The Boyfriend Project

Chapter 33

I told her that he wanted to take me out tonight on an actual date, but last night kept creeping back into my mind. And for a split second, I found myself mad at him all over again for kissing Savannah. If he and I were going to make an actual go of this fake relationship, I had to either make peace with what happened the other night or confess to Easton why I was mad at him. 

She asked me if I wanted to go shopping real quick for something to wear tonight or if I wanted to wear what I had in my closet. I told her I would just wear something I already had in my closet. I honestly wasn't in the mood to go shopping. Yeah, I was excited about him kissing me, but something deep down in the pit of my stomach told me to keep my guard up. 

"Do you want me to help you get ready for your date later?" Blakely smiled. 

"You already know the answer." 

"Yeah, I do." She laughed. "Does he know that you're a..." she whispered. 

"No, I don't think so." I glanced over at him, playing ball with the rest of the guys. I prayed my worst nightmare wasn't about to come true. I sat up and pulled Gavin's cooler closer to see what all he put in it. If I remember correctly, he usually had some alcohol buried in the bottom of the cooler. I sifted through the bottles of water, a few bottles of sparkling water, a few sodas, and bottles of beer until I finally found some wine coolers. I tossed one over to Blakely. We sat there, drank the wine coolers, and watched Easton and the guys play football. 

"So, what are you going to wear tonight?" Blakely asked, breaking the awkward silence. 

"I hadn't thought about it, to be honest." I took a drink of the wine cooler. "I don't know if I'm going to go out with him tonight," I blurted out. 

"What?" She spits out her wine cooler all over her towel. "Have you lost your damn mind?" She turned toward me. "Why don't you want to go out with Easton?" 

"I don't know. All I know is tonight isn't the right night." I took another drink. 

"What the fuck? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever." She downed the wine cooler. "I hope you know what you are doing. So what are you going to tell him why you don't want to go out tonight?" She shook her head in disbelief. 

"What?" I opened the cooler. 

"You know what. I think you're making a huge ass mistake that you're going to regret later, but what do I know." She motioned for another wine cooler. 

I handed her another wine cooler. She took a drink, shook her head, and looked away as her springy curls blew in the breeze. I knew she disagreed with my decision and honestly thought I'd lost my damn mind. Maybe part of me was scared about jumping into another relationship after Aaron hurt me by kissing Emily. But, whether Easton wanted to admit it or not, he was somewhat of a player like Aaron. 

"Why do you two look so serious over here?" Gavin asked 

"Ask Chelsi," Blakely took another drink. 

Gavin stood there for a few minutes, glancing at the both of us, then finally opened his cooler and grabbed a beer out of it. "What's going on, Chelsi?" He sat down beside me on my towel. 

"Easton asked me out on a date tonight, but I don't think I'm going to go," I took another drink. 

"Why don't you want to go? Did he do something to hurt you? I'll go kick his ass right now." 

"Go kick who's ass?" Easton asked, walking up. 

Gavin quickly glanced over at me, then up at Easton. "Aaron, for being a dick." 

"That's understandable. Is there any more in there?" He pointed to the beer in Gavin's hand. 

"Yeah." Gavin opened the cooler and handed him one. Then, without even being asked, he scooted over next to Blakely. 

Easton sat down next to me on the blanket, then opened the beer and took a drink. "What do you want to do tonight?" He looked over at me. 

Suddenly, I had three pairs of eyes on me; I felt like they were waiting for me to explode or something. Easton was waiting for an honest answer; the other two were waiting for whatever lie was going to come flying out of my mouth. I quickly took another drink and shifted my eyes toward the beautiful ocean. 

"About tonight...I...kinda just want to stay home tonight." I slowly turned my head around to face him. 

"That's okay. I'm tired myself. I didn't sleep last night. Maybe we can do something tomorrow?" He took a drink of his beer. 

"Sure." I peeked over at Blakely, then back at Easton. I thought I'd be relieved about not going out with him tonight, but I felt disappointed. I couldn't help but think maybe he had second thoughts about asking me out on a date. But then, I remembered he just got done asking me what I wanted to do tonight less than five minutes ago. An overwhelming amount of guilt quickly replaced the disappointment. Guilt that I hurt him by saying I wanted to stay home tonight instead of going out.

"Can I drive you home today, at least?" 

"Yes." I smiled. 

"I'll come by later tonight to get the rest of my stuff." Blakely smiled, taking another drink of her wine cooler. 

"Okay," I said. I knew she was coming over for more than just her stuff. She would want to know what happened on the way home. The questions would probably start before she even came over to get her things. She'd probably start texting me the minute I got in his car. Then, once she got to my house, she would ask me the same questions all over again. If I told her nothing happened, she wouldn't believe me. She would stand there with her head tilted to the side, lips pressed together, and her left eyebrow raised until I'd give her a play-by-play of what happened on the drive to my house. She used to do the same when I was first dating Aaron. So, I already knew what was coming the minute Easton and I were headed for his car later. 

Author's Notes:

OMG! What do you think of Chelsi backing out of the date? 

Let me know in the comments and votes. Thanks! A.L.