The Boyfriend Project

Chapter 24

The minute I closed the door, panic set in; I ran upstairs to grab my phone to see where Blakely was and how long it would take her to get here. She told me she was packing her bag and would be leaving to get food in about five to ten minutes and would be at the house in about thirty minutes and told me to keep my shit together until she got there. Keep my shit together? Easy for her to say. She's not the one that's created this mess, then turned around and fell for the guy. So, keeping my shit together wasn't an option at the moment. 

Sam came down a few minutes later to let me know that her friend was on her way to pick her up. I told her to have a great time and to call me if she needed anything. Sam knew that she could get ahold of me a lot quicker than she could our parents and nothing else. I would get a hold of them if absolutely necessary. 

As she said, Blakely showed up thirty minutes later with Chinese takeout. My favorite Sweet & Sour Chicken, LoMein noodles, and Green beans. I took the bag from her and walked into the kitchen to get plates and drinks. 

"Why did you call in such a panic earlier?" Blakely asked, following me into the kitchen. 

I opened the cabinet, getting two plates. "Easton stopped by here on his way back to the school." I set the plates down on the island. 

"What did he want?" Blakely asked, taking the containers out of the bag. 

"He asked if I wanted to get something to eat after the game. I need your help in finding something to wear and with my hair. Please." I turned around, holding a glass in each hand. 

"Of course, I will help you. You don't have to ask. First, food." She smiled. 

We took our plates and drinks into the family room, sitting on each end of the couch turned inward, facing one another with our legs crisscrossed. We sat there and talked about what I should wear to the game tonight; nothing over the top, but more than you would typically wear to a Friday night football game. But, to be honest, she had her work cut out for her. We decided on putting my hair up in a ponytail and curling it. That was probably the easiest hairstyle that would still look good after a football game. 

We cleaned the dishes, put the rest of the food in the refrigerator, then went upstairs to go through my clothes and see what I had to wear for tonight. The second I opened my bedroom door, she sat me on my bed and opened up my closet doors. She stood there in front of my closet with a hand on each door, not saying a word, studying her possibilities. Trying to decide which tops to put with pants or shorts. She grabbed different types of tops, pants, and shorts, tossed them on the bed, then dug out shoes. 

Over the next hour and a half, every inch of my bed was covered in clothing, and we finally decided on ripped jeans, an off-the-shoulder top, and black flats. She had me stand up and turn around several times to make sure that was the perfect choice before setting me down at my vanity to do my hair. You would think a ponytail would be a simple style, but Blakely had somehow made it into a difficult one. First, she had a mid-ponytail, then changed it to a low one, then close to the top of my head, and back to mid-ponytail. My head was tender from all the tugging and pulling she had done from doing my hair. All that was left to do was my makeup. She helped with the contour and highlighting; I did my eyes. 

"You look amazing, Chelsi. We need to go, though. The game's going to be starting soon." She started tossing her makeup back into her bag. 

We hurried up, got all her stuff gathered, and took it out to her car. We ran back in to make sure we got everything; we grabbed our things and locked the door. I turned to walk away from the front door when panic swept over me. 

"What if he just wants to meet with me to make me look like a fool right there in the parking lot in front of everyone?" I said, trying to keep my knees from buckling under me. 

"What?" Blakley turned, looking confused. "No. Chelsi."

"What if the joke is on me?"

"You're being ridiculous. Come on; we're going to be late to the game." Blakely took hold of my hand, pulling me along with her. "Chelsi, you've got to stop being so hard on yourself all the time." 

I couldn't argue with her there. I was hard on myself. Probably harder than I should be. I was definitely my own worst critic. In my eyes, nothing I did was ever good enough because I knew I could do better. And Blakely would tell me to stop being so hard on myself—another reason why we were best friends. 

"Are you going to be okay to drive to the school?" Blakely asked, unlocking my car for me. 

"Yes." I took the keys out of her hand. "I'm fine." 

She stared at me for a brief second, lowering her head down, not taking her eyes off me. Giving me her, she didn't believe me look. 

"What?" 

"You know what." She pressed her lips together. 

"I'm fine. I swear." 

"Okay. I'll be right behind you." She turned to get in her car. 

I took a deep breath in and opened the driver's side door to my car. I took another deep breath in, exhaling slowly as I put my car into gear and headed down the road toward the school. I was so busy focused on the traffic that I wasn't worried about whether he would make a fool of me in front of the entire school or not. 

Author's Notes:

I think all of this is starting to freak Chelsi out finally...

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