The next day was a Sunday and thankfully her dad had to work, so she had no problem getting to meet Mick at noon. She was a little late and when she got there she found Mick waiting, leaning up against his truck with his arms crossed. She pulled in beside him and got out to meet him. “Hey,” Mick said as soon as she got out of her car.
“Hey,” she said back. “So, what are we doing today?”
“Why do I have to choose?” Emily could tell he was teasing, maybe even flirting.
“Because you’re the one that invited me.”
“Technically you’re the one that set the time and place, so in a way you invited me. However, being the gentleman that I am, I have arranged a series of events that will help you improve your confidence.”
Emily didn’t know if she liked the sound of that. True, that may have been what they had originally decided, but she didn’t know if she was ready to just dive in like that. “What kind of events?” She asked warily.
“I can’t tell you that, but I promise, nothing that will hurt you.”
“Not even a hint?” She pried.
“I can’t, that would ruin the surprise and it could weaken the potential results.”
Emily laughed at his attempt to sound professional. “Yes, Doctor.”
Mick smiled and motioned his head to the truck. He went around to the driver’s side and Emily got in the passenger seat. They began driving, Emily clueless as to where they were headed.
“How many of these special events are there?”
“A few… it all depends on whether or not I think of more while we’re out.”
“And what if I don’t want to do an event?”
“You can’t just ignore your medication, no matter how much you don’t want it.”
Emily had to admit that it actually made sense, and she couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted to get over this. She wanted to be able to go out in crazy outfits like Allison without caring what other people thought. She wanted to be able to shout like a fool without worrying that people were judging her. “Will you be doing them with me?”
He looked over at her and said sincerely, “Of course I will.”
That made Emily feel better, but she was still dreading whatever it was she would have to be doing.
After driving for about five minutes, Mick pulled off the main road down a rugged dirt one. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
“You aren’t bringing me out here to kill me are you?” She joked, and then realized that he might take offense because of the charges.
His smile showed her that he wouldn’t. “Nah, I have another spot for that,” he joked back.
Emily chuckled. She loved the way she felt when she was around him, like she had a normal life. When she was with him it didn’t matter that she didn’t have loving parents, it didn’t matter that she only had one friend, all that mattered was him.
The car slowed to a stop in a small clearing in the otherwise small forest. “This is where we’re going?”
“This is step one on the ‘Help Emily Agenda’.”
