Page 91 of Back to You

“That was t-shirts and jeans, I want something I can wear to a nice restaurant.”

“Ooo, yay! I get to dress you up!”

“I mean, nothing too crazy. Not a suit or anything,” he warned his sister.

“I know just what to put you in,” she said.

***

They ended up back at the same store where they’d last shopped for Brandon. And lo and behold, there was Bethany the sales associate. She and Michelle greeted each other like long-lost friends.

“Okay, my brother has a hot date tonight,” Michelle said. “I’m thinking fitted slacks, a white button up and a vest.”

“Oh yes, that’ll look amaaaazing,” Bethany said dreamily. “What about a tie?”

Brandon was already shaking his head.

“He’ll shred a tie. Like a feral cat.”

He left them to look among the racks as he pulled out his phone.

Brandon: Shopping with Michelle. Pray for me.

Ethan: Why would you do that to yourself?

Brandon: Got a hot date tonight, I need to look my best.

Ethan: Aww. You look so scary, but you’re so sweet.

Brandon: Gotta go, they’re talking about ties again.

Ethan: Poor ties, they didn’t do anything to deserve that.

Michelle piled clothes in his arms. “Go try these on, we’re looking for shirts now.”

He had his orders.

He narrowed down the options to two pairs of pants that were comfortable but looked good. He stepped out of the dressing room to let Michelle have final approval. She okayed the navy pair, then shoved some shirts in his hands. Back he went into the dressing room, repeating the process for a shirt and a vest.

Putting on the whole outfit, he stepped back out of the dressing room. Michelle grinned. Bethany sighed.

“So I’m done now, right?”

“Ugh, a thanks would be nice? Do you have black dress shoes?”

Shockingly enough, he did, so Michelle called them done, much to his relief.

“So how are you feeling about dating again?” Michelle asked as she drove them back to work.

“Since it’s Ethan, pretty great. I can see Sarah’s point about learning more about who we are now, rather than who we were then.”

“That’s smart. I know Ethan has been putting in a lot of work on himself, but you’ve changed, too.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. You’re less tense than you were at the end there. You always seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“I pretty much was. Every time I got a text I could feel my heart sink. It was like I was always waiting for him to bail on me.”

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