I don’t want you to take it back. I was hoping you would be free for dinner tonight.
Me
I would love that.
Tate
Then it’s a date. I’ll pick you up at 8pm if that suits you.
Me
See you then
“Holy fuck!” I squeal. “He wants to take me on a date.”
“Who wants to take you on a date?” Levi asks as he walks into my room. I didn’t hear him come in.
“Someone,” I say, trying to gauge his reaction.
I watch him warily as he gets closer, a smirk on his lips, then he snatches my phone from my hands and takes off running. That asshole! I was going to tell him—I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t complicate things further for us.
“Levi, get your ass back here!” I yell, taking chase.
“No way. LANDON! Abby has a date.”
I sprint after him, down the stairs and toward the living room, where I collide with Landon. He wraps an arm around my waist to stop me from falling on my ass.
“You have a date?” he asks, and I nod as he releases his hold on me.
“Yup, I sure do. And I need to find your brother and get my phone back because I have an hour to get ready before he gets here.”
Levi saunters into the hallway where we’re standing. “You could have just said you were going out with Tate.”
He hands me my phone back, and I look up to see that both Landon and Levi are staring at me. “What? Tate asked me on a date, and I said yes. We had breakfast last week, and he’s pretty cool.”
“Landon looks like his brain is about to short-circuit,” Levi chokes out through his laughter.
“It’s really not that big of a deal. He seems nice, and he knows about us and our history. I mentioned how maybe I should start dating, as I haven’t since everything went down between us, so he is just being nice and taking me out.”
“Are you going to fuck him?” Landon asks abruptly, and Levi snorts.
“Excuse the fuck out of me, but what sort of question is that? I get that you might be feeling some kind of way about only being able to be with him with a mask on, but you don’t need to project that onto me.”
I turn away from Landon, and he grabs my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“So you should be,” I say, shrugging his hand off and storming back up to my room.
Levi’s laughter is followed by an “oomph” echoing down the long-ass hallway behind me.
Once I reach my room, I shower, shave, and do my makeup. I don’t have time to overthink my outfit, and Tate never mentioned where he was taking me, so I don’t know if it needs to be casual or dressy, and I regret not asking. I pull on a long-sleeved black dress that hugs my waist and hips, black tights, ankle boots, and find a small black purse just big enough to hold my phone. Blow-drying my hair takes longer than expected, and I’m almost done when the front doorbell rings. Shit, there is no way one of the guys won’t answer. I quickly decide that my hair is done enough and dart out of my room.
As I suspected, Landon and Levi are standing in the foyer, Landon with his arms crossed over his chest, and Levi with a grin plastered across his face that tells me he’s about to cause problems. The doorbell rings again, and Landon’s jaw tightens.
“I’ll get it,” I say, moving past them both before either can make a move.
I open the door to find Tate looking absolutely gorgeous in dark jeans and a fitted henley that clings to his chest, making my mouth go dry.
“Hey,” he says. “You look beautiful.”
