Chapter Forty-Four: Date

***

Luke:

Rock concerts are so fricking loud.

I've been psyched for this concert since almost a year ago when I heard the Glorious Sons were coming to Toronto. And then Ophelia bought us tickets over Christmas, and so on the Saturday at the end of spring break, she and I go for dinner and then head to the Scotiabank arena to see the show.

The tickets aren't like, for really great seats. But I honestly don't care, because she bought them knowing that I love this band and that's what matters. My favourite music and my favourite person, at the same time? Sweet.

She looks really cute tonight, in those light-blue, skin-tight jeans and an over-sized Beatles t-shirt that I think she stole from her dad.

Downtown Toronto is as packed and lively as always. Show starts at eight, so I pick her up at six and it takes us forever to find parking, and then we have dinner, then wander hand-in-hand down Bay Street past all the bars and restaurants and shops.

Arena snacks are really fricken expensive. We pass a brightly-coloured candy store on the way and she gets all excited and tugs me inside, and we end up spending way too much money on bags of gummies and sour-chews and ten different other kinds of random candy. We stash them at the very bottom of her tote bag beneath all her crap (did you know that she brings a book with her everywhere?) so they don't find it when we go through security.

"Do you want anything?" I ask her as we find our seats, some time after eight as the opening acts are still warming up. We sit back in the chairs and kind of on instinct, we lean towards each other, she rests her hand on my thigh and I wrap an arm around her and I'm super glad this stupid armrest/cup-holder thing pushes up out of the way, because I can't seem to be around her without touching her.

"I'm good, thanks." Her fingers wind themselves with mine and she rests her head against my shoulder and she smells like Ophelia and I swear it's the best smell in the world.

Actually, uh. There's one other smell I think I like just as much, but, we'll call it a tie.

The concert ends up being close to two hours long with just a quick break in the middle. Ophelia did her homework, apparently, because I catch her humming and bouncing along to some of the songs and it's lowkey adorable because their music is a little... uh. Gritty, I guess. Kinda the opposite of her bright, pure, sweet, innocent, bubbly personality, so it's funny to see her getting into it too.

I think she wants to like them because I like them, and she loves me.

I don't really know how to explain how, the way she loves me, looks at me like I'm her world, makes me feel invincible and... high. Like, how could anything be bad in my life when she's there and she's with me and we're together? Like I said, I don't know how to explain it very well, except maybe to say that she's like the brightest, happiest part of every day and every night and... fuck. Anyway.

"I love this one," she murmurs near my ear as the guitar intro for one of their softer tracks floats through the stadium. People sit back down into their seats for it. It's kinda a sad one, but poetic, I guess, so I can see why it'd be her favourite.

Her hand clutches mine and near the end, as the lead singer rasps the lyrics, "It doesn't matter, wherever your heart leads / You'll be right here, always a part of me," I guess we're thinking the same thing because we turn towards each other and our noses slide together and then our lips meet and I swear it's so stupidly fucking cheesy but she's... it. Everything, always, and it makes my chest hurt sometimes.

The worst part of concerts and hockey games and shows is always the end, when you're sad it's over but also kinda ready for it to be done and then the lights turn on and everyone has to leave. Crowds and crowds of people who just wanna get out of there. Ophelia grips my hand super tight and I keep her close to me so we don't get pulled apart in the rush.

When we finally make it back to the car, the sky's pitch black and it's really chilly outside. We scramble inside so I can turn the heater on and she immediately leans over the console to get closer to me.

"Luke it's freezing," she breathes, shivering a little. It's not supposed to be this cold at the end of March, damn.

"So cold." We tangle our hands together and bring our faces close so the warm humidity of our breaths collects between us, and I can feel my nose slowly start thawing.

I press a kiss to the tip of her nose and she scrunches up her face playfully at me before dipping forward to plant a quick peck to my mouth. "Luke," she whispers, pouting at me, "Do I have to go home now?"

Her parents said they want her back by midnight, 12:30 at the latest, and it's just a little before eleven right now.

As the car starts to heat up and her body is so close to mine and it's dark and we're alone together I realize that I definitely don't really want to take her home yet either.

One of her hands drifts to my knee, slide across my jeans to rest on my thigh. Her exhales fan my cheeks and warmth settles in my lower abdomen, floods down my spine.

