Page 19 of Mr. Big Mistake
She giggled. “Because I have plans, crazy! I’m going shopping, then I have a spa appointment this afternoon, then I’m having a late lunch with Mom at a last-minute charity event.”
“Ew.”
“Yep. So, don’t work too hard and don’t drink too much coffee. Your heart will explode, and I don’t feel like dealing with a dead sister right now.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“Mwah. Kisses. I’ll put everything in the kitchen, and you can come out whenever. Love ya, sweet cheeks!”
She hung up the phone, and I shook my head. I still wasn’t sure about the grand plan to get me to give up my V-card, but knowing Roxy held Clint in such high regard settled my gut a little bit. If there was anyone that was dead-on with reading people, it was her. In my entire life, I’d never known her to judge someone’s character wrong, even if she’d only spent a few minutes with them. So, for her to have such high praise for Clint started my gears turning.
Maybe that’s what I need for my first time.
I mean, first times were always clumsy, right? Probably a bit painful. Awkward, to say the least. The last thing I needed was some guy expecting me to know what I wanted and instead get, well, what I had to offer. Which was nothing. If Clint understood all of that about me already and was still willing to walk me through it, why not? What did I have to lose with a good-looking older man that wanted to treat me with care and walk me through one of the critical facets of adult relationships?
Brenden. You’ll lose Brenden.
I saw my phone light up again in the corner of my eye, and I sighed. That was the kicker. Clint was Brenden’s brother. And for as long as I had crushed on Brenden, I knew I didn’t stand a chance with him. But, the idea of throwing away any slim chance I might have with him in the future made me sick to my stomach.
Because surely, sleeping with his brother was a complete deal-breaker. Right?
My phone lit up again, and I figured it was Roxy. But, when I saw I had three missed text messages, I furrowed my brow. I swiped up on my phone screen and navigated to the messages, only for my heart to skip a few beats.
It was Brenden.
Brenden was messaging me.
Brenden: Hey, you up?
Brenden: Hungry for an early lunch?
Brenden: Food and drinks are on me. Meet me at Hard Rock.
“Well, thanks for asking,” I murmured.
Still, I kept staring at his messages. I looked over at my laptop that still had the mock-up of my website on it. I cocked my head and gave it a careful stare. It looked nice enough, but something was still missing.
I have to get at least some work done today.
I placed my phone down and quickly made some tweaks. I made the home page a bit brighter and moved the sales advertisements to the top middle of the second page. After saving it, I shot it back to the web designer with a few more notes at the bottom of how to tweak the site’s navigation system. Then, I clicked over to my emails.
I didn’t have a response back from my business partner. So, I took that as a win and slid off the bed.
It took me a lot longer than necessary to get ready to meet Brenden. I cycled through four different outfits before settling on one that was casual but sexy. With high-waisted black pants and peekaboo-toe black heels, I smiled at myself in the mirror. The thin yellow belt brought a pop of color to the entire outfit, especially since I paired everything with a sleeveless white blouse with ruffles streaking down the center of it. I pulled my hair back to the crown of my head and twisted it into a bun. Then, I found some dangling yellow earrings to match the belt and even dusted my cheekbones and nose with a bit of shimmering makeup to make me look sun-kissed.
Finally, after a spritz of my cotton blossom body spray, I was ready to head out the door.
Getting to Hard Rock Cafe wasn’t the issue, because I didn’t live far from it. The problem was getting the nerve to step inside the place. Why did Brenden want to see me? I mean, it wasn’t like we didn’t meet up or anything. But, Roxy was usually with us as well. Was Zane coming? Holy shit, was Clint going to be here?
“Just get in there, scaredy-cat,” I murmured.
And already, I knew what Roxy was talking about.
The fear I had--the lack of confidence--all stemmed from one place. My inability to get out of the car stemmed from a lack of confidence in being able to entertain Brenden by myself. I closed my eyes and dug deep. I tried to find the root of my fear. I delved into my soul as I evened out my breathing, trying desperately to prove her wrong.
But I couldn’t. Because when I sank into the pit of my soul, there it was. Sneering at me. Teasing me. Pointing its finger and laughing at me.
You’re just a child. You’ve got no business doing something like this. Grow up first, Kelly. Gotta grow up to be a grown-up.
