Maria's dad only agreed to the date if she agreed to let Colm drive her to and from the festival. She argued that she was going to walk with Keith but her dad wouldn't back down so after making sure it was ok with Keith she agreed.
It was Saturday afternoon and she was sitting in the living room watching TV. Colm walked in and plonked down beside her. He reached for the bowl of popcorn she was eating.
"Eh hello? Where's your manners?"
He shoved the handful of popcorn into his mouth and gave her a big goofy smile. Maria rolled her eyes at him and moved the bowl of popcorn between them.
"So...are you looking forward to your date?"
She turned to look at him
"Yeah kinda...I've been meaning to ask you something actually. Did you put my Da up to the lift thing?"
Colm laughed, it was a nervous laugh though.
"What? no of course not. Why would I do that?"
Maria raised her eyebrows at him. She wasn't sure if she believed him or not.
"Colm, be honest. Did you?"
He laughed again
"Ok maybe I suggested it..but it's just because he was giving out about it and I asked if he would feel better if I dropped you off and picked you up again. He's just worried about you."
Maria thought for a moment...yeah she'd believe that, her Dad was very protective of her.
"Oh ok...well thanks."
She turned back to the TV and started flicking through the channels.
"There's nothing on, anything you want to watch?"
"Actually there's a new documentary on Netflix if you want to watch it. It's about women that kill"
Maria laughed and logged into her Netflix account. She found the documentary and pressed play. They were 30 minutes in when her phone beeped.
Hey Maria, just checking if you're still ok for later. 6pm right?
Maria got butterflies in her stomach when she saw Keith's message pop up, she thought he was texting to cancel.
"Everything ok?"
She glanced towards Colm
"Yeah, all good. Keith was just checking if I'm still ok for 6. Honestly I thought he was messaging to cancel"
She tried to cover her insecurities with a laugh but Colm didn't but it. He got serious.
"He'd be mad to cancel on you. He knows he's lucky you even agreed to a date, he's not going to wreck that."
Maria laughed
"Yeah...he's the lucky one."
Colm had moved closer to her now
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She shrugged her shoulders and gave a sad laugh
"Colm, you're my Da's friend you have to be nice to the boss's daughter. Keith on the other hand....he's the most popular boy in school. He's sporty, clever and he's nice and he's really really good looking."
Colm snorted, making Maria laugh
"Oh he got two really's, I just got good looking"
She rolled her eyes at him and slapped his arm.
"Seriously though, he's the lucky one. I'll never admit to this if asked again but you're great. You're funny, clever and you're kind..I mean you share your crisps with me all of the time."
Maria laughed
"Eh you don't give me a choice, you just steal them"
"Steal...share...they both start with S and have an e in there somewhere. Sometimes I get mixed up."
They settled down to watch the rest of the documentary. When it finished Maria got up to make some food. She asked Colm if he wanted some and of course he said yes. Twenty minutes later she was back with two bowls of homemade creamy tomato and chilli soup with cheese grated over the top and two toasted cheese sandwiches. Colm clapped his hands together as she set the plate down on the coffee table in front of him.
"Ooooh, thank you. This looks really good."
They decided to put an episode of Derek on as they were eating. Neither of them said a word while eating. They both laughed at certain parts of the show but other than that they were quiet. Colm finished his soup first.
"Jeez, Keith doesn't know how lucky he is. You make a mean toastie and that soup was amazing"
Maria felt the smile spread over her face straight away. She loved when someone complimented her cooking.
"Thanks, I made the soup yesterday but there was loads so left it in the fridge for lunch today."
After the second episode of Derek Maria excused herself to go get ready for her date. Fifteen minutes later she was back in the living room.
"Eh....how did you get ready so quickly? Most of the girls I date take at least an hour."
Laughing she sat beside him and slapped his knee.
"I keep telling you, I'm not most girls."
She didn't notice the way he looked at her because she had turned away already and picked up her phone.
"Is it ok if we leave in about 10 minutes?"
Colm nodded his head
"Yeah, that's fine. He lives around here, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, just around the corner, he said he'll walk here though so I'm just going to text him to tell him to be here in 10 minutes."
She had just sent the message when the doorbell rang.Her parents were out so she got up to answer the door. Keith was standing on her porch looking at his phone. His face reddened when he saw her.
"Oh crap, sorry. I just got your message now. I'll wait"
Maria laughed
"It's fine, I think we're ready I'll just check with Colm. Come in"
Keith stepped into the hall while Maria went to check with Colm if it was ok to leave now. She came back seconds later with Colm behind her.
"We're ready...lets go"
YOU ARE READING
Just Friends
Teen FictionColm walked into Maria's life when she was a teenager. He was just another young guy that hung around her dad looking for a father figure and helped out when the work was there. She was 14 and he was 18. He was always hanging around, her dad had he...
