The Natives

I sat in the back of Dillon's car; Meredith and Dillon were driving me to my date. Aron refused to do it, and Jordan and George were at the bar. I didn't even think to ask Jorel, but I figured he would be as enthusiastic as Matt had been. Besides, Meredith was one of the two that suggested going out with Ashley in the first place.

I fidgeted with my skirt some more. I hoped it wasn't this short when I stood up again. It was supposed to fall just above my knees, and right now it was above mid-thigh. Mer looked back at me and smiled.

"You excited?" she asked.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I guess it's not like I'll be heartbroken if he's a douche. I've been through worse."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Meredith said.

"Why wouldn't she?" Dillon asked.

"The whole thing with Alex..." Meredith said.

"I'm fine," I replied. "It's been a little over a week. It's not like we were terribly in love. Besides, I need this."

"You just call us if you have any problems," Dillon added.

By us, I knew he meant us guys. So they could beat up on him. I knew Meredith wouldn't let him though. She wouldn't let them mangle a pretty-boy like Ashley.

"I will," I said.

We pulled up to Angelini Osteria at a little before seven. It felt weird to be going on a date after living with the same guy for a year and dating him for a year before that. Mer sensed my worry, and she smiled sympathetically at me. Dillon patted me on my shoulder, but I didn't gain any confidence.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine," said Meredith. "If you're worried, we can eat here too, to keep an eye on you guys-"

"Eat here?" Dillon snorted. "It's Italian. And expensive."

Meredith shot him an angry glare, and he shut up. I chuckled a bit.

"I'll be fine," I said.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Mer, I'm sure. I doubt he's a mass murderer or something like that."

"What if he's gay?" Dillon laughed.

Meredith smacked his arm, but I didn't stick around to get between them. Instead, I walked up to the doors of Angelini where a middle-aged man held the door for me.

"Bella noche, signorina," he said. "Welcome to Angelini Osteria."

I thanked him quietly and entered. I looked around at the glitz and glamor. There was nothing like this place. If I'd come here with Aron and Matt and Jordan and George and Jorel, we would have been kicked out. For sure.

But now, entering by myself, dressed as nice as I possibly could be, I wasn't given a second thought. I was just another customer.

I noticed Ashley sitting near the bar- probably where he was most comfortable. He was dressed in a dark blue polo shirt gripping his biceps and a pair of nice blue jeans. I tried not to pay attention to his looks and focus on the good time I might have tonight. It was damn hard though when he noticed me and smiled.

"Hey, Kara," he said, standing up.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I actually just got here," he replied. "You look lovely tonight."

"Thank you," I said, subconsciously straightening out my skirt. "I could say the same to you."

"Well, not like you though," Ashley said. He cleared his throat and pulled the other chair out for me.

I sat down across from him, and so began our night.
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After nearly three hours of talking and eating and drinking, I learned a lot about Ashley. He'd once been training to be an MMA fighter, but he tore a muscle in his triceps and had to give it up. He became a bartender solely for the purpose of staying in touch with his trainer, who owned the bar.

My stories seemed much less exciting until he found out I was the sister of Tha Produca from Hollywood Undead. I usually didn't like talking about how I had a famous brother, but I guess tonight I didn't care. He seemed interested in how I dealt with it rather than what my brother was like. For that, I was glad.

We got along well. I couldn't find much about him that I didn't like. He was nice, smart, funny, and- as an added bonus- good-looking. What more could I aske for in a guy? Matt was wrong.

On the way to drop me off at home, we talked about dogs. I don't know why, but it came up. As we made our way to my front door, I discovered he was a big dog person and didn't care much for the small ones.

We stood there for a second, just kind of awkwardly not saying anything. He smiled, though, and his hand touched mine.

"I had a good time," he said.

"I did, too," I replied with a smile. "Call me sometime soon?"

"As soon as I get the chance," Ashley said.

The door opened harshly, and Aron stood there. He had his arms crossed, and I rolled my eyes.

"Aron, I'll be in in a sec," I sighed.

Aron didn't move, so I was forced to give Ashley a stiff good-bye. He smiled and said his farewell too, but I was not pleased. I turned to Aron as soon as Ashley was back in his car.

"Listen, you cock-blocking asshole!" I shouted. "I was having a nice time until you showed up."

"I don't need an extra body in this house," said Aron.

"I don't give a flying fuck what you want!" I shoved past him and stomped back up to my room.

Brothers... I swear...