Practice Kissing With The Bad Boy

7: The First Date

TAYA's POV :

"Mom, I'm going out! See ya!" I was racing down the staircase in my tight sequin dress and high heels, one wrong step and I'd snowball down the whole thing.

I never wore heels before, ever. We lived in Hawaii, so slippers were always my go to. But for last Christmas, mom got me these cute silver heels and I had been saving them for a special occasion— such as this.

I didn’t even wait for my mom’s response. I was out of the house within seconds. And as soon as I got out of the house, I spotted Blake's car waiting for me outside. My heart fluttered at the sight.

"You look really pretty," Blake smiled widely as soon as I got into his Audi.

"Thanks, you look really pretty too," I replied.

He did look amazing. His hair was neatly pushed back, and he was wearing a crisp white shirt and jeans. If Paul Wesley and Robert Pattinson had a child, he would be Blake Harrison.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise. You'll love it," he said as he put his right hand on my knee, squeezing it gently.

It sent tingles up and down my spine. I tried my hardest to keep still as Blake put the car in gear and we drove away.

"So... how was practice today?" I said casually, referring to Blake's football practice.

"It was great. Everyone's so hyped up for the homecoming game on Friday, we're so gonna crush it. You'll be there, right?"

"It's not like we have a choice. You know the principal's making everyone come and watch the game," I rolled my eyes at Principal Finn's latest antics. "But of course I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world," I added.

Blake grinned at my response.

"How 'bout you? How was rehearsal today?" he said, referring to the theater club.

"Oh god, it was horrible! They just suddenly added this kissing scene and I had to kiss this guy for the play," I groaned.

I was expecting more of a reaction coming from him, but instead, he just muttered, "Oh,"

"Well... what do you think? Are you cool with that?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah, sure. I mean, it's for a play, right?" he just shrugged.

"So, you don't really mind that I'm kissing some other guy?"

"But that's just acting, though. It's not real," he smiled graciously.

"...I see,"

I didn't know if I should look at this as him being mature and secure about us, or that he just didn't care at all. I mean, I wouldn't be so calm right now if he told me he had to kiss some girl for whatever reason.

But I guess that's just me.

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After about half an hour of driving, we finally reached our destination, the Harrison Grand Resort. Remember when I told you Blake's dad owned half the island? Well, the Harrisons owned various properties and businesses, this chain of hotel resort was only one of them.

"You're taking me to your dad's resort?" I asked as the car pulled up in front of the lobby.

"Yeah, this one is my favorite location. You get the best view of the ocean," he said proudly, handing over his keys to the valet. He then walked over to my side of the door and opened it, lending his hand out chivalrously.

"Come on," Clasping my hand in his, Blake led me through the grand white-marbled building. The hotel staff bowed and smiled as they saw us walking by, and Blake just waved casually at everyone. We kept walking until we reached this big glass doors that led us directly to the beach.

"Good evening, Mr. Harrison. Your table is ready for you," a waiter appeared out of nowhere and he gestured to a table right by the ocean, surrounded with petals of white flowers and little candles.

"Wow," I gasped and he just grinned at me, leading me towards our table.

Well daaamn, Blake Harrison can do a mean first date.

We sat across each other on this little table by the ocean. There was no one else around, it was just us in this entire beach. It felt really nice, but also awkward. There were about ten waiters, but they were all waiting for just us.

"Is it normally this quiet in here?" I asked.

"No, not really. I actually booked the whole place to ourselves," he smiled brightly.

I didn't know if I should be surprised or intimidated. Or both.

“Isn’t this amazing?” he beamed and threw his gaze to the open waters next to us. “The whole ocean is at our disposal,”

“Absolutely,” I nodded my head. The place looked amazing, I had to agree,

“And the food’s great too. We got this chef from French, you should try the lobster, or the steak,” he advised as the waiter came back with the menu.

“I will,”

As the night went on, I grew less anxious and I got more excited about our first date. Our dinner was unbelievably great. The night breeze was lovely and he was right about the food, it was amazing. We shared a molten chocolate cake for dessert and it was the bomb. Blake and I spent the evening talking about everything from school to families, and even about our future.

For as long as he could remember, Blake's dad always wanted him to go to an Ivy League school. Blake's got his eyes set on Princeton as of late, to study business or law. He'd be visiting the campus early next year for an interview.

When he asked me where do I want to go for college, I told him that I didn't know yet, that I was still keeping my options open. He suggested a few places that I might like, and they were all out-of-state colleges. Blake was really excited about going to college and his excitement was contagious. "There's a brand new world out there waiting for us," he beamed.

"Hey, I got this really big book filled with all the information on colleges in the country. I'll bring it over for you sometime. I could help you look?" he offered sweetly and I couldn't nod my head fast enough.

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Later that night, after we were done with dinner, we took a short walk around the beach and Blake gave me a tour of the property. It was nice and lovely. He was holding my hand every step of the way, and I was giddy and over the moon. Not only that Blake was funny and sweet, but also he was super smart.

