"Why's no one here?" I muttered while scratching my head, looking around in confusion. Usually, this spot was buzzing with activity. There was even this one time when the neighborhood held a dangdut concert, and the guys at our hangout decided to throw a rival dangdut party with a makeshift speaker setup. It ended with us getting scolded by every mom in the neighborhood. So, seeing this place as quiet as a graveyard now? Totally weird.
"Could it be they're pulling a prank on me?" I grumbled, annoyed. It had to be Angga's doing—he loved messing with people.
"Are you sure you were supposed to meet here? Try texting your friends. Maybe they're hanging out somewhere else," Febi suggested gently, trying to get me to stay optimistic.
I sighed, trying to shake off the irritation. She had a point—what harm could it do to check? Maybe they'd gone off on a mission to scout for girls. After all, everyone in the group was single—oh wait, I was single too.
Finally, I decided to text Angga first. If anyone was going to give me a snarky answer, it'd definitely be him. I quickly typed out a message on my old-school phone.
Me: "Don't even try to hide! Where are you guys? I'm already here."
I hit send, hoping Angga would reply quickly.
Two minutes passed—nothing. I stayed patient. Five minutes later, my phone's screen was still devoid of any reply. My irritation started bubbling up.
"Alright, let's try Adit. His brain works better than Angga's," I muttered to myself, hurriedly typing a new message. Deep down, I was still annoyed that Angga left me hanging.
Me: "Dit, where are you? I'm already at the hangout spot."
While waiting, I stared at my phone screen, wishing for a quick response. It didn't take long—two minutes later, my phone buzzed. With a spark of hope, I opened Adit's message.
Adit: "Which hangout spot? I don't see you."
Scratching my head, I quickly typed a reply.
Me: "I'm at Bi Imas' warung." (A/N: Small store)
Within seconds, Adit replied again.
Adit: "Dude, we're at the new hangout near Hafid's place. You're at the wrong spot."
I was stunned. The hangout spot moved? When did they decide this? My brain started racing, trying to pinpoint the exact moment I missed this crucial update.
"Unbelievable! Why didn't anyone tell me we changed locations!?" I grumbled, almost tossing my phone to the ground. My breathing was heavy—partly from anger, partly from embarrassment. Febi, sitting casually next to me, chuckled softly, which only made me feel more flustered.
"So, what's the deal?" Febi asked, glancing at me as I fumed over Adit's last message.
"Wrong spot, Feb. The guys are hanging out near my friend Hafid's place," I said, scratching my head.
"Oh, I see. And where's that?" she asked casually, as if this whole thing wasn't a big deal.
"In Ci*** area," I replied, pausing for a second before adding, "You wanna come? It'd be great to bring you along. I could show off a little, you know. Hahaha."
Febi just gave a small smile and shook her head. "Ehm… I don't think so. Now that I think about it, I'd feel a little awkward."
Well, so much for my plan to flex, bringing the beautiful Febi, to them. "So, where to now? You are going home?" I asked, my tone turning more serious this time.
Febi glanced at me with a wide smile. "How about you take me out somewhere? Just for a little walk or something?"
"Where to? It's already getting late, Feb. Your parents might get mad," I replied, half-protesting.
She let out a small laugh before answering, "Relax, my parents are out of town."
"Oh… no wonder your house was so quiet earlier," I muttered, finally realizing. "Alright then, if you want to go out for a bit, no problem. But where exactly?"
"Let's find a place to eat. I'm starving," she said casually, making me smile a little too.
We finally decided to grab some food near the city center. I rode my motorbike at a leisurely pace, trying my best to focus on the road. But honestly, my attention kept drifting to Febi, who was holding onto me from behind. This time her grip felt tighter than before, making me more nervous than ever.
It's not that I didn't like it—on the contrary, I was over the moon. But it was all so overwhelming. Her soft perfume mixed with that natural feminine scent made it hard for my brain to function. And the way her body pressed against my back only added to the whirlwind of emotions churning inside me.
Every time the bike jolted over a bump in the road, her grip tightened, and my heart raced even faster. I was sure if I had a heart rate monitor on me, it would've exploded by now from how hard it was pounding.
'Stay calm, Reka. Focus… Don't embarrass yourself,' I whispered to myself internally. But no matter how much I tried, my sweaty palms on the handlebars and my wandering thoughts about Febi made it feel like I was riding through a thick fog. Everything blurred as my brain got overwhelmed with her presence.
I glanced at the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Febi's faint smile as she gazed at the passing streets. That smile of hers—it was like a soothing balm to my chaotic thoughts. Even my overactive imagination finally took a breather.
As we neared the city center, a wave of panic washed over me. What if Febi wanted to eat at some fancy restaurant? Seriously, my wallet currently held nothing but three crumpled ten-thousand-rupiah bills and a handful of coins that wouldn't even add up to five thousand. I hadn't thought about eating out, so I didn't bring extra cash.
Cold sweat started dripping down my temples.
'What if she picks a high-end place and expects me to pay?' My mind spiraled into all kinds of humiliating scenarios. I could already see myself awkwardly pulling out every single note and coin from my wallet just to pay for fried rice that cost a fortune. For a moment, I even thought, "Should I offer to pay with my ID card, like in those comedy movies?" Then it hit me—I didn't even have an ID card yet.
My anxiety hit a new peak as I remembered just how well-off Febi's family was. Her house was massive, the garden looked like it was straight out of a home design magazine, and all her stuff screamed luxury. Maybe for her, eating at fancy restaurants was no big deal. But for me? Splurging on instant noodles with an egg was already a financial dilemma.
It wasn't like my family was struggling or anything. We had a decent two-story house in a nice neighborhood, an MPV, and even the occasional overseas vacation was within reach. But my dad was a firm believer in teaching his kids the value of money. My allowance was barely enough to cover gas and a few snacks, so extravagant spending wasn't part of the program.
'Please, God. Don't let her pick a place I can't afford,' I prayed silently. I racked my brain for clean, cozy, but budget-friendly spots I could suggest without looking cheap. But how would I even bring it up? I didn't want to ruin this first one-on-one moment with Febi by coming off as broke.
"There, let's eat there," Febi suddenly said, pointing to one of the city's most famous—and undoubtedly priciest—restaurants.
My heart nearly stopped. The exact thing I had been dreading was happening. Febi had picked a fancy place!