Why did my name sound so much better coming from him?
I breathed in, my mind tossing up the pros and cons as fast as possible until they were a spiraling blur. “I guess it could work?”
Seb rubbed his hands together excitedly.
“What time am I picking you up?” It was a simple question, but it was the subtle lightness in Dean’s eyes that caused my answer to catch in my throat. He had asked it so casually, so smoothly…
Jen nudged my arm. “Around midday, right?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “Yes. Midday.”
A gentle smirk spread on Dean’s lips. Something in his demeanor changed too when his brow quirked. “It’s a date then.”
My heart may have flipped, tripped, and face-planted. “Should we switch numbers? In case something changes?”
“Good idea.” Seb snapped his fingers at Dean, who was already pulling out his phone.
Dean frowned at his friend’s sudden urgency, before unlocking his phone and bringing up a new contact. I did the same, but my fingers refused to work properly as I typed in his first name.
In a matter of seconds, we switched phones, typed in our numbers, and then returned each other's phones.
He made it seem like it was something he did often.
I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I had given my number to boys in the past, but something about giving it to Dean felt like I was toeing the line of the unknown. It felt strange. Exciting.
“See you tomorrow,” he crooned, looking at me in a way I hadn’t seen before, and then he was moving away, smiling a little as he tapped Seb once on the back.
A strange tingling flitted through my knees before I realized I hadn’t actually replied to what he said, but he was already several feet away.
“You know,” Seb began with a serious tone, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at Dean, “He hasn’t stopped—”
“I’m leaving without you if you don’t get a move on," Dean interrupted, having stopped on the sidewalk.
“Alright! Sheesh.” Seb looked at the three of us and waved happily before following Dean, swaying all over the place as he went.
Chapter 29
Dean
“He hasn’t stopped what, Seb?” I closed the car door behind me while he slumped into the passenger seat, resting his head back with a smug smile on his face.
He chuckled to himself, rolling his head to one side and grinning from ear to ear. “Nothing.”
“You wanna walk home?”
His smile didn’t completely vanish as he rolled his eyes. “You should be thanking me, you know,” he said matter of factly, shifting to face the window instead.
I scoffed. “And why’s that?”
No response.
Then came the snoring.
I shook my head and started the engine, checking the mirrors before pulling out into the mildly busy street. I could still see Lily in the rearview, waiting for her ride outside The Den. I should’ve offered her a lift home but had stopped myself.
“It’s a date then?” I muttered, mocking myself.
Fake dating? Meeting the family? Her parents? I never met anyone’s family. What was I thinking? It felt like I was crossing some line but didn’t know what the line was for. Or where the fuck it was. I would’ve blamed my knee-jerk reaction on the joint the guys smoked in the alleyway earlier, but I didn't touch the stuff. Even a second-degree high wouldn’t make me think this stupidly.
