![goldenhills (1280 x 40 px) (1280 x 80 px) (1280 x 780 px) (1280 x 780 px) (1).png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cliffagreen/23tvAeg1eoJxe83aN65QHfcTk2gk23fR5KHafrgYD6e5pLL7uPkh1YhiBAhBoizLgBfZi.png) Coming up the front walk in his silk suit the color of night, he felt like a fool. He didn't wear suits. He was a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. A 'long walks on the beach' kind of guy, or not even the beach, a 'let's throw a frisbee in the park' kind of guy. But Holly was a classy, elegant kind of lady, and he supposed she was worth stretching beyond his norm. His best friend Shawn had loaned him the suit. They were close to the same size. Shawn had worn the suit the year before for a Halloween party, when he went as a vampire. He had to smile, despite the anxiety he felt, standing now on Holly's brick front patio, picturing Shawn with his full, black hair slicked back from his brow, which he had whitened with foundation for the event. Shawn wouldn't have felt nervous standing there about to ring the doorbell. But Shawn had that full head of hair going for him too. He had no hair. He hoped the Beard Brothas' Head Balm made him look polished, refined, as classy as Holly. He felt he could feel it evaporating in the cool night air. He hesitated at the door, debating how he should present the rose. A flash of panic wet his armpits. *One rose? Why not a dozen?* It was supposed to be elegant. Understated charm. Or something. He decided to go with a frontal presentation. A behind the back would have worked with a full dozen, but it'd probably be anticlimatic if he pulled out one measly flower from behind his back. That decided, he was now confronted with another choice to dither over. Should he use the ornamental knocker, or press the Ring camera's video button? *They're probably already watching me.* The thought sent another wave of panic over him; now the small of his back was damp too. *Brother, why is this so hard?* They were only going to the theatre. The local community theatre; not a Broadway show or anything. He had seen the flyer in the breakroom at the factory, and it had seemed like the perfect event for their first date. Formal, so it said this is a special night, yet he could see himself managing it; he had volunteered as backstage help at that theatre in the past, so he already knew the turf. He figured that would help his anxiety. The deadbolt clicked. *Ah, shoot, they did see me.* The doorknob turned, and he barely had time to straighten his shoulders and poise the rose before the door opened a crack. He smiled. *Here I am, are you excited, isn't this fun?* Holly's roomate, Cassandra, poked her head between the door and the jamb. His smile faded and hers widened, showing all her big teeth. “Are you going to stand out there all night, or would you like to come in?” “Sure, I can come in.” *Oh, I'm off to a great start.* “Holly is...?” “She'll be down in a minute.” Cassandra stepped back and let him into an immaculate foyer. “You can wait here, or maybe in the dining room.” *I don't belong here.* A polished wood staircase rose from the foyer in front of him. To his right, a darkened dining room with a long table. On his left, a den, also dark, except for the gigantic flat screen, which showed a ballerina frozen in mid twirl, her tutu a blur. Apparently the den was off limits, since Cassandra hadn't invited him to wait there. She left him standing in the foyer, trying not to grip the stem of the rose so hard that it broke, and went down the hallway straight ahead to what looked like the kitchen area. “Is that Shawn's suit?” she called, turning the corner out of sight. *How on earth?* He didn't know what to say to that. He also didn't want to shout from the foyer to the kitchen that he had shown up in a borrowed suit. She came back from the kitchen carrying her purse and jacket. “I'm going out. I think you can wait unattended.” She gave him her big teeth grin and stopped beside him. She lowered her voice. “Seriously, is that Shawn's suit?” “Yeah.” He could admit it in hushed tones, in confidence, as it were. “How on earth do you know that?” “Shoot, I was his date to that party. I remember that suit.” She fingered the lapel, her smile now demure. He was going to kill Shawn the next time he saw him. He knew what had happened after the party. *In this suit, oh my god.* Cassandra patted the lapel smooth. “You look good though. It's a little big on you, but no, you look fine.” She went back to her big teeth smile on the way out the door. “Have a good time, honey.” He felt relief when the door clicked behind her. Holly wouldn't know about the suit. Even if she had overheard them, she wouldn't understand the whole history. *Surely not.* But what did Cassandra mean, *it's a little big?* He looked at his shoulders. The seams did extend past his shoulders. He tugged the lapel and shrugged the seams up to where they belonged. He stood in place at the foot of the stairs, swaying from one foot to the other, too afraid of making noise to pace or move into the dining room. It was probably a good spot there; he would be seen, waiting gallantly with the rose, when she came to the head of the stairs. Maybe his head would shine up at her. Hopefully not with sweat. He wished she would hurry, before his nerves drenched him. “Hey.” Holly stood at the top of the stairs, wearing sleek white. *Wait, is that her slip?* “I don't feel like theatre tonight. Want to come up?” Now a whole new round of nerves flared up. His fingers finally snapped the rose stem. And the top of his head did break out in a cold sweat, which ran and dripped onto Shawn's lucky suit. *** *** ![2r8F9rTBenJQfQgENfxADE6EVYabczqmSF5KeWefV5WL9WCwdLfK8wNVLEHQvZYiQREccyWxK5G2ch4CSZgaYyLkDLsrmU75s1vZ.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cliffagreen/23tbAxe9UurHqj93C1PyF6RHyMNFBdcbTNZ9aHXXBCbKxa46oDwugrXpfRaF9sW4BWAtP.gif) *** *** _{Cover for “The Lucky Suit” designed in CanvaPro, using this week's [A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words](https://peakd.com/hive-161155/@freewritehouse/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-t95krx) prompt image ([image source](https://pixabay.com/photos/rose-flower-valentines-day-hand-5951728/)).} _{Text written by @cliffagreen without the use of AI.} ^{Creative Coin banner designed by @ [pacolimited](https://peakd.com/@pacolimited).} ^{Contributions to my **$1,600 to $50,000 GoFundMe campaign** can be made here: https://gofund.me/f6ea112e6.} *** ***

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