Page 33 of Wild Pucker

Tonight is my first date with Sam, and I am super excited and curious about what he has planned. He refuses to leak any information or give me any clues. Boo! Tonight's date is sponsored by Tourism Toronto and the Monique Boutique. MB is a fantastic little store on Yonge Street that sells comfortable yet elegant fashion. I've been told the dress code for tonight is cute and casual… whatever that means. You'll be able to see my outfit if you follow our date posts!

I know many of you are questioning how I can openly and honestly date two men at the same time. The truth is, I don't know. I suppose it's a lot like regular dating. I'm going to get to know both of these great men and then choose the one who's right for me. He doesn't have to be perfect. He just needs to be perfect for me.

I hope you all enjoy watching Sam and me tonight! We'll see what happens.

Good luck to our Northmen hopefuls who are taking on Ottawa tonight in our nation's capital!

XOXO

Lily

Sam is picking Holly and me up in twenty minutes in a hired car. I never realized how much planning and prep goes into creating social media content until it became my reality, and this isn't even near the scale of an actual reality TV production. In fact, there is no TV involved. Holly will be recording parts of our date using her iPhone, which will immediately be fed back to SASS HQ. Adam, their tech whiz, will quickly edit and post our date in five segments to BWB subscribers on all our socials. Adam's also set up an entire website with exclusive content where anyone can read my blog, look at photo galleries, or check out our sponsors and paid partnerships.

Chantel, my stylist, applies an extra coat of gloss to my lips. I told Holly and Avery I could do my own makeup, but they insisted. Mainly because our cosmetics sponsor wanted the credit.

"There," she says with a smile, closing the biggest makeup case I have ever seen. I didn't even know half the stuff she used existed. Powders, primers, highlighters, foundations, blushes, bronzers, and on and on and on it went. "You look perfect."

I glance in the mirror. "Damn, Chantel, you're good." My hair lightly curls around my face and shoulders. I refused to have them straighten it in the same way I refused to have them try to turn me into someone fake. No hair extensions, no insane eyelashes that look like spider legs, and no weird chemicals or injections of any kind. I'm doing this, but I'm doing it my way.

I slip into my outfit; a pair of dark-wash, ripped, skinny jeans that cost more than my grocery bill for the week, a clingy cream-coloured tank, and a full-zip yoga jacket with a cool water-colour floral pattern. I slip on a pair of ballet flats to match, and I'm ready to go. The outfit is trendy, comfortable, and can easily be worn for any number of activities. I still don't know what we're doing, so I'm happy with the practicality of my clothing.

"You look hot," Riley says from my doorway, in her jammies. Riley is one of those people who promptly change into track pants and a tank the moment she crosses the threshold of our apartment after work. If I taught miserable, moody kids all day, so would I. "I'm ready for romance! I'll be watching all night and wanna see some action."

I roll my eyes and walk into the living room where Holly is waiting.

"Okay, Lily, just a few things before Samuel gets here," Holly says, and I swear a part of her had transformed into a drill sergeant. "Can you call him Samuel?"

"I can try, but you're going to have to tell me why."

"The overwhelming consensus is that Samuel is sexier than Sam."

"She's right," Riley interjects with a nod. "The extra syllables increase sex appeal."

“Okay." I roll my eyes. I can see how some people may think that. I can handle it.

"When they go to dinner, do Samuel and Lily actually get to eat the food?" Riley asks.

"Of course, they get to eat the food. Why wouldn't they?"

"OnThe BachelorandThe Bachelorette, they only get place-setting food. I heard that they're not supposed to eat it."

That's ridiculous and a waste. Good food should not be wasted. It should be enjoyed.

"As you know, any type of physical contact is encouraged, but if you could give me a heads up so I can catch it on camera, that would be great. Also, when we get to where we're going, make sure you let your hosts speak and do their spiel. They need to get their plugs in for promotional purposes."

I keep nodding as Holly keeps talking. How hard can it be?

At six o’clock on the dot, Samuel knocks on my door. When I open it, he stands in the frame looking for all the world like the perfect date, from his dark jeans to his flannel button-down shirt. He cracks a grin as soon as our eyes meet, and when he pulls out a small bouquet of flowers, I can't stop the blush.

"Thank you," I say, smiling, taking the flowers into my kitchen to put in water. Holly is already busy recording. We're supposed to pretend she's not there and never acknowledge her, which is just fucking weird, in my opinion. "You're looking very dapper in your blue jeans and flannel. Very Canadian."

“Canadian? It's Scottish! This isn't just any flannel, lass," Sam says, laying on an accent thicker than I've ever heard. "This is the McCrae clan tartan. I thought the shirt was less flashy than a kilt."

I laugh. Sam has a great sense of humour. It's one of the things I like best about him. I'd have loved to see him in a kilt, but the red, navy, and green plaid button-down looks pretty strapping too.

"So, are you finally going to tell me where we're going?" I ask and grab my purse.

"We are going to a football game," Sam beams and my face drops. I'm not a football fan. Hockey, yes. Football, not so much. "And dinner, of course."

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