"What do you wanna do, then?" I mumble near her mouth. Though from that look on her face, the way her teeth are sunk gently into her bottom lip, her eyes going all dark and wide, I think I know exactly what she has in mind.

She sifts one of her small hands into the hair at the back of my head and draws our faces together. Mm, she tastes faintly like a mix of all the sweet and sour candy we ate, and as her tongue slips into my mouth and she winds an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer, she's all I can see and feel and think about.

I skim a hand down her side, find the hem of her t-shirt and slip my fingers beneath the fabric. Her skin is warm beneath my cool touch and she shudders before pressing closer to me, encouraging me with her breathy little coos and purrs that spill into our kiss. I reach the cup of her bra, give one of her boobs a squeeze that makes her whimper. "Luke," she whispers, throaty and breathless, "Can we..."

I press my forehead against hers and groan. "I don't have any condoms, Feelz."

And fuck, we can't go back to my place because our parents are hanging out together there and if we tried to sneak past them that'd just be... yeah, no. And, Darcy's at her house, and if her parents decide to head home while we're still there, then... Damn it.

I kinda wonder what it would be like to fuck her in the back seat of my car.

But, condoms.

"I could go buy some," I tell her, drifting my palm through the soft waves of hair at the back of her head. "And then we could... I don't know..." I feel pretty stupid, actually, suggesting that we have sex in the car. It sounds kinda ridiculous, now that I think about it.

One of her hands is grasping a fistful of my t-shirt. She looks at me through those thick dark lashes of hers, her lips pursed into a small, adorable O. "Maybe we could..." She blushes, then giggles, stifles the soft, round sound of her laughter with her palm.

I bet she's thinking the same thing.

"I'll stop by the pharmacy, and then..." I shrug, smooth my hands down her waist and hold onto her hips. "We can find somewhere, maybe..."

She nods, and in the dim light her eyes sparkle. "Okay."

So, driving while half-hard is kinda uncomfortable.

I pull into the parking lot of a Shoppers, which is pretty deserted at this time of the night, and we walk hand-in-hand inside. She's blushing a little as we head towards the right part of the store, where the sign hanging above the aisle reads 'family planning' which is a euphemism for sex stuff.

Her eyes go wide as she takes in all the different boxes, brands and types. Yeah, there's like, a lot of random crap. A couple dozen types of male condoms, and female condoms, and dental dams, and lube and pregnancy tests.

She holds onto my arm and cranes up to whisper into my ear, horrified, "They have ones that are strawberry flavoured..."

I chuckle. "And grape, apparently." Why would anyone want to suck a grape-flavoured dick?

I scan the shelves looking for the same type I bought before while she takes it all in curiously, shyly. I honestly doubt she's ever been to this section of a store before. She leans in closer to a line of boxes to squint at the text and when I look over, she seems to be gingerly inspecting a 'vibrating intimate massager', right next to a box advertising a cock ring. Damn, now I'm the one who's blushing.

Out of the corner of my eye, another customer enters the aisle on my far left. Just as I snag the right box, Fee lets out a small squeak and suddenly tugs on my arm, pulling me to the right and out of the aisle. What—

She drags me around the shelves into the next aisle with the tampons and pads and adult diapers. "Luke," she hisses, eyes wide, "That was Mr. Carson, who just walked into the aisle..."

I raise an eyebrow. "The phys-ed teacher?"

She nods, her cheeks painted pink. "I think he was..." She holds a hand over her mouth and says, her voice hushed, "Buying condoms, too."

Huh. "That's... awkward." Damn, if I were a high-school teacher I definitely wouldn't want any of my students catching me buying condoms. "Did he notice you?" Both our voices are low and hushed to prevent being overheard.

She shakes her head, her brow wrinkled. "He taught me gym last semester..." She presses her lips together and says, "I hope he didn't see us..."

I guess one of your teachers catching you buying condoms would also kinda suck. She holds onto my arm and stands close to me and conspiratorially confesses, with a small giggle, "All the girls in phys-ed had a crush on him. They thought he was really cute."

My eyebrows shoot upwards. I mean, he's young but like... that's just weird. And. All the girls, huh? I look down at her, narrow my eyes and ask softly, "And how about you? Do you think he's cute, Ophelia?"

