I stalled the car six times on the way to Oliver’s, but by the time I got there I’d kind of got the hang of it. Ruby was waiting at the gates for me, dressed in a pair of stripy socks and embroidered dungarees with a crop top underneath. I could see a clear six inches of skin in the gap. I didn’t know I could be attracted to the side of someone’s waist until I met Ruby. I had a black tank top on with black jeans. The ones I hardly ever wore because they were so perfect and they didn’t sell them anymore so I was afraid to wear them out. We looked like Wednesday Addams and Pippi Longstocking on a date.

I felt silly for thinking it, but part of me was embarrassed picking her up in my dad’s car. I didn’t know anyone my age, except Oliver, who owned a car because this was not an American TV show, but I felt stupid anyway. It didn’t help that the car was old, beige, and had a ding in it from the time I reversed into the corner of the house because I didn’t fully get how to use wing mirrors. It’s not like I think I have to be rich or that Ruby would think anything of it, but somehow it still feels weird knowing that the person you’re with has tons more money than you do.

Ruby kissed me on the cheek when she got into the car and then she looked a bit embarrassed. We were in an uncomfortable phase. We’d had the intense groping stuff early on but somehow things had taken a step backward since we decided to actually go out on dates. I absolutely wanted to jump on her (with her consent) and smush all our body parts together, but it was easy to feel sexy when we didn’t really know each other. Now that we were having actual conversations, including one about me wetting myself, it was like she knew I wasn’t a sexy, mysterious stranger—I was an awkward weirdo with commitment issues.

“Are you ready for number six—movie night?” I said the title of the date as though it was the voiceover in a film preview.

“Yep. Not at all terrified,” Ruby added.

We decided to skip down to number six when I saw Scream was playing at a pop-up drive-in. The list didn’t have to be completed in any particular order and this was too perfect to miss. Besides, we agreed I could pick a horror movie for our film date. I was watching all of her beloved rom-coms and I wanted to share one of my favorites with her.