Page 29 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

“You didn’t really need my help…”

He leaned in and spoke softly over my face. “I needed your company. But we do need to pick out bathroom tile, come to think of it.”

We ventured to the tile section, where I chose a herringbone pattern that Brayden also seemed to like.

We checked out after that, and on the way back, I followed Brayden to the house to drop off the supplies.

“Is there a shopping mall near here?” I asked when we were done and walking back to our cars.

“We can probably find one. What do you have in mind?” He took out his phone.

“The girl I told you about, Ashlyn. I promised her I’d buy a couple of specific items to wear tonight.”

“Ah. That’s right. Going anywhere special?” He flashed a wicked grin.

“I told her I was going out with my friend…who’s a boy.”

He shook his head. “Ouch. Last I checked, I was a man. But you haven’t given me a chance to prove that to you.” He placed his hand on the small of my back, and a shiver ran down my spine. “Anyway, hop in my car. Let’s go shopping.”

Turned out there was a mall not too far from the project house. Once we got there, I dragged Brayden to the largest department store they had.

He looked around. “What are we looking for exactly?”

“I’m supposed to buy a pink dress to wear and send her a photo of me.”

“You don’t seem like a frilly, pink-dress person to me.”

“I’m generally not. But I’m not opposed to stepping out of my comfort zone.”

“Make sure you remember that later.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes and laughed.

As we browsed the women’s dress section, Brayden pulled a hanger off the rack. “What about this one?”

It was the color of Pepto Bismol, lace on the top with a frilly skirt.

“That might be a little much, don’t you think?”

“I bet you’d look gorgeous in it.”

“There really aren’t a ton of pink dresses.” I took it from him. “I’ll try this one on.”

I went to the dressing room while he waited outside. After I slipped on the frock, I realized why Brayden might have selected it. It had a steep neckline. But it was otherwise pretty perfect. It was fitted at the waist with the skirt flaring out in a whimsical way I knew Ashlyn would be pleased with.

After changing back into my clothes, I took the dress out with me. “I think we have a winner.”

He sulked. “I was expecting you to come out and show me, you know.”

“You’ll get to see it tonight.”

“Oh, I forgot. You have a date with a boy, don’t you?” He chuckled. “We should go back to the hotel and get changed. I made us a reservation.”

“Whereabouts?”

“It’s a surprise, but you’ll be good to go in that dress.”

“We can’t leave yet, though. I told her I would buy glass slippers, too.”

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