Page 13 of Lucky 22

Obviously, I’ve dated guys before. And while that was moreof an adult-Ella thing than a teenage one, I’ve still gone out with men. I’venever had issues like this, where I’m obsessing over things.

And I’ve never had butterflies in my stomach whenthinking about it as I do now.

So…am I? Obsessing? Sure, I’m overthinking it a little, butthat’s only because I want to look nice. That’s not a crime, right? Even if Iknew that the person I was going out with wasn’t the one, I wouldstill want to look my best while we were out.

“You’ve never been this picky before,” Jen’s saying, butshe’s also smiling—and still enjoying this way more than I think is necessary.“But why? Why this guy? What’s so different about him?”

I wish I knew…

“Any other day,” she continues, “I could have pulled out adress or two, and we would have had you accessorized and ready to go. Or wewould have been at the thrift shop already.”

“We can still get to the thrift shop if we stop discussingit,” I say calmly. And that’s when I decide that I’m done thinking about this.

Which is what I tell Jen.

“No more psychoanalyzing,” I say, forcing myself to smile.“Call Penny and tell her we’re going to shop a bit and to hold off on bringingthings over. Say she can come over later, and we’ll order pizza or something,okay? I’ll try on her stuff then if I need to.”

Luckily, Jen agrees, and I help her gather up all theclothes that are scattered around my room.

“Let me go put all this stuff back, and then I’ll text Pennywhile I touch up my makeup,” she tells me.

I don’t even question her multitasking skills because I knowshe can basically do it all.

But while she’s doing that, I decide that maybe I shouldfreshen up a bit, too. Not that I’ve been doing anything that requires it, butit seems like the thing to do while I’m waiting.

So, I apply some lip gloss and fluff my hair. I considerputting it up in a ponytail but decide against it.

Then, I look at what I’m wearing—jeans and a sweatshirt—andthink about whether or not I should change. If I’m going to be trying ondresses, is this the best choice? Does it even matter?

Does Christian like a jeans-and-sweatshirt kinda girl?

“I really hope we leave soon because I’m starting to annoymyself,” I mumble before grabbing my purse and phone and walking out of thebedroom.

There’s no sign of Jen yet, so I grab a bottle of water andsit down on the couch.

“You almost ready?” I call out.

“Two minutes! I decided to get changed. The thought of peelingmyself out of these jeans more than once was enough to do it for me.” Shelaughs. “You know, just in case we end up at more than one shop.”

Dang it. Now I’m second-guessing things for like thehundredth time today.

Sipping the water, I tell myself I don’t have to change, butnow I feel like I really want to. I stand up just as Jen comes out of her room,looking adorable in a pair of comfy yoga pants and a cute top.

“Sorry about that,” she says. “Oh, good call on the water.”She grabs a bottle for herself before heading out of the kitchen. “Let’s dothis.”

I guess I’m not changing.

I’m halfway to the door when my phone rings. We both pause.When I look at the screen, I don’t recognize the number.

“Who is it?”

I shrug. “No idea.” I look at her. “Should I answer it?”

She waves it off. “Just let it go to voicemail. Penny’sgoing to meet us at the thrift shop over on Westwood.”

I go to put my phone into my purse, but my curiosity getsthe best of me. “Just give me a sec,” I tell her before tapping the screen.“Hello?”

“Hi, I’m looking for Ella Holt,” a deep, masculine—andcompletely unfamiliar—voice says.