Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Adriana

“What are you wearing?” Heather asks me.

“I was thinking about a pair of black leggings and my pink tank and cardigan set. Thoughts?” I ask her opinion.

“I like it. It says sweet, slightly sexy, but still comfy. It’s perfect. You guys are just going to be at his place?”

“Yeah, dinner and a movie, since their game tomorrow is at night. Are we going to any of the games this week?” I ask her.

“Nice. Then that outfit totally works. We should go to Friday’s game. Dean will be there and I’m pretty sure we can convince them to go to a karaoke bar after so he can experience it with the guys since he missed out in Colorado.” she tells me.

“Bestie approval on the outfit. Check!” I laugh before continuing. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“I know, I’m a genius.” She laughs while flipping her hair over left shoulder.

I can’t with this chick. She is crazy and I love her for it. She and Dani are the sisters I never had, and I couldn’t be happier to have them in my life. They have shown me what having a friend group is supposed to be like.

“Oh, I’m going to see if Dani can come too! We’ll sit in the same seats we did for opening day.” She says excitedly.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yes, it’ll be her first game with us. We can make that like a tradition.” She informs me.

“I like this idea. Let me know what she says. I’m pretty sure it’ll be yes based on karaoke alone.” I tell her.

“I will. I’m going to head out so you can do what you need to get ready. Be prepared for questions tomorrow! Or maybe I’ll wait if Dani is coming Friday.”

“Oh geez, get out. Love you!” I tell her.

“Bye! Have fun, but not too much fun or do.” She says with an exaggerated wink.

As much as I want Dani to come, I’m not sure I want her to because of the inquisition that will happen if the two of them are together and that does not sound appealing. Although, I could turn the tables around on Dani since she’s dating, too.

I hop in the shower and take my time. Just to be safe, maybe I should make sure I shave my legs, even though I told Cole I wanted to take it slow. I use my body scrub to ensure my skin is soft and silky. Even when I’ve gone through my normal shower routine, I just stand under the hot spray of water to help ease my nerves.

I honestly don’t know how I thought we could really go slow. We are around each other almost every day. If I don’t see him, he’ll send me random texts throughout the day to say hi and see how my day is. This man is the total opposite of Toby. I would have to call or text him first, not that far into our relationship. He would go hours before answering my texts or returning my calls he missed. I should have known he wasn’t for me, since it was something I complained about often. He would just tell me that work was busy, and he wasn’t always able to get to his phone. Yeah, that works for during the work week but not for weekends if we weren’t together. I don’t know why the hell I put up with him for so long.

Doesn’t matter now because it’s led me to where I’m today.

I get out of the shower and air dry for twenty minutes before starting my routine of getting ready. I throw on a pair of house shorts and a tank to blow dry my hair. Once that’s done, I take my curling iron out because even though it’s a casual night in, I still want to be a little fancy and curling my hair makes me feel fancy. No one can ever change my mind about that. Thirty minutes later, I’m done and go to get dressed.

I opt for just eyeshadow, blush, bronzer and lip gloss for makeup. Being comfy and watching movies means I don’t need to put on a full face of makeup. It’s great that our first date is pretty casual and I’m thankful for it. I don’t feel the need to dress up in case we’re spotted out and pictures end up being taken because I wouldn’t want to embarrass him about being seen with me. It seems like a silly thought, but he’s Cole and I’m me. I’m no super model or actress. I know he told me he doesn’t want that and wants to be with someone who likes him for him and not what he can do for them.

Well, that is me.

Shaking my head at myself, I can’t go down that rabbit hole. I check the time on my phone and see it’s 6:15. In my bedroom, I put on my watch and a pair of earrings. I go to my closet to get my black ballet flats to put on before going back into the bathroom to brush out my curls. Looking in the mirror and see that I’ve achieved the beach waves I wanted.

Leaving the bathroom, I stop to get my license and debit card out of my wallet. I know we aren’t going anywhere tonight, but I feel better if I have both, just in case. It’s important to me Cole knows I don’t expect to him to always pay. I’m not that woman, I can pay too.

