The Date

Part One

Hallie was so excited.

It was Valentine’s Day. And, for the first time ever, she had a boyfriend in February. Her previous years were spent doing what most single girls were doing on Valentine’s Day — chilling at home alone, or hanging out with other single girls and bitching about how overrated February 14th was.

But not this year.

Suddenly, it was as if Valentine’s Day was a monumental holiday. Suddenly, she was one of those girls that got wrapped up in the possibilities of a day of love on the horizon, rather than being one of those that complained about its existence.

She and her boyfriend, Jake, had met on New Year’s Eve. They clicked right away, and ended up sharing a midnight kiss just three hours after meeting each other at the party. It was basically love at first sight, or as much as ‘love’ could mean to two college first-years. And, because they went to different schools, there was always that excitement of ‘When do I get to see him next?’

For the first time in her life, Hallie wanted to take things slow. 

Throughout most of her high school and early college career, she had mostly used boys as a way to take the edge off. Making out with a random guy in a stairwell was always a confidence booster in the middle of the day, as was walking a boy upstairs during a party. It wasn’t that Hallie was a slut. At least, she didn’t consider herself one. Hallie didn’t do it ALL the time, and it’s not like she actively avoided labels with her casual promiscuity. But teenage boys were immature, and she never had enough of a connection with one to seek anything more than a brief physical relationship.

Until Jake. 

He was mature, but not too serious. Attractive, but without looking like he tried too hard to be so. Fun and lighthearted, but still down to earth. All kinds of checkboxes on a list Hallie didn’t even know she had until she met him.

“Think Jakey’s going to get lucky tonight?” Tara asked.

Hallie scoffed. “Don’t call him that!” Jake was her mature boyfriend. He didn’t need some childish nickname. “His name is Jake.”

“You didn’t answer the question!” 

“Well . . . his roommate is out of town. And it’s Valentine’s Day. So the answer . . .” Hallie glanced over her shoulder from the hunt through her expansive dorm room closet, “. . .is maybe.” Then she gave the girl I smirk and a wink before turning her attention back to which dress would stun Jake the most.

The answer, of course, was yes. 

Hallie was no virgin. She had a habit of sleeping with guys at a number of parties; some of whom she knew, some of whom she had just met. All of it in the name of experience. The guys themselves didn’t really mean anything to her, but Hallie refused to go through life being a totally clueless girl. The only way to be experienced was to practice, and the only way to practice was to be with multiple guys. Thankfully, she was a girl. Getting sex was a lot easier for her than it was for a lot of guys. Being cute and having boobs did wonders.

However, she didn’t want her mildly promiscuous side to affect how Jake saw her. Since Hallie never had a boyfriend, and was too proud to ask any of her girlfriends how slow each of them went with their respective partners, she overcompensated a bit too much. She and Jake had been dating for nearly a month and a half, yet she had only let him get to second base so far. It didn’t help that they lived on different sides of the city and both had roommates. Well, Hallie had two roommates, which made it all the more impossible to get the place to herself. Car sex was the worst, and outdoor sex was WAY too much of a risk at nineteen years old. Aside from the risk of being tried as an adult for public indecency if they were caught, Hallie wouldn’t dare do something so indecent around such a mature boy anyway.

“Earth to Hallie . . .” Tara said, breaking the girl out of her wandering thoughts. “Is. Jakey. Getting. Lucky?”

“His. Name. Is. Jake.” Hallie corrected her friend with a playful echo of her punctuated words. She turned back around with a black dress in one hand and a dark red one in the other. “What do you think?”

“You’ll look like a waitress in the black one, trust me. Go with the red.”

“This is why I keep you around!”

Thanks to Tara, Hallie had the perfect night planned. Her friend was one of the assistant managers at a fancy restaurant nearby, and had suggested the venue when Hallie and a few other girls were gossiping about Valentine’s Day plans. Because of her position at the restaurant, Tara could do a lot. Reserve one of the best tables, give them a great time slot, and even offer a small discount. Tara would basically be in charge of the place, since her boss and the other assistant manager had taken the night off for their own Valentine’s plans. Tara was single, so she didn’t mind, especially since anyone taking a shift on a holiday made extra. 

The two girls spent a little more time perusing Hallie’s room for accessories, shoes, and any other last touches that would make Jake’s jaw drop. Hallie had worn plenty of cute outfits around her newfound boyfriend, but tonight was the first night she was truly dressing up for him.

“Thanks again, Tara! I totally owe you,” Hallie said. Tara’s shift was starting soon, so she had to get going. Plus Hallie still had to shower, do an hour long beauty routine, and then put together the full outfit they had decided on. 

“Don’t mention it,” Tara replied. “I’ll see you tonight . . .” She left Hallie alone in her room and headed for the stairs. The dorm building was plenty familiar, and Tara had been over enough times that Hallie didn’t need to walk her out. “. . . bitch.” The last word was muttered under her breath once she was well out of earshot. 

Hallie didn’t know it yet, but she was about to have the worst night of her life.