Chapter 10

Lizzie's birthday party is today, and she was so excited to learn that I'd be coming. She said, and I quote, "Ohhh! Really? That's so exciting! You can bring that boy if you want. He's nice. And handsome."

At first, like she explained to begin with, Lizzie didn't want a birthday party. I guess her grandparents talked her into it. Either way, I was actually happy to go to it. And I did decide to take Ray with me.

"Ready to party?" Ray asks me, walking beside me up the driveway with our present in his hands.

"Oh yeah. Party with the nine year old girls. I bet you're stoked, Ray," I wink at him.

"Why else would I be here?"

I ring the doorbell and Lizzie's grandma answers the door. She smiles at us and lets us inside.

"Lizzie has been so excited for you two to arrive," she says. Then she takes the gift from Ray and swiftly brings it to the gift table.

Ray and I make our way to the backyard, where all the little girls are already running around like psychos. Of course, I would expect no different. Lizzie catches my eye, in her poofy gold dress and tiara. She gasps and runs up to me.

"You came! You came!" She says. Then she sees Ray and she giggles. She pulls my arm so I have to bend down to her level. She whispers, "I think he's in love with you. Like a Prince Charming."

I can feel my cheeks going red even though she's a nine year old girl. I open my mouth to respond, but no words come out. Lizzie laughs again and covers her mouth.

"What," I whisper.

"He told me you were pretty once," she whispers with another laugh.

I can feel myself transforming into my tomato status.

Lizzie lets me stand up straight and I tuck my curled hair behind my ears. Lizzie is called by one of her little friends and she runs back over to them to continue her game.

"So, she comes to your bookstore a lot?" Ray asks.

"Yeah, every single day." I watch her run around and trip over her own feet, smiling.

"That's good for her. Reading a lot is a good habit to get into before you get to become our age and have a pile of books slammed onto your desk and are forced to read them in a week," Ray sighs.

"Just so you know, I love reading," I explain, hitting his arm with the back of my hand. I can feel his muscles tense under my touch and I really can't help myself but smirk.

"Hey, I never said I didn't like reading either. I said it was a good habit," Ray explains.

"Yes, but it was implied."

"No, it was not. You know nothing, Missy," Ray says.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." I stare at him, amused.

"Prove it," I demand, crossing my arms like a five year old.

"If you insist..."

"Wait, what-"

But he comes at me and lifts me up. I start to kick and scream at him. He just runs me around the yard with all the other little girls and they stare at him as he passes.

"Stop it! Put me down!" I demand.

"Not until you admit that you know nothing!" Ray counters.

"Never!"

"Then you'll be up there a while..."

I sigh and close my eyes. But then I'm shoved onto something. I open my eyes to find that I am now sitting on top of the shed.

"Get me down now!" I yell.

"Never! Just admit it!" A few of the girls giggle as they watch the scene.

Then Lizzie's grandma walks out of the house carrying a huge cake. All the girls turn their heads towards her and scream.

"Who wants cake?" She asks.

All the girls squeal a 'ME!'

"I want cake," I pout.

"Admit it!"

"Fine. Only for the cake. I know nothing," I mutter.

"What? I didn't hear you," Ray grins at me.

"I said I know nothing," I mutter again.

"Huh? What was that?" Ray asks, pressing a mocking hand to his ear.

"I said I know nothing!" I yell. All of the heads turn to look at me and all becomes silent. I stare back at the little girls and my cheeks grow hot.

Ray places his hands on my waist to help me down and chills fly up up my spine at the contact. As Ray sets me down, I casually brush myself off and walk myself to the cake table.

"Now, now. Lets sing to miss Liz on her ninth birthday!" Lizzie's grandma says.

We all erupt in song and Ray and I sing so loud that it becomes a duet. We start laughing once we finish out wonderful song, and Liz giggles.

Lizzie's grandma hands out plates of cake, and once me and Ray get out cake, we follow the girls to the outdoor table. I sit between Ray and some little girl with bright red hair.

