Casey stood outside the apartment complex, waiting for his date to come pick him up. Over the past few weeks, he'd been chatting with a guy named Ash who happened to live close by. They seemed to really hit it off and were mutually interested, so they decided to go on a date. The plan was the classic dinner and a movie, and perhaps his date would take him home as well if things went good enough.
He hadn't been on a date in a while, so he was excited at the idea of going out with someone again. Of course, there always came the need to moderate his expectations and not get too lost in his romantic thoughts, but it was difficult to contain his excitement. The fact that he had dressed up for the occasion only added to the fluttery feelings: he was wearing a fir green sweater with a dark blue long skirt, along with a black jacket to keep him warm in the cold winter's evening. He put a little bow in his long brown hair, which had been freshly washed and combed. Any excuse to get dolled up would do.
After a few minutes of standing in the cold, he sighed with relief when a passing motorcycle slowed down and stopped on the sidewalk he was standing at.
The rider pointed to him, his face obscured by the helmet. "You're Casey, right?"
He nodded. "Yep, that's me! Glad to finally meet you."
"I could say the same to you; you look even prettier in person! Now, hop on! I'd hate to leave you standing out in this freezing weather any longer."
"Of course!"
After he got on the back, Ash looked back and handed him a helmet. "Here, I brought my spare."
"Thanks." After putting it on, he clung to the rider. Revving up the engine, he sped off.
He'd never ridden a motorcycle before, so the rush of feeling the wind in his hair as they rode was new and exciting. The weather was not ideal however, as the cold breeze pierced his coat. Holding his date close helped him keep warm, but it was still quite chilly. Fun as it was, he found himself thinking that biking during a warmer day would be a bit more enjoyable (assuming their relationship lasted, perhaps they could go on a summer ride sometime).
Once they arrived at the restaurant parking lot, his date parked the bike and shut it off. He didn't fully realize how loud the engine was until its sound was absent. He took off his helmet, then almost immediately started running his hands through his hair, worried that the wind had messed it up. It had been ruffled a little, but fortunately the ride wasn't long enough to make his hair too messy.
Ash took his helmet off as well, and titled his head to the side, his black hair fashioned in a sideswept undercut. "Gotta say." He said. "It's been too long since I got to go on a ride with a cute girl in the back seat. Feels nice."
He tilted his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I think there was a mix-up here. I'm a boy."
He blinked in surprise. "Oh shit, sorry! It was nice to have a cute boy in the back seat then!"
"It's fine, I get mistaken for a girl sometimes. It's annoying but I'm used to it." He sighed. "Although it's the first time a date made that mistake so that was a little unexpected. Especially since I thought you were gay for some reason, I guess you're bi then?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, but why would you think I was lesbian? If that were the case, I wouldn't take you out. Unless-" his eyes widened as the realization dawned on her "wait did you think I was a man?"
He froze. It felt like he had been hit in the face twice: the first punch came from the realization that he'd been accidentally misgendering her this whole time, and the second punch was the further realization that they both made the same mistake. He had little time to reflect on this however, as he bowed and blurted out an apology. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize!"
"I look like a guy in some lights, so I can see why you'd think that. I don't think you have quite as good an excuse as I did, though."
"What do you mean?"
"Hello? Did you not see the pictures I used in my profile?" She cupped her breasts. "I didn't exactly go to great lengths to hide my fat fucking tits!"
He threw his arms up. "I just thought you were trans!"
"I guess that would make sense, but why didn't you at least question your initial assumption? I wouldn't have been offended if you asked about it."
"I don't know, your name is Ash, that seemed like the kind of name a trans guy would pick! What do you want from me?"
"You're not wrong, but goddamn."
"Listen, I feel bad, and I apologize again, but you're in the same boat as me here. We're both idiots."
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Right, sorry. I fucked up as well. I just...this is all too wild. I honestly can't believe that you thought I was a guy and I thought you were a girl. Like, what are the odds?"
"Yeah, I had the same thought! I know neither of us put our genders or pronouns in our profiles, but I feel like at least one of us should've figured it out before now."
"Well, gender doesn't factor in my attraction a whole lot, so I guess I just didn't think about it much."
He slumped his shoulders "yeah, same..." already this date was off to bad start, and his initially chipper mood was starting to fade. He just hoped that they could recover from this and still have a good time.
She shrugged. "Well, we're already here. No use standing out here in the cold, let's get inside and grab some food."
He sighed, an accepting smile on his face. Perhaps this night could still turn out well. "Right."
After walking in and getting a table, they began talking much like they had online. They discussed their mutual interests, shared stories, and commented on their new resolutions to start putting pronouns in their online profiles.
"Y'know, come to think of it," she started, after taking one last sip of her ginger ale "maybe this scenario isn't so bad. I mean, if we both got confused, I think it just means that we've both done something cool with our respective genders. Guys who look like girls and girls who look like guys, y'know? That's my jam!"
"I think I see what you mean." Resting his elbows against the table, he propped up his head as he looked at her. "It can be cool to meet other people who are just as gender nonconforming as I am, whether it be in platonic or romantic sense. I have to admit our little bout in the parking lot had me worried but talking with you in-person has been nice. I think you're really cool."
"Don't go trying to flatter me, now." She folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. "I was thinking about taking you home with me after the movie. Keep up this talk and I might make up my mind."
At those words, he just smiled. "This is the best date I've been on in a while."
"Now you've done it, princess. You're coming home with me tonight for sure."
