Right In Front of Me (Finished)

Chapter 14: Double Date

That night, Greyson and I were so excited. We talked over the whole movie, which was 'The Heat' which was still funny, the parts I saw at least. We slept on the bridge, too, as promised. Over the weekend, Saturday, Greyson and I video-chatted Hayden and Hallie, and we decided to have a double date on Monday since we were going to have a teacher work day. Then on Sunday, after church, Hallie came over and we decided what to wear and went to the mall. But, today is Monday and I am kind of nervous...
        I take a shower first thing that morning, and when I step out of the shower, I wash my face. I grab my 'Morning Burst' face wash and use as directed. Then I get into my robe with just my bra and underwear underneath, and head into my room. In my room, I already had my  outfit laid out on my bed. I brush out my wet hair, which I know isn't good for it, but I need to. Then I use my mom's blow-dryer until my hair is mostly dry, then I do a few things here and there to it until I am satisfied with the way it looks. Then, I get dressed. Next, I put a pair of new earrings on. Finally, I do my makeup and... I think I'm ready.
        Greyson comes a 'tap-tapping on my window and I let him in. "Are you ready?!" He asks, excitedly. Then he drops serious. "You look amazing." I say thank you, and compliment his button-up shirt and black jeans. "Do I look all right?" he asks. I say confidently, Most definitely." Then the doorbell ring. Oh, gosh.
        A million worries fly through my head. I'm not ready for this! My makeup is probably a mess! This dress probably fits weird. He's gonna regret ever asking me out! Then I take a deep breath and say in my head, 'He wouldn't ask you if he didn't like you.' I tried real hard to believe myself.
        "Hey! Greyson... you look adorable. And," Hallie paused and looked at me, "A-Avalon! You look...so pretty. Just gorgeous." I say thank you. Before I can compliment her, Hayden walks in and says, "Hey, I was gonna tell Avalon how gorgeous she looks." He said to Hallie, even though he hasn't even looked at me yet. But when he does, the look on his face was priceless and made my day. "Avalon... you really do look beautiful. Honest." I giggle, "Who are you trying to convince?" We all laugh. "But seriously, Hallie, you look astounding." She thanks me for saying so. Hallie embraces Greyson and whispers something in his ear. When they pull away, he looks as if he is thinking, then he leans back in and whispers back, throwing her into a fit of giggles. Hayden and I exchange a confused look, but shrug it off. "So, uh, where are we going again?" I ask. Hayden tells me, "Longhorn Steakhouse. Is... that all right?" I say it's totally fine. "Let's go..." Hallie says, still giggling. Greyson intertwines his fingers with Hallie's and she turns pink as they walk outside. "Shall we?" Hayden asks, wrapping an arm around my waist. I say, "We shall." I place my right hand on his right shoulder, giving him a quick side-hug. I drop my hand down to his waist and wrap around it. We walk outside to Hayden's Jeep. Thankfully, his doors are on this time, so I don't have to worry about ruining my hair. Hayden and I sit in the front, holding hands (<3) while Grey and Hallie made out or something in the back.
        As soon as we walked into the restaurant, the smell of steak filled my nose. I close my eyes and enjoy it. Hayden snickers, "You're too cute." I blush. We go through the night really well, and I am, somehow, falling for Hayden even more.

        That night, Greyson and I hang out in his room. "That was..." I start, breathlessly. "Yeah, that was..." Greyson said. He asks, "Did you have fun?" at the same time as I say, "I have to ask you something." I say, "You go first." He breaths out and then says, "Did you have fun? With Hayden, I mean. Did you have fun with Hayden?" I reply, "Yeah...yeah. I definitely did. I really like him. But... you know how couples ask cute questions like, 'So, when did you first realize that you liked me?'?" He nods slowly. "Well... Hayden asked."
"And what did you say?"
"I said, 'Let's just say it's been a while'."
"Did he ask what you meant?"
"Yeah, and I just said something like, 'You know what I mean'."
"And?"
"He said he didn't know what I meant. So I had to lie! I said, 'A month or two.'"
"How'd he react to that?"
"Well. He said for him, it was like love at first sight."
"Aww."
"Yeah, it was 'aww' until I went and messed it up!"
"Oh gosh. What'd you say?"
"I got caught up in the moment, and didn't understand what he said or something, 'cause I said, 'Yeah. You were.'"
I cover my face in shame.
"Oh Lord..."
"And..."
"And?"
"And when he said, later, that he loves my eyes, I said, 'Me too.' And before I could fix the mistake, the waiter came over and said something stupid, like, 'Are your chairs comfortable enough?'"
"'Are your chairs comfortable enough?' What kind of question is that?"
"I know! Like, if I said 'No' would he take my chair and make me stand until he went and got an extra one from the back room?"
He laughs, "Or, maybe, if there weren't any extra in the back, he would just run around the restaurant switching your 'bad' chair out with someone else's and then run it back to you to ask if you like that one."
I laugh, "If he did do that, I would just keep saying 'no' so that I could watch him running from table to table, taking chairs out from under everyone."
"I can just see it now; he's sweating, his long black ponytail swishing back and forth through the air as he searches for the magic chair."
We break out in a laughing session.
"So, is that what you were gonna ask me when we spoke at the same time?"
I catch my breath. "Huh?"
"You said, 'I have to ask you something.' Was that it?"
"Oh. No. I wanted to ask you if... if you love Hallie."
He falls serious. "Uh... isn't it a little too early to tell?"
"Y-yeah, but, Ya'know, I was just wondering what point in your relationship you are with Hallie."
"In that case... No. I don't. I, uh, really like her, a lot. I do, but I just don't know yet. I've definitely fallen in like with her, though."
"Okay." I smile. At least he was honest.