No Turning Back (Rewrite)

Chapter 5

I loathe ties. Whoever invented the cotton nooses had to be a miserable bastard. No one in their right mind could be comfortable with a thick strip of fabric wrapped around their neck like a leash. Especially when their mother tightens it way too tight.

I backed away from my mother's fiddling hands.

"Daniel," she scolded. "I wasn't finished!"

I pulled the knot away from my neck and loosened its' grip around my windpipe. "My tie is fine."

She moved on to adjusting my collar. "Why is this flapping around like this? Didn't you iron it five minutes ago?"

I sighed. "Mom, it looks fine."

She licked her thumb and dabbed it against my cheek. "You missed some shave cream here."

I grimaced. "Mom! Stop!" I took another step away from her. Scowling, I wiped the spot she'd touched.

She tried to fix something else, but I dodged her. "Jesus Christ, Daniel, I am just trying to help!"

"You did help," I assured her. "You chose this shirt and tie."

"Because you laid out a mix match pair!" She crossed her arms. "I wasn't about to let you walk out the house with two different patterns. Your date would've laugh in your face!"

I rolled my eyes. "I thought you said the colors were too summery."

She waved me off. "No matter the reason, it was an awful choice." She approached me and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in my shirt. "This...this is a good choice."

Yet again, I walked away from her pestering hands. I headed towards my mirror, anxious to see how I looked. My mother forced me to wear a royal blue dress shirt with a black tie and a pair of slacks. Earlier in the week, she nagged me into going to the barbershop; so, my fade looked fresh. Anyone on the street would agree that I looked sharp. Little did they know I was suffocating underneath all these clothes.

"Looking good, Daniel," my father's voice boomed through my ears. He stood in the open doorway of my bedroom door, still dressed in his three-piece suit.

I tore my gaze away from the mirror and met his rare grin. "Thanks."

"How long are you expecting to stay out tonight?"

"Not long. We're only going out to dinner."

"Why end the night there," my mother asked. "The two of you could catch a movie or see some of the sights downtown or take a long drive."

My father nudged me. "Or you could take her someplace quiet and work your charm."

I resisted the grimace tugging at my lips. I didn't want to spend more time with Mia. It was exhausting enough to prepare myself to play prince charming over dinner. If it wasn't for Conner's happy ass, I wouldn't have been going on this date in the first place. In hindsight, I should've never brought my problems up in the first place. I should've known Conner's solution would be to hook up with the first girl I could find.

"It's been a long week," I lied. "Good food and live jazz are all we need to have a good time."

My father raised an eyebrow. "Live jazz," he asked incredulously. "Are you serious?"

I shrugged. "Jazz is romantic."

"Yeah, if you're our age."

I rolled my eyes. I turned away from the doubt in my father's eyes. "She's excited to go to this restaurant, and tonight there's a live jazz band playing. I didn't make the schedule."