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“Let me grab my bag.” She darts into the house, leaving me in her garage alone. I’m quite thankful for the moment alone, as it gives me a chance to get the blood from running any further south.
17
JOSIE
When I asked Andrew what I should wear or expect tonight, he didn’t really give me much to go off. He simply told me to wear something I’m comfortable in. Nothing too fancy though. I figured I would meet in the middle, and wear something comfortable, that was also sort of nice. I got this skirt a few weeks ago online, and I’ve been itching to wear it. Tonight is the perfect time.
The look on Andrew’s face when he saw what I was wearing was adorable. I know this is only our second date, but watching his reactions to me makes me feel more worthy, more beautiful, than I have in years. Zack never treated me horribly, but he also didn’t make me feel beautiful.
Sitting in Andrew’s work truck, I’m enjoying the feeling of his hand entwining with mine, thumb rubbing circles over my skin. I’ve tried to stop the goosebumps that have formed on my flesh multiple times with no luck. Every touch, kiss, and moment with him has my body feeling like I’m floating, not a care in the world, only wondering when I can get his hands on me again.
“Do I get a hint about where we’re going?” I ask. His brown hair is styled tonight, the curls a bit more tame than I’d like them, to be totally honest. I like his rugged, disheveled curls. He’s in a navy button up shirt, with a pair of nice pants, and shiny black shoes. Compared to him, I feel slightly underdressed, but when I mentioned it to him, he shrugged me off, saying, “Pretty sure no one is going to be looking at me when you’re at my side.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. He sure knows how to make me feel good.
“No hints, no clues,” Andrew says, smiling at me. The golden hue of the sun setting behind us makes Andrew look like a Disney Prince.
“Fine,” I grumble, inserting a little whine into my tone, trying to get some sort of information from him.
Moments later, my question is semi-answered, when we pull into the parking lot of the craft store. The sign above the door reads The Paper Kite. There are a few cars around, and a sign on the door says, “Paint ‘N Sip, Every Friday at 6.”
My eyes widen, and a giddy excitement crashes over me. Is this really what we are doing? I can’t believe a guy would willingly go to a Paint ‘N Sip, let alone plan one as a date night. Then again, Andrew has proved me wrong more than once now.
Andrew shifts into park, letting go of my hand to do so. “So, how do you feel about painting?”
A silly laugh bursts out of me, and I look over at him, smiling. “Really? We’re going to Paint ‘N Sip?”
Andrew nods. “If you want to, yeah. My mom told me about it a few weeks ago, and I remembered it this afternoon. Thought it would be fun to try. Apparently the theme tonight is floral arrangements. I thought it was pretty fitting.”
“Oh my god, yes I want to go,” I squeal. Andrew gives me a toothy grin, clearly happy with my reaction.
He climbs out of the truck while I sit in my seat, still shocked at how good of a date idea this is. Before I can get out, he’s at the door, opening it for me, and offering his hand to guide me down. He doesn’t let go of my hand as he leads me to the glass door. I stop when I notice a For Rent sign in the window of a storefront a few businesses down.
“Everything okay?” Andrew asks, looking at me to see where my gaze has strayed to.
“Hm?” I ask, my attention back on him “Oh, yeah. I saw a for rent sign a few doors down, so I was looking at it, that’s all.”
Andrew glances at the store front. “My brother, Beau, he’s a realtor. I can text him if you want to do a showing? We could probably see it tonight if you wanted.”
“What? No, no,” I stumble over my words in my haste. “No, I was just dreaming. Really.”
“Okay, well the option is there. He’s probably got all the contacts you would need in a market this small.”
“I’ll keep it in mind, really. I’m not in the market to rent or buy right now.”
“That’s fair.”
I turn my eyes away from the store front, back to the cute craft store in front of me. “Let’s go in, I want to see what we’re painting tonight.”
Andrew opens the door for me, and chattering voices fill the room. We follow the voices down the aisle to where there is an open area with long tables set up, tiny easels with small canvases on each table.
There’s a small group of women at the front of the room, passing around glasses of wine. They turn when they hear us arrive, their eyes widening when they see us. My face flushes, and I glance down at my outfit, looking for stains, or a boob that has fallen out or something, based on their reaction.
One of the women even clutches a hand to her heart, gasping, “Andrew Cunningham, never in my life would I expect to see you here.”
Andrew chuckles, shaking his head as he replies, “You make me sound like a hermit, Norma.”
“You may as well be,” she states. She waves her arms in front of her dramatically. “Nevermind, nevermind. Tell me who this beautiful girl is.” Norma strides down the aisle of tables and chairs to stand in front of us. My hand grows clammy in Andrew’s palm, and I subtly try to pull away. He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.
