arm playfully.
"Oh shush! I wanted to talk to you anyway."
"About what?" I ask cautiously.



"Well," she starts slowly, which just makes it even more suspicious. "You know I told you that Dan got some new colleagues-"
"The interns, yes."
"Yeah. Apparently one of them likes guys, and-"



"Lainey!"
"-we thought maybe you two could meet up-"
"Lainey!"
"-just to get to know each other a bit."



"Please tell me you haven't already arranged me a blind date," I grunt, crossing my arms.
"No, of course not! He just said he would be interested," she smiles apologetically.



"So it's still already arranged then?"
"I said it's not! I just have his number, so if you want to talk to him, or anything, you can."
I shake my head. I can't believe she's playing matchmaker again. Although I have to admit it worked pretty well last time. With Harry. At least until it ended.



"Just please give him a chance!" she begs me with puppy eyes.
I sigh, giving up my resistance. "Okay, whatever. Give me his number."
So she does with much enthusiasm.



I really don't feel ready going on a date with anyone. I know I've been alone for quite a while, and it sounds like a lot of time, but it doesn't feel like a lot of time. Maybe I'm finally over Harry, but it doesn't mean that I'm ready to date another guy. At least not someone who I haven't even met yet.
The time finally comes and we get into the dress appointment.



Lainey tries on several dresses - she still looks stunning in all of them - but we still can't find anything we both like. It doesn't help that my mind keeps wandering back to certain kisses.

***



I use the rest of my afternoon and evening to catch up on my assignments and uni stuff, because I want a free weekend. I don't get too far though, because I notice that Lainey has just sent me a couple videos of dogs. I end up spiraling down on the cute recordings, and I really wish I had a dog. Although I don't think keeping such a pet in as small an apartment as this would be good for anyone.



I'm in the middle of watching a very good boy playing with a sprinkler, when someone knocks on my door.
"Come in!"



Of course it's Rhett, trotting into my room, clutching his laptop.
"Heya, could you help me? My comp had a lil accident and now it's not responding."



"I can take a look," I offer, and he hands me the device. "What kind of accident was it?"
"It decided to jump off my bed!"



"All by itself?" I question, and he starts nodding vigorously.
Obviously.



Looking at it, it's on, but it is really not responding to anything. I try not to notice what kind of sites are open in the background. After trying various things without success, I end up resetting it. I also start to run some diagnostics to see if there's any damage.



"So what did you do to make it want to commit suicide?" I inquire, leaning back in my chair.
"Oh, I was just looking for some stuff." He smiles mischievously. "Thought about buying handcuffs. Are you into BDSM?"



My mind decides to create an image of Rhett, tied to his bed, his chest on full display, looking up at me with those hazy eyes, like he did in the club. It doesn't help that half of his chest is on display right now, in that tee he's wearing.
Uh.



"Um... not... particularly," I mutter.
He snorts and pats my shoulder. "Just joking!"
Fortunately, the diagnostics just finished running, so I'm saved from giving any sort of reaction. I'm still doomed though, as the image of a cuffed Rhett seems to have burned into my mind.



"Did it survive?" he asks curiously.
"Yeah, although your hard disk might give up on life soon. I recommend changing it to SSD, it's faster and more resilient to physical forces, as it doesn't have moving parts."
"Um-hum."



I shoot him a glance. "You didn't pay attention to what I said, did you?"
"I did, I just don't understand it."
"Now you know how I feel when you talk about your sports things!"



"But sports are cool, you're just a nerd." He pokes my side playfully. "How many SASA tees do you even have?"
"A couple."
"Nerd," he chuckles. "But honestly. I really need this thing to survive the semester. Thank you for helping me!"



"No problem. Just try to not drop it again."
"It was an accident! But anyway. What do you want in exchange?"
"I really don't need anything, I'm just glad I could help."



"Oh, c'mon," he whines. "You're too good for your own good. Let me help you with something, then?"
He looks at me expectantly, and I get lost in his pretty eyes once again.
"Okay," he starts when he realizes that I'm not going to give him an answer. "Should I do the cleaning instead of you this weekend?"



"Rhett, I-"
"Fold your clothes? Lower your rent?"
"I really-"



He claps his hands. "Oh, I know! I'm going to order your favorite pizza tonight! It's the one with ham and mushrooms, right?"



"Y-yeah." I'm wondering how the hell he remembers this.
"Amazing!" He jumps up, and lifts his laptop with such force, I'm afraid he's going to drop it again.



"I'm on it!" he shouts, when he makes his exit.
Well, at least I don't have to cook dinner tonight.



