Page 18 of Dear Mr. Firefighter
I stared at the words for a moment and there was a lot of excitement brewing inside me, but my stomach still twisted into a knot. It was actually going to happen. The man who won me over with understanding and kind words wanted to meet me.
“I don’t have anything to wear.” I looked up at Lola.
“So, it’s a date then?” She tilted her head to the side. “You skipped that part.”
“Yes!” I nodded enthusiastically. “It is!”
“I’m so happy for you.” Lola stepped closer and gave me a hug. “Just think—you didn’t even want to go to the matchmaking agency and now you have a date before I do.”
“It was way outside of my comfort zone.” I exhaled sharply and leaned back from her embrace. “I haven’t really had much luck with dating, so I was nervous…”
“An asshole cheated on you. It happens. You can’t let that ruin your life.” She took a step back.
“It isn’t just that…” I exhaled sharply.
I decided to tell Lola the truth about what happened with my parents. I had hinted about it, but never went into all of the details. I probably wouldn’t have had the strength to do that if I hadn’t written out the details for Cain. It was actually easier to talk about than I realized, and Lola listened with an expression of shock on her face.
“Holy shit.” She pulled a stool over and sat down. “That’s—that’s awful.”
“Yeah, I know. I lived through it.” I sighed and nodded.
“You could have told me.” She reached out and took my hand. “I wouldn’t have put so much pressure on you if I knew that. I knew you had issues with your parents, but I thought most of your dating hesitation was because of bad relationships…”
“They definitely contributed.” I felt a tear coming and reached up to wipe it away. “But I was screwed up before that ever happened.”
“Well now you have a fresh start.” She patted my hand.
“Cain is definitely different, and I was honest with him. I’ve never been honest with any of the guys I dated, because I was sure it would send them running—I thought it would send Cain running too.” I exhaled sharply.
“Ah, you were trying to sabotage the relationship before it even started. Sneaky…” She tilted her head and shrugged. “I guess Cain isn’t the kind of guy that runs from a challenge.”
“No, and I think the fact that I understand the value of something meaningful is why he decided that he wanted to meet me.” My face twisted into a grimace. “We’re both screwed up. I guess that’s a match made in heaven?”
“It might be, especially since you had an opportunity to be honest with each other from the beginning. Maybe all couples should have to write letters before they start dating.” She chuckled lightly.
“Maybe.” I couldn’t stifle a smile, because there was some truth in her words.
“If you really don’t have anything to wear, you can borrow anything in my closet. Want to go have a look?” She motioned towards her bedroom.
“Sure, I like shopping when I don’t have to spend any money.” I grinned and nodded.
Hopefully she’s got something better than what I have in my closet, because I really can’t afford to buy anything. If she doesn’t have anything I can wear, I might have to try to squeeze into my prom dress—that would be a disaster.
