"You told me it would be an hour," Ryland grumbles. "One. Fucking. Hour. It's been four hours, Lincoln!"

I spent four hours at breakfast with Paisley.

He drives my car back to my mom's house as he continues ranting.

"No one, Lincoln, wants to spend four fucking hours at the goddamn mall if they're all alone. Do you know how many fucking people kept glaring at me? That mall was boring as fuck! I ended up walking through that pink store, Lincoln. You know the one? With all the kinds of panties? And then, I had to go to fucking Barnes & Noble. I don't fucking read, Lincoln."

I should go there with Paisley sometime.

"Did you check to see if Barnes & Noble is open tomorrow?" I ask him.

Ryland turns to give me a quick exasperated look before turning back to the road.

"Linc, I'm glad your girlfriend likes books and shit. That's probably nice. Good for you. You're dating the quiet nerd. She's probably hella smart. I've also heard that the quiet ones are also freaky as fuck, so maybe you'll finally get laid after all this time. Great," he waves his hand. "But you fucking left me alone at a mall, and I got so bored, that I went to look at panties and books, two things I will never fucking use!"

"She's not technically my girlfriend," I mutter, ignoring basically everything he said. "And I still don't know what her shirt meant."

"Um, she kissed you on the first date. Like five hours after she met you," he laughs. "She's definitely your girlfriend. And what were the letters again?"

"Fuck if I know," I sigh. "It was really random though."

"Did you ask her?" He murmurs as he parks the car.

"Yeah. She just started blushing," I run my fingers through her hair.

"Let's go talk to your mom about this," Ryland grins before jumping out of the car and walking to the front door.

He throws the door open and I follow behind him.

"Susan!" He calls excitedly.

"Shut your ass up, Ryland," my mom sighs as she comes around the corner. "The whole goddamn neighborhood can hear you."

"Lincoln just went on a date," Ryland grins.

My mom turns to look at me and raises an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"He's just got a lot of energy because he's been alone all day," I snort.

"Oh, yes! Susan, your son left me all alone. He ditched me for his girl, can you believe that?" Ryland sighs dramatically.

"What girl did you go on a date with?" My mom looks over at me, ignoring Ryland.

"Paisley," I murmur, feeling myself smile.

"The girl he smashed the door into at Starbucks," Ryland informs her.

I look back over at my mom and she's rubbing her eyes.

"How'd the date go, Lincoln?" My mom asks.

"It was good. Really good," I murmur, not sure what I'm supposed to tell her about it.

"She kissed him," Ryland tells her excitedly. "And then he kissed her."

My mom raises her eyebrows a little.

I sink down onto the couch and rest my head back, staring up at the ceiling.

I hear Ryland start talking again and tune him out.

I want to go out with Paisley again.

I miss her.

I grab my phone out and start texting her, before deleting the entire message.

I do it a couple more times before I give up and just set the phone down.

My phone beeps and I quickly scramble to grab it.

My eyes narrow when I see who it is.

Ryland: 😘😘👩

I glare at him, and him and my mom start laughing.

"Linc, you're obsessed with her," Ryland laughs.

"I know," I grumble, throwing my head back again.

"Just text her, Lincoln," my mom laughs, getting up and walking into her bedroom.

I grab my phone and start texting before deleting everything again.

Ryland falls down next to me and starts looking over my shoulder.

"I don't know what to say," I grumble, running my hands through my hair.

"Just say something," Ryland laughs. "Tell her she's pretty or something."

My phone beeps and I quickly pick it up.

Paisley: All your typing is making me anxious.

I grin and Ryland laughs at me again.

Lincoln: Sorry.

Lincoln: I couldn't figure out what to say.

Paisley: I didn't scare you off, did I?

Lincoln: No. Not even close.

Paisley: Ok. Good.

Lincoln: Ryland told me to tell you you're pretty.

"For fucks sake, Linc, don't tell her that," Ryland shakes his head. "Tell her you think she's pretty."

"So you don't think she's pretty?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"I don't like blondes," he shrugs.

"You're blonde, Ryland," I glare at him.

"Well then, I guess I'm not my type, am I?" He smirks.

Lincoln: I think you're pretty too.

Lincoln: Really pretty.

Paisley: I think you're really pretty too.

"Ry, she thinks I'm really pretty," I grin at him.

He stares at me with an amused look on his face.

"Yeah. She does," he smirks a little.

Lincoln: I want to meet up again.

Paisley: Me too.

Lincoln: What are you doing tomorrow?

Paisley: If you're asking because you want to go out, then I'm not doing anything.

Paisley: I have to take my brother to school in the morning, but I'm free the rest of the day.

Lincoln: We can meet after that.

Paisley: Where at?

I look at Ryland and frown.

"Do you think she'll think I'm stupid if I say Barnes & Noble?" I ask.

"Why would she think you're stupid, Linc?" He sighs, but I can tell he still thinks this is funny. "You said that she said she likes to read."

"She did say that," I murmur, looking back down at my phone. "But I told her I haven't read since high school, so why the hell would I want to go to a book store?"

"Because you've got a big fat crush on her?" He supplies unhelpfully.

I narrow my eyes at him and he rolls his eyes, still grinning before he gets up and walks into the kitchen.

Lincoln: Do you want to go to Barnes & Noble?

Paisley: That's a question you don't ever have to ask.

Paisley: Because the answer is always yes.

Paisley: But you said you don't like reading, so we don't have to go there just because I want to.

Lincoln: Paisley, we could go literally anywhere, and I'd be just fine as long as I've got your company.

I see the three dots appear to show me that she's typing, but they quickly disappear.

Damnit.

A second later, my phone starts ringing.

I grab it and quickly answer.

"Hey, Lincoln," I hear Paisley say, a smile in her voice. "I started trying to respond and I thought everything I thought of just sounded stupid."

"That's been me all day," I grin, lying down on the couch and stretching out. "I keep thinking of things I want to tell you, and then deleting them because they sound cheesy as fuck."

"Like what?" She murmurs.

"Mmm," I hum, closing my eyes.

Her voice is so pretty.

"Linc?" She breathes.

"Yes?" I whisper.

Linc.

It sounds better when she says it.

"What things did you want to tell me?" Paisley murmurs.

"All kinds of things," I sigh. "I think you're really pretty. I told you that though. I've been thinking about you. All day. I can't stop. I miss you. Which is crazy, because I didn't know you existed until this morning. I've told Ryland everything about you. He's been making fun of me all day because I'm obsessed with you."

"I know what you mean," she whispers, and I hear her shifting on the other end of the phone. "I miss you, too. I've thought about you all day. Brynn thinks I've lost my mind. It's weird, I told you things about myself today that I haven't told anyone else."

"Like what?" I mumble.

"Mm," she hums. "There was stuff I told you that wasn't that big of a deal, like that I want to dye my hair. That I've wanted to for years. That I want to get a tattoo. But there was also things that were—I don't know, that mattered a little bit more, I guess? I don't know. I told you about my mom. Well, some stuff about my mom."

"You told me a lot about your mom," I whisper.

"Yeah," she sighs, and I hear the sadness in her voice.

"We don't have to talk about this anymore, Paisley," I breathe, hating how sad she sounds.

"Okay," she says, her voice soft.

We sit in silence for a couple of seconds, and I listen to the sound of her soft breaths.

"What else did you eat today?" She asks.

"I haven't eaten anything since this morning," I say.

"Lincoln, that's not good for you," she murmurs. "You need to eat. And you need to take insulin. Please."

"I'll go find something," I mumble after a second.

But only because she's the one asking.