"The only way you can beat my crazy was by doing something crazy yourself. Thank you. I love you. I knew it the minute I met you. I'm sorry it took so long for me to catch up. I just got stuck."

~The Silver Linings Playbook

                                                                                       ~~~~~~~~~

"Just a little more," Sandy persisted.

Kelsey sighed and stopped trying to squirm away. Sandy had been trying to do her hair for the past hour, and was now applying ugly matte pink lipstick.

Kelsey looked in the mirror and cringed. "I look like Nicki Minaj had a baby with a rodeo clown."

"You look beautiful!" Sandy squealed, hugging Kelsey from behind. "Thanks for doing this."

Kelsey patted her hand and sighed. "Yeah, yeah."

Sandy and her new boyfriend, Dustin, were going out to dinner. Sandy had promised that he was "super sweet", and begged Kelsey to join them.

Kelsey had agreed, hoping that maybe she could prevent Sandy from dating another jerk.

Kelsey was glad she hadn't made a scene about what happened during the "summer soiree". Three days since then, Sandy had almost been back to normal. Kelsey suspected that she felt bad for excluding her, especially since Sandy had put off one of her tutorial videos to make Kelsey dinner when she came home from work.

Kelsey looked down at her cotton white dress and smoothed it down.

Apparently Dustin had come from a rich family and Kelsey had a feeling that wherever they were going for dinner wasn't exactly Monte's Pizzeria.

Sandy rushed off to get her things, and Kelsey quickly scrubbed away the lipstick before she came back.

"He's here!" Sandy cried.

Kelsey smiled at the tone of her voice. It was excited—a contrast to when Alex would come and Sandy would panic.

Kelsey slung her purse over her shoulder and met Sandy in the kitchen.

"Now just be natural, okay? Don't be nervous." Sandy informed, though her hands flitted from her hair, to the hem of her shirt, back to her hair.

She answered the door in a flurry of squeals and gestures.

Kelsey watched carefully.

The man at the door was short and surprisingly frumpy. His cheeks were ruddy, but his smile was wide. He seemed quiet, almost bashful, as he stepped inside.

He nodded towards Kelsey when Sandy introduced them.

Kelsey shook his hand and they made their way out to the car.

Kelsey slid into the backseat and grinned as Sandy and Dustin both went to open the passenger door at the same time, then giggled like two kids on a playground.

Once they were on the road, Sandy chattered nonstop while Dustin kept glancing at her lovingly.

When a rare break occurred in Sandy's conversation, Kelsey asked, "So what kind of blog do you have, Dustin?"

He looked up at her through the rearview mirror. "Oh, I don't have that kind of talent, I'm afraid. I went to Sandy's party with a friend. I actually own a health food store. My grandparents bought it back in the 70's, then my parents got it, and last year they retired and passed it on to me."

"That's really cool," Kelsey commended.

"And he makes the best banana pancakes!" Sandy interjected. "His store makes a special almond flour and—ugh!—it's just so good."

As they chattered on the way to the restaurant, Kelsey gathered that Dustin wasn't anything like she'd assumed.

He seemed content, passive, and a little goofy. Maybe that was exactly what Sandy needed.

What Kelsey was correct in assuming, however, was that the restaurant was fancier than any "dinner date" she'd ever been to.

When they walked in, a huge chandelier hung over a bubbling fountain, glinting off golden beams that framed the walls.

"Oh Dustin!" Sandy swooned. "You are too sweet!"

They were shown to their table that was made of deep brown mahogany, with a square red tablecloth hanging off the edge. A candelabra was placed in the middle and wax dripped elegantly off the ivory sticks.

"My family and I come here a lot," Dustin said, talking as if the restaurant was a local joint they went to on Fridays.

"If this is the kind of date you guys go on all the time, I'd be more than happy to third wheel more often," Kelsey said.

Salads and rolls were immediately brought to the table and Kelsey couldn't remember eating any bread more light and airy. The salad wasn't amazing (she thought the dressing had too much acid, instead of a rounded flavor), but she inconspicuously kept sneaking rolls whenever Dustin and Sandy were talking.

Sandy chatted for most of the meal, and Dustin hung on every word she said.

Kelsey felt a vibration near her feet, but ignored the text.

A few seconds later, it buzzed again. And again.

After the fifth vibration, Kelsey casually bent down and pulled out her phone from her purse.

She placed it on her lap and glanced down at the messages.

Ethan Glenn:

-Code red

-Kelsey

-Hey

-Where are you?

-It's Roadkill

Kelsey looked up and offered a smile. "Excuse me for a second, I'll be right back."

She retreated to the bathroom and called Ethan.

"Hello?" Ethan answered.

"Hey—"

"Oh good, it's you." He sounded out of breath. "Look, I was in town, taking Roadkill for a walk. I looked away for, like, literally a second, and he slipped off the leash and ran."

Kelsey tapped her arm pensively. "Where'd he go?"

"I have no idea! I can't find him anywhere."

Kelsey sighed. "I'm at dinner with Sandy and her new boyfriend, I can't come help you."

"Okay, okay, that's fine. I'll find him. Probably. Where are you?"

Kelsey glanced around for a sign. "Uh...The Bazaar by Jose Andres?"

"What? Woah. I've never even been there! Okay, anyway, I'm about a mile away, so maybe if you happen to see Roadkill...?"