Right when I stop thinking about Rhett and his pretty eyes, I realize that I have a date to arrange. Ugh. I need to get it sorted before Lainey starts pestering me.
I've already looked up the guy on social media, and he doesn't seem like a mass murderer, so I can't use this as an excuse. I mean why would I need an excuse at all? He'll probably turn out to be a decent guy, knowing Lainey. She wouldn't set me up with anyone shady.



For some reason, I think about Harry. About the day we met. Lainey knew him from drama class, and she arranged stuff so we would meet. I think about how he asked me out like five seconds after I came out to him.
Yeah, I’m definitely still nostalgic for him.
I look at my phone. Should I like, call this Wyatt guy? Watcher, I hate making phone calls.



I end up texting him, saying he can call me if he's available.
It takes him about two minutes.



"Hi!"
"Hi! I'm Oliver, Dan gave me your number."
"Yeah, I'm glad you texted me!"
What now?



"Uh, should I just ask you out, or should we do some small talk before?"
Watcher, I couldn't have said anything more embarrassing even if I tried. He starts laughing, to my relief.
"Whatever you want!"
I suddenly think about what Rhett would say in this situation, because he's much better at talking than me. Probably something that makes me blush. It doesn't help my case.



"Um, Wyatt," I start eventually. "Would you like to meet up, and maybe go on a kind of blind date with me? I promise, I'm not shady, although, I might be a bit weird in situations… like this."
He lets out a small laugh, which I see as a win.
"Yes, I would like to meet up, and go on a date" he says. "You like bowling?"



"It's okay." To be frank, I'm awful at it, but my brain short circuits, when I try to think about other date ideas. It's been like a thousand years since I've been on any.
"We could go to the Strike on Sunday, if you're free?"
"Yeah, that sounds good!"
"Alright! I'm gonna reserve a lane then, and text you the exact time."
"Great!"
"See you there!"
"Bye!"



Well, that went surprisingly smoothly, Lainey will be proud of me. I quickly text her the result of this conversation, so she knows the deed is done.



She replies with smiles and several thumbs ups.

***



As Sunday rolls in, I become more and more unsure about this whole blind date thing. He sounded like a decent guy, but who knows. I approach any new person with a healthy amount of doubt.
Or I'm just paranoid, and I'll end up enjoying myself.



I still have about an hour before I need to go, so I try to occupy myself with reading. That doesn't really work, as I just stare at the pages, my mind refusing to register the words. After a while, I give up, and start browsing Simstagram absent-mindedly.



I find a picture of Lainey and Dan from yesterday, it seems like they had a date or something. I immediately hit like, because they look incredibly cute. Bless them.



As I scroll some more, I stumble upon a photo of Rhett on a tennis court, with another guy, captioned as Pennis Tractice. There's definitely a pun here.
Damn, he looks good in white.



I try to find any information in my mind about him playing tennis, and I do remember him saying something like, he has to play with another rich kid. Despite the wording, they seem to have fun there. Maybe even more fun than what appears on the picture.
I shake my head. I should stop jumping into conclusions. And if they do something else, it's really not my business.



I sigh, and I look at the time. I guess I should start getting ready for my date.



I fish out a top from my wardrobe which is not black or band merch (or the green tee I wore when I went clubbing with Rhett), then go to the bathroom.



I wonder if I should use some deodorant. Or cologne? Or both? I realize I don't have any cologne. Well, damn. I could steal some from Rhett's, but I'm not sure if I want to smell like cotton candy.



I spray some deodorant on myself.



Oops, I sprayed too much.
This is when Rhett enters the bathroom and starts coughing.



"Watcher, Olls, are you trying to make me unconscious with all that gas? And then dispose of my lifeless body?"
"Is it too much?" I ask the obvious.
"Yes!" He's still scrunching his nose, and vigorously fanning the thick air with his hands. "Are you going on a date, or what?"



"Actually… yes." I admit.
His eyes widen. "Oh."
My cheeks are burning. Damn, I shouldn't feel guilty about going on a date.



"Um, may I ask you how do you know the guy?" He finally stopped fighting with the air, and now he's looking at me a bit suspiciously.



"Well, I don't." When he furrows his brows, I quickly explain: "I-I mean he's some colleague of Dan – you know, Lainey's fiancé – and well, Lainey kinda lured me into it, so, that's… it?"
I already feel myself sweating over the freshly sprayed layer of deodorant.
"I see," he says finally. "I'm rooting for you!"
"T-thanks."



