The Boy Next Door

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"You look beautiful, Meg," Madelyn crowed, bouncing a ringlet of my hair in the palm of her hand.

"Thank you, Madelyn."

I wasn't dressing up much more than I did to go to church, but I guess she saw a difference. Wearing a knee-length casual dress and my grandmother's earrings, I saw my blue eyes highlighted. I did look good. Nice.

"Are you and Evan dating?"

I smiled. "That depends on how tonight goes."

Butterflies were dancing in my stomach, I was so nervous. This was the first time I'd gone on a date. Weird, right? I mean, I'm sixteen. But yeah. As I let out a long, drawn out breath, I let it calm my nerves.

Mom walked into my room and saw my pale face. "You'll be okay, Liliana. Don't worry about anything. I'll be calling you about an hour after you leave to give you an excuse to come home if you'd like."

"Thanks, Mom." The doorbell rang and I let out a little shriek. She merely smiled.

"Come on, Madelyn, let's go greet Evan. Liliana, come down when you're ready."

I nodded.

From downstairs I heard Dad and Evan conversing. Dad was asking about where he was taking me, what we were going to be doing, and making sure I got home in a timely manner.

Finally I gathered myself and took a deep breath, standing and walking down the stairs. When I reached the bottom step, I looked up, but it was too soon. I thought I was on the ground and stumbled. A blush grew profusely on my cheeks, but no one said anything about it.

"Do you have your phone?" Dad asked. I nodded, not trusting my voice. This, I thought, is why I chose flats. "Okay. Be back by ten." I nodded again and walked outside, Evan holding the door open for me. Then he grabbed the car door too.

"You look very nice, Megan," Evan commented as I climbed in.

"Thanks," I mumbled under my breath.

He was dressed nicely too, a button down shirt and clean jeans. His hair was combed back.

He climbed into the driver side of the car and started it. When it started, I jumped. The loud sound broke into my bubble that I was unintentionally creating around myself. Evan chuckled. "Why do you look so jumpy?"

I held back a deep sigh. "This is my very first date...ever." He nodded soberly.

"Mine too. Don't judge me if I don't do everything right."

"I have nothing to judge against." My voice was rushed and breathy. I tried desperately to calm my heart rate, but to no avail.

"Good," he chuckled, "because if you weren't pleased with it I think your dad may shoot me."

I laughed. "He's not a big fan of my growing up and doing things without any way for him to help." I frowned. "What do you mean this is your first date? You and Bri were dating."

"Not really."

We sat in silence for a bit. "Thank you."

"For what? I haven't done anything."

"You actually have. Since I first met you, I've began looking at things differently. You believing in God the way you do, how you deal with things that are thrown at you, those things have forced me to ask myself if I was a real follower, or if I was just a believer. I've been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for something to happen. You challenged that and now I'm a part of the games, not just a supporter. Thank you."