Sirens (Theo Raeken) [1]

Lights

It's six thirty the next day and I'm waiting with my mom at the dining table.

"I can't wait any longer," my mom says. She has her perfectly made-up face resting on her palm.

"Well, you're going to have to," I say. I look down at my dress. "Do you think my outfit's too much?"

My mom raises her eyebrows. "He goes to Devenford Prep," she says. "He's definitely not going to take you to McDonald's or something."

I'm wearing a pair of white coordinates that includes a tight white skirt that goes down to my calves and a cropped top with a high neck. My hair hangs loose and straight over my shoulders, the way I like it. I took extra steps to precision when doing my make up today. I gave myself a chunk of time to get ready but overestimated. I finished getting ready half an hour ago and I've been waiting with my mom at the dining table since.

My mom shoves a package into my hand and I look down in disgust. "Mom!" I gasp. "It's the first date!" The box of condoms is extra large. She's thought of everything tonight.

She folds my fingers over it. "Just in case," she says quietly but she has a wide smile stretching across her face.

The bell rings. "Oh my god," I screech as my mom goes to open the door. The condoms are still in my hand. "Oh my god," I repeat. I shove them into the nearest draw. Someone is going to go looking for a fork and get a whole lot more than they bargained for.

My mom is talking to Brett when I get there, yet stops abruptly when I approach. I have a bad feeling about what they were talking about. "Ah, there she is," my mom says. I tug on my bag strap nervously.

"Hey," I say. I grow shy all of a sudden. I haven't been on a date in ages with everything that's going on. "We better get going." I say goodbye to my mom and she shuts the door after giving some evocative hand gestures at me. Luckily, Brett was looking away by then.

His eyes light up. "You look...crazy." I look at him, confused. "I mean, like, crazy. Like I can't believe how good you look."

"You're looking rather dapper yourself, Mr. Talbot," I tell him and grin. He really has scrubbed up. If anything, I feel underdressed next to his structured black suit and tie.

He offers me his arm. God, I feel like a princess. He opens the car door for me. I scoff. "You don't need to do that," I say.

He looks up at me in confusion. "I don't know what kind of guys you've gone out with, but I'm going to treat you the way a lady should be treated."

I get butterflies in my stomach and as soon as he shuts the door to get in on the other side, I let the blood creep up to my cheeks.

"Where are we going?" I ask on the way.

He shakes his head and smiles. "It's a surprise."

He pulls over in front of a very fancy looking restaurant of which the name is French. I can translate the name perfectly. The House of Lights.

The inside is even more extravagantly expensive than the outside and I'm scared I might trip or something and have to pay thousands for repair. These heels really were a bad idea.

Brett tells the staff member behind the lectern that he's reserved a table for two. Surprisingly, we aren't ushered in the way of the tables, but rather taken down a different route. The man pushes a door open and in rushes the sweet night breeze.

We are the only people in the courtyard even though there are many vacant tables. Lights adorn every section. Curtains of lights drape over the hedge that acts as a wall and there are lanterns that hang down at random intervals.