Chapter 19
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Rory
Standing in front of my closet with my hands on my hips, I glare at the contents.
It’s official, I have nothing cute enough for a date. Holding my robe tighter around my body I peek out into the hallway. “Kenna?”
“In my room.”
Padding down the hall, I lean into her bedroom. She looks up from her laptop to find me nibbling on my lip with nerves. “I need your help.”
“Sure, with what?” She closes the laptop, setting it aside as she climbs from the bed.
“My date with Cole is tonight and I have nothing to wear.”
She squeals so loudly I’m sure the girls on either side of our dorm have to hear. “Oh my God, why didn’t you tell me? Li, come here! Our girl is finally going on a date with Cole.”
Seconds later, Li appears looking far too put together in a simple pair of cotton shorts and loose tee, while I’d look like a hobo in the combo.
“Ooh, does that mean we get to dress you up?” She claps her hands, her dark hair falling forward like a curtain.
I throw out my arms. “Yes, I’m your doll. I’m clueless. I’ve never gone on a real date,” I admit. “I have no idea how to do this.”
Kenna’s jaw drops. “You’ve … never …?”
I roll my eyes. “I have, but not a date.”
“Hmm,” she muses, moving around me. “Well, we’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
She isn’t lying either, an hour later she’s picked out my clothes, done my makeup, and Li did my hair.
“Go check yourself out.” She points to her floor-length mirror in the corner.
My jaw drops at the sight of myself. The dark green satin slip dress she put me in makes my skin look tanner and like I have an inner glow. The gold jewelry around my neck helps ground the look, while my long hair curls around my shoulders. For the makeup she kept it simple with a gold and brown smokey-eye, nude lips, and pink blush.
She looks me up and down. “I did good. Cole’s going to die.”
Smoothing my hands down the front of my dress, I exhale a deep breath. “I’m nervous.”
I’ll be the first to admit, I agreed to the date to piss off Mascen more than anything, but Cole does seem like a genuinely nice guy and I think he’s worth giving a shot. Nothing is ever going to happen between me and Mascen, not that I want it to anyway, he’s an asshole. Besides, just because you don’t feel a connection with someone right away doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Sometimes you have to get to know people before you feel something.
Kenna squeezes my arm. “It’s okay to be nervous. I think that’s normal before any date. No matter how confident you are, nerves are still a thing.”
“What will we talk about?” I blurt, my panic rising and with it my temperature. I’m probably going to start sweating profusely in twenty seconds.
Kenna turns me around, leaving her hand on my shoulders so I’m forced to look at her. “Stop overthinking it. Let conversation happen naturally and go with it. Don’t force anything. Okay?” She looks me square in the eyes, waiting for me to agree.
“I’m being dumb, aren’t I?”
“Very,” she responds. She straightens my dress and tucks a loose piece of hair back into place. “You look beautiful. You are beautiful—and smart, and pretty funny when you let loose. Be yourself. It’s the only thing any of us can be in the world that’s not already been done before.” She winks. “Any words of encouragement, Li?”
“Girl, you’ve got this.” She leans against the doorway. “And when you get home Kenna and I will be waiting with snacks so you can tell us all about it.”
“Unless of course you go home with him,” Kenna adds, sticking her tongue out slightly. “Then ride that stallion all the way into the sweet, sweet morning.”
“Oh my God.” I stifle a laugh.
“But let us know if you’re not coming home.” Li grabs my arm so I turn toward her. “We’ll worry if you don’t.”
“I’ll keep you updated.”
Just then there’s a knock on the door.
“Show time.” Kenna claps her hands. “You stay here, take a breath and calm down, and I’ll get the door.”
Kenna breezes past me and Li moves out of her way. The dorm is small enough that in only a few steps I can hear her opening the door.
“Have fun tonight.” Li surprises me by pulling me into a hug.
“I’ll try.”
Giving my hand a squeeze she encourages me out of the room and I step out to find Cole standing just inside the door with a bouquet of flowers, all different kinds and colors. He smiles wide when he sees me. “Hey,” he greets, moving toward me.
I meet him halfway, hugging him. “These are gorgeous.” I take the flowers when he offers them.
“Here, I’ll take them so you can go.” Kenna swoops in, my own personal fairy godmother.
“Are you ready to go?” Cole asks, while I’m busy checking him out.
Boots, a nice pair of jeans, and a black fitted button-down shirt tucked into the jeans. Thankfully, I don’t feel overdressed.
“Yeah.” My voice is a little higher than normal.
Cole’s hand glides down my waist to take my hand. “We should go, I have reservations.”
I let him lead me to the door, looking over my shoulder to find the girls both grinning at me like fools. Kenna gives me a thumbs up before we’re gone.
Outside, Cole leads me to a black Honda Pilot. It’s a few years old, not brand new like most of the cars on campus. I remind myself he’s like me, here on scholarship, which automatically makes me feel better because it means we’re on equal footing.
