Iwoke up and immediately felt a panic twist my stomach into a knot. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was planning to wait up for Lola since she went out with Mr. Doctor for the first time the previous night. I put on my pajamas and opened my door. Lola’s door was standing open and it didn’t look like her bed had been slept in. That left me with a hint of worry as I walked down the hallway—the worry intensified when she opened the front door and walked into our apartment wearing the same dress she had on the night before.
“Lola—did you…” My eyes opened wide when she turned around with a silly grin on her face.
“I spent the night with him.” She walked to the couch and dropped down, comically throwing her arm over her eyes. “I’m in love.”
“You were supposed to wait!” I hurried to the couch and sat down.
“The night just—took us where it took us.” She sat up suddenly. “He’s so hot. Hold on, I took a picture at dinner. He lookssomuch better in person than he did in his profile picture.”
Lola pulled her phone out of her purse and showed me a picture of them together at dinner. Mr. Doctor was certainly attractive. They looked very happy together, but I still couldn’t believe she spent the night with him—especially since the rules said they were supposed to wait three months before they were intimate.
“So you just gave in to temptation…” I chuckled and shook my head.
“Sometimes you just know.” She shrugged. “Okay, I’m going to bed. We didn’t get much sleep last night, if you know what I mean.”
“The details can stop right there.” I held up my hand.
Lola went to bed and I picked up my phone. I aimless scrolled through the pictures I had of Cain. Was she right? Was it okay to just go for it if it felt right? I seemed to be fighting a constant tug-of-war when it came to Cain. There were times when I thought a kiss wasn’t going to be enough, but he stopped himself. Other times, I was the one that had to stop myself. What if we were just being foolish and torturing ourselves?
Chloe: How’s work?
Cain: Boring so far, which is a good thing I suppose.
Chloe: Will I get to see you tomorrow?
Cain: Definitely. Hey, would you be interested in coming to dinner at my place this weekend?
Chloe: Just the two of us?
Cain: No. I want you to meet Bridget and Abby.
Chloe: Okay! Yes, I’d love that!
Cain: Awesome! We’ll work out the details tomorrow.
Chloe: Don’t forget that I can’t stay out too late tomorrow. I have my interview the next day…
Cain: Right. I’ll make sure you’re in bed early—not that it stops you from staying up late and sending me pictures.
Chloe: You never complain.
Cain: I complain, but only because I want the real thing more…
Chloe: We can talk about that tomorrow too.
I spent the day getting my outfit ready for my interview, going over common questions people asked, and when Lola finally woke up, I had her give me a mock interview that I found online. I felt prepared, but it didn’t make the nervousness go away. I spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of a few errands, and when I got back to the apartment, Lola was sitting on the couch wearing a dress that waswaytoo gorgeous for lounging.
“Are you going out with him again tonight?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“I am.” She looked up at me and smiled. “He’ll be here soon. You shouldn’t wait up.”
“Okay—have fun.” I chuckled under my breath.
“I plan to.” She winked at me.
I guess it’s going to be a boring night.
I exchanged a few text messages with Cain, but he got a call and wasn’t able to respond to my last one. It was certainly tempting to take a few dirty pictures and send them to him, but I didn’t really feel right about doing it while he was at work. I spent the evening eating dinner alone, going over my potential interview questions for what felt like the millionth time, and finally called it a night.
