Page 88 of Up All Night

His words were already making their way through my mind, brushing aside my worries and concerns.

Going to dinner as friends wouldn’t be too crazy. Friends had dinner at other friend’s parent’s houses. And who was I to disappoint his sister? Plus, Cannon would be there too, and he was a friend. It would be just a couple of West’s friends over for a friendly dinner.

The more I kept using the wordfriend, the more I thought this was a great idea. Okay, maybe not great, but it worked. It got me to where I could talk myself into all of this being normal—and I’d get to see West today.

Me:What time?

West:Cannon and I leave at 4:30. Does that work for you?

Me:That works great. I’ll come down to your place a little before.

He responded with a thumbs-up emoji, and it was settled. I was officially going with him to his parents’ house for Sunday dinner.

I threw off my covers and practically jumped out of bed, heading straight to my closet. What did one wear to dinner at her crush’s parents’ house, going as friends to make things less complicated? Yeah, that wasn’t complicated at all. I rolled my eyes at myself and started rummaging through my clothes.

Once my room looked like a clothes bomb had exploded, I called Kate in for reinforcement.

“Whoa. What happened in here?” she asked as she walked into my bedroom.

“I can’t figure out what to wear!” I gestured frantically to the clothes around me. “I’m joining West for dinner at his parents’ house. What type of dress does that call for? Do I get all dolled up or go casual or somewhere in between? We’re telling his parents we are just friends, so maybe it doesn’t matter, but I’m sure they think he should be with a girl who is polished and refined. I betRachelwas polished. But that’s not me. I’m more of a cute and casual kind of girl. What in the heck am I doing? Why did I ever think this was a good idea? I’ll probably make a fool of myself. I don’t know how to act around rich people.” Each sentence came out faster than the one before, my voice going to a higher pitch with every word.

“Okay, calm down,” Kate said, moving to stand in front of me and placing her hands on my shoulders. “Take a deep breath. You are way overthinking this.”

“Of course I’m overthinking this!” I exclaimed. “I went from hanging out with a guy, to kissing him, to dinner with his parents in less than twenty-four hours!”

“When are you going to dinner with his parents?” she asked, confused.

I grabbed my phone and showed her the texts between West and me.

She stared down at my phone, quickly reading how all of this had come about. “Oh.”

Yeah, oh.

“Now will you help me figure out what to wear?” I asked.

She looked around my room like she was at as much of a loss as I about how to handle this situation as well.

“Halle?”

A deep voice floated out into my room.

I froze. Oh, my gosh, was that West? How badly done were these vents? They practically acted like an intercom. Although my voice had been at a high-pitched screech, so that probably conveyed more than when I talked in a normal un-panicked voice.

“Yeah?” I said tentatively, feeling embarrassed at how he’d heard me freaking out.

“I didn’t mean for this dinner to cause you any stress. I’d love for you to join me, but if you don’t want to, I understand,” he said. “If you still want to come, I’m wearing jeans and a polo. I hope that helps.”

My embarrassment left as soon as his words came through the vent. He still wanted me to come with him. My crazed rant hadn’t scared him off. And of course he was being sweet about it.

Knowing what he would be wearing did help. I’d seen him in jeans and a polo, and though it sounded clean and casual, on West it was anything but simple. The way the polo lightly hugged his muscular body, accentuating the taper from shoulders to waist, the fabric taut against his pecs, had me already drooling.

“I still want to go.” My voice was back to normal, and I hoped he could still hear me. I did want to go, I was just nervous. “How about a sundress?”

“Whatever you will feel the most comfortable in will be great,” he answered.

I moved a few items of clothes on my bed and pulled out a cornflower blue sundress I thought complimented my blue eyes. All my nerves eased away, and I was grateful West had come to my wardrobe rescue.

“Thanks, West.”

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