Page 88 of Perfect Chemistry

“No! You just sit and relax. I don’t want you to be stressed or anxious, Katie. Just try to relax, ok?” Andie smiled at me and gave me a sweet kiss on my cheek like she was placating a child.

“I can’t,” I whined. I was nervous and stressed. Kai hadn’t called me in a week. I knew his phone was broken, but it had been a week. My insecurities had completely taken over my rational thoughts.

Andie stopped and stared at me. Her face was a mix of thoughts that I couldn’t read. She started to turn away, and then sighed as if in resignation. “I can’t do this,” she muttered.

She put down the spatula she had been holding and walked over to me. “Kai will be here at 6pm to pick you up for a date. He wanted to surprise you, so he called me. Go wash up, pretend like you know how to dress yourself up in something other than t-shirts and training shorts,” she stated, staring at me, waiting for me to obey, but I was in shock.

“What?” Was all that I could get out.

“You’re going on a date. Don’t look like…” She waved her hands in a circle gesturing at my whole body, “like this. Try, Katie. Try to look like a grown woman again.”

I didn’t have a chance to say another word because she turned my body and forced me out of the kitchen.

“He’ll be here in one hour!” she yelled at my back as I walked to the stairs.

“What the hell is this?” I yelled from the guest room when I found a black dress laid out on the bed.

“An intervention!” Jonas yelled from the living room.

What the hell? Jonas was in on this too?

I grumbled as I walked into the bathroom to get a shower and cleaned up. I could do this. Why was I so nervous about seeing Kai? We already slept together. He had seen me broken down and a mess and still wanted to have sex with me.

I came out of the bathroom 30 minutes later, wearing the black dress, my hair dried and tamed into a little bob that rested on my shoulders. I hadn’t really worn make-up since, well, three years ago. It felt foreign to me, so I just put on some mascara and a little lip gloss.

I walked downstairs when I was okay with how I looked. Andie stopped and whistled, looking me up and down with an appreciative smile. “There she is,” she gloated as she walked over to give me a hug.

“I may have lied about the time,” she whispered just as the doorbell rang.

I jerked back from the hug and looked at her wide eyed. “No, Andie, I need more time,” I whispered urgently hoping she would cancel this whole thing.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, it’s time for you to inch forward, Katie. You don’t have to run, but just inch a weeeeeeeee bit forward.”

I followed her to the door, and put on my black flats. I refused to wear heels, but they didn’t look bad with the dress either. It wasn’t form fitted, but it definitely accentuated the few curves that I still possessed. I wanted to turn and run out of the back door, but then I heard Kai’s voice.

“You look amazing, Katie.”

I turned to see him looking at me and smiling. I looked at Andie with panic again, but she just laughed and shook her head. Again. Damnit.

“Hi.” That was all that I could muster up.

Kai seemed to understand and looked at Andie a little worriedly, but she just shook her head at him too. Suddenly two sets of small hands were pushing me to the door, and I turned to find Aiden and Avery smiling up at me.

“Have fun!” They cheered together.

“Et tu?” I scowled at them before being pushed out the door with Kai.

“Um, I guess she didn’t tell you about tonight?” Kai asked. His face flushed with embarrassment.

“Eh- No. I just found out about 30 minutes ago. So I wasn’t prepared,” I admitted.

“Well, we are here now, so let’s try,” he whispered, taking my hand and pulling me toward his car. He opened the passenger door for me and gestured for me to climb in, but then stopped me. “You look amazing, Katie,” he whispered in my ear before leaving a light kiss on my cheek.

I felt my face heat up and knew that I must be cherry red. I quickly sat in my seat and let him close the door while I buckled up. As he drove away from Andie’s, I finally found my voice and asked what we were doing tonight.

“If I say it is a surprise, will that make you more or less nervous?” he glanced over at me while he drove through town.

“More,” I admitted.

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