The New Separation (Book 2)

Chapter 21

Colton

I pulled up outside the Reynolds' house just before five o'clock Saturday night. I was so nervous and I couldn't figure out why. I mean, sure, I had a date with Elliot tonight. But it was Elliot, of all people. I've been on hundreds of dates with him over the last two years. 

Except this would be our first one after our break-up. 

Climbing out of the car, I slowly walk up to the front door. I shouldn't be so nervous. He came to me the other night. He wanted this just as much as I did. He still loved me enough to give me another chance. This wasn't going to be weird at all.

I rang the doorbell and waited. After a minute, the door opened, revealing Elliot's mom, Abbey. 

"Hello," I said with a smile. "Is Elliot ready?"

Abbey immediately pulled me into a hug. "It's good to see you around here again, Colton. I know Elliot's quite happy about it too. Now, if you hurt my baby boy again-"

"I know, I know," I interjected. "Wouldn't dream of it. Honestly. He means way too much to me to ever hurt again."

She smiled. "Good. He's still in his room. You can go on in."

Thanking her, I heading into the house which I knew almost as well as my own. It only took me a few seconds before I was standing in front of Elliot's room. The door was closed and, while I thought about just going in, I figured knocking was better, so I knocked.

"Yeah, come in," his voice called from inside. I went in. "I don't know what to wear tonight," he continued to say, his back to me as he dug through his closet. "Does this look okay?" Then he turned around. His eyes went wide, which was pretty adorable. "Colton!"

I smiled. "Well, in my personal opinion, I think you look amazing in everything."

"Th-that... I wasn't asking for your opinion." 

I took a couple steps closer to him. "But I thought I was the one you were trying to dress up for," I whispered as I placed my hands on his hips. Then I raised my voice back to a normal level. "Which you totally didn't need to do. You're dressed so much better than me, as always."

"That's not true!" he exclaimed, stepping back, although there was a smile on his face, so I knew he wasn't upset or anything. "Fine. It's a date, I want to look at least semi-decent. Unlike you, apparently."

I scoffed, looking down at my jeans and some sweater I had pulled on. "What? How many dates have we been on before? Do I really need to dress up to impress you?"

"If you really want to win me back, then yes."

That got real serious real fast. "Really?"

Elliot crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes. Colton, you hurt me. Why should I just give in and get back with you just because? You need to show me you really do care about this relationship, about me."

I nodded once, understanding. I should have thought about that beforehand. But really, this would be our, like, thousandth date at the point. I didn't think it would matter what we wore.

"Okay. Date's been moved. I will come back and pick you up in a half an hour."

I was just able to see a hint of a smile on his face as I turned and walked out of his bedroom. Guess I had to go home and change now.

Elliot

I don't know why I got offended when he showed up here wearing clothes he would wear any other day. Maybe I was making a bigger deal out of it than I should of - he was kinda right, we've been on a ton of dates together. But this was the first one after being broken up. It's like our first date all over again.

No, I don't think anything could compare to our first date. But having an amazing second first date will make getting back into this relationship just that much easier. And that didn't involve him wearing old jeans. 

At least this gave me a few more minutes to get ready. For someone who's kinda clueless and always running around like he barely knows what's going on, he always manages to show up for dates super early. Even when I try to get ready earlier or faster, he still gets here too early.
Once I finish getting dressed and fixing my hair, I still had time to spare. So I went in the kitchen to wait, which wasn't something I was used to.

"You're still here?" Mama said a few minutes later as she passed by. "I'm pretty sure I let Colton in here."

I shrugged. "Yeah. I kinda made him go home and change?" I felt guilty saying that out loud. Was I really turning into that boyfriend? 

Mama just laughed. "Okay then. Where are you boys headed? Somewhere fancy?"

I shrugged again. "I don't know. He wouldn't tell me when I asked this morning."

She patted my shoulder. "Well, I hope you have a good night, wherever he takes you."

She started heading for the stairs, but I stopped her. When she turned to face me again, I asked, "Am I making the wrong choice by going out with him again?"

She sighed and then came over to sit in the seat next to me. "Elliot." The way she said my name made me not really want to hear what else she had to say. But she went on anyway. "I love you, you know that. And I am so proud of you. You've grown up so much. My baby boy." She sighed again. "I can't make that choice for you. You need to decide if he's worth the risk. If some girl did to me what Colton did to you back in high school, I would've kicked her to the curb and never looked back. But I never fell in love until I met your mother. You absolutely love him, don't you?"

I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face when I answered. "Yeah, I do."

"Then fight for him. You did the right thing, telling him to change clothes. Make him chase you. If he ends up thinking you're not worth it for him, he won't do it. But you can't string him along forever, just so you know. Let him prove himself to you, but don't make him go overboard, 'cause that's just not fair to either of you."

The doorbell rang, so I stood up. That had to be Colton. "Thanks, Mama," I said honestly. 

I felt a little bit better about making him go change now. And he did go, which should mean he really wants me too. I just hope that's the case.