"I'll be on the lookout. Text me if you find him."

"Okay," Ethan said reluctantly.

Kelsey recomposed herself and went back to the table, though her mind was far from the meal or her company. What if someone picked up Roadkill? They hadn't microchipped him yet or anything. Or what if something worse happened?

"You could churn butter with how fast your knee is bobbing up and down," Sandy commented, her tone light, but her eyes slightly concerned.

"Sorry," Kelsey laughed, refolding her napkin in her lap for the millionth time.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"You know, I just have an awful headache," she said. "I'm gonna step outside real quick."

"Aww, hope you feel better," Sandy said.

"Me too. You don't want to miss dessert. It's killer," Dustin added.

Kelsey rushed out of the restaurant and hurried down the street. It was dark and chilly, but she didn't mind.

Los Angeles was alive and buzzing with people, noise, and lights.

Even if Roadkill was fifteen feet in front of her, he'd still be hard to see.

"Roadkill?!" She shouted, trying not to shrivel beneath the stares turned her way.

She jogged slowly down the street, trying to use the dog's name as minimally as possible.

Her eyes scanned every corner until she saw a brown blur dart down a sidewalk across the street.

"Roadkill!" She cried, taking off after him.

She veered onto the sidewalk and ran headlong into someone.

She skidded on her knee and muttered a few choice words before coming face-to-face with Ethan.

"Ethan?!"

"Hey!" He grabbed her shoulders and hauled her to her feet. "You okay?"

"He's getting away!" Kelsey took off again, Ethan close at her heels.

"I thought you were at dinner!" He said.

"I was!" Kelsey replied breathlessly.

"There he is!" Ethan pointed across the street.

They raced through traffic—much to the annoyance of taxi drivers and vehicles—shouting 'Roadkill' at the top of their lungs.

"Why did you have to name him that?" Kelsey hissed.

Roadkill darted in-between buildings.

Ethan was much faster than Kelsey and he leaped over a trashcan, desperately trying to gain some ground.

Kelsey kept telling herself that Roadkill would have to tire himself out eventually, but now she was beginning to wonder.

They careened into the backyard of an apartment complex.

A pool shimmered next to them and Roadkill halted long enough to get a drink.

Ethan and Kelsey exchanged glances, and Ethan nodded for Kelsey to move forward while he crept around the other way.

Kelsey walked slowly, cautiously, keeping her eyes trained on Roadkill.

He stopped lapping up the water and looked at Kelsey, giving a friendly wag of his tail.

"Hey buddy," she cooed, keeping her tone low and calm.

Ethan eased up behind him.

There was a heartbeat of a moment before Roadkill sensed Ethan's presence, glanced behind him, and took off.

Kelsey lunged for his leash.

Roadkill stumbled at the sudden jerk and dashed straight into the pool, taking Kelsey with him.

She plunged into the frigid water with a cry of surprise as Ethan jumped in after her.

It took Kelsey a moment to realize what happened when she felt two hands pull her to the surface.

She came up spluttering and clung to Ethan's jacket. She searched wildly for Roadkill and saw him paddling happily in the water.

"Are you okay?" Ethan panted.

Kelsey swallowed and blinked water from her eyes. She looked down at her submerged dress and shoes.

"I'm going to kill you," she whispered. "I'm going to freaking murder you."

"Excuse me, but I'm not the one who dove into the pool."

"I'm not the one who let Roadkill off his leash!"

"I'm not the one who decided to leave her dinner guests and chase after him!"

Kelsey glared up at him to see that he had an amused grin on his face. She realized she was still holding on to him.

"You're blushing," he said.

"I am not."

"Are too."

Kelsey pressed her lips together before pulling Ethan close and kissing him before she could think twice.

Ethan leaned into her, brushing his fingertips against her cheek for only a second.

They both pulled apart at the same time and stared at each other, blinking like two deer in headlights.

Kelsey wasn't sure if she was more shocked about the kiss itself, or that Ethan had kissed her back, or that she'd been the one to initiate it.

She looked away. "Right then. I should get back to dinner," she said, swimming a few inches away.

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. "I—yeah. Roadkill. We should go home."

"Yeah."

"And then we should probably, um, talk, maybe," he said, backing away to the opposite end.

Kelsey nodded once, bumping into the side of the pool. "Of course. Yes. Sounds good."

"Goodnight."

"Yep."

They both retreated onto dry land and lingered for a moment.

They met each other's gaze and couldn't suppress a grin before turning away

~~~~~~~~~

Kelsey shivered and rubbed her bare arms as she walked back to the restaurant, unable to keep a stupid smile from her face.

She turned and faced the restaurant, took a breath, and headed inside.

She stopped at the bathroom to fix herself up as best she could (which wasn't much), and returned to the table.

When Sandy saw her, her mouth opened wordlessly and she dropped her spoon onto her plate.

Dustin stared before pretending not to notice.

Kelsey sat down and tucked a wet piece of hair behind her ear.

She picked up her fork and glanced between Sandy and Dustin. "So what'd I miss?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone! THEY FINALLY KISSED! Maybe it wasn't the most romantic thing in the world, but hey.

~What do you think of Sandy's new boyfriend?

~ WHAT ABOUT THE KISS? (I'm very proud of my bbys, I'm sorry)

~General thoughts on the chapter?

Thank you so much for reading! {Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!}