With his hand on my back, he opens the passenger door for me to climb in.
Jogging around the front of the SUV he slides inside, turning the engine on. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, but you look beautiful.”
My cheeks heat with his compliment. The dress isn’t my normal attire and I’d prefer more skin covered, but I do feel pretty in it.
“Thanks. You look good too.”
I find myself wishing I had more experience when it came to actual dates and dating so I would know how to make small talk. I feel like I’ve been dumped into the deep, dark waters with nothing to hold onto.
Cole backs out of the parking space and soon campus is left behind us. We don’t talk much on the drive which allows my nerves to grow and fester even more.
Downtown, he pulls into the lot of one of the fancier restaurants, a seafood place I pass on my way to Marcelo’s.
“You do like seafood, right?” he clarifies, rubbing his hands on his pants. He seems as nervous as I am, so that makes me feel better. “I should’ve asked that beforehand, but I didn’t think?—”
“Seafood is great.” I cut him off to alleviate his worry.
“Oh, good.”
He hops out and before I can open my door he’s there doing it for me. He takes my hand, leading me inside the restaurant. It’s decorated nicely, with rich dark colors and hints of gold. I would’ve been happy going to a diner, but this is definitely much better.
Cole gives his name to the hostess and we’re immediately led to a table for two near the back windows overlooking a manmade pond.
The hostess hands us each a leather-bound menu before leaving us.
“Have you been here before?”
“No,” he answers, looking at me above his menu. “It’s not too over the top is it?”
“It’s perfect.” I smile at him and his shoulders relax a tiny bit. “Do you not normally date?” I find myself asking.
He winces, appearing sheepish. “Not really.” He twists his lips and I know what he’s saying without words, but I’m not judging. I’ve done the same in the past, so why would I hold someone else to higher standards than I do myself?
“Well, I’m honored you like me enough to take me out on a date.”
He smiles back, his amber eyes sparkling. We both grow quiet, perusing the menu to decide what we want. When the waiter comes to fill the water glasses and places bread on the table we give him our order. My stomach rumbles and I reach for a piece of bread, slathering it with more butter than is necessary.
“How are you liking school so far?” Cole asks, sitting his water glass back down after taking several gulps from it.
“It's not so bad.” I pick at the edge of my nail trying to avoid eye contact. “Definitely different than high school.”
He chuckles, the sound warm and husky, almost cozy like something I could wrap myself in. Once again I find myself wishing that I could like Cole as something more than just a friend, but when I look inside myself I don't feel the warm and fuzzies and I don't think of him in that way. This date is a chance to see if there’s a chance of there being more there, but…
“Yeah, it sure is,” he interrupts my thoughts.
“It’ll be worth it.” I wipe condensation from my glass. “To have my degree, something that’s mine and no one can take from me.”
He angles his head. “What are you studying? I don’t think I’ve asked.”
He hasn’t. Our brief text exchanges have been little more than checking in with one another.
“I want to be a child advocate attorney.”
“That’s cool.”
He doesn’t ask why and for some reason that bothers me. Most people would want to know why you’re choosing a certain profession. I don’t think it’s that he doesn’t care, but that he doesn’t think it matters.
“What about you?” I ask, grabbing another piece of bread to butter. I can’t say no to carbs.
He clears his throat. “Oh, um, I’m studying journalism, but my coach is pretty certain I’ll go pro and that’s the plan for me. I love basketball and I want to play professionally.”
“Wow, really?” I say around a mouthful.
Professional sports doesn’t seem like practical thinking to me, but I’m not going to say that out loud. An injury can happen at any time, taking you out, and besides I’m sure most guys playing college sports hold some kind of hope that they’ll be one of the chosen ones. Granted, I haven’t seen Cole play—not that I’d know what I was looking at anyway—so maybe he really is above the rest.
Our food comes, the smell of the lemon and dill coating the fish I ordered is downright mouthwatering.
The small talk continues while we eat.
“Where are you from? Did you live in Tennessee before?”
I shake my head. “No, I grew up in Virginia actually and then moved to Florida.”
“Virginia? Where? Mascen grew up there.”
My face flushes and I try to think of a way to change the topic but can’t. “The Winchester area.”
“Fuck, really? That’s exactly where Mascen’s from.”
I swallow thickly, stifling the urge to reply that I know. “Small world.” My voice is scarcely above a whisper. “What about you?” I try to speak up. “Where are you from?”
I barely hear his reply, and the rest of the evening I go through the motions, my thoughts now with the wrong guy and not focused on my date as they should be.
When we leave the restaurant he takes me back to the dorm, placing a soft kiss on my lips before leaving.
The girls are waiting eagerly for me to give them every detail, but I fake a headache, removing the makeup and dress before climbing into bed.
When I close my eyes, even my dreams won’t let me free of Mascen.