Chapter Seventeen
“Aren'tyou supposed to have your first date tonight?”
Jensen's soft voice floated through the video chat from the other room, as I ran into the closet for the hundredth time to see if I did indeed have the perfect first date outfit for my imminent date with James.
Once again, it wasn't there, and I was panicking.
“Yes, I am supposed to be going out with him in about”—I checked the time on my phone as I stepped back into the bedroom and back to the call—“one hour. Oh, my God, Jens. What am I gonna do? I have nothing to wear, and this is the most important first date of all my first dates.”
Jens nodded like he had all the wisdom in the world. “This could be your last first date.”
I felt my blood pressure spiking even higher at that thought. “Holy shit, don't say that! I'm already freaking out about it. I don't need to think about that, too.”
He just smiled at me through the screen and then looked off to the right for a second before looking back to me.
“There's someone at the door, honey. Let me go check it. Mom was supposed to be coming by this morning to talk about something. It's a big mystery. Woooo.”
He wiggled his fingers in the air, and then we both laughed together. Jensen's mom would always do that finger wave and noise any time she had a secret. We had been laughing at her for years for it, but she loved making us laugh and kept it up.
“Okay, Jens. I hope it's a good surprise. Tell her hello and give her my love.”
Jensen smiled a sweet smile and said, “Will do, E.” Then he clicked off the chat.
I was once again alone, with only forty-five minutes left to find the perfect outfit and not freak out any more than I already was.
I went back to my meager closet selection and finally settled on skinny jeans, a flowy striped tee, and a long sweater duster in a gorgeous merlot color. To finish off the look, I wore my favorite heeled boots, the ones James loved, and a few bangles and necklaces for sparkle.
I glanced in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door and was pleasantly surprised with my final product. I was casual, but still a little fashionable with some edge. In other words, I was unapologetically me. It was the best feeling to know I didn't have to tone down my look for someone. James seemed to like me just the way I was and wasn't that the sign of a perfect match? We weren't anything alike, but that was what helped us work.
I stepped further into the bathroom to check my makeup one last time. I had gone light today, with just my eyeliner and a little concealer and gloss. I didn't want to do too much because I had no idea what we were doing. James had kept it all a complete secret, but I sort of liked the idea of a surprise date, even if it made dressing for it a bitch.
As I was finishing up, I heard a firm knock on the door, and the butterflies who had settled in my chest took flight and fluttered like mad. I breathed deep as I walked to the front door of the loft, put my hand on the knob, and took two more deep breaths before I opened the door.
Standing on the doormat was my Jay, and he couldn't have been more handsome. I let out the last breath I had taken on a sigh. “Jay, you brought me flowers? They're beautiful. How did you know irises were my favorite?”
James had been giving me a slow perusal from head to toe, but when I mentioned the flowers, he looked down, and the hint of a blush edged up above the collar of his button-down shirt. It was adorable on such a big guy.
“I didn't exactly know they were your favorite, but I've always liked them and hoped you would, too. I'm glad I chose right.”
Still a little embarrassed, he handed them to me. It took everything I had not to jump him on the spot. The bed was just feet away from the door since this was a loft. I could have latched onto that cute-as-hell face and kissed him until he submitted, but I didn’t. Even after all we’d been through, we’d still never had a first date, and I was determined to have at least one before we got down to business.
There was no vase under the sink or in the cabinets, so I had to find the largest plastic tumbler in the place for the flowers. I made sure to prop them between the side of the microwave and the knife block on the kitchen counter, then turned back to James. He still hadn’t entered the room but hung back in the doorway.
“It’s too late to back out now, Jay. You might as well come in and go through with it.” I teased him, and the blush got even deeper in his cheeks. Fuck, I wanted to keep him flushed, but for much dirtier reasons. I’d take what I could get for now, though.
“I’m not trying to get out of the date. I’m just trying to keep myself in check. You look so damn good. If I come in right now, we might not get to the date.” James looked too serious, but his words made the wings in my chest go wild. We were finally making progress.
I waved my hands at the door and sashayed my way over to him. Putting my arms around his waist, I gave hima big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Jay, you say the sweetest things. Let’s go have our first date, and then we can talk about all the other firsts we still have to do together. Sound good?”
Still holding my hips with his strong hands, James squeezed me close, close enough for me to feel how much he really wanted to skip the preliminaries and get to the main event. But then he gave me a sweet kiss on my cheek, mirroring the one I had just given him, and stepped back.
“I think that’s a very good plan, Ethan. Let’s go.”
After I walked out and locked my door, James took my hand so we could hold hands while walking down the stairs. There was that damn fluttering in my chest, again. Oh, Lord, this man flipped all of my switches. I cleared my throat and tried to make conversation.
“So, what are we doing for this big date?”
