Page 41 of The Forever Formula
16
MAKING UP
Rachel
My phone pinged around three in the afternoon. It was Noah. Before this week, I hadn’t seen a text message from him in so many years, we didn’t even have an existing thread anymore. Hell, that was four or five phones ago.
Noah: Can I take you on a real date tonight?
My heart beat harder at his words. A date? Was that where we were heading? Maybe he just meant it in the old-fashioned sense, as in plans between two people. Two friends.
I could try to tell myself that was all I wanted, but it was pointless. Megan’s words played in my head, urging me to have a little fun. That’s all it had to be, after all. A little fun.
I texted back a casual “sure” with a smiley face, and he replied with a time. Five o’clock.
Looking at myself in the mirror that hung in the hallway, I let out a wild laugh. I looked like a ragamuffin, as Grandpa Paul would have said. What that was, exactly, no one could ever figure out. But he said it to me when I needed to comb my hair.
Apparently, it was time to do a little self-care.
I stepped into the steaming shower and looked down. How long had it been since I’d shaved? My legs weren’t too bad, but I was definitely,ahem, overgrown elsewhere.
As quick as I could, I jumped into the cold air that bounced off the wetness of my skin and shuffled through my bag for a razor. Thankfully, I’d packed one. I didn’t even remember tossing it in my bag, but I thanked my past self for whatever intuition must have been there when I was hastily throwing everything I could into a suitcase.
After my shower, I set to work on my hair and then my makeup.
How long had it been since I’d made a real effort? I was clearly out of practice, because two hours flew by so fast that I was just buttoning my jeans when Noah knocked on the door.
A date. With Noah Hart.
I tried not to inflate it, but it was useless. The butterflies were already fluttering around inside me.
“Hey, you.” I managed a casual smile as I pulled open the door.
“Wow. You look ... incredible,” he said, his eyes wide.
I frowned and playfully slapped his arm. “Don’t you dare sound so surprised.”
“You have on makeup,” he said, as if this was proving his point. “And you curled your hair.”
I put a hand on my hip. “Aren’t men supposed to be blind to those sorts of things?”
He pulled me in for a hug and laughed. “I’ll let you in on a secret. We’re all lying when we pretend not to notice. You look beautiful tonight.”
Our eyes connected then. A little part of me wanted to sayto hell with the dateso I could drag him back to my bedroom.
But no. I needed to behave myself. And besides, I really needed a normal night out.
When was the last time I’d left the cabin, other than to hit the hardware store? It was worrying to think about. I’d become a hermit. A hermit who was seriously learning her way around a toolbox, but a hermit nonetheless.
“You look handsome too.” I lifted my eyebrows, taking in Noah’s dark-washed jeans and soft gray button-down shirt. “So, where are you taking me on this date?”
I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to find out what he was thinking.
The way he softly let a breath fall from his nose told me he had caught my meaning. “To dinner at Marcelo’s, and then a surprise location.”
“Never heard of that place. Is it new?”
“A few years old, and one town over. You still like Italian, right?”
