Page 41 of The Perfect Hit

I turned around, my mascara brush hovering an inch in front of my eyes. “What do you mean? I’m trying to get ready here.”

“Ready for what?”

I turned, rolling my eyes as my beautiful cousin had donned basketball shorts that went almost to her ankles and a t-shirt that was a little more formfitting. Even in casual clothes, she could probably rock the runway, with the right eye makeup of course.

“For the day. What brings you to the other Miller home?”

“I figured I should come and help you ask someone to the dance.” Brynn grinned at me, and I knew that mischievous look. It was the one I’d given her just a few months ago when I was trying to set her up with guys.

“Um, no. I don’t date. At least, not anymore.”

“What are you talking about? You’d be a popular choice of date if you let people in.”

I shook my head. “Brynn, you know better than anyone what it’s like when you’ve been betrayed. I just, I can’t do that yet.”

“I didn’t think I could either,” she said, giving me a no-nonsense look. “And here I am, in a happy relationship because I got a little nudge from you.”

I laughed, not believing her. “Please. I just embarrassed you the night all the guys came to the old-man basketball game. You did the rest yourself.”

She stood, walking toward my bedroom door. “Yeah, well, here’s my chance to embarrass you. We’re asking someone to the dance.” She grabbed a bag from the hallway.

I blinked a few times. “You mean the one coming up on Saturday? As in, less than a week from now?”

Brynn nodded slowly as if waiting for me to get something I wasn’t picking up.

“You’re crazy. With all the stuff we have left to get ready for the play, I don’t have time to go on a date, let alone plan one.”

“That’s not a problem,” she said, waving her hand in the air. “You’ll just go in our group. We’ve already got things planned out, and it will be so fun. Come on, Haze. Now’s the time to have fun. Forget what that loser Seth said or did so long ago. You’re stronger for it.”

I was grateful for the praise, but I didn’t feel any stronger. In fact, it was like I was stuck in some weird kind of limbo.

“Colt has already been asked by someone. I don’t know who else to ask.”

She smiled that smile again, and I knew something was up. “How about you take that new kid? Adam Taylor.”

I gave her a short sarcastic laugh and stopped when I realized she was serious. “I’m not asking out a guy I barely know.”

“Why not? You could use it as practice. It doesn’t have to be a long-term thing because it’s a dance.”

“Some people start off at a dance and end up a couple,” I said, reflecting on my past relationship. I’d asked Seth to a dance, and that’s how we got started. My stomach tightened, thinking that could happen with Colt and Marcy.

“Not everyone, Haze. It will be a good jumping-off point into getting back in the game.”

I closed my eyes and fell back onto the bed, not wanting to go further with that line of thinking. But I couldn’t come out and say I was starting to crush on Colt either. Not when Marcy was interested in him. Ugh, what a mess.

“What if I’m never ready?”

Brynn reached over and pulled me into a hug. “How about we go for this one dance date? Then you can go back to being a non-dating girl if things don’t work out. But the best part about this is he’s a baseball player, so he’ll fit in with the guys, and I’ll be there to help you if you need anything.”

“Do I need a dress?” I asked. I still couldn’t remember which dances were formal and which weren’t in Pecan Flatts.

Brynn shook her head. “Nope. This is a couples costume dance, and I knew that would be easy for you.”

I grinned, just thinking of the couple's costume possibilities. But then I remembered I wasn’t going with Colt and my enthusiasm wavered.“Wait, wasn’t Harvest costumes?”

Brynn shrugged. “Yeah, but the senior committee decided to do them again instead of matching t-shirts. You can blame Kate for that.”

“I know nothing about this guy. What if he doesn’t want to dress up?”

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