I returned home late that night, the city lights blurring into streaks of gold outside my window. A pleasant exhaustion clung to me, but it was overshadowed by a giddy, fluttering excitement in my chest.
My crush. My actual crush, was taking me out on a date tomorrow night.
A slow smile spread across my face as I unlocked my door and stepped into the quiet darkness of my house. Everything seemed… perfect. Almost too perfect.
I dropped my keys into the bowl by the door, the clatter echoing in the silence. And that's when I felt it, a cold, subtle dread coiling in the pit of my stomach, a silent alarm that soured the sweet anticipation.
The smile faded from my lips. I couldn't help but feel, with a certainty that made my skin prickle, that something was wrong. That something terrible was going to happen.
As if on cue, my phone rang, its shrill tone cutting through the silent apartment. I fumbled in my purse, my heart giving a hopeful little jump. Arron's name glowed on the screen.
I answered, my voice softening.
"Hello?"
"Oh, hey, baby." His voice was a warm, smooth caress that soothed my sudden unease. "Listen, I want to ask you for a favor."
"Sure," I said, a smile returning to my voice. "What is it?"
"I was thinking," he began, his tone conspiratorial and playful. "If you could bring your friend, Natasha, along tomorrow. The rest… is a secret, baby."
I paused, the request throwing me for a second. Bring Natasha? But then, the pieces clicked into a new, hopeful picture in my mind. Of course. A secret… He must be planning a double date! He's probably bringing a friend for Natasha, wanting to make it a fun, group thing to take the pressure off. How sweet was that? How thoughtful.
The cold dread in my stomach melted, replaced by a fresh wave of giddy anticipation.
"Oh! Okay, yeah," I said, my voice bright. "That sounds like fun. I'll ask her."
"Perfect. Can't wait to see you, baby."
He hung up, and I hugged my phone to my chest, the earlier foreboding completely forgotten. He wasn't setting me up; he was planning a surprise. Everything was still perfect.
Bursting with the news, I immediately called Bella. But first, my mind went to Natasha. She was my Russian friend I'd met in the first course of uni, stunningly beautiful, fiercely smart, and one of the most determined people I knew. We were still close, but we hardly saw each other lately; she was buried in preparations for a huge engineering project. Her task was to build a complex example and present it to the professor in front of the entire class. She was presenting tomorrow, which meant… she'd finally be free. She would definitely have time for the double date! The timing was perfect.
I gushed to Bella, telling her all about the plan and how everything was falling into place.
There was a long, heavy silence on the other end.
"Mia,"
she finally said, her voice careful and low, devoid of the excitement I was hoping for. "That's… a really weird request."
My smile faltered.
"What do you mean? It's a surprise. It's sweet."
"I mean, why wouldn't he just tell you it's a double date? Why the 'secret'?" Her tone was gentle but firm, the voice of someone who'd learned the hard way. "Just… be careful, okay? Guys like that… they don't always play fair."
Her words were a bucket of cold water, dousing my giddiness. She didn't get it. She was just being overly cautious because of her own messy situation with Knox.
"Yeah, yeah, I will be," I said, brushing off her concern a little too quickly. "It's going to be fine. You'll see."
But after I hung up, her warning echoed in my mind, mixing with my own initial dread and casting a long shadow over the "perfect" night I had imagined.
Enthusiastically, I sent a message to Natasha. I didn't want to disturb her sleep if she'd finally managed to get some rest before her presentation, so I just sent a text, my thumbs flying across the screen.
Hey!! Sorry if you're sleeping, don't worry about replying now! But OMG I have to tell you. Arron finally asked me out!! 😭 And he specifically said I should invite you, like it's a double date or something? It's all a "secret" lol. It's tomorrow night, right after your presentation to celebrate! Please please say you can come, it wouldn't be the same without you! 💖
I put my phone down on my nightstand, a giddy smile still plastered on my face. The excitement was a live wire under my skin, but the long day had left me drained.
Hoping for a reply by morning, I took a quick, warm shower to wash away the lingering doubts, then finally slipped into bed. As I closed my eyes, my last conscious thought was a swirl of Arron's smile, Bella's warning, and the hopeful anticipation for tomorrow night. Sleep pulled me under, wrapping me in dreams of a perfect date, blissfully unaware of the disaster I had just willingly walked into.