Page 40 of Not My Finest Hour

“To Lorelei,” I say, then take a sip of my soda. “Just don’t forget us when the wedding comes around. Fern has already robbed me of one bridesmaid position by wanting to elope. I can’t have that happen twice.”

“Don’t worry,” Lorelei reassures me. “You two will definitely be by my side. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

ChapterFifteen

“What do you wear to your kinda sorta first date with someone even though you already know this person? And what do you wear when the date is taking place at his house?” I ask Fern who’s lounging on the couch.

I’m standing in our living room with a towel wrapped around my body, hair dripping onto my shoulders because I just got out of the shower. I thought about what to wear the whole time I was in there, and now that I’m out, I still don’t have an answer.

“If I were you, I’d go with something casual. Your past couple of dates with Wesley have been on the fancy side, and I’m sure you’ve had enough of that,” she says. “Besides, I thought the whole point of this date tonight was just to enjoy each other’s company. It’s not like anyone is going to see the two of you.”

“What if we go somewhere?”

“You’ll have clothes on, won’t you?” Fern teases me.

I roll my eyes. “Of course. I’m just talking in case we do something and I’m not dressed the part.”

“Stop worrying so much. I doubt the two of you are going to be doing anything that would require you to dress up.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Just wear whatever feels right. What do you think you should wear?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I was asking you.” It feels like we could be at this for hours and I still wouldn’t have an answer.

Fern lets out an exasperated sigh. “You’re exhausting. I’ll go pick out your clothes for you, if that’s what you want,” she says, getting up off the couch.

I flash her a grin. Good. That’s exactly what I want.

I let her lead the way down the hallway and wait while she scrutinizes the clothes in my closet. “Here,” she says, tossing an outfit on the bed. “Wear this.” On my bed are a pair of jeans, a cute, formfitting pink T-shirt, and a navy zip-up sweatshirt. “And you can pair it with your sneakers down there.” She points to a pair of pink Chucks on the floor of my closet.

“I never would’ve picked that out myself, but it’s perfect. It’s cute, but not too dressy and also works in case we go out somewhere. Thank you. You saved me.”

Fern flashes me a smug smile. “You’re welcome. And before you ask me, I think you should wear your hair up. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my show.”

I wait for her to leave my room, then finish getting ready. Justin and I are keeping things so casual tonight, he’s not even picking me up. Instead, I’m driving myself over to his house.

By the time I get to his house, it’s around five in the evening. With the ever-present clouds hanging over the city like they do most days this time of year, it’s almost pitch black when I arrive. A single dim streetlight barely brightens the way along the sidewalk, and I step carefully, making sure I don’t trip and fall on anything before I get to his door. Justin’s porch light is on, but the blinds are down in the front window so I can’t see what’s going on inside. I knock twice, then wait for him to come to the door.

“Hey, there,” Justin says when he opens the door. He’s dressed much like me, in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Except his shirt is a graphic tee that has an outline of mountains on it.

“Hey,” I say coolly, like I’m not ridiculously excited to be here. Yeah, I haven’t been fretting over our first real date all day. That would be stupid and there’s no way I did that.

He swings the door wide open. “Come on in.” I step across the threshold, and right as I’m about to walk by him, he looks into my eyes and wraps an arm around my waist. I’m lost in his gaze and so focused on him, it’s like the rest of my surroundings are blurry, like you’d see in a movie. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been looking forward to our date all week.”

My answering smile touches the corners of my eyes. “Me too.” I rise up on the balls of my feet and bring my lips to his. He captures my lips in a searing kiss I feel all the way to my core. I wasn’t sure what to expect from our date tonight, but this is a very good start.

He closes the door behind us and leads me into the living room. “I really didn’t plan anything tonight, so if you want to go out before dinner, we can do that,” he says.

“What did you have planned for dinner? Do we need to go out and get ingredients for it?”

“I at least took care of that part,” he says with a smile. “We’re having pesto pasta with chicken breast. Except—” His face takes on a panicked look and he shakes his head.

“What is it?”

“I forgot the berries for our dessert. I was going to get some on my way home from work yesterday, but forgot.”

“That’s okay. We can go out together and get them. Was there any specific kind you were looking for?”

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