"What about this?" Gina holds up a simple black sweater, washed out jeans, and a pair of black combat boots.

I look up from my spot on the bed, throwing up my thumb in approval. "Are you done yet?" I yawn, stretching my arms above my head.

She shuts the closet door and throws the clothes at me, "Yup, now go change and then come back out here so I can do your hair!" She claps excitedly and rushes me into the bathroom. "Hurry up!" She grins then shuts the door, leaving me to get ready.

I look down at the outfit, a small smile growing across my face. I wonder if he'll like it, or if it'll be good enough. I softly bite my lip, worry starting to bubble up inside of me. But what
if -

"Sarah! I know you're just standing there starting to worry, stop it and put the clothes on before I put them on for you and go on the date myself!" Gina lightly bangs on the door, shouting at me over the noise. I grin and shake my head at her words, then quickly put on the outfit. I look up and glance at myself in the mirror, my cheeks flushed slightly, my skin paler than usual. It's just the nerves, calm down. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath then release it, opening my eyes once more to smile at myself in the mirror. You've got this.

I open the door and spot Gina sitting near my dresser, a slight frown prominent on her face. I frown slightly, "Hey, are you alright? Is something wrong?"

She quickly glances up, the frown disappearing immediately. "Nope, everything is peachy! Let's get your hair done." She hops up and leads me over to the chair, plopping me down then grabbing the curling iron with a grin that had me a little nervous. Maybe I shouldn't let her do my hair . . .

A good half hour later and a lot of fussing, mainly from me, she puts the finishing touches to my now bouncy curls.

She turns me towards the mirror, pride etched across her face. "You look great!" I smile softly and lightly touch a curl, loving the way it bounced back once I let go. My phone buzzes from beside me on the table, making both of us jump. I reach over and grab it, Gina leaning over my shoulder to read it as well.

Was leaving and realized I forgot where you live, address? :) -K

I giggle then quickly send my address, butterflies starting to float around in my stomach.

"He's on his way, are you ready?" Gina excitedly claps, squealing in glee.

I giggle and nod, a soft blush rising onto my cheeks. "I wonder where he's going to take me." I fiddle with my locket, biting my lip nervously. Maybe we'll go on a picnic date, watch the stars? Or to a nice restaurant then walk the town?

"You'll just have to go to find out, no backing out now! And remember, don't be nervous. Only a little bit, but you know him, it's like going out with me or Zander!" My smile falters slightly when Zander's name comes up, dread seeping into my very core.

I look up at her, panic in my eyes. "What if Keagen finds out about the deal?! What if he won't like me because of it?!" I panically look around the room, my vision blurring with tears as I think of all the possibilities. He might think I'm some type of whore, or even worse if possible!

Gina spins me around in the chair, delivering a hard slap across my cheek. I gasp in shock, my head whipping to the side the pain spreading like a fire. She glares down at me, grabbing my chin with her fingers. "Listen here, and Listen good. He's not going to think badly of you, if anything he'll think badly of Zander. It's not your fault, you can't control it. If he really does like you then he'll look past that or do something about it for you. Stop doubting!" She glares down at me, passion and fury deep in her eyes. I nod best I can with my head in her grip, the tears slowly drying up.

We stare up at each other for a few seconds, them the door bell rings. Both of our eyes widen, "What're we gonna do now?! My whole cheek is probably red!" I panic, jerking out of her grip to start rubbing at my cheek.

Gina looks around the room, trying to figure out what to do. She looks back at me then moves my hands away from my face. "Brace yourself."

I frown in confusion, "Wha - ?" Before I can finish, she brings her hand back and slaps my other cheek, the pain quickly splashing the red into my cheek, much like the other one. I stare up at her with shock, "What the fudge, Gina?!" I cup my cheek, blinking back the tears that gathered from the pain.

She grins down at me proudly, "We needed to make both sides red, that was the only thing I could think of without it looking stupid later. Now c'mon he's waiting!" She claps and hops up and down, grabbing my hand to drag me down the steps. I try to keep up, occasionally tripping on a step or two until we're finally at the door, eyeing up the figure standing behind the stained glass window. Gina glances back to me, her hand hovering over the knob. I nod, taking a deep breath then letting it out again. Here goes nothing, right?

She nods back then opens the door. Keagen looks up and smiles, his pearly whites never stopping to stun me.

"Hey." He says breathlessly, his eyes flickering up and down my body then to my face. "You look stunning." I could say the same about you.

I smile shyly, a blush rising across my already bright red cheeks. "Thank you, you do too."

Gina looks back and forth, rolling her eyes then grabbing my arm and shoving me out the door. "Go! Have fun! Have her home before ten, mister!" She points a finger at Keagen, glaring then turning to me and smiling widely. "Love you, see you later!" I smile back and wave, Keagen's arm gently wrapping around my shoulders to lead me to his car. Gina giddily shuts the door, leaving us together in silence.

"You look really beautiful, Sarah." He opens the door for me, a shy smile on his lips, his cheeks tinting a light shade of pink.

"Thank you." I blush then get in, clicking my seat belt into place before he gets in himself. He starts the car, pulling out of the driveway and driving off towards town. A nice dinner then a night walking the town maybe?!

"So, where are we going?" I watch out the window, little corner stores and building flying by.

I feel his eyes on me while I stare, his reflection staring back at me then turning back towards the road. I watch him smile softly, gently biting his lip. "It's a surprise. Y-You like surprises right?"

