One cute couple.

I stood at the front door of Rebecca’s house, tugging at the cuffs of my jacket and wondering whether I looked as ridiculous as I felt.

The black suit was a little tighter than I would have chosen for myself, but I had to admit Heather knew what she was doing. The white shirt, skinny black tie, and black Converse gave me something of a punk-rock look. At least, that was what my sister had promised. Whether Kat would agree remained to be seen. I glanced down at the small flower in my hand. Heather had insisted I get a corsage, and I had no idea whether Katherine would appreciate the gesture or think I was trying too hard.

I rang the doorbell. A moment later, Rebecca opened the door. “Finally!” she exclaimed. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten.”

“Nice to see you too,” I replied, grinning.

Rebecca looked me up and down. For a moment, her expression was difficult to read. “Wow. You clean up pretty well.”

“Yeah? My stylist deserves all the credit.”

“Your stylist?”

“Heather. She dragged me around the mall, spent my money, and bullied me into buying this.”

Rebecca laughed, stepping aside to let me in. “Well, tell her she did a good job. Kat’s going to love it.”

I followed Rebecca into the house. Music was playing from somewhere in the living room, and I could hear voices coming from the kitchen. The place already had the lively atmosphere of a party that had started before I arrived. Then I spotted Katherine. She was standing near the kitchen counter with Carla, dressed in a gothic-y black faux-leather dress complete with a studded leather choker and cuff. When she saw me, she smiled enthusiastically.

“Hey,” I said, walking over to her. “Sorry I'm late.”

“You’re not late,” Kat replied. “The dance doesn’t start for another couple of hours.”

“Still. I nearly forgot the whole thing.”

Her smile faded slightly. “Yeah. I heard. Way to get on my bad side.”

I winced. “Look, about that. I’m sorry. I know I said I’d take you, and I should have made more of an effort to remember. I’m a ‘useless boy,’ as my sister said.”

Kat laughed at my sister’s insult. “Well, it seems to have worked out for the best. I love what you’re wearing. We seem to be matching perfectly. Everyone will think we planned this from the start.”

Through some giant fluke of luck, Heather had outfitted me in the perfect clothes to match Kat stylistically. We looked like a hot punk-rock couple who could have been the centre of a band’s music video.

Kat studied me for a moment longer before glancing at the flower in my hand. “Is that for me?”

“Unless Carla’s secretly your date.”

Carla snorted. “Please. I have standards.”

Katherine laughed, and some of the tension between us eased.

I held out the corsage. “I wasn’t sure what colour your dress was, so I went with something that seemed pretty safe.”

She accepted it, looking genuinely pleased. “Thank you. That’s actually really sweet.”

I felt a small surge of relief. Maybe the evening wasn’t going to be a complete disaster after all. “Do you want me to help you put it on?” I asked.

Katherine held out her right wrist, and I carefully fastened the flower in place. I was suddenly very aware of how close we were standing. When I’d finished, she looked down at it, then back up at me. “Not bad,” she said. “You might be able to pull this date thing off.”

“High praise.”

“Don’t let it go to your head. There are still many hours left to disappoint me.”

Before I could respond, Rebecca appeared beside me with three small glasses.

“Right! Pre-drinks. Everyone needs one.” She handed a glass to Katherine, then Carla, before turning to me. “And you. You’re not getting out of it.”

I took the glass, glancing at its contents. “What is it?”

“Something that tastes better than it looks.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Rebecca grinned and raised her own glass. “To tonight!”

“To tonight,” Carla echoed.

Kat lifted hers, smiling at me. I clinked my glass against theirs and took a sip. It was sweeter than I expected, with a sharp alcoholic kick that caught me by surprise.

“Not bad,” I admitted.

“Told you,” Rebecca said.

As the four of us stood together, the conversation turned to dresses, music, and who was likely to embarrass themselves on the dance floor. I found myself relaxing, enjoying the easy familiarity of being with the girls. Still, I couldn’t help noticing how often Rebecca looked at me. Whenever our eyes met, she seemed to find some reason to smile or turn away. I told myself it meant nothing. After all, I was here for Katherine. And tonight, I was going to make sure she had a good time.

The conversation drifted towards the dance itself, with Carla insisting that the DJ would inevitably play something embarrassing and Rebecca arguing that she would be the first one on the dance floor regardless. I was just beginning to relax when the doorbell rang again.

“Finally!” Rebecca called, checking her phone. “I was starting to think the rest of you had forgotten what time it was.” She disappeared down the hallway to answer it, leaving Kat, Carla and me in the kitchen.

A moment later, I heard Michael’s voice. “Jesus, Rebecca! You look like you’re about to charge us admission.”

“That’s because I should,” Rebecca replied. “You’re late.”

“We’re not late. The dance doesn’t start for another hour.”

“Pre-drinks started ages ago.”

“That sounds like a you problem.”

Lyndsay’s laughter followed them into the house. “Please don’t encourage him,” he said. “He’s been like this all afternoon.”

Michael appeared in the kitchen first, dressed in a dark suit that looked as though he’d borrowed it from someone a couple of sizes bigger. His tie was already loose, and his hair had been styled into something that probably looked better in the mirror than it did now. Lyndsay followed, looking considerably more put together in a fitted jacket and dark trousers.

“Look at you!” Michael said when he spotted me. “Who the hell are you, and what have you done with our friend?”

“Very funny.”

“No, seriously. You look like you’re about to front a band.”

“That’s the look,” Kat said, slipping her arm through mine. “We’re coordinating.”

Michael looked between us, then grinned. “Oh, I see. Matching outfits. Corsage. The whole deal.”

“Don’t start,” I warned him.

“I haven’t said anything!”

“You’re thinking it.”

“I’m thinking a lot of things.”

Lyndsay shook his head and offered Kat a polite smile. “You look great, by the way.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “At least someone here has manners.”

“Hey!” Michael protested.

“You called Rebecca an admission-charging tyrant five seconds ago,” Lyndsay reminded him.

“And I stand by it.”

Rebecca returned with a fresh drink in her hand, looking pleased that everyone had finally arrived. She glanced around the kitchen, taking in the group. “Right. Is everyone here now?”

“Unless you’ve invited someone else,” Carla said.

“Good. Then we should probably get moving. We don’t want to miss the start.”

I checked my phone. We still had time, but not enough to keep standing around all night.

Kat gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “Ready, date?”

I looked down at her, smiling. “Ready.”