Date night with Nicole

Dan waited until Randy had dropped him off at his house before he looked at Nicole's message. He was stood in the hallway of his house.

Dan was really hoping that Nicole didn't think he had taken advantage of her that night.

It was only late afternoon. After shooting in the gym earlier, Dan did not have any further plans for his weekend.

Nicole took a few minutes to respond.

Dan realised he had just agreed to pick Nicole up without knowing if Christine would let him use her car this evening. Now he was no longer paying attention to his phone Dan could hear his Mom, watching something on television.

Dan stepped into the living room of their household. It was a spacious room with a bay window. In the middle was a large sofa opposite a large flat-screen television. Christine was lounging on the sofa and enjoying an iced tea. She was watching some fashion programme. His Mom was a senior designer for a prestigious fashion company in the city, so she liked to keep up with current trends. Christine was a petite blonde, with long toned legs. She was currently hiding her figure behind a pair of sweatpants and a loose-fitting white tank top. Dan tried not to think of his mom in such a way but he was aware that she was a very attractive woman.

“Hey Dan.” Christine called to him.

Dan took a seat on the sofa with her. Christine reached for the remote and muted the TV. “How's your Saturday so far?

“Its been fun. Just been hanging out with Emma & Randy.” He told her, leaving out what they were actually doing.

“I'm hoping Emma kept the two of you out of trouble.” Christine replied.

Dan suppressed a smile as he thought to himself. 'If anything, Emma was the main instigator'

“Yeah she made sure we behaved ourselves,” Dan answered her. “What have you been up to today?”

“I went to the gym earlier and after I was trying to pick out a colour I like for when I get the kitchen redone.” She answered him.

“You've been talking about that for ages. I know Britney was going to...” Dan stopped mid-sentence, realising he had fucked up. The subject of his sister was a sore point with his mom at the moment.

Britney was merely cold and distant with Dan at the moment, but with Christine she was outright hostile on occasion. Dan remembered how many times he had hidden away upstairs when the fights between the two of them had gotten really bad. A few times he attempted to intervene had just made things worse.

A look of anger crossed Christine's face. “Where is your sister?” She asked coldly.

“I'm sorry, Mom. I shouldn't have mentioned Brit. She doesn't talk to me either. I just wish she would open up and let me know what's going on. “ Dan replied honestly.

Her expression changed to a look of concern. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it out on you.” She replied.

Dan decided it was an idea to change the subject. “Can I borrow your car tonight?” He asked her.

“Of course, honey. I just want to know why.” She asked.

“I have a date.” He replied, smiling.

Christine beamed brightly at him. “You've finally got over Tessa. Who is the lucky girl?”

“Tessa was only a short-term thing. We parted on good terms, but we knew it wasn't going to last when she had to move back home. Nicole, she's a friend, a girl from school.”

“The two of you used to hang out here sometimes? She's that cute little brunette. I always thought she had a thing for you but never picked up on it.” Christine mentioned.

Dan smirked at his Mom's blunt comment. “Yeah, I really like her.”

“Where are you taking her?” Christine asked.

“Just dinner and a movie. It's pretty casual.” Dan answered her.

“Well, you will have to bring her around so I can meet her sometime. I promise to only embarrass you at least five times.” Christine joked.

“I'm hiding any family photo albums before I let you meet her,” Dan replied back.

The two of them shared a laugh. “Let me get you the keys,” Christine told him.

Christine got up from the sofa and left the room. Dan heard her rummaging through her bag in the hallway. She walked back into the room holding her car keys and her credit card. She handed both to Dan.

“Mom, this is kind of a bit much. I'm not hurting for cash.” Dan told her.

“Take it, treat her to a nice evening. I'm just happy to see you putting yourself back out there.” Christine replied.

Dan took the keys and the card with more reluctance. “ I need to go get ready and pick Nicole up,” Dan told her as he was leaving the room.

“And be safe”, Christine called to him from the living room.

Dan chose to ignore his mom's embarrassing comment on safe sex.

He headed up to his room and picked out some clothes for the evening. He went for a decent pair of smart pants and a casual black shirt. He was quite pleased that neither needed ironing. He jumped in the shower. He took quite some time just letting the water caress his skin. He washed himself thoroughly to get rid of the smell of sex from his earlier time with Addison. After getting out, he towelled himself off, put some product in his hair to slick it back and put on some of the decent cologne Christine had bought him last Christmas.

He left the house and messaged Nicole.

Dan got in to his mom's black Mercedes hatchback and drove around to Nicole's. She was only a few blocks away and Dan also realised fairly close to where Effie lived. He pulled up outside and went to knock on her door. He waited for a moment and could hear Nicole approaching the door. She opened it, and Dan took the moment to take a look at Nicole's outfit for the night. She was wearing a cream sweater dress with a gold belt. The dress accentuated the shape of Nicole's curves, it was loose but gave a hint of her cleavage beneath it. She had coupled the dress with a pair of black leather knee high boots. She done hair up in two smalls buns, which gave her a really cute look.

“Like what you see? She asked coyly and then gave Dan a brief hug.

“You look amazing, Nicole.” Dan complimented her.

She ran a finger down his shirt. “You look really good yourself.” She purred.

“Tonight is on my mom, apparently.” Dan advised.

“Your mom is really cool, Dan.” Nicole replied.

They got in the car, and Dan drove them over to where the local cinema was.

“You want to eat first or after the film?” He asked her.

“I could eat first,” Nicole told him.

“There's this really nice little Italian family-owned place nearby,” Dan told her.

“That sounds nice, kind of romantic,” Nicole responded.

Dan found somewhere to park and ever the gentleman opened the door for Nicole so she could get out. The restaurant was only a few minutes away. He was surprised at how quiet they were on a Saturday night as they were shown to a table really quickly. They decided to share a large pepperoni pizza and get some soda.

“So how has your day been so far?” He asked her.

“I went to the mall with Starla.” She answered.

Dan had not spoken with Starla since Sarah's party. He was uncertain if Nicole knew what had happened to the video from that night but decided it was wiser not to mention it over dinner.

“Did you get anything cool?” Dan asked.

“The new Elizabeth Lim book was out, which I've been waiting on for ages.”

“I've not heard of her,” Dan replied.

“She's this really cool Asian author I discovered a few months ago,” Nicole explained.

Dan was happy to let Nicole passionately explain to him about the works of Elizabeth Lim. They finished their meal, and he paid for the bill using his Mom's credit card. They got back in the car, and he drove them over to the cinema. The pair of them stood in the lobby for several minutes trying to decide on a film. After several minutes, they decided on Ice Cream Man. Dan bought tickets for the pair of them and got a large salted popcorn to share with Nicole. Tickets in hand, they found some seats near the back. Dan was surprised that the cinema was mostly empty. They chatted casually while waiting for the film to start. Nicole moved the armrest up, so she could snuggle up against Dan. A little way into the film he put his arm around her. Nicole took his other hand in hers and Dan found it cute that she squeezed his hand whenever a gore-filled moment happened in the film.

As the film ended, they sat there together in silence as the credits rolled.

“That was fun,” Dan told her.

“A little too much gore for me, but I'm glad you liked it,” Nicole replied.

“It's pretty late. We should get going.” Dan said.

They exited the cinema and got back in Dan's mom's car. He drove Nicole back to her house. The two of them discussed bits of the film.

“This was a really fun night, Dan. I don't want it to end just yet. My parents are out of town for a few days. Do you want to come inside?” Nicole asked him.