“I know. She’s such a goddess.” She claps her hands with a huge smile. “So, you gonna invite him or what? You can drunk-make-out in the coat room.” She snorts.
“Fuck it.” I sigh. “Worst thing that happens is he says no, right? And we can plan for something else.” I take a deep breath and type out a message:
Liza: So I know it might be a little childish or whatever, but my friend is having a ‘NY Icons’ themed Halloween party this weekend, and I was wondering whether you’d like to go with me.
Barbara and I both stare anxiously at the three dots bouncing on my screen until his reply comes up.
Matt: Sure! What’s a NY Icons party?
Barbara sits back in her seat and smiles. “Done and done,” she says. “I’m proud of you. Now don’t back out!”
IF YOU DON’T COUNTthe pumpkin patch, the brunch, or the dinner at the German place, this will be Liza’s and my official first date, to which I just want to sayfucking finally.
I look ridiculous in my fedora, striped suit, and plastic gun, but I think I’m rocking the mafia-boss look, right?Right?
God, I hope so, because I feel like a tool. I think I might be too old for costume parties, to be honest, but if this is what she wants us to do together as our first date, then I am 100% on board.
I reach her apartment and knock. When she finally opens the door, her dark hair is curled and big, she’s in a white wife-beater and a pink tulle skirt, and she’s wearing sparkly high heels.
“Hey!” I say, looking her up and down. An advantage of this costume thing is that I can take my time to ogle her, be obvious about it, and can pass it off as me just taking in her outfit. I decide right then and there that she should always wear that top—her breasts look freaking amazing in it. “Who are you supposed to be?” I ask as casually as possible, but really, my heart is racing at the prospect of tonight.
“Duh.” She points at her shoes and skirt. “Carrie Bradshaw, obviously.”
I laugh. “She’s the chick fromSex and the City, right?”
Liza gasps, bringing a hand to her chest in mock horror. “How can you even ask that? It’s one of SJP’s most important roles.” She twirls in front of me. “The outfit better be recognizable because I definitely do not look anything like her. My Italian curves make it really hard for me to pull it off.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I happen toloveyour Italian curves,” I blurt.
Fuck. I don’t know where that came from.
Use your filter, Matt!
“Thanks, I think.” She smirks and bites her lip. “And who are you supposed to be?”
“Ah…” I look down at my outfit. “Al Capone? Honestly, I didn’t know who to pick, and they had the gun and hat in the costume shop, so I just went with it.”
“I love it. You look amazing in a suit.” She bats her eyelashes at me.
Have mercy.
She points to the box in my hand. “What’s that?”
I smile. “It’s a first date/housewarming gift combo.”
“Ooh, I love gifts. Gimme!” I hand her the box carefully, loving how excited and happy she looks.
“Whoa, it’s surprisingly heavy.” She walks to the kitchen’s bar and places the box on it before opening it and pulling out the gift. It’s a medium-sized white pumpkin with intricately carved flowers. I found it at a flower shop downtown, and it cost a fortune, but I thought she would like this better than a bouquet of roses or whatever. Liza is special, and I only ever want to make her feel that way. This isn’t a game with her, and I don’t want to treat this as a random hookup or date I met on an app. Liza means something to me, and I want her to know that.
“Instead of flowers, I thought it would be more appropriate to stay on-theme and get you a pumpkin, which also doubles as a decoration for your apartment—if you’re into fall.”
Also, I want this pumpkin to remind her of the amazing time we had together at the patch we visited together in Sag Harbor just a couple of weeks ago. It’s dumb, but I kind of want her to start associating pumpkins with me the way I have with her.
She bites her lip and looks at me. “If I’m into fall? Matt, I’m a girl.” She rolls her eyes at me like I’m stupid. “Women like me wait anxiously for nine months until the season comes around so that we can start wearing cozy sweaters and boots, buy the cheesiest decorations at Target, and ingest anything pumpkin-spiced. Of course I’m into fall. I freaking love it. This is amazing. Thank you.” She walks over to me and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a soft, chaste kiss.
I try to stop myself, try to keep it light, but she knocks the breath out of me, and I have to wrap my arms around her waist to hold on for dear life. I inhale her coconut-scented shampoo as I lean down to kiss her neck, sliding one of my hands into her hair, pressing her to me.
We hold each other like this for a couple of minutes until I separate from her with one last peck on her lips.
