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I glare at my phone as I reach over to the dirty clothes hamper in the corner of my room and yank out a towel that probably should have been washed a few days ago. Once the mess is out of sight, I snatch up my phone and glare at the flashing red siren in the middle of the screen. The words scrolling across the bottom of my phone have my heart racing and my body scrambling.
Thirty minutes to be ready for date night two.
Crap! I knew I should have given myself more time!
I rush into the bathroom and stare into the mirror, trying to get a baseline for what I’m working with. The sight of my tangled brown locks makes me want to cry. There is no way I’m going to be ready in thirty minutes. Just thinking of letting Derek and Nick down has my anxiety rushing to the front of my mind. Images of cruel words and harsh punishments flash through my mind and I have to sit on my bottom and hold my breath to make the negative worries and harsh insults flush from my mind before I can do anything else.
My hands are shaking and my breaths are shaky as they saw in and out of my lungs. Black dots float across my eyes as panic rises to meet with my anxiety in an all too familiar dance. Squeezing my eyes closed, I count to one thousand as my finger brushes against the soft rug I’m sitting on.
By the time I reach eight hundred, my breaths are even and the panic and anxiety have both gone back into the recesses of my mind, quietly waiting for their chance to pop back out again.
I skip looking into the mirror as I turn on the water and proceed to take the fastest shower in all the history of man. My hair is a curly mess when I get out, so I decide to embrace the crazy and just go all middle school, scrunching my hair with some mousse and a hand towel. I do the fastest wing liner ever and spritz my hair with some extra strong hold hairspray before rushing out to my room to get dressed. Looking at my phone, I notice that there’s only five minutes until the guys get here and I don’t even know where we are going.
Dialing the phone, I pace around my room and stare into my closet like the perfect outfit will somehow manifest by pure willpower. The line rings twice, but I feel like hours tick by while I wait for the ringing to stop. Finally, in the middle of the third ring, she answers.
“Lee! It’s an emergency!”
I have to hold in my groan when the unicorn bitch laughs at my panicked tone. She thinks it’s hilarious that I’m calling her, but I’m in a seriously bad situation right now.
“What’s wrong, Belle?”
I rush out my explanation. How I’m late for my first date with two guys. The fast shower, middle school hair, and bare minimum makeup and finally, how the guys are keeping their date idea to themselves, so I have no clue what to wear and no time to go back and forth like I usually would. Finally, the fashionista sounds just as stressed as me.
“Oh, Belle,” she moans out. She honestly sounds like she has been shot and needs immediate medical attention. “Don’t wait so long to call me next time!” She practically yells at me and I roll my eyes because …DUH!
“Alright… this is going to be okay. A good man will wait for a woman.” Right as the words leave her mouth, I hear a knock at our door.
I shout for Tali to get it and squeak into the phone, my voice so high and panicked, I wouldn’t be surprised if a glass breaks somewhere in the apartment.
“Laoise! They are here now! And I’m still naked!”
“Okay, grab some underwear and a matching bra. The cutest set you have.”
What?! I’m NOT planning on anyone seeing my panties, so why do they have to be cute? As if the girl can read my mind, she starts talking.
“The cute part is for you. A confidence booster. Now, I bought you a pair of dark wash, distressed skinny jeans. Put those on with that cute purple lacy tank top and your black baggy cardigan.”
As if the gods above knew what I needed, all the articles of clothing she suggested are together and clean in my closet. The pants still have tags on them. I put the phone on speaker and put on the clothes. The outfit is cute and I’m eternally grateful that I have friends in fashionable places.
“Borrow Tali’s black ankle boots and you’ll be good to go. I already texted her and she should be bringing them to you.”
Tali rushes into my room and hands me my shoes, then pauses and really takes a good look at me.
“Holy shit, Belle. You look stunning.”
“Well, I don’t think you have to sound that shocked.” I snark. Still a bit flustered because Derek and Nick are somewhere in the apartment alone, waiting for me to get dressed. Tali laughs and as I stand up, she takes a picture of me. Laoise gasps as my phone bleats, announcing I have a text. Tali must have sent the picture to the group chat.
I don’t even worry about being upset about it. I thank Lee and kiss Tali on the cheek before rushing out of my room, barely pausing to grab my wallet on the way out.
My stomach is rolling with nerves, and I really hope that the guys don’t mind having to wait for me. I can already feel the blush on my face. The second date I’ve ever been on and I’m late. That is not a great omen of what’s to come.
I stop in the hall, right outside of sight for the living room. Taking a deep breath, I smooth my shirt down my hips and tell myself that everything will be okay. It takes quite a few times of repeating the mantra for it to sink into my mind. I hear a door down the hall open and rush into the living room with a smile on my face.
Chapter Five
Derek
“Nick,you’resurethisis the address she gave you?” I grumble to my best friend for the seventh time in the entire ten seconds we’ve been waiting since knocking on the door. “Because I’m going to be pissed if this isn’t even the right fucking place, dude.”
