“I’m not stressed.”
“You get more and more agitated with each store we walk out of.”
He’s not wrong, but I don’t need him to point it out. “I just want to make sure I have an actual costume.”
“Then call her and see what she’s dressing up as,” He shakes his head. “Then you can match or whatever.”
“Are you sure you’re not mad you weren’t invited?”
“No,” he grunts. “Do you have any idea how terrible traffic is going to be?”
I haven’t, and while it’s not my favorite thing, I’ll deal with it for Jaylen. “I can always send you pictures so you’ll feel like you’re there.”
“I’d rather you not.” He stares out the window as I drive through town. “Actually, do you want to drop me off at the house? I think I’m still hungover.”
There’s no thinking, he’s definitely still hungover. There’s a reason I don’t drink as much as I did in high school. And why I don’t drink liquor. That’s the whole reason I lost my friendship with Jaylen to begin with. I got drunk, in my feelings, and told her I loved her as more than a friend.
“Sure. Do you need anything before I drop you off?”
“Nope. I have everything I need at home.”
“Okay.” I turn down the main road out of town that will lead me to Hudson’s house.
Hudson is at his house, and I’m at a loss as to what to do with the rest of my day. I had originally planned on leaving today. In just a few hours I would be closing in on home. But no, I’m still here, doing whatever the girl I loved asks of me.
Speaking of, Hudson wasn’t wrong about needing to call her. It’ll help with costume coordination because I have no idea which direction to take it.
I don’t want to go home in case I need to go back to the store. There aren’t as many people on the road as I’d expect today. I guess everyone is still sleeping off their hangovers from the reunion last night. I pull into a gas station and put the truck in park so I’m not on the phone while driving.
I grab my phone off the dashboard and look for her information she put in. I press the call icon when I get to her name. The phone rings once, twice, three times, before she picks up.
“Hello?” She sounds different today. Like she’s panicked.
“Hey, Jaylen.” I wait for her to say anything else, but she doesn’t. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Me and Kelly are working on my costume for the Halloween party.”
“Good. That’s actually what I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh yeah?” She pauses for a second. “Are you having second thoughts about going?”
“No, not at all. I told you I would go with you, and I will.”
“Okay. What do you need?”
“What does your costume look like? I’m trying my luck at the stores today and it might help if I had something in mind to look for.”
“Um, hold on.” I hear her hand cover the phone and muffled voices talk in the background. Too bad I can’t make out what they are saying. After a couple of minutes she comes back online. “You still there?”
“Yeah,” I draw out. I don’t know if I should be scared or not.
“Soooo, I’m not going to tell you what I’m dressing as,” her voice is shaky with the words as if she’s not convinced, she should be saying them. “Kelly and I both agree you should be surprised when you pick me up for the party.”
Huh. I didn’t realize I was picking her up, but it makes sense. At least she also sees this as a date, and not just a random friend outing. That makes me feel slightly better about being nervous for the party.
“How am I supposed to know what to be if I don’t know what you are?”
“Surprise me.” I can hear the smile in her voice now. The playful woman coming to the forefront. “It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. It’s not like I gave you a ton of notice for the party.”