I giggle and turn towards him, "Yeah, I like surprises!" He glances over at me, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"Good, that's good." We both smile at each other, then turn back to relax in our seats.

~•~

"Keep your eyes closed and take my hand!" He laughs at me as I stumble out of the car, stretching my arms out to find him while my eyes are shut tightly as to not give away the surprise yet.

"I'm trying, where are you?!" I giggle and stumble some more, then slam into a hard chest, lightly hitting my nose a little too hard. "Ouch." I reach up and cover my nose, using my other hand to feel the chest in front of me.

I hear him laugh softly, then grab my hand in his. "I'm right here, and sorry about your nose is it okay?" He gently pulls me along, the sound of music starting to become louder the closer we get.

"Yeah it fine, where are we? Can I open my eyes yet?" I grip his hand with mine, hoping and praying I don't trip over something and make a fool of myself. That would be so embarrassing.

"Just a little further, take one step up." We stop, Keagen lightly griping my shoulders as I take the step, silently praising that I didn't trip. "Now, open your eyes."

Slowly I open my eyes and am greeted with vivid neon lights, beautiful blues, pinks, and greens twined together to spell out - Roger's Bowling Alley. We're going bowling?

He wrings his hands together, nervousness and doubt etched across his face. "Do you like it? I-If not I can take us somewhere else." I quickly turn my gaze back to him, a huge grin spreading across my face.

"It's perfect, I love bowling!" I jump in glee, quickly taking his hand and dragging him into the Allies. We go to the register and buy our shoes and game, then quickly grab a bite to eat. Soon we're both knocking down pins, laughing and yelling when one wins or loses.

I prepare to take my last turn, determined to win. You've only got two more pins to hit, then you win. You can do this Sarah, win it for mama!

Keagen slowly comes up behind me, leaning over my shoulder to look at the odds. He chuckles softly, leaning forward towards my cheek. "Don't mess up." I open my mouth to respond, but gasp in shock when I feel his lips lightly connect with my cheek, sending my heart into a frenzy. He quickly walks back to the chairs, leaving me in a blushing mess with only a few more minutes until our game is up.

I turn back towards the alley, then roll the ball. I take a deep breath, holding it in until the ball makes contact with the first pin, sending it flying over and into the second. Knocking both over in one go. My eyes widen in shock, I just won. I just won!!

I turn and shout in victory, doing a mini happy dance and laughing at Keagen's slouched down figure. He rolls his eyes, but smiles up at me anyways.

"That was just a lucky shot." He gently wraps his arm around my waist, leading us over to the chairs to change shoes.

I reach up and bop his nose, a huge grin plastered across my face. "Admit it, I've got mad bowling skills." We take the shoes off and put on our own, quickly dropping them off at the counter then walk out the doors to the car.

He shakes his head laughing, "No way, that was all luck!"

I giggle and lightly punch his arm, "Say it, I, Sarah Jones, have mad bowling skills!"

He opens the door for me, allowing me to hop in and buckle my seat belt. He leans against the door, slightly peaking his head in at me. He rolls his eyes and feigns defeat, "Ugh fine. You, Sarah Jones, have mad bowling skills. You happy now?"

I frown and tap my chin, a small devilish grin spreading across my face. "I couldn't quite hear you, what was that?"

He laughs loudly, shaking his head while his shoulders shake. He looks back up at me, something shining in his eyes, "I said that You, Sarah Jones, have mad bowling skills. And that's the last time I will repeat it!" He leans forward and lightly kisses my cheek again, causing me to giggle and push him out of my side. He laughs and shuts my door, jogging around to get in his side.

Soon we're back in my driveway, the clock reading precisely nine-fifty nine. He shuts off the engine and gets out, quickly running over to open my door for me. I blush and get out, both of us walking to the front door. I grab my keys from my bag, lightly dangling them from my fingers. We stop in front of it, the porch light illuminating our faces.

I smile up at him, "I had a lot of fun tonight."

He grins down at me, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. "Me too."

I giggle and lean forward, gently pressing a kiss to his cheek. I quickly move back and unlock the door, opening it and moving inside before he can say a word. Before closing it I peak my head out, gently biting my bottom lip as a huge smile threatens to spread across them. "Goodnight, Keagen."

He grins over at me, "Goodnight, Sarah." We wave goodbye, then he slowly turns and walks back to his car. He waves once more, then drives off into the night. I gently shut the door, leaning against it and closing my eyes as I replay everything that happened.

"Well don't just stand there, tell me everything!" I scream in terror, my eyes shooting open. Gina sits at the end of the stairs, a huge grin plastered across her face.

"Goodness, how long have you been here?!" I place a hand over my heart, taking deep breaths to calm it down.

"I've been here since you left!" She quickly stands up and hops over to where I am, gently grabbing my shoulders and looking me in the eyes.

"Tell me everything!"

Here we go.

~•~

Here it is, the long awaited chapter 22. Gosh, I've been so busy with everything I'm so tired. I'm so so sorry I'm just now getting around to writing this, but I had to deal with some things in my life. But I'm back, and with a new chapter so voila!

Can you believe it's 2017 already?! Time flies! Happy new year!

How'd you find my book? Comment your answers I'd love to know ❤️❤️

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Thanks for everything, I love you all. ❤️❤️❤️

Stay positive!

~Molly