"I always do, kid."
My dad disappeared into his room.
About a minute later, a familiar knock sounded.
Smiling, I opened the door and said, "You're early, Stone—which is unfortunate. I was looking forward to complaining about something."
Tolliver didn't offer a quick reply like he usually did.
Actually, he didn't say anything.
His gaze travelled the length of me, moving from my face down to my toes and back up to my hair before settling on my eyes.
"Stone?" I tried again.
"Wow," he said then shook his head. "I mean, hey. You look..."
Despite the pleasure rising in my chest, I arched my brows. "It's just makeup."
"It's more than that, Kent." Tolliver bit his lip on a grin. "You're beautiful."
"Thanks, you clean up nice too," I said, giving him the same once-over he'd given me.
Understatement of the century.
He was a 10 out of 10.
A walking, talking dream, standing there in his blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and jeans that fit his strong legs to perfection.
"Knew I had to look good," he said with a shrug. "I didn't want to embarrass you."
I scoffed. "As if. You always look good, Stone."
His smile went crooked. "Glad you think so."
Stepping outside, I locked the door behind me, took a deep breath, and looked up at him. "So, are we doing this?"
"Only if you want to."
With a nod, I led him to my car.
"It will be odd if we show up in separate cars. I'll drive," I said.
"Sounds good—hey, I was going to do that," Tolliver said as I got to his door first and opened it. Shooting him a triumphant smile, I winked then moved to my side of the car.
"For once, I beat you," I said.
Tolliver got inside, and when I was seated, he looked across at me.
"Not gonna lie, I feel pretty special," he said, and I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. His eyes held a brightness that looked sincere though. "Is that how it makes you feel?"
"Yeah," I said with a shrug. "Not everyone does that, you know."
"I do."
Because you're a gentleman.
A good person.
