Fifty-Two

When I returned to the car, Kimmy was waiting eagerly. She asked me what happened. I explained and when I brought up the part about the date, she didn’t know how to react. She gave me the “Does he know you have cancer?” look and of course he didn’t. It never came up; it wasn’t just something I told strangers.

We drove back quietly, but when we got inside, Kim was smiling from ear to ear. “What is forty-six?”

“Steal a bike.” She went to talk me out of it, but I spoke first, “Forty-seven is return the bike. I wouldn’t keep it.”

“Your first date might get you landed in jail, how romantic.” Sarcasm. “This calls for a leather jacket.”

“Nothing ever calls for a leather jacket with me.” I stated as she ran for the stairs. I follow reluctantly and found her in my closet, tossing things around as if we were in some super cheesy movie.

I didn’t try to protest as I watched the clock tick closer to seven. Kim had me in half a dozen outfits, either they were impractical or just boring. I didn’t even notice when she was applying makeup to my face. I was too busy worrying about how he would take the cancer news, which would probably come up at some point.

There was no doubt he would ask about the bucket list. He’d wonder about what was on it and why I was trying so hard to complete it, or attempt to.

As I was putting on my shoes, Kim was digging through the bowl trying to find the two numbers I was about to complete. I was digging through her bag searching for her favorite dark red lipstick. I needed to check of twelve and that was easy enough with my best friend nearby. Plus, it would add more mystery to the black skinnys and oversized sweater.

I looked at the tube of lipstick for a little while, getting really nervous about it. People always said red was the best and worst. It looked amazing on everyone, but it stained and was very tricky to put on. I never wore lipstick, I hardly wore makeup, never had the time to bother myself with it.

Of course, Kimmy was coming to the rescue. She applied the lipstick and looked at me like my mother did the night I went to my first high school dance. “How do I cancel on a guy I have no contact with? If I pretend I’m not home or that I don’t live here, you think he will leave?”

“Shut up, bitch. You are going on this date and you will do all you need to with him to get your list checked off.” I rolled my eyes and sat down on my bed. “Babe, you’re too gorgeous to sit in your room on a Saturday night. Besides, you know I have a date tonight, so you’d be home, alone, pathetic like.”

“I hate you.” I mumbled.

“Love you too.” She smiled. “Now, you have ten minutes, have you eaten?” I nodded slowly and pursed my lips. “You’ll rock his socks off, baby doll. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She kissed my forehead and collected her things. “Have fun!”

The funny thing was, that night I learned he didn’t even wear socks, ever. He was standing on the porch waiting for me and with the stupid saying stuck in my head I looked at his feet and laughed to myself.

Louis seemed perfectly fine with the task at hand. We walked around for a while and talked quietly. It wasn’t really anything too personal, he was telling me about London and why he was in LA with his friends. Apparently, they were a band trying to make it. I insisted he sing to me, but he shook his head and tried to change the subject. “You seem pretty eager to check off this bucket list.” He said. I nodded. Last I knew, I might not make it another year. “Why?”

I looked away and shrugged, unsure how I could continue this without him running away scared. I looked into the yards we passed and smiled, “Look.” I pointed at the shiny red bike. “How are we going to do this?” I asked.

He grabbed my hand and pressed his pointer finger to his lips. He lead me to the bike and sat on it. “Up on the handle bars.” He had his black TOMs planted firmly on the ground. “Come on.” He whispered, looking around.

“Is this a montage moment?” I asked, placing my foot on the tire, trying to find a way on the handle bars. Louis laughed quietly behind me. I placed my tiny butt over the bars, feeling unstable.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” He whispered in my ear before pushing off the ground to peddle down the street.

He didn’t lie; he had the bike steady pretty quickly. We were peddling down the street and laughing for only about ten minutes when I spoke up, starting to feel guilty. “Now we need to complete forty-seven.” He hummed lightly, “Let’s bring it back.”

We were on our way back when Louis cleared his throat and sighed. “So, I don’t remember where the bike came from.” He stopped the bike and put his hand up for me to grab. “I know it was around here somewhere….” He bit his lip when I got off the bike and looked at him. “Want to leave it here with a note?”

“Would that count as returning it?” He shrugged. “Okay, you have a piece of paper?”

“You’re the one with the purse.”

I laughed, “All I have is my phone, my medical card and some cash.” Plus a few other items that were slightly questionable. He laughed as well.

“Well, do you have a number for this?” I shook my head. “Not a thing. How many do you have?”

“Eighty-six. We could twenty-six.” He looked at me, confused. “You could buy me coffee.”

“Great, let’s go find my car.” He grabbed my hand and we ran.