Page 28 of Beach B!tch
"And if all else fails, dump a bad joke bomb on him...those can break the ice, that's for sure!" Bailey laughed at her own cleverness, but as everyone joined in, I had to admit she had a point. The jokes were bad, but at least they made people laugh.
"Alright, alright. Bring it in." I jumped up off the couch and put my hand out. They all looked at me weird and stayed where they were. "Are you kidding me? Do you women not know how to do a huddle? Put your hands in and let's do a cheer."
They still looked at me weird, but at least they formed a circle and put a hand in the middle on top of mine.
"On three we say, 'Go Beach Squad!' Ready? One, two, three," I instructed them.
"Go Beach Squad!" The girls all shouted together, and we lifted our arms up before breaking into our own individual happy dances.
We were weird, that's for sure, but at least we were weird together.
Dean
I stood outside Brinley's door for a full minute before I knocked on the door. I'd been on plenty of dates before, but this was the first time my hands shook and I changed shirts three times. As much as I wanted to think I was calm, cool, and collected, in reality I was scared shitless of messing this up. This date mattered to me. Brinley mattered to me.
Shit, maybe this date idea of mine was stupid. It might backfire and she'd be super uncomfortable. I wanted her to relax and have fun with me. I knew it would take some pushing to get her to open up and to let loose a little, but I wasn't sure just how far to push. She had some shit in her past, and until she shared the specifics with me, I was flying blind.
I pulled my shirt collar away from my throat and shifted on my feet while I waited for her to answer the door. I heard the lock turn, and I held my breath. The door swung open and there stood the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my whole life.
And like an idiot, I just stood there. But I had to take a moment and take her in.
Her hair was down, with gentle curls laying enticingly over her breasts. She was staring at me with her wide, green eyes, make-up highlighting her naturally attractive features. I trailed my gaze down her body, taking in the fire-engine red lace hugging her curves. Her tan legs taunted me from beneath the hem of her short skirt, drawing my gaze to her spiky, black heels with red toenails peeking out.
When she said she'd wear a dress for our date, this was nowhere near what I'd envisioned. I always knew she was beautiful, but I never could have imagined that she would look like this all dressed up. I was aware that the silence was getting awkward, but I couldn't get my brain to tell my mouth to speak, nor could I get enough oxygen in my lungs.
I looked back up to her face and saw her break into a smile.
"This is fun, but maybe you should come in?" She stepped back and gestured behind her, cocking her head to the side.
Her sass was what I needed to pull my head out of my ass and get this date back on track. "I'm sorry, you took my breath away. You look gorgeous, Brin." I pulled her into me and kissed her cheek, then pulled away to hand her the bouquet of red roses I'd bought for her.
"Oh! Thank you. Um, let me go find a vase or something," she said as she took the roses. As she left the living room to head to the kitchen, she bent her head and tucked her nose into the petals. She closed her eyes for a second and I caught a smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
"I hope you like roses," I said as I followed her into the kitchen.
She bent over to search in a lower cabinet. At the display of legs exposed beyond the short skirt, I reached a hand out to touch. At the last second, I caught myself and pulled my hand back, using it to adjust the front of my pants instead. I'd better get my shit together, or I would blow this date before it even got started.
"Yeah, I love roses," she answered from the depths of the cabinet. "I think this might be the first time someone's given them to me, so now I can definitively say, yes, I love roses!"
At her words, my heart dropped, and I closed my eyes. It killed me to hear she'd never been given roses before. What kind of jackasses must she have been dating to never have received a bouquet of roses before?
Instead of staring at her legs like a teenage boy, I knelt down next to her and reached in to drag out a glass vase at the back of her cabinet.
"Here it is. Let me get some water in it." I stood up and filled it with water and then helped her put the roses in.
I needed to keep my libido in check tonight, even if it killed me. Everything I'd learned about Brinley, which wasn't much, made me think she had very little dating experience. But I reminded myself of how tired I was of easy-to-date girls.
I wanted Brinley. No matter how long it took.
"They look beautiful!" Brinley stood back and admired her flowers, a big smile on her face.
"Not as beautiful as you...not even close." I took a step toward her and placed my hand on her back. "Ready to go?"
She leaned into my side, a blush joining the smile on her face. She nodded, and we left to enjoy our first date.
Brinley
"No. Just. No."
