Page 92 of Up All Night

“We were barely friends at the gala,” I argued.

“That was the first time we’d spent any extended time together,” West said. “I wasn’t even sure if we’d make it through the night without fighting.”

I laughed, remembering how I had been worried about spending a whole evening with him, too. “Our competition helped.”

“Which you totally cheated on,” he insisted.

“I did not!”

“How was I ever supposed to compete when you picked the wordinvestment?”

I laughed again, knowing he had a point, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. “It wasn’t my fault you didn’t pick a very good word.”

He worked to keep his face looking annoyed, but I could see the laughter in his eyes. We kept staring at each other, a spark of heat between us.

“Okay, before you two start making out,” Cannon interjected, “tell me about this competition.”

I explained what the competition entailed and how it had gone that night, which had both Cannon and Demi laughing.

A staff member brought out our dessert, and we continued to talk as the evening turned dark, lights turning on automatically around the yard giving a golden glow. The air turned chilly, and West went inside to get a few blankets.

Awkward dinner conversation aside, this had been a perfect evening. West had been attentive and sweet. Demi was vibrant and fun to be around. I could definitely see us becoming fast friends. Cannon had been quieter than I thought he would be, but I had a feeling it had something to do with Demi, with how he kept looking at her. I wondered if he’d stayed quiet to make sure he didn’t show his cards. Demi hardly looked at him for the rest of the night after we joined them, only paying attention to him when he spoke.

If I ever had a moment alone with Demi, I was definitely going to ask her what was going on between them. She wasn’t the only one who could bring up relationship status.

When it was time for us to leave, I thanked West’s parents for letting me join them for dinner, to which his mother replied I was welcome anytime.

I still wasn’t sure where our relationship was headed and wondered if I ever would be coming back for a Vandherall family dinner. And to add more to my uncertainty, when West dropped me off at my door, he only gave me a kiss on the cheek before saying good night.

I had been hoping for another hot and heavy make-out session, but maybe West was trying to politely put on the brakes between us. After tonight, I had no clearer sense of where we were going. Was he trying to take things slow so we could figure it out along the way? Or was he second-guessing his decision to be with me at all? Had his father’s questions, putting a spotlight on how my lack of higher education and low societal status, made him rethink wanting to pursue more than friendship? Could a venture capitalist ever be interested in a dance teacher?

Answers eluded me and left me even more confused than before. Time would tell, but would my heart be able to handle what felt like an inevitable fallout?

26

West

Halle.

I wanted to be with Halle.

I wanted to talk to Halle.

I wanted to hold Halle.

I wanted to kiss Halle.

These thoughts rolled through my mind on repeat. I’d tried to focus on work all day, but Halle had consumed my thoughts. At one point, I had been in a meeting with a company called Green Valley, and when I had been in the middle of selling them on Vanderhall Capital, I’d referred to them as Green Halle.

Yeah, not my finest moment.

Cannon had tried not to laugh, but not very successfully. My father had given me a look that was a mix of annoyance and disappointment, which made me feel like I was proving his point about how I wasn’t ready to be CEO.

I didn’t know why I thought I could suddenly have a woman in my life. I couldn’t give all my attention to work while also dating. That’s why I had decided a long time ago to not date at all.

But did any of that stop me from texting Halle to see if I could take her out to dinner tonight?

No.

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