Summer Swing (49 page)

I glanced down at my watch as he was walking away. “Wait! That’s in two hours!”

He smiled and said, “Wonderful. I can’t wait.”

It had been a while since I last got nervous about going on a date. It had also been a while since I’d actually
gone
on an official date. I really didn’t know what to wear because I didn’t know what we’d be doing.

Since Dawn had picked me up and drove us to the mall, she
dropped me off at home and
mad
e the decision to hang around
while I got ready. I knew she was pretty excited for me because she really liked Harlan, but it kind of hurt that I couldn’t talk to her about the situation I was in. I never mentioned Tyse’s name, but she d
id know I still talked to him.
However,
there was no way that I wanted her to know how much I truly missed him.

“This top would look really cute with those
pants
,” Dawn said, holding it up to me. “Dressy casual. That way you look chic, but not overdone. And those heels,” she pointed to the floor.

“You do know that would make me the same height as him, right? Or just about.”

“He’s about four inches taller than you, Ellie. You guys are so cute together!”

I agreed with the top she chose, but I stuck with shoes
that had
a smaller
heel.

When Harlan arrived I was surprise he was in jeans
,
and
under his jacket was just
a
polo shirt
. He told me I looked beautiful, but when I asked if I should change he said, “You might want to make sure you’re comfortable. We won’t even be leaving the car,” he added with a wink.

My sister laughed out loud.

So I de
cided to change and put on a pair of my favorite jeans
. I k
ept the shoes since they were just flats and I loved them, so I grabbed a long sweater jacket and announced that I was ready.

I was surprised that the little
Boxster
wasn’t in the driveway waiting for us, but the sleek silver Lexus that replaced it wasn’t too shabby
either
.

“What, no Porsche?” I teased.

“No, not tonight. This car has more room inside,” he smiled.

Okay, I knew he liked to tease me, but I was starting to get really worried.
He opened the door for me and waited while I sat down, but I could tell he was chuckling as he walked around the front of the car to his side. When he sat down I asked, “What’s so funny?”

“What?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“You’re making me feel very uncomfortable,” I admitted.

I could tell
he wasn’t okay with that
and he immediately said, “Ellie, I’m very sorry. I was just…” He sighed, and then he seemed a little embarrassed. “If you must know, I was just thinking about how happy I am that you’ve finally agreed to go out with me. I know, I’m a fool, but I’ve been smiling like a bloody idiot for the past two hours.”

That made me smile, and it also made me feel really good. Yeah, I knew that he liked me, but I guess I really liked his giddy, boyish honesty.

I guess I could say that Harlan’s choice of a date really surprised me.
We drove
to the Portland International Raceway to see Winter Wonderland. I was very excited to see all of the Christmas lights, and the displays really were phenomenal.

We’d
stopped at a restaurant before we got there, and Harlan picked up an order than he’d apparently called ahead for. We ate dinner in the car—
his posh, fancy
Lexus
—a
nd he didn’t even care when I dropped a
n
olive
on the seat. Dessert was strawberry cheesecake, and it was probably the best cheesecake I’d ever eaten. It was definitely going into one of my restaurant reviews.

Other than a quick trip to the bathroom
after the
light display
, we really did stay in the car for our entire date.
It was a beautiful night
, so when we were headed back for home
, I asked if we could make one
little detour
.

“I’ll do anything you want,” Harlan assured me.

So we drove to the zoo, and barely caught the last hour of Zoo Lights.

“My family used to come here every year,” I explained. “But I guess as we got older and everyone kind of started doing their own thing, it became a forgotten tradition. Well maybe not forgotten, but just not doable anymore.”

“I’ve never been here before,” he replied, looking around at all the colorful holiday lights that lit the park. “It’s beautiful.”

I nodded my agreement as we walked. “You should suggest to Felix that he bring Madeline here,” I said with a teasing tone. “I guarantee she would love it.”

“Hmm, sounds like a good idea.”

“But make sure they dress warm,” I shivered with a laugh.

He put his arm around me
and rubbed some heat into me. I refused to take his jacket, but i
t he
lped when we got hot chocolate. When the park announced closing time,
we began heading back to the parking lot.
I liked it when Harlan took my hand, especially because it was warm. It almost felt like we were a couple, and I wondered why I was so comfortable
with that
.

However, when he dropped me off at my house, he stuck with the friendly kiss on the cheek and told me goodnight. There was no awkward silence, no waiting to be invited in, and I
was
very happy with how smooth and effortless it was.

It was a very good night.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

December 15
th
started off to be a good day. We had our on-air Christmas party at the station and it was a huge success. I couldn’t remember a work event that was more fun.

I was exhausted when I got home that night. It was a Friday and I was so thankful I could sleep in the next morning. Harlan came over and we ordered Chinese food. It was basically our s
econd date since Saturday
. He’d asked me out by sending me flowers at work (with his phone number for a reply)
,
and because
the arrangement was beautiful, and I was impressed by his efforts, I said yes.
Thursday and Friday were his days off that week,
so
I agreed to Friday—with the warning that I’d probably be pretty tired.

