Phoenix ✔️

Bonus Chapter #2

Dress nicely. That's what's on my mind as I'm ravaging through my closet, trying to find something decent enough to wear. There's hundreds of different options, yet I can't seem to narrow down on a single one. 

Somehow, it seems as if taking law school exams are easier than this. 

Eventually, as I'm looking at the many different options, Elena walks in looking like she just heard someone scream, "FREE ICE CREAM!" She looks at me rummaging through my closet, and just gives me the slight side eye. "Damn, okay, this looks important. I didn't know that a date would be this important for you to completely destroy your closet." 

I let out an exhale, turn around, and give her a slightly dirty look. "I'm sorry, okay? Ash told me to dress nicely, and he sounded like he really meant it today. I don't know, I feel like I'm being paranoid, but I know when Ash really means something or when he just wants to tease me about something random. What should I do?" I ask her, as she begins to dive into my closet to find something decent for me to wear. 

Elena is the queen of fashion, so I know that's going to fish out something that I never thought existed and somehow make it work on me. "Alright, try this. It will look good on you. Especially if Ash is really emphasizing that you should dress nice today," she tells me, as she pulls out a dark blue dress. 

I look at it with an affirmative look on my face, while thinking, Damn, why don't I wear this more often? This looks really awesome. I take it, and then hold it up to see if it has any stains, because then it means I have to do laundry, and that's a whole other chore that I don't want to deal with today. I don't even have time today to do it. Thankfully, there's no stains, and I'm glad about that, because it means that I don't have to rummage through my closet one more time to find something else that looks just as good. 

"Sweet. This looks fine. So what about hair and makeup? Should I do a French braid, curl it, straighten it, leave it as is? What should I do?" I'm hoping she doesn't say French braid, because I don't want to tire my arms out completely. Although, the my arms would be completely jacked and it would mean I don't have to go to the gym to lift weights. Elena looks at my hair and studies it, like a college student studying a textbook the night before the final in an attempt to cram everything in. 

"Tell you what. Clip the sides back, because it's simplistic and cute. And as for makeup, do light pink lipstick, and some mascara. Do highlight if you want, but I wouldn't overdo it. It's up to you, honestly," Elena tells me, with a thought to ponder over as she trots out of the room confidently. Fine. I'll go a little bit more simplistic today. Sometimes, less is more.

The one thing that I'm hoping for when I exit the room is that Ash and Dom don't have a random debate on the most miscellaneous topics ever. One minute, they're having a debate on whether or not Oreos are better with mint ice cream or vanilla ice cream, and the next minute, they're having a debate on whether or not orangutans are better than kangaroos. 

I've never understood their logic, but even if I don't, it's still cute to see them involved enough to debate about random subjects and to yell at each other for every reason in which they believe the other is wrong. I would ship them if Dom wasn't straight and married, and if Ash wasn't dating me. Elena walks into my room as I'm applying mascara, and I'm glad she didn't surprise me and cause me to stab myself in the eye. 

I look back at her, and then she jingles her car keys in her hand. "I'm going back home. Jess has something to show me and Roy needs my help with something. You'll be fine?" I nod, and then look at my phone to see if Ash is going to be back anytime soon. 

"Be home in 10 minutes. Can't wait," he texts, with a smiley face at the end. I smile, as I make sure that my hair isn't a mess and that I actually look fairly presentable for our date today. I hear Elena close the front door, lock it, and with that, I don't hear anything for the next couple of minutes. I'm just contemplating on what this date is going to be about.