Page 36 of Austen, Edited

Chapter 22

Abby pressed send on the final paper she had to turn in for the week. Checking the clock on her computer, she saw she only had twenty minutes before her date with Jeff. It was tempting to avoid dressing up, but then her uncle might take away his support for being rude or not trying.

She pulled her hair up in a more elegant messy bun, sticking in several bobby pins to hold the sections of hair in place. Jeff drove a convertible, and while it wasn’t her favorite thing, she also didn’t want to have her hair whipping her as they drove through Boston. With a clean blouse and some dark wash jeans, she grabbed her wallet and phone, sticking them into a smaller purse she’d had since high school.

With a few minutes to spare, she sat on the brick wall outside her dorm. She pulled out her phone and went through her text messages. Since her schedule had increased in intensity now that they were more than a month into the semester, there were moments when she wondered if she’d ever make it through the ever-growing list of things she needed to get done before the Christmas break. And to top it off, she’d lost her phone for a couple of days and still hadn’t responded to everyone yet, trying to push through and get her papers done on top of working.

How goes it?

The message from Greyson was time-stamped from the day before. They hadn’t spoken since the meeting on Monday. Did she text him back now when Jeff could show up at any minute?

It’s going. I’m tired, but that’s what happens when I try to work full-time and take eighteen credit hours.

She saw the little dots at the bottom of the screen, watching them dance along it as she waited for his response to pop up.

You’re alive! Hopefully you’re able to get some rest in tonight. Do you want to do something on Saturday?

She grinned at his response, laughing that he’d commented on her not responding to him.

Yeah. I’ll have to get some reading done in the morning, but later would be fun.

“Who’s making you smile?” Jeff’s voice pulled her away from the phone and caused her to jump, almost falling back into the bushes below the small walkway.

She stuffed her phone into her purse and hopped off the wall, her feet wobbling a bit on the landing. “No one. How are you?” Glancing at him, she panicked. He was in a nice suit, an expensive suit, like the ones Greyson’s mother picked out for him. “Um, I’m a little underdressed. Where did you say we’re going again?”

“Top Shelf. My dad pulled some strings and got us a reservation.” His eyes took her in, his nose scrunching a bit. “It might be a good idea to change.”

“Okay,” she said, sliding her card in the reader. “Um, well, you can come up or just wait for me out here.”

He looked up at the building and shrugged. “I’ll come in.”

Waiting for the elevator wasn’t an option, as she was already more flustered than she wanted to be around this guy. She opened the door to the stairs and started up. Thankfully, they were starting on the second floor, so it would only be two flights.

Jeff stayed close, and Abby wasn’t sure what to say to ease the weirdness. But then again, did she want to ease it? Maybe if he found out what kind of a person she really was, practically an orphan and not the most refined person in the world, he’d decide to leave her alone, helping to meet the bargain.

But then again, her uncle hadn’t said anything about if her date failed. Would he still retract the money?

“I’m just right down here in 405.” She pointed when they reached the top of the stairs.

“Sounds good. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a dorm. What year are you again?” Jeff asked, leaning against the wall as Abby punched in the door code.

Abby took a moment to remember the question. “Senior.”

He raised an eyebrow, a smirk causing her irritation to rise. She pushed the door open and held it for him to walk through. He glanced around, again with the scrunching of the nose.

“I thought dorms were just for freshman. You willingly live on campus?”

Shutting the door, Abby turned around to face him. “Yeah, it’s a kind of perk, to be honest. Freshmen, sophomores, and seniors are usually on campus, while juniors tend to live off-campus due to the limited amount of housing available. That’s when most people go abroad.”

“Sounds crazy to me. I’d want my own house so I wouldn’t get written up for stupid things.”

“We like it.” She pointed down the hall. “I’m going to hurry and change so we’re not late.”

She didn’t wait for an answer and took off, trying to mentally call up a picture of her closet in the few seconds before she stood in front of it.

What would be nice enough for the big restaurant downtown but make it so this was a one-and-done date? She’d heard good things about Top Shelf and that there was a reservation list a mile long, but she’d never really been into trying to get into restaurants like that. The fact that he’d gotten them a table there didn’t help her chances of pushing him away, but a girl could try.

She sorted through the clothes hanging up, resorting to Tiffany’s closet after a couple of minutes. A red shimmery shirt that draped a little in the front would work, along with a pencil skirt.

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