A Righteous Love

Chapter Seventeen - I'll Let You Be The Judge

Chapter Seventeen - "I'll Let You Be The Judge"

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Sometimes we need a change in our lives. My change was needing a new season. Sure, fall in San Diego wasn't much different than the summer, but the idea of a new season brought me feelings of huge relief.

Summer was nearly over and it flew by, but I was glad it did. I was tired of moping around and I wanted a new season because I wanted something to look forward to.

"I still don't know what to wear," Brooke whined. She sat down on my bed with a sigh, playing with the ends of her hair.

"Close your eyes and pick something out. You brought five outfits anyway," I suggested with a laugh, putting my straightener down and brushing through my smooth locks.

She groaned loudly, dumping her bag onto the floor and looking through the clothes she brought again. The three of us were getting ready for an "end of the summer" party tonight that Kate was hosting at her house. Or mansion, to be more accurate.

She picked a theme for the party to make it a little more interesting, calling it something along the lines of "Dress For Success". I always thought it made a party more fun when you got to dress up, so I wasn't complaining when I heard about it – unlike my indecisive friends.

I pulled out a tight black skirt from my closet, sliding it on over my legs. I put on a white button-up shirt, ignoring the fact that it has buttons and tying the two ends in a knot in the middle of my stomach. My red lace bralette was showing through the shirt and peeking out – but that was the point. I didn't have a dress code, so I could wear whatever the hell I wanted.

And also I didn't have a boyfriend anymore, so I had the hope of getting someone else's attention from my outfit.

"You might as well not even wear a shirt," Ashley joked.

"Shut up," I shook my head, giggling.

"I'm only kidding. You look good," she smirked.

"Thanks," I grinned happily. Lastly, I searched through my shoes and ended up picking out a pair of plain black sandals.

We were done a little after 8 o'clock and waited downstairs in my kitchen for our ride. Melissa went out with her friends awhile ago and my parents weren't home, obviously, so it was quiet in my house.

I tapped my nails against the kitchen table and sighed, glancing up at the clock. 8:44 PM.

"He's always late. It's only him, Eli and Justin. Guys don't take that long to get ready," Ashley rolled her eyes.

Brandon was supposed to be picking us up, but he was late. It didn't surprise me though because Justin was coming with us, and he was always late.

Impatiently staring out the window, his car finally pulled up about ten minutes later. We ran outside and squeezed into the backseat, quickly forgiving him because there was no time to argue.

"Oh my God, it smells like twelve different colognes in here," Brooke coughed obnoxiously. "What did you guys to do yourselves?"

"Hey, when you're a successful businessman, you gotta smell good," Eli defended himself, causing us all to roll our eyes and laugh. I ended up on Justin's lap since he was stuck in the backseat, so Ashley and Brooke sat snug next to us.

"Yeah, but you aren't a successful businessman so..." Brooke said bluntly.

"Can you let me live my dream for one night?" Eli spun around in his seat to look at her, raising his eyebrows. "One night?"