Page 25 of Save Me

Her eyes went a little wide.

Ryleigh: Um…sure! I could do some lobster

Ryker: Great! How about I pick you up in an hour?

She looked down at herself and groaned. Part of her whole defiance thing today included not showering or putting on a bra. Now that she knew where they were going, she was definitely going to have to put in some serious effort to get ready.

Ryleigh: Perfect! See you then!

Dropping the phone like it was on fire, Ryleigh ran into the bathroom and took a quick shower.

Well…not too quick.

Even though this wasn’t a real date, she still felt the need to shave all the pertinent areas.

After that, it was moisturizing from head to toe.

Then her hair.

The bane of her existence.

It was long and wavy and most days she either let it dry naturally or put it up in a ponytail. Tonight was going to require the long task of drying and styling it.

“The things I do for lobster,” she muttered, and knew that was a big fat lie.

She was doing this because it was the first time in a long time that she had felt anticipation over a date.

Even a fake one.

The only real challenge was making it look like she hadn’t put in a crazy amount of effort when, in fact, she was.

“Maybe this is why I don’t date more.” Even as she said the words, she knew they weren’t true. If she met someone who was intellectually stimulating and decent, Ryleigh knew she’d put in this kind of effort all the time. It just seemed like the harder she looked, the fewer men there were who interested her. In the end, they were either painfully dull or ridiculously immature.

And then there were a few who had crossed the line and sent dick pics of themselves.

She shuddered just thinking about those.

Ryker didn’t strike her as the type to do anything immature. The few times he’d gone and done something goofy to get her attention, it was more sweet than juvenile. And never offensive.

No, she had a feeling if she let her guard down, he’d be someone very interesting to hang out with on a platonic level.

That’s where she needed to keep him because…well…it just was. The kiss the other night had been impulsive and a little childish on her part. He’d been a good sport about it, but she couldn’t let it happen again.

Um…why?

Hmm…

Studying her reflection, Ryleigh took a quick inventory and noted that her hair looked good, her makeup was seriously on point, and she didn’t look like she was trying to impress anyone.

Walking to her bedroom, she warred between a little black dress and something more casual. Ryker never really said specifically which restaurant they were going to. There were a ton of seafood places in Beaufort, so really, they could be going to a bar for all she knew. And how embarrassing would it be if he showed up in jeans and a t-shirt and she was in a dress and stilettos?

“Okay, new dilemma. What to wear?” Groaning, she flipped through everything in her closet and decided the best way to go was a pair of black slacks and a sweater because it would work just about anywhere.

Oh, but her black skinny jeans were so soft and comfy and she had the perfect boots to go with them…

“Screw it. I’m doing it.” Shimmying into the jeans a minute later, she slid on a bra, and picked a deep purple sweater to wear. The black ankle boots and big silver hoop earrings completed the ensemble and as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was very pleased with the results.

No sooner had she stepped out of the bedroom than there was a knock on her door.

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