Saturday morning peaked through my bedroom window. I growled, trying to move away from the flecks of light trying to ruin my precious sleep. After last night's party, I was exhausted. Those Woodworth gentlemen were fantastic teachers; I gathered extensive notes, and each guy had something to bring to the table. Olivia, Dinah, and I were tossed into each game against a different opponent and were surprisingly good at a couple of them. Even Link got his moment to shine.
There was only one game that I was determined to win: the first race against Grant. It took me 1 of the 5 laps to do some button mashing and figure out the course patterns, but once I was in my groove, I sneaked into first place and stayed there.
"Are you freaking kidding me," Grant growled as I crossed the finish line, cutting off the game. "How did you even do that?"
I just shrugged and smiled brightly.
"I even used some of my special attacks, and you managed to dodge most of them."
I looked at the screen with some confusion. "There is an indicator in the corner of the screen that told me when I was targeted; once I figured out how to stay ahead or dodge, it wasn't too difficult." I looked back at Grant and saw him smirk. I could tell he was impressed but wasn't ready to admit it with words.
I spent the rest of the evening taking notes or observing the stories developing around me. Link and Olivia were getting a bit bolder around each other. Link didn't ignore her. He even purposefully touched her when there was an appropriate moment. I was so proud of him but more proud of Liv for not physically passing away every time he did. It is only a matter of time before those two finally make it official.
Dinah was my main concern. After years of longing after Jack Healy, I didn't think she could even recognize another man. Something about Woodworth's young Vice President caught her eye. At first, I thought maybe it was how he looked in a suit, and she was thinking about some general designs. No, this was different. Dinah couldn't stop herself from watching him. Her eyes always seemed to find him, whether intentional or subconscious. Whatever it was, he reciprocated. Cole seemed quite enamored with her musings and questions. He would watch her closely as she manned a controller and even silently backed her up in one of the first-person shooter games.
"A head shot," Henry barked as the word "Deceased" stamped across his screen, "I am on your team, Cole!"
"Dude, I am so sorry," he defended, "I honestly thought you were one of the girls coming in for backup."
"Liar!" Henry growled. Cole just shrugged and took me out to make it even.
As much as I love Jack, I love Dinah's happiness more. I will accept this new contender because he seems genuinely interested.
Then there was Henry. I couldn't help but replay our kiss at inopportune moments throughout the night. It has been so long since I've wanted to be held or kissed like that. My skin prickled with anticipation when he came close, but disapprovingly he remained a perfect gentleman. I prayed that his interest was sincere, but some of me still felt weary about trusting a man again. Henry didn't stray far from me, but he didn't zero in on me to give me space.
Just as we left, he closed the distance and whispered, "I am serious about you. So please think about it, and I will come for your answer on Monday."
"Are you sure about this?"
"I am positive." I could tell he resisted kissing me, so I nodded my agreement and slipped into the driver's seat to wait for Link, Dinah, and Olivia.
The feeling of his lips on mine lingered this morning. I turned into my pillow to hide my growing stupid smile from my teddy bear. What's the point? I talk in my sleep. There was no point in suppressing my mood. I looked at my clock and saw that it was barely 7:00 a.m. The other two wouldn't be up for a couple of hours, and my stomach made its quest for food known. I picked up Stitches and asked, "French Toast or Egg Muffins?"
I gathered myself together and made my way to the kitchen. Pulling out the griddle and French toast fixings, I pressed play on my headphones and began moving. Soon enough, I had bacon, French toast, and hash browns waiting at the table. I sent a quick text to my roommates and waited. Their stumbling footsteps made me smile as I listened to their thunderous actions above me. They came flying down the stairs.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Di's question came in between bites.
"I couldn't go back to sleep once I woke up, so I figured I would make breakfast."
"We are not complaining," Olivia quickly confirmed. "Oh, since we are all together, it is time to tell you about date number three." She seemed too excited about this. I thought about opening my mouth to say something about Henry's pursuit, but I kept my mouth shut.
"Oh please," I began.
"No," Olivia cut me off. "You are going to do this. No, Pizza Delivery guy is going to fall in love with a couch potato!"
"Um, ouch," I pretended to cringe. "I am a very well-dressed couch potato."
"You're getting picked up in about 45 minutes, and I think you are going to a street fair."
That is a public and open area, so it is less likely to be a serial killer… but it is just as easy to disappear in a crowd as in the forest. So, he could still be a serial killer.
"Who is it?"
Olivia just shook her head and said, "You will find out when he gets here. But, for now, let's quickly eat, so we can get you dressed."
That pushed Dinah into "go" mode. Before I fully digested my delicious breakfast, they whisked me off to the dreaded closet. Dinah joined me, looking carefully at the different options she had created for me.
"You are going to be doing a lot of walking around, so we need to find something with pants so you don't chaff," she processed, "it is still hot, so it should be something light, as well."
"It also needs to be red," Olivia added, "today's suitor likes red."
"Do you know this guy personally?" I came out of the closet to stare at my friend, and she just smiled with an emphatic nod. Well, that is at least better than the men my mother chose. Dinah came out with the outfit in hand.
"Alright, go get changed."
I disappeared into the bathroom and examined the outfit. The top was a red and white polka dot sleeveless with tan slacks and a matching tan leather belt to go along my waist. I threw my hair up in a ponytail and then pinned it to the back of my head with an alligator clip. I decided to go with a little make-up, so I just focused on some brown eye shadow and a vanilla-mint lip gloss. I came out with a flourish for the girls to approve.
"Perfect," Olivia clapped. Dinah stood to circle me with a critical eye.
She moved around me twice before declaring, "I'm a genius!"
Olivia also jumped to her feet and squealed, "Time for accessories!" She disappeared into my closet and returned a few minutes later with a red purse, white wedges, and a ruby necklace. Something about the necklace felt familiar. "I can't believe you still have this," Olivia exclaimed. I finally recognized the piece. It was a Valentine's Day gift I got in high school, and it was from Olivia's twin brother Johnny.
"I usually don't get rid of gifts that actually mean something to me," I shrugged.
"Does this have meaning to you?" She tilted her head to emphasize the question.
"Of course," I smiled. "It was the first real Valentine's gift I had ever gotten, and Johnny had spent a lot of time on the presentation."
"He paid his buddy Jackson to be your singing valentine. How is that original?" Olivia teased.
"He had Jackson learn my favorite love song, and that necklace could not have been super cheap either. He was sweet and made me very happy, so yes, he did a good job."
"Well, it works for me because it is the perfect accent for this outfit," Olivia shrugged. She clasped the necklace around my neck, and the doorbell rang. We all looked at our watches.
"Hmm, he is early," Dinah voiced what we all were thinking. They both looked at me with pointed stares.
"What?"
"Go!" they growled.
I reached the front door and double-checked my purse for the essentials. I took a deep breath and then opened the door.
"Hello--"