I had a good time, though. We basically just ate and watched TV, talked, and made fun of our fortunes. Kailey came home with a
few
friends about an hour later, and it kind of evolved into a group date
of
playing cards.
Socially Harlan was a pleasure, and everyone seemed to like him. He was friendly and witty, and he adapted well to any conversation. He was intelligent, but I loved the fact that he didn’t flaunt it endlessly. He could add to any topic with ease, but unless he was asked something specifically, he really didn’t choose to awe anyone with his
intellect
. His sense of humor was probably admired more than anything, and I think our group that night highly approved of him.

Harlan left around ten, gave me the kiss on the cheek, and said goodnight. I wasn’t sure if it was a routine he was comfortable
with
, or if he was doing it for my benefit, but I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to really kiss me.

“Do I want him to kiss me?” I asked myself out loud. I was lying on my bed with the lights on
that night
, too wired to go to sleep.

I thought about it for a several minutes, even laying out the pros and cons. Right now I was pretty comfortable with Harlan. We were good friends, mutually attracted to each other, and things were really simple. If he kissed me, things would change. Our relationship would become more affectionate, maybe even more serious on an emotional level… Would I really fall for him that way? I did like him, but was he really the type of guy that I could see myself being with?

T
hen I began to think about
Tyse
and I became depressed
. Since returning from California
,
it didn’t se
em like we talked as much. Yeah
we talked about twice a week, but it just didn’t feel the same for
some reason. After visiting him
I missed him more than before, and I wondered if it was going to be like that every time. Obviously that meant I needed to be around him, right? I knew
I
felt that way, but did
he
?

I was too scared to find out, so every time we talked on the phone, it was the same type of conversation: I miss you, wish we could hang out, sorry I didn’t call back but I was busy, hey maybe we should be roomies some day…  We didn’t always say those same things, but you get the picture.
Very platonic.
I almost felt like I was his little sister or something, and that
really
bothered me.

He actually called the next morning, while I was still asleep with all the lights on in my room. I couldn’t find my phone at first, and barely caught it on the last ring.

“Hey, Tyse.”

There was a pause on the other end. “Uh, you’re not hung over again, are you?”

“No,” I chuckled groggily. “I just woke up.”

“It’s almost eleven.”

“It is? Holy cow…”

“You sure you didn’t party a little too much last night? Drink a little too much eggnog at the Christmas thing? Maybe someone added a little something special, you know?”

I laughed. “No, I didn’t even have eggnog. It was just a really busy day and I was physically drained. So what’s up?”

“Oh, I was just seeing how it went. For you, I mean. I listened online, so I know what it consisted of. I just wanted to see how you survived.”

“Oh, I did all right. I was at the studio by
five
in the morning
to make sure everything was ready
, and I don’t think I started my downfall until about three or so. You really listened online?”

“Yeah, it was pretty cool. It started at noon, so
I listened
when m
y last class was done
. Then
I
had it
on
down at the shop.”

“How’s school going for you?”

“Pretty good. Got my grades yesterday and I pulled off a 3.6.”

“Really? That’s awesome. I should take you out to celebrate.”

“Okay, meet me tonight at seven and we’ll go get some dinner.”

“Aw,” I frowned. “I wish.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“But eight more days, right?”

“Yeah
, eight more days.”

“I’m so excited you’re coming, Tyse. I can’t wait to see you.”

I didn’t realize my sister was standing in the doorway and she nearly scared the daylights out of me.
“Yeah, I can’t wait
to see you, too,”
Tyse
replied at the same time.

“Uh, hang on just a second, okay?”

“Sure.”

I covered the phone and looked at Dawn’s unhappy face. “What’s up?”

She kind of shrugged, but I could tell she was really annoyed. “Uh, David’s birthday?”

I cussed out loud and jumped off the bed.

“At least put some pants on,” she added dryly before she left the room.

“You don’t have any pants on?” Tyse said over the phone.

“Oh, gosh,” I groaned. He was laughing but I said, “I gotta go. I totally forgot about my brother’s party today.”

“Sure, no problem. Tell him happy birthday for me.”

“Uh…okay,” I replied uncomfortably as I pulled on a pair of jeans.

“Bye Ells.”

I tossed the phone on the bed so I could use two hands, and quickly finished getting ready. My sister was sitting on the couch with her arms across her chest, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor.

Great, it was going to be one of
those
days with her.

“We’re not
gonna
be late,” I told her. “It starts at noon.”

“Uh,
David
will be there at noon. We, the
guests
, are supposed to be there at
eleven-thirty
.”

It was twenty-five after and I knew
we had a
fifteen
minute drive
. “Oh crap.”