I walk out of my bedroom towards the living room when my phone goes off with a notification.

Cole: Are you ready?

Adriana: I might need another hour.

Cole: You let me know when you are and I’ll head over.

Adriana: …….I lied, I’m ready.

Cole: Sounds good. See you in a few minutes.

Adriana:

I guess I don’t have to hang out on the couch waiting for him to be here. Not even four minutes later, Cole’s knocking on the door. I’m stunned once the door is open. The shock on my face must be apparent, because Cole chuckles. He is holding a bouquet with one singular Birds of Paradise in the middle which happens to be my favorite flower of all time.

The man looks fine as hell in his baseball uniform or gym clothes. Tonight, though, he looks hotter than sin. He’s wearing jeans that fit him just right and a dark blue polo that shows off his muscles.

I can’t wait to see those jeans from the back.

“Hey.” Cole says as he takes a step towards me, clearly wanting to hug me, I let him hug me with one arm around me while he’s still holding this bouquet.

“Hi.” I say with a huge smile.

“These are for you.” He says as he hands me the bouquet.

“Thank you, Cole. These are beautiful.” I take them as I speak.

“You are very welcome. Did I do okay?”

“You did great. Birds of Paradise are actually my favorite flower. Is it okay if I put them in a vase?” I ask, not knowing if we need to get back to his place quickly.

“Yes, our reservations at house De La Evans will start when we get there. Guess I did good if I picked your favorite flower,” he says with a smirk.

I unwrap the bouquet and get the vase from under the sink and wash it out first. I add water to the vase and then the flowers.

“And how did you guess?” I ask because I know I haven’t told him. I don’t even think I’ve told Heather.

“I’m not revealing my source. I need them for the future, woman,”

“You are something else.” I say as I go to give him a proper hug now that both hands are free.

He wraps me up in his arms, and I take in his scent. I need to figure out what it is and buy stock in that company. As we’re pulling away from each other, he places his lips next to my ear and whispers, “And you are something special.” I shiver at his words.

“You ready?” He asks me like his words didn’t just have any effect on me.

“Yeah, just need to grab my keys.”

I take my keys off the hook and Cole opens the door for me and we both walk out. I lock the deadbolt with my key. Cole takes my hand in his and we walk down the stairs together and over to his place.

Cole leads me down the drive to the backyard and up the stairs to the patio. He has the table set up with our dinner and candles. I’m in awe of the time this man took to plan tonight.

He walks me to the other side of the table where I see chicken scarpariello over penne pasta waiting for me. Cole pulls my chair out for me so I can sit and helps me scoot in.

“What would you like to drink? I have Prosecco, water, Cola, or Jack.” He gives me my options.

“What are you having?” I ask him.

“Water. I don’t drink often before a game.”

“I’ll have Cola then.” I tell him.

“You don’t have to not drink just because I’m not.” He tells me.

“I know. It’s not because of you. I promise.” I say.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Cole goes inside and comes back two minutes later. He places my drink in front of me and his bottle of water in front of him.

“Your sources hooked you up with information, huh?” I question.

“Maybe or I just asked all the right questions so I could make a good impression.”

“Not something you had to do.” I smile at him.

“I appreciate that. I know you wanted to take it slow, but I wanted to make sure that our first date, hopefully of many, started off on the right foot and was memorable.”

It’s not lost on me at his mention of hopefully of many dates. This man drives home his intentions and I don’t think he even realizes it.

“Cole, I know I said that in Colorado and it was only like four days ago, but honestly, I don’t even know what slow means. Let’s just see what happens? This way, neither of us feel like we are going to say or do the wrong thing.” I state.

“I can do that. I just wanted to make sure you knew I respected you and your feelings,” he sincerely tells me.

“You have done that. I swear.”

“Good. Shall we dig in?” Cole asks with a boyish grin.