"And, if he's weird, or makes you do something you don't want to, or makes you uncomfortable, just drop me a text, and I’ll get you out, okay?" His face is more serious than I've ever seen him.
My heart flutters.



"O… kay. I hope I won't have to."
"Yeah." He makes another quick draw of his perfect brows, then abruptly changes his expression to a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Anyway! Have fun!"



He also pats my shoulder, then points to the door. "But can you…? I really have to poo."
"Oh, yeah, sorry!" I get out of the bathroom quickly.



"At least I don't have to use air freshener!" he shouts, before closing the door behind me.



I bury my face into my hands. Oh, watcher, that's not how I imagined this conversation. I mean, I haven't thought I would have to have a conversation like this. At all.
But I can't back out now. I promised Lainey, and Wyatt, that I’ll go. It would be stupid not to.



I sigh, and look at my phone. It's time to go.

***



Wyatt turns out to be a total sweetheart. We meet in front of Strike, and he greets me cheerfully, with a kind smile. He looks handsome with his dark eyes and styled black hair. We ask for each other's pronouns ("he" and "they" are fine for Wyatt), then we head inside.













He also turns out to be some kind of professional in bowling. He practically wipes the floor with me, and meanwhile I'm happy if I manage to accidentally knock down a pin.



"Maybe we shouldn't have gone bowling so you could have had some more success." He smiles apologetically.



I shrug. "Nah, it's fine, at least I could laugh at my misfortune," I say, as we settle in for a hamburger. I mean for two burgers, one hamburger for me, and one veggie burger for him. Apparently, he's vegetarian.
We start talking about random stuff, my school, his job, and things like that.



"I mean," he explains between two bites, "I like making sets, but I dunno, I want some more, like theater! How cool would that be?"
I nod in agreement, because my mouth is full of hamburger.
"Maybe making sets for musicals. That would be awesome! You like musicals?"



"They are nice?"
"You know Hamilton?"
"Um, I know a guy, named Hamilton…" I say with some confusion, which makes him chuckle. He has a pleasant laugh.
"I mean the musical, Hamilton!"



"Ah, okay, I haven't seen it." Watcher, that damn blush is creeping into my cheeks.
He smiles kindly. "That's fine, you should see it one day, it's one of my favorites!"



"I'm sure it's nice," I say, then wipe my mouth with a napkin. I see he also finished his burger.



"You want something for dessert? They sell these sugar cookies, they're really good!" Wyatt suggests.
"Nah, thanks, I'm full."



"Alright! Um." He looks at his watch, squinting a bit. "It's getting late."
"Yeah, maybe we should be getting home." Ugh, I was too forward, and I cringe internally a bit. "I mean, I have classes tomorrow-"
"I should be getting home too, it's fine!"



We split the bill, and head out of the bowling alley.

***



Wyatt walks me home. He says he's going in my direction, and I don't oppose. We have a nice chat during the walk, and I realize the sun has already set when we arrive to the entrance of my block.



"I had fun," he states, and slides his hand in mine. It's a bit cold.
"Yeah, me too, despite my nonexistent bowling skills" I admit, smiling. He's nice, easy going, and quite handsome as well.



"I promise we'll go somewhere else next time. I mean, I hope there will be a next time?" he asks expectantly.
"Yeah." That's what I manage to answer, awkwardly.



He steps a bit closer. I haven't had a first date since ages, but that's the point when the participants kiss.
Right?

---
Well well well... should Ollie go for a kiss or not? You decide, vote HERE to make his life complicated :P As usual, I close the voting in two weeks, on the 18th of July! (Btw, I literally have 2 versions of the next chapter, depending on the result of the voting, so choose wisely :P)

Due to the stuff above and the fact that I'm going on a vacation next week, the next chapter will take a bit longer to make. I hope for August. Please cross your fingers, and chant vagina pineapple. (I'm super excited for the next chapter though!)

As usual, many thanks to Anachronisims for being a wonderful beta <3
Also thanks to Simmergetic for the bowling alley (I was too lazy to build one and it was almost perfect anyway!)
And also thanks to Eulaliasims for blessing Ollie with a black SASA tee! I'm forever grateful!

Sooooo... Do you remember when I said that Lainey was Ollie's personal matchmaker? She definitely is XD
Random complaint, I love playing with reflections and such, but damn if the lighting is not horrible in that bathroom XD No matter where I put the lights it's either too dark or too bright. That's my luck I guess.

Anyway! Thank you for reading! I'm always excited to read your thoughts and comments and analyses! Please don't keep your thoughts to yourself! :D