Page 47 of A Fowl Match

“No.” Olive takes one massive bite into the bunny’s head, crunching on it with no care in the world. She holds up her headless chocolate bunny in the air like a trophy.

“I’m appalled. I feel threatened by your aggressive behavior towards the poor little bunnies.” I slide all of the bunnies back into their container and beeline it to the kitchen.

“No! Wait! Don’t leave with them! I need more chocolate,” Olive yells. I book it, running as fast as I can. She jumps, flying through the air and tackles me John Cena style. I hit the ground with a thud. She pins me to the carpet in her crushing grip. I flail underneath her grasp trying to get free with no avail. “Olive Watson, the winner of today's match!” She takes the chocolate out of my hands, opens the container and bites the head off another bunny.

“You monster!” I yell.

Yes, this is what I meant about not wanting to be on her bad side. I should have never tried to hide the bunnies.

“We’re missing the best part of the movie!” She rushes back over to the couch holding her container of bunnies.

“We’ve watched it a thousand times.” I shrug nonchalantly.

“Your point.”

“Point is if we miss a few minutes, I’m sure we can piece back what we missed from our memory, or you could just rewind it.”

Olive rewinds the movie so that we can have the full experience. We spend the next hour devouring snacks until we both are in a food coma.

“How are you and Dustin?” Olive breaks the silence.

“I’m really happy with him, but I’m so afraid he will run for the hills when he knows the truth,” I admit freely. Knowing she will have advice for me.

“You’re kidding right?”

“No?”

“That drunk driver hitting your parents’ car wasn’t your fault. You know it, I know it, Darcy knows it. He won’t leave you for something that you had nothing to do with. Trust me.”

“I do.” I know I’ve harped on this before, but she’s right. I need to learn to stop blaming myself for something that wasn’t my fault. I can’t help but feel like he might look at me differently, though.

“Good, then don’t worry about it, and tell him when the time feels right.”

“I really like him. It might even be more than like. Is it too soon for that? We’ve only known each other for over a month.”

“When you find the one there’s no time limit constraining you on how fast or slow you fall. It just happens without you even realizing it.”

“When did you become so wise?”

“After dealing with Chad for too long, I’ve learned a few things about Mr.notright.”

Chapter 33

Violet

“Youlook—breathtakinglybeautiful.”Dustinsurveys my outfit up and down in appreciation. I blush hardcore, my whole face is warm. I’m not used to compliments and it makes my heart skip a beat.

I will admit I spent an hour getting ready for our date. That is unusual for me. I added some mascara for a touch of a done up look. I curled my hair and fluffed up my bangs the best I could. I decided on a pair of blue jeans and a brown flare sleeved, scalloped trimmed shirt. I even broke out a pair of western platform boots I had sitting in the back of my closet. It’s a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought I would try something different.

“Thank you. You clean up nice too.” I smile shyly, taking in his blue flannel shirt and jeans. He paired his outfit with a clean pair of leather boots.

Dustin and I are going on our firstactualdate to Annie’s. It’s nothing outrageously fancy, but it's perfect for the both of us. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

“Ladies first,” Dustin drawls, holding the door open for me and letting me go in the restaurant first like the true gentleman he is. We take our seats and he pulls out a chair for me. We order our drinks. A sprite for me and a root beer for him. He insisted on driving, so he didn’t want to order alcohol.

“So what’s good here?”

“Everything. But if you want the secret menu, I’ll share it with you.”

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