***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.
...
It was another Friday night, and as usual, Dan was once again sitting in front of his computer. He had just finished rewriting his essay for the fourth time. There was nothing wrong with the earlier drafts, but he was always striving to do things better to keep his GPA high. It was because of this obsession that he didn't have much of a social life.
His cell phone rang, and he saw that it was his father calling and answered it.
"Dad, do you know what time it is?" He asked.
"Yes, but I know you, and I knew you'd be up this late studying."
"Well, yeah, you were right about that."
"Anyway, I need you to do me a favor. One of my client's daughters is visiting your area and--"
"No way," Dan interrupted.
He knew where this was going. It wasn't the first time his father tried to use him to take out a client's daughter, or niece, who often turned out to be spoiled brats. Or, in some cases, he's asked to just hang out with someone's son or nephew, who turns out to be some kind of jerk.
"I'm not asking you to marry her; I just need you to show her a good time, that's all," said his father. "I told him you would have dinner with her and then take her to a symphony afterwards."
"The symphony, are you serious?" Dan asked in disgust.
"I've met her. She's beautiful, smart, and she enjoys the symphony. What else do you need to know?"
"She enjoys the symphony; that's all I need to know to refuse."
"Come on, son, do your old man a favor; I need this."
"Is it really that important?"
He told him, "My client is a goldmine. He's the reason I can afford to pay your tuition. If he wants his daughter taken care of, then that's what he gets."
Dan was aware that his father was exaggerating about the tuition, but he reasoned that if it was important to him, he should take it seriously.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," he said with a deep sigh.
His father texted him the address and time to pick her up. When he saw that the girl's name was Greta, it scared him even more about this whole thing. Anyone named Greta and who enjoys the symphony was surely going to turn out to be boring, in his opinion.
Greta had just turned 18 and was traveling around the state checking out colleges she was interested in attending. She had finally gotten around to Dan's college and was staying with her aunt while she looked around.
Dan spent most of the next day studying and finalizing his reports, and in his free time, he connected online with the few friends he had to play Call of Duty. He did whatever he could to not think about the date he had agreed to because he was sure it was not going to end well.
That night, he arrived at Greta's aunt's place wearing a standard black suit and tie. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Greta's aunt, a woman in her late forties with at least three cats he saw running around.
"Oh, you must be Greta's date for tonight," she said. "Come in, she's just getting herself ready."
Dan stepped inside the home and was overwhelmed by the smell of cat hair. He wasn't allergic to cats, but he suddenly understood why some people were. A moment later, Greta came down the stairs wearing a black dress that was elegant but still showed off her good figure. She also wore big, thick glasses, had her blonde hair tied up in a bun, and carried an oversized purse.
"I'm Greta. You must be my date," she said as she looked at him up and down. "I guess you'll do."
Dan thought she was attractive enough, but she was already presenting herself as a prude.
"I'm sure we'll have a great time,"
"I hope so. I've been waiting for this night for a while now."
She said goodbye to her aunt and they both left the house. They walked to Dan's car, and he opened the door for her.
"Um, do you mind if I sit in the back seat for a while?" She asked. "I need to fix my makeup"
"There's a mirror in the visor up front."
"Yes, but I work better with more space, so the back seat will be fine."
Dan realized he was escorting a very high-maintenance woman. But he didn't argue. He promised his dad that he would be nice to her and that's what he was going to do. He opened the back door and let her in. He got into the car and drove off.
"Ugh, your car is so small, I can barely move back here," she complained. "And when was the last time you cleaned it?"
Dan didn't respond; he just let his anger seethe inside of him.
"By the way, how do I smell?" she asked. "I took a shower before you came, and I'm wearing extra perfume to remove that cat smell."
"It's working; I only smell your perfume."
"Good."
"So, I found a restaurant near the concert hall. We can go there for dinner, and we can make it in time for the symphony."
"Fuck that," Greta replied. "We're not going to any fucking symphony."
This took Dan by surprise. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Greta taking off her dress and letting her hair down. She was definitely naked, but the mirror wasn't low enough for him to see anything.
"I thought you said you were going to fix your make-up."
"I will," she said. "After I change my clothes."