Sam and Toby

Date Night: Getting Ready

It’s been a long few days, Sam thought as he opened his drawer. But it’s Friday night – date night. He smiled, even though his stomach was in knots. This was their first official date. Official, unofficial date that is. Official in that, well, it was a date. A real date. Unofficial in that only they knew it was a date. He had to be careful to not choose a ‘date look’ for tonight, but it had to be nice enough for it to be special. So, he thought, frowning: a non-date, date look. 

He held the shirt up to him in the mirror. Nah, he thought. He laid it on the back of his desk chair, pulling out another shirt. Nope. Maybe a polo? He shifted through his closet until he found a dark bule polo. He pulled it out and slide it over his head. Ah, much better, he thought. It made his blue eyes pop. Now, shorts. Back to the dresser.

Toby wasn’t having the same problem. He drew on his past experience with Lisa. He took out a shirt and short combo he’d used when going out with Lisa: a white tee shirt, tan shorts and boat shoes. Boat shoes, he wondered? Too much? Yeah. Maybe sneakers? He slid the pair on. This isn’t going to work either, he thought. He dug through his closet and found a pair of beach shoes. He slid these on. Perfect!

He went into the bathroom, grabbed a towel and turned on the shower. His heart was beating faster than normal, as he was anxious. How will this go, he wondered? What will it be like? Will we hold hands? The thought terrified him at first. Maybe not yet – we’ll just be ‘buds’, he told himself. He stepped into the shower. 

He ran his hands over his face, and, in soaping it up, felt some stubble. Leaning out, he grabbed his razor. He slid the blades down his face slowly, going with the grain. Down one side, round the chin, then over to the other side, down the chin. But most of the hair was under his jawline. Tiling his head back, he ran the razor across his brown skin until it was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. He rose his hand to his lip and hesitated. He looked at the mirror hanging in the shower and wiped off the steam. He scrutinized his hairy upper lip. He thought he looked like a porn star, but not in a good way. Time to go, friend, he said out loud. And with a few strokes, the upper lip hair was removed. 

“Damn it!” he said, as soap ran into his eyes, causing them to burn. He stuck his head directly under the water.

Sam stood in front of the mirror, making sure everything was perfect. His hair, though short, was styled perfectly. His face, cleanly shaven and smooth. He popped up his color. “Oh god” he said, quickly returning his collar to normal. “I looked like a douche bag!” Using his hands, he pressed his shirt down against his body, noticing a few hairs sticking up through the top button of his polo. He smiled, sensing he’s becoming more of a man almost daily. He wondered if Toby would notice it. Probably not. Hell, he just noticed it himself! 

He turned, catching his profile, making sure everything’s perfect, wondering where they’d be going. Toby said it was a surprise. Sam loved surprises! Being new to the ‘dating scene’, he’s not been many cool places. That was Toby’s forte. His stomach knotted a bit as the thought of Toby taking him to the same place he took Lisa. He shook it off, wanting nothing to spoil the evening. He spritzed Toby’s favorite cologne on his chest and wrist, hoping Toby would notice, and walked towards the front door.

“See you later” he said to his mom.

“Where are you going, all dressed up?”

“Toby and I are going out for a bit. We won’t be too late” he replied as he opened the door.

“Wait a minute, mister man!” his mom said. He turned, closing the door.

“What?” he replied in that impatient, exasperated teenage tone.

“Turn around” she said. He turned, his back facing her. She reached up and fixed his collar. “There. Much better. Where are you guys going?”

“Not sure.”

“You know the rule – back before 10PM.”

“I know I know” he said, annoyed. “That’s kinda’ early. I’m not a kid anymore, mom.”

“But you’re not an adult, either. Even if you’re more than a foot taller than me. You’re still my baby. And I make the rules.”

 “Eventually, I’m going to need to stay out later than ten.”

“When you start dating, we’ll talk about that. But now…” she smoothed his shirt. “Now, it’s ten. OK?”

He sighed. This is a date, he thought. He wanted to tell her, not for moral or emotional support, but to stay out later. Teenage thinking at its finest!

“OK. We’ll talk about it then. Love ya!” He kissed her on the cheek, turned, and walked out the door.

Toby dropped eye drops in his eyes, trying to rid the red-eye he gotfrom the soap. Tears ran down his face as he blinked, trying to clear his vision. He swiped the mirror, removing the steam. Hmm… he thought, running his hands over his chest. I look good!

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he stepped out and walked to the bedroom. Like always, Taylor is there, playing on his phone.

“Hey, I need to change. Get out!” he commanded.

Taylor rolled off his bed, irritated. “You and Lisa going to…” he made kissing noises.

“No. If you must know, we broke up. So tonight, I’m going to hang with Sam.”

“Oh, you and Sam gonna’…” he made kissing noises again.

“Shut up, you little annoying shit!” Toby belched.

Taylor’s head popped back. Toby’s never talked to him like thatbefore.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” he asked.

“Just… get out so I can change!”

“Fine!” Taylor grabbed the door, pulling it shut while making kissing noises. Toby sighed, his eyes rolling as he tried to calm down. Why did the thought of someone saying he and Sam kissing bothered him so much, he wondered? Then he realized he left his clothes in the bathroom. “Shit” he said as he went to retrieve them. He’s been seriously absent minded as of late. He stopped when he caught himself in the reflection of the bathroom mirror. Am I doing the right thing, he thought?