Page 19 of The Road to Finding Us

“Ahhhh!” a crowd cheers from the left of us. Selma stands beside me as I look toward the noise. It’s a group of our friends playing beer pong, and from the looks of it, the team whose turn it currently is, is having to make trick shots.

I continue to observe the party, taking in all the sights. My gaze stops instantly when I find Aspen watching me from across the way. He’s sitting on a barstool, a new girl’s arm draped over him. She whispers something in his ear, but he doesn’t give any type of response.

Nope—none. All he does is stare at me with a taunting smile.

It makes my stomach feel like Jell-O. I quickly avert my eyes, pulling the beer bottle to my lips only to find it empty. “We need more,” I tell Selma, grabbing her by her skinny elbow and pulling her toward the kitchen—away from Aspen’s weird looks.

“Found you,” a voice whispers in my ear as soon as we walk into the kitchen.

I turn around to find a smiling Blaine, holding a bottle of water. “You did.” My own smile peeks through.

“Can I get you anything?” he asks, placing his hand at the small of my back and directing me toward the counter where all the drinks are fanned out.

“That would be great,” I respond quietly, moving a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

My back feels hot; right between my shoulder blades, I feel this intense heat. I’d blame it on where Blaine’s hand is resting, but his is lower.

This heat is from a gaze.

A gaze across the room I’m trying very hard to ignore.

11

Lily

Past - Age Nineteen

“So, what’s the look we’re going for today?” Selma asks two days later as she helps me get ready for my first date with Blaine. She continues to pull out different variations of outfits from her closet to give me more to choose from.

Selma and I don’t exactly have the same style, but I’m trying to feel out all my options before going on a date with Blaine. Where my style is more flashy, Selma’s is more casual. The only tight clothing she ever puts on is the spandex we wear for volleyball. I, on the other hand, live under the motto: if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

She pulls out a long willowy skirt that would be great if I were going to a church service for my first date. I give her a vehement shake of my head as she waves it in the air.

“Gotcha. Not the skirt. Is anything catching your eye?” She holds up a couple of different dresses and a blouse.

“Ohhhh, this one!” I pull out a sweater dress. I’ve never seen her wear it, but it looks perfect for a first date outfit.

Selma’s eyes drift over the fabric. “All yours!” She steps away from the closet she shares with my brother and walks into the bathroom.

While she’s in there, I slip out of my clothes and slippers then carefully put on the dress. It falls about mid-thigh on me. The camel color is a few shades darker than my skin tone, which typically has a nice tan to it. But it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the sun—hence the more washed out look I’m currently rocking.

My feet take me to the mirror that hangs on her and Maverick’s closet door. I decide to braid the top half of my hair back and let my natural curls hang low. I look put together, but not overdone. Blaine has been out to Lenny’s with us after I played a volleyball tournament all day and barely had the energy to change. I don’t have to get all done up for him, but I do still want to dress to impress. At least a little.

I find Selma brushing her hair in the bathroom. There, I swipe some mascara on my eyes and some pink gloss on my lips. I check my phone to see if I have any missed texts, noticing I have one from Blaine saying he’s on his way.

“He should be here soon,” I tell Selma. I drift over to my gym bag that sits atop her bed, pulling out a pair of booties followed by a pair of thigh high boots. I brought both options depending on what outfit I chose to wear.

“Definitely the thigh highs,” I say out loud, more to myself than to Selma. I can’t ever picture her wearing these shoes.

My butt thumps against their soft comforter as I sit down and pull each shoe on. I stand, walking back to the mirror to check out the completed look. “Do you think he’ll like it?” I ask Selma, before finding her eyes through my mirror. She’s beaming.

At times like this, I feel so lucky to have a best friend like her. I don’t know where I’d be without her. We’ve been friends longer than she’s been dating my brother, and I love that even though she’ll probably marry him one day, I know she was my friend first.

“No, I think he’ll love it! He’s already told you he’s been pining over you. You could wear anything and that man would love it.” She gives me a big squeeze and starts collecting all of the clothes off the bed and floor. Even though she loses almost everything, she’s still somehow overly neat.

“Someone’s here!” Maverick shouts from the living room. Then he resumes yelling at whatever game he’s watching on TV.

“It’s time!” I give myself a once-over and hug Selma one last time.

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