Page 5 of Made Over by Meredith

And what they wanted was a photo wall, cupcake bar, and playlist of mostly Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Hootie and the Blowfish… I didn’t get it either.

“He’s doing well,” Jimmy said, throwing his arm around Claire’s shoulder as he gestured to where Aiden now sat next to his girl. Her two friends had their heads bent together in their own conversation. Good sign. Isolated his girl with approval from the friends.

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Who’d have thought?”

“Oh, come on.” Jimmy frowned. “He’s not bad.”

I glanced to Claire so she’d know I meant no harm, and she nodded.

“I just…” I waved my hand, unable to articulate why my joke had come out harsher than I meant it. I liked Aiden. He was a nice guy, handsome and smart. Guess the girl thought so too.Since she leaned her head to his shoulder as she laughed at whatever he said.

Honestly, though, I didn’t know he wasthatfunny.

“If he can’t close the deal, there has to be something wrong,” I said, as if it was his problem, and the fault didn’t land squarely in the laps of the women.

Claire, in all her quiet wisdom, lifted her shoulder. “He needs to find someone who appreciates him.”

I set my elbow on the table to sip through the straw in my whiskey soda as I observed Aiden. This time it was the girl—she couldn’t have been more than twenty-four—who said something to make him laugh, and he placed his hand on her shoulder as he grinned, his eyes all bright and crinkly in the corners.

He wasn’t my type—too buttoned up and timid—but I did wonder whohistype was. Probably someone who waited until the third date to kiss and then, like, weeks or months after that to have sex. I bet he liked quirky girls with unusual hobbies like making tiny replicas of food and shit, who were sweet and never raised their voices.

The opposite of me, basically. Not thatIwould ever be an option. I didn’t date, and I didn’t do boyfriends. Especially ones related to Claire. Her older brother, Evan, was super-hot in that rugged farm-hand way, but he was married with kids, and the twins lived in Cleveland. So, they were completely out of the question.

And no matter how well I thought Aiden did that move of licking his bottom lip while half-smiling, I was his tutor, firmly goal-oriented to get him out of his friend-zone. I would simply have to find someone else to enjoy a good bottom lip lick with.

Maybe the hipster.

I sat up straight, extending my neck to search for him, but I couldn’t find him.

Of course. Should’ve struck while the iron was hot.

Most of the time, that was the problem. Timing. When a person wanted something, they had to go for it. Don’t think about it. Do it.

That was my entire philosophy in life. Want something? Go after it.

That’s why I was about to enter a PhD program. Yes, it would be tough to complete while also still working full-time in as a speech therapist in an elementary school, but I wanted that degree. Not only because it would further my education and career, but because it’d finally prove to everyone—see: my family—that I’m not a dumb blonde.

Claire, Jimmy, and I shot the shit for a while before Aiden made his way back over to us, grinning like an absolute love-sick fool.

“It went well?” Claire guessed.

“Of course it went well. Look at him,” I said, laughing, and his cheeks pinked adorably.

“Nice.” Jimmy raised his fist for a pound from him, which Aiden returned awkwardly.

He peeked over his shoulder, waving to her, as she and her friends gathered up their belongings to leave. The girl grinned and waved back at him, mouthing what looked like “text me.”

Wow. Love at first sight for these two.

“So, tell me about her,” I directed, as I pat the spot next to me for him to sit down.

He inhaled deeply and shook his hands out. “She’s perfect.”

Jimmy clapped his hands twice as he laughed. “Man, I love that I was here to witness the meeting. Can I be the best man at your wedding?”

Aiden chuckled, and I elbowed his side impatiently. “So… What’s she like?”

“Her name’s Celeste, and she graduated from Ohio State last year in graphic design.” He leaned in close to the table. “She does graphics for video games.”

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