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"If she doesn't like me in my normal state, then why would I want to date her?" I asked, reclosing the tiny space between us. She had to tilt her head back just to lock eyes with me, and I smirked at her. I loved how small she was compared to me. I also loved the little scowl she had on her face.
"That's not the point! She'll like you regardless, but you need to look like you're at least trying!" She turned back around, grabbing a pair of black slacks that were wedged between a tight rack of clothes and the wall. I never wore them and really didn't want to now. "There's no point in this game if you don't put some effort in, Landon."
Her voice showed that she was a little more than frustrated, so I softened. I couldn't understand why she would care so much about this, about me making a good impression on the date she'd chosen or looking nice in an upscale restaurant, but it was clear that it mattered. My shoulders slackened, and I stepped away from her. She immediately walked into the small amount of space between me and the doorframe to the closet, leaving the room with the clothes. I watched her as she walked away, her petite but muscular body looking amazing in the skin-tight blue dress she'd chosen. My eyes stayed glued to her until she was out of the room, and then I finally followed her.
I could tell by the noise of something rusty that she was in her room, so I stepped in, stopping under the doorway. She was struggling with a large ironing board, trying to get it to latch. Instead of just watching, I stepped to her and pulled the ironing board that was nearly bigger than her away from her, yanking the legs until it latched. Then, I set it up so she could use it. She gave another frustrated huff before grabbing my clothes that she'd thrown on her bed.
"You're going to be late now," she mumbled, laying the open shirt on the board. Belle cursed under her breath as she realized the iron was nowhere to be seen before stomping back over to her closet. When she returned, her iron was in hand. I picked up the ironing board and moved it to the side of her tidy room, near an outlet.
"I can take care of this if you want?" I told her, trying to grab the iron from her hands. She twisted it out of my reach, glowering at me.
"No, because as soon as I leave, you'll just throw these back in your closet and go like that." She shot another disgusted look at my outfit, and I tried hard not to laugh at her. She was adorable when she was mad like this. "Besides, I haven't heard the doorbell."
I stayed silent, knowing that she was probably right.
Once the iron was hot, she began smoothing out the wrinkles the shirt had incurred from being smushed in the back of my closet. I grabbed the pants off her bed, bringing them over to her once she finished with the shirt. At least I was a team player, despite really not wanting to change.
She threw the pants at me when she was finished. "Change."
I gave her a mock salute before retreating to my room. I changed quickly, looking at myself in the mirror to make sure everything looked alright. I actually looked quite handsome dressed like this, but it just wasn't me. But if this is what Belle insisted on, I would do it.
I'd do almost anything for that girl.
I found shoes that matched, along with a belt, and donned them before leaving my room. Belle was in the kitchen, sipping from a glass of water. Her eyes glanced up when she saw me enter, and I held my hands out slightly, palms up.
"Happy now?" I asked, giving her a smirk as she looked me up and down.
"Much better." She put the glass down and approached me, straightening the collar of my shirt. It felt dolly domestic, but not in the way I was used to for us. "Now go, before you're late. Jessica is meeting you at the restaurant."
"Text me if you need anything," I told her, finally giving her a serious face. I knew her date well enough, but it wasn't like we were friends. He could be worse than I thought. "Max should have already been here, actually."
I looked down at my watch, seeing that it was seven-o-five. He was supposed to pick Belle up at seven. I didn't want this date to go well, but I would have appreciated Max being on time.
"It's fine." Belle grabbed one of my arms and forced me to turn around before pushing at my back with her palms.
"If he is too much late, I might have to kick his a--"
"Really, it's not a big deal. I'm sure it's traffic. And if you don't get going, you'll be late." She pushed harder, trying to shove me out the door. "Have fun!"
I turned once I was right at the front door, pulling her into my arms for a hug. We hugged all the time, but for some reason, she stiffened. "Enjoy your date, Belle." I pulled away, smirking.
She had a puzzled look on her face, but I slipped out the door before she could say anything.
I walked to my car, seeing that there was still no other car on our road. Max was definitely not Belle's soulmate. Actually, I'd intentionally picked him because I knew they wouldn't work out. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to actually pick someone great for her. Max was a guy I'd known at the gym for a while, and from the handful of conversations I'd had with him, he wasn't the brightest guy. He was strong, fit, and conventionally attractive, but Belle wanted--needed more than that. She was intellectual and needed someone who could keep up with her in conversation. He also had a habit of making all conversations about working out or sports. Belle hated sports, at least the most common ones.
I peeled out of our driveway, putting the address in my GPS. It told me that I'd be a few minutes late, but I wasn't too worried.
On the drive, I gave myself a pep talk. I would put full effort into the date, and I wouldn't think about any other women. Specifically, the woman I'd always wanted but never had and never would have.
When I'd finally made it to the parking lot, I texted the number Belle had given me. She'd made me promise not to text it until I got here, which meant that she didn't want me to text this Jessica girl until the date so that I couldn't cheat and find out who she was. All I knew about her was that she went to fitness classes with Belle.
That made me slightly hopeful. If I had to date someone and actually try to make a connection with them, I was glad that Belle picked someone who was also into fitness. I'd always wanted someone to work out with and fulfill my gym crush fantasy. Belle probably understood that when she picked Jessica.
Guilt filled my chest as I realized that Belle had actually put effort into picking someone for me, while I picked one person I knew she wouldn't like. I was kicking myself over that when Jessica texted back, telling me she was already inside.
Swallowing my guilt over the situation for now, I shoved my phone in my pocket and walked into the hotel, heading straight for the restaurant.
I'd never been here before, and though I knew it was in the Ritz, I wasn't expecting it to have the energy it did. From the second I walked in, I felt like someone had stuffed me into a tiny shoebox and vacuumed the air out of it. The place was nice, yeah, but certainly not the place for me.
