Riptide (An Emblem3 Fanfic)

Chapter 44

I bit my lip in anticipation. I knew this was too much, I knew it. Maybe it wasn't too late to go up and change? I tried to read his facial expression but the look he had plastered across his face could mean a number of things. His eyes were fixed on me, moving slowly up and down. His lips were parted slightly.

I tried to distract myself by looking at what he was wearing. Wes looked super cute in his suit jacket and tie, he was even wearing dress shoes. After standing there for what seemed like hours he finally said something.

"Avery..." I looked up so I was gazing directly into his eyes. "You look incredible." He said. He still had the same expression, but there was a new look in his eyes. Much to my relief he now looked awestruck. I saw Adrianna on the other side of the foyer give me a thumbs up. She gave me this look that said: I told you looked hot. I couldn't help it I smiled at her and directed my attention back to my awesome boyfriend who then held out his arm for me.

"Wesley Trent Stromberg, you clean up nice." I said as he opened the car door for me. I heard him laugh before walking over to his door.

"How did you know my middle name?" He smirked "Please don't tell me my mom pulled out the photo album or something." The fact that he looked a little scared that I had seen him in his awkward stage made me laugh.

"Nah, Keaton told me." I replied and a look of relief passed over his face. Just to play with him a little I added, "But there were pictures involved." I smiled.

"I'm going to kill that kid, I really am." He said shaking his head from side to side. I could tell he wasn't actually mad though because he kept trying to bite his smile back. "Speaking of nice," He said, "you don't look too bad yourself." He took his right hand off the wheel to pinch my arm.

"Really? It's not too much? All this stuff is Adrianna's and she insisted on doing my hair and my make up, and letting me borrow her shoes..." I rambled.

"No seriously, you look amazing." He told me. "And tonight, you're all mine." He added with his little half smirk.

When we pulled up to the restaurant the valet took our car and we were seated immediately. "Stromberg, party of two?" I heard the hostess say as we entered the establishment. Wes nodded and we were led to a table in a quiet corner at the back of the restaurant.

The night progressed nicely, but the air was dripping with tension. We both knew that we had to talk about us. Where we would go from here, whether or not there would even be an us. After dinner when he started walking me to the door I had to say something. "Wesley..." I began, but he cut me off.

"Avery, please. I can't talk about it, I just can't." He looked down at his hand and started playing with his jacket.

"I don't want to either. But Wes, we have to." I said tears pooling in the corners of my eyes. I managed to hold it in and blink them back, but I still felt so empty inside. When I got on that plane tomorrow I would be leaving a part of myself behind.

"What am I supposed to say?" He asked, his voice stronger than it was before. "Am I supposed to be supportive of this? Am I not supposed to be upset that the girl that I'm in love with is moving 3000 miles away, and I might never see her again?" I don't know what caught me more off guard, the fact that Wes just told me that he loved me or the fact that he was actually starting to cry too. I was too shocked to actually speak but I managed to choke out,

"What?"

"Avery, I love everything about you. The way you always try to skate in front of me when we race, how you bite your lip whenever you're thinking about something." He said and I stopped biting my bottom lip. I was surprised that there was actually someone paying attention to me. He continued, "The way you look after Keaton like he's your own brother, how you love to surf as much as I do... The fact that you're an amazing singer but you refuse to acknowledge it. You make me feel like the luckiest guy in the entire world because you're so honest and humble and you never stop believing in me no matter what I do."