Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Seventeen

I agreed to Suzie's terms: eighty-twenty, along with shoes. She wasn't interested in the details while informing me about how she and Deryk were going to be spending the other eight hundred dollars on a hotel to care about where the party was going to be held. Suzie would be eighteen and it was 'about damn time'—her words.

Ew.

But, though I doubted that my opinion mattered, I hoped it went well for her. At least one of us had the chance, and even if they didn't stay together, her first time would be with her first love. By definition, that only happened once.

Brenan asked me out for a real date between second and third-period classes on Thursday. This time it would be without Suzie and Deryk to chaperone us. After spending the morning thinking about Suzie and Deryk, and everything they had—all that I missed feeling—I didn't hesitate to say yes. Supper and a movie. Three, maybe four hours if the conversation was good. How hard could it be? It's wasn't like a proposal or a wedding or anything. One date wouldn't decide the fate of my future, though I hoped it was capable of helping me to get over my past.

Still, my stomach swirled in a kaleidoscope of nerves throughout the rest of the day. I was too afraid of people showing up to 'watch' to tell anyone. Not even Suzie. I adored the girl, but she loved to gossip. Without understanding how hard my decision to say yes to Brenan really was, how saying yes to him felt like saying goodbye to David, she couldn't appreciate my need for this date to remain low-maintenance, off the gossip's radar, and out of the spotlight.

If it was terrible, I would cry to her tomorrow.

But, if it wasn't, I would gush.

It was a stupid plan.

The minute I arrived home, I rushed to my closet and realized that I needed help. I wanted to beg for Suzie's support now, even if it meant wearing something from her wardrobe. Short skirt and barely-there shirt? Hmm. At least the date would be interesting.

I gave up and grabbed my phone and tapped my foot against the floor in even thump, thump, thumps as it rang.

"Welcome to Mel's Motel, how may I help you?"

"Who—what—?" I lifted the phone away from my ear to look at the screen and nearly hung up. Rolling my eyes, I brought it back on a hunch. "Suzie?"

Laughter erupted in my ear and I sighed.

"So, I take it you found your love shack?"

"Hmm, and I plan on enjoying it."

"O-kay. Ew much? Seriously, Suzie, Mel's Motel? Why on Earth would you want to shack up in Mel's Motel?" I sat on the edge of my bed and stared into the darkness of the walk-in closet on my left. "When you look that place up in a thesaurus, the only synonym available is boonies. It's... gross."

"Dude, do not judge me," she said, and no trace of laughter was evident. "Have you met my father? It was the only place that accepts cash so that he can't track his credit card charges. This way, when he gets his statement, he won't see the big charge for a hotel and go after Deryk's goodies. It wouldn't matter if I'm eighteen or eighty-one—he'd blow."

"How do you plan on withdrawing all this money?"

"An ATM? Duh."

"Oh? So, you know his pin?"

"Pin?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Personal Identification Number. It's like what you have on your debit card, and you'll have to use it to get actual cash."

"Do you think it'll be my birthday?"

"If I knew what it was, I would have told you instead of asking if you knew, Suzie."