collided

a date?

I woke up the next day at 2pm to the house phone blaring through the apartment walls, jolting me awake. I groaned, using my pillow to cover my ears in a pathetic attempt to drown out the annoying racket.

"Olive! Get the phone!" I scream out to my sister, banging my fist against the wall behind my headboard to get her attention.

"Okay, okay. I'm getting it, relax." Olive yells as she dashes down the hall to retrieve the phone from the hook.

I can hear muffled voices through the wall while my eyes slowly flutter shut, trying to fall back asleep.

"Willow! It's for you!"

I sit up on my bed, rubbing my sleepy eyes before aggressively throwing my duvet off my body. I drag my tired, wobbly legs to the hallway to find my sister with her arm extended, holding the phone out to me.

"Ugh, who is it?" I ask with an irritated tone in my groggy morning voice.

"A boy called Richard." Olive grins while resting her shoulder against the wall, tilting her head as she looks at me.

My eyes widen as I quickly snatch the phone from her hand and press it against my ear. "Richard? What do you want?"

"Well, hello to you too." He snickered sarcastically.

"Shit sorry." I sigh with a weak laugh while wafting my hand towards the living room urgently. 'Go away' I mouth, forcing Olive to leave me alone.

"Is that your sister who picked up?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Hmm, she sounds hot."

I roll my eyes at his comment. He's an asshole.

"She's single, you know? Perhaps I can set you up with her?" I tease, deciding to play along. "Only if you set me up with one of your brothers, of course."

"Which one?"

"Any will do. Surprise me." I replied, holding back a giggle.

I heard Richard scoff through the speaker.
"Hijo de puta." He very quietly mumbles under his breath. "That's a shame because I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime. You know? As like a uhhh-"

"As like a date?" I cut him off.

"Yeah. Something like that."

My heart race quickens as the grip on the phone tightens. I can't stop the large toothy smile from spreading across my lips.

"Let me guess. The cemetery?" I joked.

"More like a club." Richard quickly responded.

"A club? Really?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun. I'll pick you up at 10." His voice was stern and commanding.

"Hmm fine." I laughed. "I'll see you later, Richard."

"Can't wait."

With that, the phone cuts off, leaving me smiling uncontrollably. I bite my lower lip as I place the handset back on the wall, before spinning my heels to wander into the living room, my head still floating high in the clouds. I discover Olive with her ear pressed against the wall that was just separating us, clearly attempting to eavesdrop on my conversation with Richard. She gasps and awkwardly backs away from the wall as soon as she sees me.

"Sooo..." Olive trails off as she scratches the back of her head. The corner of her mouth twitches, desperately trying not to break into a smile.
"Who's Richard?"

"Nobody." I broke eye contact to stare down at my bare feet, which were cold against the hardwood flooring.

"Well this nobody is taking you out on a date, huh?"

"He's just someone I met at work, that's all." I admit, glancing back up at her through my eyebrows.
"He wants to take me to a club."

"A club for a first date?" Olive raises her brow at me.
"How romantic." She says sarcastically.

"He's not the fancy restaurant type of guy." I shrug with a slight grin. The thought of Richard showing up on my doorstep with a bunch of roses and a three-piece suit makes me laugh.

"Well still, you certainly can't go in any of your clothes." My sister says, eyeing me up and down.

"What? Why?"

"Willow, you need something sexy. Not these baggy clothes." She adds while pinching at the fabric of my Pink Floyd shirt.

"But I didn't bring anything...sexy." I whisper shyly.

Olive abruptly grabs my hand and pulls me to her bedroom, letting me go to open up her large closet doors. I stare in amazement at the several racks of clothes, all neatly colour coordinated from black to white. Olive digs thoroughly through each garment, before throwing her options out on her bed.
By the time she's done, there were about a dozen club dresses splayed out for me to choose from.

"What catches your eye?" Olive asked, gesturing towards the bed.

My gaze scans each dress. From sequin gowns to velvet wrap dresses, I was overwhelmed with options. Until my eyes fixated on one dress in particular. A tight, black satin mini dress with thin diamanté straps that crossed over at the neck. I held it up against me as I smoothed out the silky fabric. A soft smile appeared on my lips as I held the dress up against my body.

"Good choice." Olive nodded as she cleared up the rest of the dresses. "It's gorgeous."

"I love it."

"You're lucky we're the same size." She laughs, placing the last hanger in her closet. "Oh, I'm guessing you'll need some shoes too?"

"Unless I wear my converse."

"Absolutely not." She hissed, pulling out a pair of strappy black heels from the bottom of her closet. The straps laced up around the leg and  were even adorned with silver rhinestones to match the dress.
"Here."

"Thanks." I nodded as I took the shoes from her. I glanced down at the outfit in my arms. It looked beautiful. I couldn't wait to see it all put together.

"Now go shower." Olive chuckled as she pointed her finger at her door.

I oblige, shuffling my feet towards my room to begin this long process of getting ready for my date with Richard. Even saying his name in my head made my heart race and my fingers tingle.