Page 26 of Everything I Need

“Addy, we can talk about him if you want.” She never would, and I guess that still holds true.

“No use. One day I’ll be over him completely, or find someone who can measure up.” She continues painting like her heart isn’t broken in a million pieces right now from the reminder of her high school sweetheart.

Addy is the complete opposite of Porter. Everyone was surprised, but they seemed to work together. Except according to my father. He didn’t want them together at all, kept telling all of the girls to tell him whenever we saw them together. Of course, we never did tell him. It’s the one time we all disobeyed him, including Mom.

Maybe one day Addy will get her second chance.

Chapter Fifteen

Preston

Icamebytheoffice to check up on Scarlett, but I saw Addy’s car and heard them hysterically laughing at who knows what. I decided to leave and not interrupt. Knowing how strained their relationship has been in part, because of me, I didn’t want to stop them. I send her a text instead. We are meeting tonight and I'm not giving her a chance to back out.

Me:See you at 8:00? Meet at my house first.

Not even a minute passes before I get a response. I am shocked.

Scarlett:I don’t know, Preston. I’m almost done with the last patient room. Maybe I should just stay late and finish.

Me:I trust what you’re doing. I’ll see you at 8:00. There’s no backing out after you called me your boyfriend earlier.

Scarlett:Ugh. Fine. 8:00.

I have the perfect plan for tonight. I am going to recreate the night of our first date. I took Scarlett to one of the few green spaces in Boston, we laid on the grass and just stared at the stars. I had never in my life wished I knew more about constellations than in that moment. But I’ve made up for it over the years. I’ve learned most of the constellations and have been waiting for a chance to show off my new skills to Scarlett. It wasn’t easy to see the stars in Boston, but we tried our best, and I know tonight will be better than ever. Back then I brought Lunchables to our date that I grabbed from the corner store by our dorms. But now, I’ve put together a whole charcuterie board, a fancier lunchable if you will. I just have to pack it all up, and Duke and I will wait for her to show up. Hopefully.

Scarlett’s headlights light up the driveway announcing her arrival. I put Duke in the bedroom, so he can’t tear up my trash again, and grab everything we will need for our picnic under the stars.

Here goes nothing.

“Hey, Gorgeous.” I say, walking down the stairs.

“Hey, I wasn’t sure what we were doing so I didn’t know if I was dressed okay?” She opens her arms, showing me her outfit choice.

Scarlett is wearing those yoga pants that hug every inch of her beautiful curvy body. Yeah, she was dressed alright. “You’re perfect,” I say as I look up and down every delectable inch of her body.

“What are we doing?” She is looking at me like she knows that I want a very different plan, but I won’t. Not until she is ready.

“It’s a surprise, come on.” She didn’t like surprises before, and I guess she still doesn’t based on the face she makes. “I promise, you’ll love it. I may have had some inside help from Lorelei.” I certainly didn’t know how to make a charcuterie board. Addy told me to look at something called Pinterest. I think Scarlett probably knows how to do that more than me, but I had to do it.

I put my hand on the small of Scarlett’s back and I could feel her jump a little. She looks back at me and feigns a smile. I will have to change her mind about surprises. Has anyone ever surprised her in a good way since I’d not been in her life? I’d guess not.

“So how did you make out at the office today?” Talking about work should make her feel more comfortable.

“Oh, great! We finished up all the patient rooms and half the waiting room. I ran out of paint though, so I didn’t get to finish. Hopefully, you don’t have too many patients tomorrow so I can finish up. Mom was able to finish sewing the chair covers too and they’re amazing. Want to see?” She excitedly pulls out her phone, and I know I better say yes.

Scarlett shows me the photos of the rooms, and chair covers on her phone. I have to admit I am impressed. The office looks great.

“You’re really good at what you do, do you know that?” I say to give her a confidence boost.

“I mean it is just some paint.” She shrugs her shoulders and looks at the ground, dismissing my compliment.

“Don’t do that, Scarlett. Don’t dismiss my compliments. You’re smart. You’re excellent at your job. You are funny. You are easily the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, with a heart of gold. Don’t continue to let the assholes get into your head.” I seethe thinking about the kind of people she surrounded herself with.

“Well, thank you then, I guess. I don’t realize how much I let others in my head.”

“You’re welcome,” I say, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it.

“Hey! Are we going to the wildflowers?” The smile that spreads across her face tells me that I made the exact right choice.

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