She stares at me. I stare back. Her eyes widen. I widen my eyes too. I lean closer to her slightly. She backs away.

"Jordan, you're making the poor girl uncomfortable," Ray says beside me.

I smile at the girl and she lets out a relieved breath.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Marilyn," she replies, looking down.

"Hello, Marilyn. I'm Jordan."

"Hi." It seems obvious that Marilyn really wants to just eat her cake so I leave her alone and search the table for Lizzie. She sits directly across from me.

"Hey, Lizzie, what do you think you're getting for your birthday?" I ask.

"M're cake!" She says, smiling at me with cake filled cheeks.

"Oh, yes. I could have seen that one coming."

Ray chuckles beside me. Lizzie looks at Ray and smiles, showing off her chocolate-filled teeth.

************************************

Ray and I leave Lizzie's house after the party is over. Lizzie about died when she say our huge mountain of books Ray and I picked out for her.

Now, we are sitting in my room. This is the very first time I've brought him over. He walks around looking at all my pictures on the wall. He wears a breath taking smile as he studies them.

"You're so adorable," Ray says, standing in front of the picture of me and Sierra on Christmas when we were like seven. Even though 'adorable' is a commonly used word when describing children, I feel the blush that makes its way onto my face.

Ray finally walks back over to me and sits on the bed next to me. I can feel his focus on my face, causing it to heat up. I force my eyes to stay away from him or else I would never be able to look away.

Don't look, Jordan. Don't look.

I look.

Not only are we touching at the hip and shoulder, but our faces are barely four inches apart. I watch his bright eyes feeling his warm breath on my face. I can feel the charged electricity between us, as cheesy as that sounds.

Ray's eyes flick down to my lips and quickly back up to my eyes. My heart stops for a moment before continuing its job of pumping blood through me. I feel energy coursing through me. From my fingertips to every other inch of me.

I let out a shaky breath and Ray smiles a soft smile.

"Jordan," Ray says. My name sounds like silk when he says it like that.

"Yeah?" I ask breathlessly.

"Can I take you out on a date?" He asks.

I stop breathing again. The world moves in slow motion as I watch his eyes move back and forth between mine, awaiting my answer.

"I'd love to."

************************************

"Mom! It's an emergency!" I yell down the stairs to my mom.

"What do you need now, Jordan?" I hear footsteps running up the stairs. My mom comes into view in my mirror.

I turn to face her.

"I have nothing to wear!" I exclaim, throwing down my blue skirt. I let out a frustrated breath. I never realized how much of a hassle it was to choose what to wear for dates until now.

"I'm sure you have something," my mom sighs.

"No, I have absolutely nothing!" I sigh.

"I guess we will have to go shopping," my mom says. Then she smiles at me. "I have been waiting so long to go shopping for your dates. It sure took long enough."

"Mom," I groan. I walk out of the room.

"Fine, fine. Lets go, missy. Don't want to be late for your hunky date," she says, following me down the stairs.

************************************

I ended up choosing a light blue dress that matches my white flats. It is not too fancy that I'll be way over dressed, but it is absolutely stunning, I won't lie. It is tight on my torso and falls in layers just to my knees. I turn to admire it from all angles.

Sierra showed up earlier as well, when she found out I was going to go out with Ray. She flipped out on the phone (in a good way) and came straight over with her giant makeup box and a curling iron.

Now, with both my hair and makeup done, Sierra has definitely proven to be an excellent stylist. She lets out a squeal and runs up to hug me.

"You'll have so much fun tonight!" Sierra says, standing back to admire me once more.

"Thank, Sierra. You're really the best," I say, smiling at her.

"Aw, I know it, sister! But thanks for pointing it out anyways," Sierra says, flipping her hair off her shoulder.

"Don't try to be modest or humble or anything."

I check my phone, and it shows that it is 6:49. My heart does a flip. There is only ten more minutes until Ray will arrive.

Oh my gosh, I really am turning into a sappy teenage girl.

Yes, I have been hanging out with Ray a lot. I know him very well. But this is different. This is official. This is a date.