The night has come. This is the night that I plan on charming Charlotte till she is basically falling head over heels for me… if everything goes according to plan.
As I get ready for the date, the nerves begin to resurface. I want to look exceptionally good for her, cologne and everything. I want her to be surprised by my fanciness. But then again I thought about the kind of person Charlotte is. Charlotte is the type that doesn’t need the fancy things, but still appreciates them. I thought about it for a minute, staring at my perfectly combed hair in the mirror. I then reached my hand up to my head and messed it up. I relaxed a little because I knew that she was comfortable with casual, and I wanted her to be comfortable with me. A couple finishing touches on my outfit and I was ready to head over to her house. But it was almost as if something was making me wait a few extra seconds. Remember when you would have a loose tooth and you knew it was suppose to come out but somehow there was that one strand that kept it attached? That’s almost how I feel right now, like I should wait to leave for a few more minutes, trying to loosen the tooth. But the truth is, I was trying to loosen myself. I feel so tense and I don’t know how to relax.
All of the things I’ve done to impress Charlotte, but now I had to do it all in one night? It was like a wave of pure anxiety and fear shot threw me. I never put so much effort into a girl before, or a relationship for that matter. I knew there was something about Charlotte from the moment I met her, and now I have finally been given the opportunity to sweep her off her feet. I know that tonight will be amazing; I just have to keep a positive mindset.
When I get downstairs I remind my parents that I will be out tonight and not to worry if I get home late. Then I stroll over to the kitchen and swipe the car keys off the cold, smooth granite countertops. As I walk to the car, the only thing my mind was focusing on was walking straight. “Left foot first, then right, now left, then right…” If I was worried about walking, I sure hope Charlotte and I can get to the restaurant in one piece. But I knew it was just nerves, and I also knew that as soon as I could see her beautiful face and give her a welcoming hug all of my doubts would fade away.
Until that moment of relief I was to be stuck in my car thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong. To get my mind off of it, I slide in one of my Dad’s old CD’s that I had found in the glove compartment. Soon enough I am singing out loud to Pink Houses by John Mellencamp. Now I was feeling good, and it was only the beginning of the night, and I knew it could only get better.
It was almost perfect timing because by the time I arrived to Charlotte’s to pick her up, the song was nearly to its end. But as I pull up her freshly paved circle driveway and vastly landscaped house I noticed something peculiar. So I wait a minute before going up to the door, and when I do reach it I hear a deep voice talking in a sharp tone. I can’t quite make out what the voice was saying, but it sounded serious. Before I became too curious I forced myself to knock on the tall wood door. Quickly I hear the voice disappear and all I can see is Charlotte’s stunning silhouette in the moonlight. Behind her I see a man who I assume to be her father, I give him a brief handshake and smile. I began to wonder if that was the deep voice I heard, but then I was snapped back to reality.
I had the most gorgeous, intelligent, and _____ person I knew by my side. I can feel my neck start to get hot and my face turn red just by looking at her. I guide her to the car, opening the passenger’s side door open. Once we are both in the car, I look at her and she glances back at me. She smiles. Such a lovely smile, but I saw a hint of curiosity in her smile, and for the first time I felt like I was in control. If she was curious about how the night was going to turn out, then I was about to give her an unforgettable night full of happiness, laughter, and romance.
“You can turn the radio on, pick whatever station you like.” I say, but then I noticed that she must not have heard me, because she pressed “Eject” and was looking at my John Mellencamp CD. After studying the CD, she looks up at me, “You listen to John Mellencamp?” At first I wasn’t paying much attention to her because I had to focus on the road, but then I caught a red light. “Uh, yeah I guess. This is my Dad’s car and I found that in the glove compartment, I figured I’d listen to it on the ride over.”
“No way, that’s too funny, my Dad listens to him too, what’s your favorite song?” She asks as if I listen to it often, but I tell her that I liked Pink Houses. I watched as her face lit up and her grin got wider, “Mine, too.” Then I told her to slide the disk back in and turn it up.
“Ohh but aint’ that America, for you and me, ain’t that America, something to see baby!” We sing along to the music blasting out of the speakers, and all I can think about is how perfect this moment is. We continue singing, I look over to her, she has her right hand out the window and is wearing the cutest smile its almost indescribable. I get stopped at another red light just as the song is ending. And after it ends, Charlotte starts laughing hysterically. “Hey, what’s so funny?” I ask, kind of chuckling myself. “Levi,” she says, “You’re different than I thought you were gonna be.” She pauses for a moment, “In a good way though,” As she keeps talking I hear her talk about how I am so relatable in comparison to other friends she’s had, and how she’s never had so much fun just singing with someone. It put a smile on my face to see that she was happy. That’s all that mattered to me. We put on more old music that I found in the car, and talk and laugh about silly moments in biology or while we were hanging out.
While we continued to talk, I almost forgot that we were still going to dinner. But I purposely took the back roads so that I could have more time with her. Because I figured that the journey was more important than the destination. That not only seemed true to our date tonight, but to our relationship in general. I would much rather spend times like this with Charlotte as just friends, then finally date and not be as happy. It’s all about how we get there, and if we are even meant to take that next step of being boyfriend/girlfriend. Whatever it was, I was about to let fate take the wheel.

But our car ride to the restaurant wasn’t over yet, we had about five more miles till we reach the parking lot. After she’s done singing and playing all different kinds of songs, I look deep into her sparkling eyes that reflected the moonlight. She looks back, smiles, and looks away again. I have my left hand on the steering wheel, but then I reach over with my right to grab her hand. We spent the next few minutes like this till we reached the restaurant, and as we park, she unbuckles her seat belt and looks me dead in the eyes, our hands still locked together. “Levi, can we just stay here for a sec?”