"A date? You know I don't date," I hiss, while she continues to grin.
"Hey, you can't judge every man because of one. This guy is nice, a friend of Drake’s." She makes that annoying face she knows I haven’t ever been able to say no to since we were eight. I will never forget when I first met Alex. My mum had taken me to get an ice cream from the local ice cream van. Alex had just gotten hers in front of me, and I decided to get the same because her ice cream looked good. When the truck left, Alex tripped and dropped hers. My mum and I rushed over as she cried her eyes out over her ice cream. I offered to share mine and then, when I saw her at school the next day, we were inseparable.
"Fine, but if this doesn't go well I'm blaming you," I laugh.
"Winter Masters, is there something wrong?" My professor asks, causing the whole class to look at me. I can hear Alex's quiet snort as I answer.
"No, sir. We were just discussing the work," I say with red cheeks. The professor raises his bushy eyebrows at me. I know he doesn’t believe me. Damn, I wouldn’t believe me, either. I’m a terrible liar.
"Well, discuss it more quietly next time, I'm sure the whole class doesn't want to know about your dating life,” he replies. I hold in the urge to hide under the table at his blunt reply. A guy about my age puts his hand up at the front, drawing the whole room’s attention to him. The boy has messy, brown hair that’s covered up with a backwards cap. He is quite muscular under his top and shorts from what I can see. I’ve heard a few comments about how attractive he is, which he definitely is, but I can’t remember his name.
"I would like to know, sir," he says loudly before winking at me over his shoulder. I know I’m redder than a tomato now, and one glance at Alex shows how funny she thinks this is. I’m leaving her to sleep through the class next time.
"That's enough, Harris. All of you get back to work. I am running tests on this next week.” He picks up a large pile of papers, most likely the tests he made us do last week, and hasn’t bothered to mark yet. I watch as he goes to his desk and pulls out his phone. I’m sure he is playing some game by the way he is typing, but he definitely isn’t marking the tests.
“Also, while I remember, you need to find work experience in the next week or you'll be helping me sort out the university lost and found…for four weeks." I swear the old professor even smirked but I didn’t see him do it. I bet they would be getting him more coffees than they would be doing anything else.
"Have you heard back from the local vets yet?" Alex asks, opening her book as everyone else starts reading quietly.
"Yes, they called yesterday, and I'm all sorted." I grin, remembering jumping up and down in happiness after the call. I had applied months ago, and no one from our course was accepted, but I held out hope as I hadn't been rejected. My back-up was to work at a local farm, with half our class. Studying to become a vet is hard work, and there isn't much work experience available. This is an English class, and we have to pass it to stay at the university. That’s why Alex, who is a music student, is taking this class with me.
"That's great," she smiles widely, making a few guys next to us turn to look at her. Alex is that very pretty girl you always wanted to be. She is tall with boobs and hips that are perfect no matter what she eats. I look at a McDonald’s meal, and my ass gets bigger. I’ve been told I'm pretty, but I like my food too much. So I have curves, unlike my skinny-ass best friend. My best qualities are my shiny, brown hair and blue eyes, which I have to admit, suit my golden complexion. We don't say any more and get on with our work. At the end of class, I hand in my permission forms for the work experience, before finding Alex with her boyfriend, Drake, outside class.
"Hey, do you still need a lift?" I ask when I get close to them.
"Nope, thanks, honey. I'm going to Drake’s, but I will see you tomorrow to get ready for the party." She winks, leaning against Drake. Drake is a good-looking guy, but is kind of strange-looking, and I can’t put my finger on why. Honestly, he looks like a typical, scary-ass man all the time. I don’t think he has a none serious expression. He has dark, nearly black eyes and black hair that’s cut in a buzz cut, but he makes it work. It’s the eyes that give him the strangeness, they are too dark, darker than I have ever seen anyone’s. I always thought that he must spend a lot of time in a gym or something because he is all muscles, wearing expensive clothes. Alex has told me he is well off, but I knew that anyway from the car he drives and the designer clothes he wears. It's not just the looks and money, it's more how much older he acts, when he must be around twenty, like us. Alex doesn't answer many questions about him, but they have dated a while, so I'm guessing she really likes him.
"My friend is looking forward to your date," Drake says coldly in a slight Russian accent. Alex says he not actually from there, but his parents were, apparently.
"Me, too," I lie and frown at Alex's chuckle.
"I love you, Win, never change," she says to me, as she gives me a hug before we wave goodbye. Drake doesn't say anything else but that's normal.
I click my old, red Rover open before sliding in. My mum bought it for me as a going away present, and I love the old car, though maybe not the unusual stain on the driver seat I can’t seem to get rid of; I think it’s red pen. Well, I’m hoping it is anyway. We never had a lot of money growing up as it was just me and mum. As I drive home, I try to think about ways to get out of this date, but eventually come to the conclusion that it couldn't go that badly. Right?
-
You’re joking, right? I can't wear this." I gesture to the tight, red dress I'm wearing. My hair is up in a messy bun with a few wavy strands around my face. My makeup is perfectly done, thanks to Alex, but I have to admit I don’t look anything like myself.
"You look hot, Win," she says, pretending to cool herself down by waving her hand at her face. I look back to the mirror and glance down at the dress. It stops around mid-thigh and has a slit down the middle at the front, stopping just before my underwear, and making it impossible to wear a bra. Not that I'm worried, I’m not big chested enough to really have an issue.
"He is going to think I'm easy if I’m wearing this," I say, sighing and turning around with my arms around my waist.
"No, he is going to think he is a lucky fucker," she laughs before straightening her own dress. Alex is wearing her little, black dress, which is a little too little but looks nice.
"Alright. But again, I'm blaming you if anything goes wrong." I laugh to myself, knowing this could only go wrong. I shut the door to my bedroom before leaving our apartment. Alex and I have a two-bedroom apartment near the university, which we rent together. It's cheap enough, and the area isn't too bad, but we still make sure we lock up.
"So, what's my date’s name?" I ask as we wait outside for Drake to turn up. We are lucky the weather has been so good recently. Welsh weather is known for its constant rain, and our town is right in the middle of the mountains. Calroh is a small town but has a great university, and that’s why we chose it, also the cheap apartments to rent helped. It’s right in the middle of two large mountains and surrounded by a large forest. There’s only one road out of town, but the town is well-stocked enough to look after itself with many large superstores.
"Wyatt. I haven't met him, but Drake speaks highly of him," she winks at me.
I think of his name for a second trying to imagine the guy. "So, is it getting serious between you and Drake?" I ask gently, knowing Alex doesn't like to speak about relationships. Not her own at least.