Time And I

Thirty

"Is this a date?" Jeanie called from the living room as I exited the bathroom.

"No," I replied, before locking myself in my room.

All week she'd been asking if the concert was going to be my first date with Devon. It wasn't. The more she asked, the more I wondered if it was a date, and I knew that had to be her plan all along. The more I associated the concert and Devon with the word 'date,' the more I'd believe it actually was.

I walked into the living room to find Jeanie cuddled into Rick's side. He petted his fingers through her hair as he watched TV, but when I walked in, they both cooed. "And you say you're not going on a date," he teased.

"I'm not."

"But you're dressed up," she defended.

I wore black jeans with thin white stripes and tucked it into a black t-shirt with a belt. Plain black boots and a plain black coat. It was a normal outfit. It may have been dressier for two friends going out, but my clothes were either really nice or way too casual. Since we were going to an outdoor concert, it was better to dress simple.

"This is what I wear all the time," I argued.

"Yeah, but you took the time to put something together. You're wearing more makeup than just your usual purple lipstick. And you even curled your hair a bit. You're trying to look good," she smirked. "Even if you don't think it's a date, you want it to be."

"It doesn't matter what I want it to be. It is what it is. I'm not going on a date, I'm seeing a Billy Joel tribute artist."

"Billy Joel?" Rick said. "Hasn't he written a bunch of love songs?"

"Yeah. Just The Way You Are. This Night. If I Only Had The Words To Tell You," Jeanie listed.

"We don't need to go over all of his songs."

"You're My Home," Rick added.

"An Innocent Man. Honesty."

"Honesty is not a love song," I stated.

"It can be," they said.

Rolling my eyes, I glanced out the window as I heard a car drive by. I thought it was slowing down, but it was some neighbor.

"And now you're waiting for him to pick you up. Honey," Jeanie exclaimed, "admit it! You want it to be a date, and you know it."

I sighed. "I do."

"Aww."

"Shut up," I groaned. "It doesn't matter. I meant what I said. I won't have time to date him. I'd rather not start something I can't finish. I don't know how hectic everything is now going to be. I want to be in a relationship I know I can work on."

"You keep saying that, and the more you're going to believe it. I'm telling you, if you want to make time for him, you will," Jeanie preached. "I know you're scared to be in a relationship, but stop making excuses. That's how you miss being with someone who really cares about you and actually wants to be with you."

Devon knocked on the front door, and Jeanie jumped up from the couch to answer. She held the door open and ushered him inside. "Hi, Devon. I'm Jeanie. It's so nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," he said with a polite smile. "I'm surprised you two are sisters. You don't look that alike."

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Jeanie said. "It helps since no one can know we're related until she's graduated high school."

"Why?"

"Safety reasons. No one knows where I'm located, and it keeps me safe. And it will keep her safe as well from anyone sending us death threats."