She rolls her eyes and tries to keep a straight face but her lips are twitching with a smile. Then she stands on the tips of her toes so she can try and get face-to-face with me. She doesn't quite reach all the way so I arch over her as she breathes, "I think you're cute."

I'm grinning a lopsided, goofy grin when I point out, "You didn't answer my question..."

She shrugs and gives me a mischievous look and teases, "He is quite handsome." She reaches up to hold my shoulders, presses her front against me and leans her head back so her lips brush my chin as she continues, eyes glimmering, "Nice to look at, you know. In gym class."

Now she's just being mean. "So you have a crush on him too?" This is so stupid. He's like, twenty-five years old or something.

I think my perturbation really amuses her. "Actually," she mumbles, fluttering her lips against the very corner of my mouth, "Last semester I was too busy having a crush on someone else."

I'm pretty sure the way she's molding herself against me in all the right places, taunting me with the tickle of her breath, the light brush of her hands over my shoulders, my upper chest, is completely on purpose.

She gives me one last hug before pulling away and at that moment, Mr. C walks into the aisle, a box of condoms in hand, blinks a couple times when he sees us. I kinda tuck the pack I'm carrying behind us, because, uh...

Uh, it's kinda too late for us all to pretend we haven't seen each other. Ophelia waves awkwardly, blushing. "Hi, Mr. Carson..."

He offers her a small but friendly smile. I used to think Mr. C was a really cool dude, you know? He was super chill and stuff. "Hey, you guys." He tips his chin towards me. "Luke. It's been a while. How's it going?"

"Good, thanks." He has dark hair, a little on the shorter side. Clean-shaven, wearing jeans a plain black shirt. I mean. I guess he's pretty decent looking.

We all kinda stand there awkwardly facing the shelf of feminine products. Uh, why is he in this aisle, anyway?

"You guys are out pretty late," he comments dryly. Apparently not fazed by the fact we can see him holding a box of Trojan Magnums.

Fee blushes and explains, sounding really embarrassed, "Uh, just grabbing some... tampons."

I try to keep a straight face and say nothing while internally face-palming.

Mr. C nods understandingly, looking towards back towards the wall of products. "Need to grab some for my girlfriend too." He runs a hand through his hair and squints at the colorful boxes and packages. He plucks one seemingly at random off the shelf and inspects in unsuredly. "Except I have no idea what kind."

Ophelia claps a palm over her mouth and tries really hard not to laugh. "Uh... maybe... not those ones?"

He looks from her to the product and back and raises an eyebrow, apparently requiring further explanation. Is there like, a difference between tampons? I mean, it just looks like a regular box of tampons to me.

"Uh..." Her face is so pink right now I'd find it really amusing if this wasn't such a strange situation. "Those ones are... uh... probably too big."

Oh.

His eyes widen a bit as her meaning dawns on him. He shakes his head at himself, chuckles under his breath. "Alright then."

"Uh, yeah. Good-night," Fee squeaks, before taking my hand and practically dragging me away from there. Without any tampons, I bet he notices.

I toss the poor guy a wave and grumble "Good-night," while he continues to scratch his head and squint confusedly at the shelf.

When we're out of ear shot we burst into quiet laughter. As we stand in front of the self-check machine and I push the start button on the screen, I tell her, "Sorry, Feelz. Apparently he's taken."

She gives my arm a hard, mortified thwack while I laugh at her.

***

A/N:

Luke's jelly was showing, lol. Any embarrassing/awkward teacher-student moments to share with the class?

Also... next chapter? *sly face emoji*

SO MUCH NEWS FOR YOU!

1) I got Insta! Follow me @AmiTheDarkLady for teasers, bonus content, a glimpse into my some of my inspo, and some additional randomness.

2) MIK hit 3M views! What?!

3) For all those of you who did the MIK #FakeFan quiz, don't feel bad if you got a low score. The average out of close to 200 responses was 11/25. WELP. A whopping 5 people got 25/25. I took an unreasonable amount of sadistic pleasure in your struggle. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. (If you haven't taken the quiz, do it if you dare. Link's at the bottom of my profile.)

Also, if you caught all of tipprs salty salty comments and announcements trashing the quiz, it's just bc she's a sore loser.

***
Please click on that star ⭐️ to vote if you're reading and enjoying H&M!