3. Some Sort of Date

It was nearly six p.m. and I still haven't decided what to wear. "Shit, that's it I'm not going." I grabbed my PJs on the floor and settled in nicely on the couch. "Forget tonight. I'm not, not, not, not going." I repeated, cussing a few times in the process.

At six p.m. sharp-god knows Tiff is never late-the two lovebirds came spritzing inside the apartment. "Gail?" Peter called from the door.

"Just go inside, Pete, it's my apartment too." From the distance, I hear Tiff say.

"Not for long..." Peter's voice grew louder. Their steps grew nearer, too.

When Tiff finally laid eyes on me as I was sprawled about on the couch in my PJs, she couldn't help but cuss again. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I can't do it." I simply say, avoiding eye contact.

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Tiff said.

"It means exactly what it means. I can't do it. I'm not ready, and I admit it." I heaved out a breath. Jo Stafford's song No Other Love spun in my head ever since we left the coffee house. It was Pam and I's song, that's why it affected me so much.

Peter looked at his watch and then gave Tiffany a nudge towards me. Tiff sat beside me on the couch, "Hey, you don't have to worry. There's no pressure at all. Pete and I would be there, and it's not like this is a date, right? It's just four people going out to watch a movie."

I finally had the courage to look at Tiff, then to Pete. Two best friends I could ever hope for, "Well, if you put it that way, it's not really so bad."

-

So, I was finally dressed and sitting inside Tiff's car. Before I left, I drank two shots of vodka, you know, liquid courage. Tiffany took notice but didn't bother to call me on it, "At least you won't reek for the rest of the night, right?" She said.

"How do you know where Cameron lives?" I asked Peter since he was driving.

"I asked Simon, why? Please tell me you have no plan to stalk this woman, Gail." He said jokingly.

"I can't promise anything."

"Behave tonight, all right, Gail?" Tiff asked politely and I hummed a simple agreement.

We passed by Cream and Sugar on the way to Tiff's house. So her shift is over by six, huh. I thought to myself. Not long after, Cameron joined us inside the car.

Unlike her usual pulled up hair and coffee house uniform, Cameron wore her wavy blonde hair down and had on a blue tight pants, a strap sando tucked in, and a black coat.

"Hello," she said to all three of us when she sat down, I adjusted my glasses and said the greeting back. "It's a little chilly tonight."

"You said it." Peter said. "So, you know Tiffany, my fiancé." Cameron nodded and greeted Tiff, then Peter turned to me. "This is Gail, our best friend."

"Nice to meet you, finally," I blurt out suddenly, although it did come out casually. "It's refreshing to see you outside Cream and Sugar."

"Oh yeah, I rarely get to go out since I'm always tired from work." She smiled at me, she looked at me and acknowledged my presence, it felt good. "Thank you guys for asking me out tonight."

"No problem." Peter said as he drove to the cinema.

I didn't want to let the vibe die down so I continued the conversation, "So what movie are we going to watch tonight?"

"Spectre," Tiff says then turns to us from the passenger seat, "Peter loves Daniel Craig."

"Can't deny it." He says with a nod.

Tiffany proceeded to tease Peter and I laughed along. Cameron sat to my right and I dare not glance over to her. Although, from a safe distance I can smell her perfume.

When the silence have loomed for a bit, I took it as a chance to make small talk. "So, Cameron, what do you like to do when you're not at the coffee house?"

The blonde faced me, her pink lips in full view, "Not much really. I catch up on some reading, go out to watch movies, like now." Cameron says and adds a smile. "But on Sundays, when I have my day off, I go to dance class."

"Oh wow," I blurt out my thought.

Peter saves my comment with a question, "So you're a dancer, huh?" In which Cameron nods and says 'yeah' to.

"What kind of dance do you do?" I ask, regaining my composure. I never would have thought her to be a dancer.

"I do mostly all of it. I've got to say I like ballroom, you know, waltz and tango, etc. But I do have a soft spot for hip-hop and funk." She fixed her hair once and I caught a whiff of her perfume again.

"Wow," I say and Cameron tries to wave my fascination off, "seriously I've never met someone who does what you do. I mean, I obviously hang out with losers."

Peter and Tiffany said hey in chorus. I made Cameron chuckle which terrifically made me going. "If you want I can show you some time."

From my peripheral vision, I see Pete and Tiff glance to each other. I couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, would that be alright? I mean, I'm no dancer."

"Of course it would be." She says with a pretty grin.

The four of us continued to talk and I learned a few stuff about Cameron. It was terrific. My bones were tingling so much and it really seemed like Cameron likes our bunch. She likes Pete, for sure, and Tiff is super easy to get along with.

I'm definitely getting the vibe that she likes me too. As a person, I mean. Not some lover. My fantasies has went there before, but now that I knew her, it's quite a hard read. I mean, I don't wish to be her lover, just a friend is fine, as long a-

"Alright, we're here." Pete says, carefully parking the blue corolla.

I really need to get out of my head more. Ever since Pam left me, it seemed as if my thoughts have been doubled than normal.

The four of us made our way to the movie house. Tiff and Pete's hands were interlocked, both were walking a step ahead of Cameron and I.

I heaved out a breath as I felt the chill of the night, unfortunately for me, I didn't bring a coat. "Hey, you're right it is chilly." My comment was directed to Cameron, her hands were inside her coat pockets.

"It is," she turns to me and smiles, "wanna share my coat?"

"Oh, no thanks. I appreciate the gesture though." Was my face growing red because of the chill or because of this woman beside me?

When we were inside, Cameron excused herself to go to the ladies' room, and Pete went on to buy the movie tickets. Tiff and I were left alone and I had to speak my mind.

"Tiff, I gotta know if she's straight or not, I like her too much. I just have to know." I started to think about if Cameron didn't swing that way, man, I would be so crushed.

"Alright," Tiffany was thinking deeply, "why not be straightforward and just ask her?"

"What? Are you nuts?" I say, shaking my head."

"Come on, it's worth a try. Just ask her." Tiff says, obviously feeling like she have had too much of Gail today. I could vibe it off her.

"Oh yeah, sure, Tiff. I'll just ask her then-I'll follow your advice because the last time I asked someone of their sexuality they were 'totally' cool with it." I paced around, remembering Lisa from work. "Yeah, Tiff, why don't I just ask her like how I asked Lisa? You know Lisa, right? Lisa, from work?"

"Gail, you don't have to remind me time and time ag-"

"Remember how I asked her if she was straight or not? Remember how she reacted? And you know what's worse than the awkward stare of disgust she gave me? What's worse is I have to see her every day, I have to see her dodge me, I have to see her maniacally thought-out routine of avoiding me, all the while giving me the 'creeped out ew Gail is such a lesbo creep' vibe."

Tiffany drew a breath, eyeing the clock as it ticktock away. Peter returned with the tickets, "Thank god you're here." She says, taking Pete's hand.

"What's wrong?" Peter asks. His question is cut short by Cameron's return.

"Are we ready to go?" I turned to Cameron who asked, drawing a breath, I gave her a weak smile. I was freaking out again. God I wish I had my bottle of whiskey.

-

The movie was spectacular and Daniel Craig was totally awesome. It was a great way to forget the whole freaking out and dumping it out on Tiff fiasco earlier.

"Jesus, Daniel Craig is awesome. Am I right?" Pete asks in a total haze over the film.

"You're right." Tiff says. I catch her making the sexy eyes towards Peter.

"Cut that out," I say with a disgusted frown, "Cameron is still with us."