I should call NASA and tell them I’ve found a perfect human being if they ever need one to show the aliens.

By 10 PM that night, we started our drive back so I could make my curfew. We sat in the car with our hands clasped together and we listened to the songs in his playlist.

"You wanna pick the next song?" he asked, giving me his phone.

“Sure,”

I took it and started going through his Spotify playlist when suddenly, there was a text notification from Viviane.

"Um, you got a text. From Viviane," I said shortly.

"Just leave it. I'll answer it later,"

"Why is Viviane texting you?"

"Ah, you know, she just always does that," he shrugged.

"...And you replied?"

"Well, I'm just being polite,"

I could be the cool and levelheaded person and just drop it, but somehow this didn't sit well with me.

"Were you guys ever a thing?" I pressed on.

"Yeah... in the past. We fooled around once or twice. But, I don't like her like that. I tried to tell her, but she's just not getting the hint, you know?" he was starting to look uncomfortable. "Can we talk about something else, please?" he said again.

"So, am I just... another Viviane to you?" I wasn't ready to drop the subject just yet.

"What?" his eyes shot up.

"I'm just trying to understand what we are... Are we just friends? Are we dating?"

"Oh, I—uh, I mean, we're not exclusive or anything yet... but, I really do like you—" he stammered.

We’re not exclusive or anything yet? What is that supposed to mean?

"Blake, are you ashamed of me?" I shot point-blankly.

"What?" his mouth gaped.

"Do you have to pick the furthest restaurant on the other side of town? Are you that embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"Taya, it's not like that—"

"Then what is it? You just don't want to be in a relationship with me, is that it?"

"No. I don't know. It's not that... I just... I don't know how to do relationships, alright? I've never done that before. And then there's RJ. We can’t be seen by people for now, you know that. It's... it's all complicated. We just need some more time to figure things out,"

"We? You mean you?"

It just dawned on me that perhaps my relationship with higher education was like Blake's relationship with me. I was trying to keep my options open for colleges, and here he was, trying to do the same thing.

"Well, if you can't make up your mind about me already by now, maybe you shouldn't even bother," I let go of my seatbelt abruptly.

"Taya, listen—"

"Stop the car,"

"Taya—"

"Stop the damn car, Blake!"

The car came to a screeching halt at my request. I unlocked the door manually and swung it open.

"Please don't do this," he said again.

I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself before saying, "I need some time to think. I think you do too,"

I stepped out of the car and he slammed his fist to his side of the door in frustration.

"Come on, don't be like this. How are you gonna get home?" he said, rolling down the window of the door that I just closed.

"I'll get an Uber or I’ll call my brother," I said simply. "Don't worry about it. Please just go. I want to be alone right now,"

He waited for a while, in the odd chance that I might change my mind. But I kept my composure strong and steady.

Finally, he let out a long sigh and I watched as the window rolled back up. I waited until his car drove away and he was out of sight before I finally gave out. I slumped to my feet and the row of tears burst right out.

“We're not exclusive or anything yet...”

Those six words were playing on repeat in my head, and my heart was cut open every time I heard it. I thought Blake and I were getting along great. I thought there was something special between us. But I now I felt like a fool. All those feelings were one-sided on my part. I was just one of the many dumb chicks that fell for his handsome charm.

Love sucks!

After I got tired of crying my eyes out, I thought of calling Kai or Hallee and asking them to come and get me. But just my luck, I had forgotten to charge my phone all day since I was too busy getting ready for the date. I shook my head and let out a long sigh at my phone screen. It was all black, signaling that my battery had zeroed out.

Great, walking home it is.

Taking the stupid heels off, I started walking barefoot on the road, ignoring the calluses that I'd get in the morning. My first date had started off perfectly, but now we were here. If you’d seen The Office episode where Kevin dropped his pot of chili, well, I felt like those chili on the floor.

Messy and a waste.

I was still far away from my neighborhood. It would take me an hour to get home at this rate. I would miss my curfew and mom would probably yell at me. What a perfect night this night turned out to be.

Feeling lame and hopeless, my eyes wandered around the road ahead. Secretly, I was hoping that Blake would be coming back for me. But the road ahead was just as dead and as empty as my heart.

This is what I get for asking for romance.

For the next few minutes, I was just walking along mindlessly when suddenly I heard the roaring sound of motorcycles speeding closer to my direction. I walked further into the sidewalks as I had no intentions of being a road-kill tonight, although the idea did seem enticing.

"Blondie?" suddenly I heard a familiar raspy voice.

Through my blurry eyes, I turned around to see that two motorcycles had stopped right behind me. The lights from the bikes were blinding, and I had to put my hand up to cover my eyes. I squinted at one of the guys who were taking off his helmet, revealing a familiar face.

"…Judah?" my voice was shaking.

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- - - To Be Continued - - -