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Hannah tossed another dress onto her bed and sighed. Most of her clothes were functional—jeans, t-shirts, leggings—but she had dresses and skirts in the depths of her closet. Apparently they were very, very deep in her closet, but she knew they were there. One of them had to be perfect for the luau, but she wasn’t sure which one was the best.
She looked over her shoulder at the mountain of clothes on her bed. At least fifty percent of them were jeans or leggings.
“I really need to pare down on pants,” she murmured to herself, going back into her closet.
She found a light blue dress that she forgot she had and changed into it. The second she shifted the skirt and the neckline into place, she remembered why it had languished in the back of her closet for over a year—it rode up in the back, the zipper never laid flat, and the tag itched even after she cut it out as close to the seam as possible.
Instead of tossing it back into her closet, she grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen, wrote “donate” on a piece of masking tape, and stuffed the dress in there. She figured she might as well multitask if she was emptying out her closet.
She dug through her closet more and tried on a few more dresses. Some still fit, but weren’t festive enough, but others went straight into the donation bin. Then, she found the perfect outfit—a long blue skirt and a white off-the-shoulder blouse. She put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. It was perfectly beachy and comfortable, and would fit the theme perfectly once she did her hair.
She sat down at her small vanity and tugged her ponytail holder out of her hair. After finger combing it, she pushed it around, trying to decide what the best look was. Simple was better—down, with a flower. But which one? She had brought a few leftover fabric flower decorations home from The Crab, which she held up to her head. The flower looked best on the side of her hair, but it wouldn’t stay if she just tucked it there. It would be perfect once she stuck the flower to a hair pin with hot glue so she wouldn’t have to worry about the wind blowing it away.
Someone tapped on her bedroom door, opening up a crack.
“Come in!” Hannah said.
Willis pushed the door open all the way and smiled when he took Hannah in.
“You look beautiful. Picking out an outfit for the luau?” He leaned against her door frame.
“Thanks. And yeah, I am.” She held up a pink flower and an orange flower. “Which color?”
“Oh, hmm.” Willis ran his hand through his hair and let out a chuckle. “Whichever you want.”
Hannah grinned. Her dad was far from fashionable, not that he had to be. He dressed for function, wearing the same old jeans, sneakers, and flannel shirts that he’d worn for ages.
“Okay, I’ll make both into hair clips and go from there.” Hannah put the flowers down, smoothing her hands down her skirt. They were slightly damp from sweat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is it really okay if I start seeing Luke?” she asked. “Because I think I want to even though I don’t know what’ll happen after this summer. He definitely won’t be staying here.”
Willis came further into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. “Well, does he make you happy?”
“Yeah.” The fluttery feeling she got whenever she thought of him appeared. “He’s great.”
“And he’s a good guy.” Willis shrugged. “I’m just glad to see you happy, so of course you should date him. Do whatever feels best in your heart.”
A lump appeared in Hannah’s throat, but she swallowed it before it led to her tearing up. Why had she worried about asking her father about this? He loved her and only wanted her to be happy no matter what.
Her thoughts went to the audition tape she’d sent in. What would he think if she got accepted? Would he be as caring as he was now? She wasn’t sure, and she had no idea what she was going to do if she got in.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dane swallowed, his heart pounding as he pulled up outside of Alissa’s place. He had planned surprise dates in the past—nice dinners, outings to Boston to see museum exhibits, things of that sort. But this date was the biggest yet. He’d woken up in a cold sweat about it.
Today was their very first surfing lesson.
His worry wasn’t that Alissa would hate it—no, he had the feeling she was going to be delighted. She had talked about learning how to surf off and on ever since they went to their first surfing competition together back in the winter, and it popped up more and more as the weather warmed.
But he was utterly and completely terrified. He took a deep breath and let it out as he texted Alissa to let her know he had arrived. Everything outside of his comfort zone was going to be scary. This just happened to be a huge step. A leap into the unknown.
Alissa came outside in her swimsuit cover-up, sunglasses on. All he had told her was that they were going to be near the water and that she should dress accordingly. She grinned, sliding into the passenger seat and planting a kiss on his cheek.
“Hey,” Alissa said. “I’m excited for whatever this is.”
