If sixteen-year-old Summer could see me now… standing in my closet picking out an outfit to go out on a date with Chase Hunt, she’d never believe that after all this time the pining paid off. I can’t help but feel giddy about tonight. I know I’m outside Chase’s comfort zone when it comes to his type. I’m still very aware that, at the end of the day, I’m a person who challenges him, forces him to see and react to things differently. I’m not always certain that’s something he likes, but he did ask me out tonight, so I have to assume he doesn’t completely hate those things about me.
After landing on my outfit for the night and putting the finishing touches on my curls, I give myself the tiniest of all pep talks. I always say the nervous feeling and the excited feeling are really just the same. They go hand in hand and while I’m excited and ready, I’m also very aware that this is something high school me would have lost her damn mind over.
The knock at my door surprises me, even though I was fully expecting it. He’s right on time. Exactly on time. Like my phonejustchanged to eight o’clock.
I quickly slip my feet into my heels and give myself one final glance in the mirror by the door. I went with a light pink dress that falls to just below my knees with a small slit up the side. When I open the door, Chase is wearing a navy blue suit with a white shirt underneath. The top few buttons are undone, letting his chest breathe a little and I feel like I could crumble at his feet.
Chase in a football uniform ishot.
Chase in a suit is downrightcaptivating.
“Damn,” he says as I open the door.
“Right back at you.”
He blushes as we both stand at the door on either side of the threshold, taking in the sight of each other.
His hand extends to mine, pulling it to his lips and he plants a soft kiss on my knuckles, before intertwining our fingers together.
“Ready to go?”
I can only nod at his question, allowing him to completely take the lead for the night.
The restaurant is fancy when we walk in. I’ve never been to this area of town, but it feels like it’s built for country club members and very, very wealthy people. The waiter places a bottle of champagne on the table just as we take our seats and I look around feeling as if I don’t belong in a place this nice.
“So, uh, how was your day?” he asks and it instantly feels… weird.
“It was good. How was yours?”
“It was good.”
We both nod and reach for our glasses at the same time. I watch as Chase almost spits out the champagne he just took a sip of, but he holds himself together.
“You can order a whiskey,” I let him know.
“Yeah, I might. I just thought champagne would be nice.”
“It is,” I say, tipping my glass in his direction.
Date Chase is nervous and hesitant. He looks so out of his element and I can’t figure out if it’s me, if it’s him, the place, or a combination of all three.
When the waiter comes back over, he goes over the specials and places a basket of bread down in front of us. Like starved animals, both of us reach for the bread, practically tuning out everything fancy the waiter says.
“Do you think I can get chicken tenders and fries here?”
Chase chuckles, pressing his lips together and he glances around the room. The chandeliers sparkle and there is classical Christmas music playing from the speakers. A giant tree in the back that you can see from every angle of the room and the water glistens out back.
“I’ll get you chicken tenders and fries, come on.” A grin makes its way across his face. He leaves a hundred-dollar bill on the table and grabs my hand as we briskly walk out of the restaurant.
There’s a small chill in the air as we walk hand in hand down the block toward the parking garage where his truck is. Without a word, Chase’s blue jacket covers my bare shoulders and he nods at me before he takes my hand in his again, squeezing it tight.
“That place was fancy,” he says the moment we get into his truck.
“A little too champagne for our beer taste,” I joke. “But the place was beautiful.”
“I have an idea… if you can just go with it,” he offers, and I nod with excitement. The night hasn’t started exactly as I had always pictured, but that feels on brand for Chase and I in a way.
He pulls into Louie’s parking lot before turning to face me. “I’ll be right back,” he says.
