"Mm, I can kind of tell." Sal joked, hoping to relieve some of the tension he saw coiling up inside Arte as he finished rolling up the hose and putting it in it's place. He stood up straight then to look at her properly. "Well, for the record, I wouldn't yank anyone's chain like that. I was serious, I am serious. I would really like to take you out, Arte. I like you for all those reasons I said and then some, and I think you might like me too. That being said, I can't force you to accept my proposal, though I can be hopeful about it." Sal nodded. "So...what do you say?" _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Arte was still flushed and red, but she was feeling a little more relaxed from the joke and the straightforwardness of Sal’s reply. Arte believed him, that he wouldn’t do something like that. Or at least she wanted to believe it, she thought Sal was an honorable person. She supposed this could be different than high school.
“I guess that depends what you want to do? I’m free for like, dinner any day this week. Late on the days I close.” Arte replied, a little taken aback at his eagerness but not in a bad way.
"How about Friday? There's a Mexican restaurant not too far from my place that's pretty good and it sounds like they have music that night. It could be fun." Sal suggested. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
"Alright, great, can't wait." Sal said, still grinning, though he took the opportunity to step backwards towards the door. "Until then...I have an order I need to finish from last night." He said before dashing towards the back to put his apron on before Arte could scold him for overtime. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
"I tried, I tried!" Sal said, his words muffled as he jammed the rest of is breakfast into his mouth so he could free up a hand to grab his apron. He set his coffee down on the nearby counter and quickly shrugged off his backpack he carried with him to work. He quickly kicked it under the work bench and haphazardly put on the apron. "I'll finish them and then the orders for today and tomorrow too, that way we'll be a day ahead for Friday." He smirked then. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
The next few days came and went, all racing by like a blur, and it was Friday at last. Sal had made good on his word and kept ahead with the shop's work over the next few days so that closing would be easy enough. He insisted Arte take off a bit before him so she could take her time to get ready and he closed up the shop himself before going home to wash up and change for their date.
He wasn't one to get too dressed up, at least not in the way other men in the city did or like in the movies. Being a born and raised bumpkin more or less, he had only a handful of dress shirts (all of which were courtesy of his mother at Christmas time when the boys all refused to include more refined clothes in their wardrobe) and a single pair of slacks, which he didn't care for in particular. He wore one of his nicer pair of jeans, one that was free of holes or general wearing, and a simple white v-neck with a black blazer he wasn't sure how he obtained. He debated on switching the jacket out for a more worn in flannel, but being that it was his first date with Arte, he wanted to look like he'd at least tried, so, all freshened and gussied up, he made his way back to the Laughlin's town house, a gift nestled in his arms. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Arte didn’t think about the date too much until the literal day of when Sal shooed her out of the shop early so she could get ready.
Get ready?
Arte was sweating walking home, she’d never gotten ready for a date before! She didn’t know where they were going, what they were doing, how was she supposed to know what to wear? She of course texted Lucinda who replied so eloquently:
[i]”Idk. It’s probably just dinner, wear a dress or wear nothing. Sal literally won’t care.”[\i]
“I don’t own a dress.” Arte replied to herself anxiously.
Luckily, her mother was home and able to help. Roxanne was able to dress Arte in one of her dresses. Of course they fit in length but not in width as Roxanne was much curvier and rounder than her daughter. Leaving the dress a little baggy, but it was cute in the sense that it was loose fitting. It was a pale green, with soft little white daises on the dress. There was white lace trim on the hem of the skirt and on the collar of the neck. The top was a little more fitted, with a Peter Pan collar and short sleeves that Roxanne rolled a bit. The skirt was tiered, loose and free flowing; stopping above her knees, the exposed skin once again making Arte very aware of herself.
Roxanne was having though, primping her little girl for a first date. She did her best to tailor the look to Arte and not go too far out of her comfort zone. Arte had no hope in heels, so Roxanne paired her dress with little grey cotton socks that rolled above a worn in pair of boots she liked. The heel was flat and the laces were too long, tying around the ankle of the boot to save them from tripping her. Roxanne didn’t do much makeup for herself normally, and thought that some of Arte’s nicest features were her clear complexion. taking a brush she lightly dusted some blush on her cheeks and pinned her hair up in a little crown braid. Her hair was too short to really maintain a nice and secure braid, so naturally she had some fly aways and renegade baby hairs; but Roxanne insisted she looked perfect.
After sending a picture to Lucinda for assurance and receiving a simple thumbs up emoji, it seemed she was ready.
She was doing her very best to not be nervous, more than the awkwardness of having a crush, she had no frame of reference for how a date should go. Should she call and tell him she was ready? Wait for him outside? Roxanne assured her many times that all she needed to do, was wait. Arte did her best to do that, though she was doing it in the bay window in their front room that overlooked the front steps. As a little kids, Remedy would sit in this window waiting for her Dad to come home, and she’d wait until she fell asleep. While Arte waited too a small handful of times, she never thought she’d actively sit in this window waiting for a man.
Sal jogged up the steps to the townhouse, a place he'd only ever been to once or twice when he was younger and his parents came to pick up Lucinda when she was still too small to ride the train home by herself. He'd never gone in, but he recognized the building, which looked warm even from the outside. He ran a hand through his soft fluffy waves once before going ahead and knocking at the door, holding Arte's gift tight to his chest as he waited to be let in. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Arte leaped up to get the door, boots clamoring against the hardwood floor.
“Bye, Mom!” Arte called over her shoulder.
“Wait, Arte! He might want to come in!” Roxanne called from the nearby kitchen. But Arte didn’t hear her mother, if she’s did she certainly didn’t process it as she flung up the front door with a little too much gusto.
“Hi.” She greeted, already a little embarrassed at the way she opened the door.
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