I woke up in time to see the kids off to school in the morning. After they left, I crawled back into bed…with Ash. He didn’t even notice me come in, but when I got into the bed he rolled over and wrapped himself around me. For someone so skinny, he puts off a lot of body heat.
My mom woke us up around two thirty. The kids would be home soon and I needed to get ready for dinner. Should I call it a date? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that he’d called a place close to Westerville and it was a nice place. I was a little freaked out because I hadn’t packed anything nice. I didn’t take dresses on tour with me.
“Hey, Ash told me he’s taking you somewhere nice tonight. You left a couple dresses here last time you visited.” My grandma said to me, as I was getting a drink of water.
I wrapped myself around her small frame, eternally grateful that she had a solution. Now the question arose. Which dresses were they, and which one should I wear? My options consisted of a blue floral tiki type thing I’d gotten at Hot Topic, a black cold shoulder dress with an iridescent ribcage design on the front, or a long sleeved floral lace dress I had gotten at Walmart. By far, it was the nicest of the three.
As I was taking them all upstairs to my bag, Renynn came walking in.
“Thank goodness. I need shoes.” I told her.
She followed me upstairs and showed me where her shoes were. Actually, there were a few pairs of mine in here. Which surprised me because I knew mom would never let her wear them. But I spotted my favorite pair of black booties and grabbed those.
“Shoe thief.” I said and stuck my tongue out. She laughed.
After a quick shower, I was dressed and blow drying my hair. Mom came in and curled it for me, because she’s a lot better at it than I am. After a tiny bit of makeup application, I was ready. The kids all oohed and ahhed at me when I walked out. Giving them a small twirl, I could hear voices downstairs.
“Hey, Mr. Vaile, can you help me with this tie?” I heard Ash ask.
“Sure. But, please, call me Buck.” My grandpa replied.
I smiled. It meant the world to me that Ash and my family got along well. I couldn’t bear to lose either relationship. I grabbed a small purse of Renynn’s and carefully made my way down the stairs. On a normal day, I could trip over nothing. So, wearing anything with a heel was unusual for me.
“Ash! Ash! Look!” my brother Holden yelled from the couch in the kitchen as I stepped into the doorway.
He turned…and his jaw dropped. Literally fell. If this were a cartoon, it would be on the floor. His stare made feel slightly nervous…but also empowered, a little. I wasn’t the type to dress up unless it was a really special occasion and he knew it.
I blushed and crossed my arms, elbows in my hands. He came over to me and lifted my chin.
“You look amazing.” He whispered, planting a light kiss on my forehead. I blushed even harder.
“Have fun!” everyone called to us as we walked out the door.
Being the gentleman that he is, he opened the passenger door for me and took my hand to help me into the car. There were a million butterflies in my stomach as he got in and programmed the GPS. When we reached the bottom of the hill, he took my hand in his, laying them on my thigh. I smiled like an idiot the whole way to dinner.
