The Dating Game

THIRTY-THREE

"What do you mean you're coming to pick me up?" I ask.

"I mean," he starts to explain, "I'm gonna grab some things and drive to your house and take you somewhere so get dressed."

My foggy brain is having a hard time figuring out where he could possibly be taking me so late at night. "It's almost eleven, dude. I'm exhausted."

"Remember when you called me at one o'clock in the morning?" he reminds me, rendering me speechless for a moment as I recall waking him up at one AM to trauma-dump to him. I guess I can let it slide this time.

"I'll be ready in a few minutes."

"That's what I thought," he says in innocent approval, not sounding the least bit tired before hanging up. Either he took a nap before planning this, whatever this is, or he has ingested an unhealthy amount of caffeine and I am in for an awfully hyper treat tonight.

I shake my head and give my eyes a gentle rub, trying to wake myself up some more. The first thing I do when I stand up is soak my face in ice-cold water and that seems to do the trick, but I take a moment to brush my teeth as well while I'm still in the bathroom. If I'm hanging out with Chase, I'd rather have fresh breath than end the night listening to him complain about how stinky it was.

I slowly make my way back into my room, flicking the light on as soon as I arrive. After my eyes take the time to adjust from the darkness, I open up my closet and try to find something to wear. I don't really care all that much about dressing up but it is late, and the middle of winter, so I need to choose at least slightly wisely.

I end up going with a few layers, wanting to make sure I stay warm tonight. After the last time we hung out, I know not to assume anything about Chase. He is not above spending the entire day outside.

I throw on some baggy jeans and a warm turtleneck before pulling a cute v-neck sweater over my head. My hair is still straight from when I flat ironed it this morning and when I glance over at Chase's varsity jacket hanging on my headboard, I realize this is the perfect time to return it to him. So I grab it and pull my arms through the sleeves, deciding I'll wear it in the meantime until I get the chance to give it back to him.

I shove my feet into my boots and brush out my hair once before glancing over at the makeup on my desk. I debate for a moment whether or not I should touch up the makeup I've had on all day, but going through that entire process right now sounds like torture. Plus, it's so late that I doubt it would even make a difference. So instead, I take some cotton pads and micellar water and give my entire face a scrub. I throw my bare face into some more cold water before applying moisturizer and checking on my phone.

As soon as it lights up, I hear a knock at my door. It's so faint I almost miss it, but it's so familiar that I know exactly whose it is.

When I move to open the door, Chase greets me with a smile and a duffel bag on his shoulder. He's dressed nicely, for once. His clothes are also layered—a tan puffer jacket over a brown sweater over a white t-shirt—and he's arrived in actual jeans instead of sweats. His hair is damp and his ears are bare instead of bedazzled like they usually are.

"What happened to your earrings?" I ask first. He looks at me fully confused and reaches up to touch his ears.

"Damn," he says, "I guess I lost them."

I shake my head. "Probably better off without them."

"Hey," he begins to lecture me. "Don't diss the earrings. They're the best accessory."

I roll my eyes at him as I shut my door, making sure I have my keys in my jacket pocket before locking the door behind me. When I turn around, Chase is staring at me with curious eyes and it starts to make me feel self-conscious.