The Boyfriend Project

Chapter 58

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Blakely and I stayed for another hour at Avery's house; then, we went to get some sweet tea before heading to my house to get ready. My stomach felt like it had a hundred butterflies fluttering around in it. Mom and Dad were home because their vehicles were in the garage when we pulled up in front of the house. 

"How do I look?" I turned my head toward Blakely. 

"A little tired, but other than that, fine." 

"Good. I don't want them to know I have a hangover." I turned back around to open the passenger door. I got out of the car and slowly walked up to the house because my head pounded with each step. Now, more than ever, I wished I'd taken the aspirin Avery tried to get me to take at the house before we left. I opened the door and let Blakely go upstairs to my room while I went to find my parents. Before heading to the family room, I quickly detoured to the bathroom, hoping to find some aspirin in the cabinet. I stuck my head out of the bathroom, looking down the hall toward the kitchen slash family room, then turned and looked toward the front door. I turned the handle as I eased the door shut, hoping it wouldn't make a sound when I closed it. I opened the small cabinet where Mom kept the hand towels, toilet paper, hand soap, bandaids, and other various bathroom items. I shuffled bottles around until, finally, I found a bottle of aspirin. I opened the bottle and poured a couple of pills into my hand.

"Chelsi, is that you?" Mom asked through the closed door. 

"Shit," I whispered, looking in the mirror, trying to fix myself up the best I could. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." 

"Okay." 

I opened the door and headed to the kitchen to get drinks for Blakely and me. "What are you two watching?" I asked, grabbing glasses from the cabinet. 

"Some cheesy movie your father's been wanting to watch." Mom rolled her eyes, lifting her glass to her mouth. It was cheesy, as in it was like every other revenge-filled plot movie out there. Man seeks revenge for his family being killed by some criminal group. Mom hated those kinds of movies, but she suffered through them because they were the only movies he would sit down and watch.

Dad quickly shushed us as he raised his hand in the air without taking his eyes off the movie for a split second. He couldn't even pause the movie to say hi or ask me how the party was or anything. Mom's wide eyes gave it away that she was just as shocked as I was. 

"Well, I'm going back to my room. Blakely and I are leaving again soon, then I'm going out with Easton later, and I don't know when I'll be home." I glared at the back of my dad's head. 

"Okay, have fun. We're going to some friend's house later for dinner," Mom said, looking over at my dad, waiting for him to say something.  

I turned and headed to my room, where Blakely was waiting for me. The minute I entered my room, I popped the aspirin into my mouth and took a big sip of sweet tea. I handed Blakely her glass, set mine on my nightstand, flopped down on my bed, and screamed into my pillow halfway. 

"That good, huh?" Blakely asked. 

I rolled over and lay there staring up at my ceiling. "You have no idea." I sighed. 

"Why don't you go get your shower?" Blakely suggested, taking another sip of her drink. "Then, I'll go get mine while you decide what to wear for your date." She smiled. 

 "I'll be back in a little bit." I closed the door behind me. I hurried to the bathroom before one of my parents heard me out of my room. I quickly turned the water on and stepped in so I couldn't hear anyone outside the door. 

Blakely was still in the same spot on my bed, looking at her phone, when I returned to my room after my shower. She saw the time and grabbed her things for her shower. I hurried up and got dressed, then started on my makeup. I wasn't going to be late at Lilli's. I was about to dry my hair when Blakely walked back into my room, wearing jeans, a white floral crop top, and wedge sandals. "You look cute." I smiled at her in my vanity mirror. 

"You look great." She smiled. 

"You think so?" I looked down at my ripped jeans and off-the-shoulder floral top. 

"Oh, yes. What shoes are you going to wear?" She asked, putting her other clothes in her bag. 

"I thought about wearing my wedge sandals." I pointed toward the closet. 

"Ohhh..." She smiled bigger in agreement. 

I grabbed my brush in my right hand, turned on my dryer, and started to dry my hair. Luckily, it was already beginning to dry from me putting on my makeup. Now came the hard part, deciding what to do with it: wear it up or curl its bottom. Seeing I was running short on time, the decision was made for me. I threw my hair into a bun, curling the few strands around my face. "How do I look?" I asked, looking back at Blakely in my mirror. 

"You look amazing. Are you ready?" She asked, applying her lip gloss. 

"Yes." I finished putting on my sandals, then grabbed my phone and purse. 

Blakely grabbed her things, and we headed downstairs. I yelled we were leaving and rushed her out the door before my parents could have a chance to say anything in response. Blakely unlocked her car and threw her bag into the backseat. 

"Are you ready?" She asked, starting the car. 

"Yeah, I've never been more ready." I smiled, looking straight ahead as she pulled away from my house. 

I looked down at my smartwatch and saw the time, then out the windshield at the traffic jam. Blakely must have seen the worry on my face because she didn't hesitate to let me know she'd get us there on time. Instead, she saw a side street ahead, turned right on it, and hit the gas. I pulled my seatbelt a little tighter as Blakely flew down the side roads, trying to bypass the traffic jam and get us back on the main road to Lilli's. Her driving was starting to scare me a little bit, but at this point, I didn't care because I just wanted to get to Easton. For some reason, the universe was trying its hardest to keep me from Easton, but I wasn't going to let it win this time. I wanted to be with Easton. No matter what I did to stay away from him, something inside me wanted to be with him, and I couldn't fight it anymore. 

Down the road, I could see the outline of Lilli's sign; I looked down at my smartwatch and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the time was just a few minutes past four-thirty. 

"I told you I'd get us here in plenty of time." Blakely smiled, pulling into the fairly full parking lot.

"I'm sorry, I doubted your driving skills." I laughed, reaching for the door handle.