"I thought you might look pretty in a dress like you were saying," Thomas said as if he hadn't heard Sarah's statement.
"You do?" she asked smiling shyly at him. "Because I have a blue dress and a pink one."
"I would like to see either of those," Thomas said.
Mary Katherine smiled.
"I think she should just wear whatever she's comfortable in," Claire said.
"I'll wear a dress if Thomas thinks it's pretty," she said.
They were the cutest couple I had ever seen, and my face wanted to crack in half with the gigantic smile that was welling up inside me. I was so happy for Thomas that I wanted to cry.
When Mary Katherine finally decided she was content with leaving, she turned and began walking out the door. We all yelled goodbye to each other one last time as we got in our respective vehicles.
"Don't return that stuff!" Carly yelled to me as she waved. I just waved and smiled as I rolled my eyes at her.
Chapter 11
Before I knew it, Friday had come, and I found myself on the way to the show with Ryan, Annie, and Isaac. The concert was supposed to start at 8:00, so I was surprised when we pulled in to the parking lot at 7:30 and could barely find a place to park.
There was a five-dollar cover, and we stopped at the entrance to pay our way in. The first thing my hand touched when I reached into my wallet was a twenty-dollar-bill, so I paid my roommates' way since I'd been the one to invite them. There was also a merchandise table near the entrance, and I went ahead and picked up one of Micah's new CD's.
My roommates were standing behind me waiting for me to put my wallet away when I heard someone call my name. "Trisha!" a girl's voice said. I turned to find Mary Katherine walking toward me with a bright smile and open arms. Thomas was following her and he tossed his arms into the air and yelled my name right after her. I hugged them both and introduced them to my roommates.
"I see you chose the green sweater to go with your high heels and jeans," Mary Katherine said, looking me over.
"I did," I said with a smile. "Do you like it?"
"I love it. I love your necklaces too. It's the most beautiful I've ever seen you look. Especially with your hair fixed like this and you have extra makeup on too."
I giggled. "Thank you very much. You look the most beautiful I've ever seen you look too," I said. "I see you went with the blue dress."
She held her arms out and spun around one time to let me get a good look. I whistled my approval, and she giggled shyly. "I wore the blue dress because Thomas called me this morning to tell me he was wearing a blue shirt," she said.
I inspected them as a couple. "You two look amazing together," I said.
Thomas smiled proudly and put his arm around her shoulder.
"I guess this is your friend and these two are your boyfriends," Mary Katherine said, gesturing to Annie, Isaac, and Ryan who were still standing right next to me.
"Oh no, we're actually all just roommates," I said.
"You all live at the same house?" she asked, looking slightly confused.
"Yeah, we have a big four bedroom place and each of us rents one bedroom."
"That's pretty cool," she said.
I smiled as I looked past them into the main room. It was dimly lit in there and extremely packed. "Have you guys seen Carly?"
"Of course we've seen Carly, silly. She's married to my baby brother Micah, and this is his party. Her and Micah got here like an hour ago. Emily's here too. And Shane, and Brock and Chelsea, and Valerie, and Nick, and Jacob, and Evan, and Lillian, and a bunch of other people that I didn't even name."
"I met most of them already," Mary Katherine said.
"I guess we should go find a spot," I said.
"You can sit down or stand up," Thomas said. "There's a bunch of tables and chairs over there and a big empty space to stand up if you want to dance. There's also drinks and snacks."
"Thank you," I said, reaching out to hug them.
"You smell as beautiful as you look," Mary Katherine said.
I gave her a fake kiss on the cheek making me feel so good. I would have given her a real one, but I didn't want to get lip-gloss on her.
"You smell and look beautiful, too," I said.
I let her go, and my roommates and I made our way into the dark, crowded room. Just then, someone else came in, and Thomas yelled their names and focused his attention on introducing them to Mary Katherine.
"Thomas got himself a girlfriend," Annie said as we walked off.
"That was Trish's doing," Ryan said. "She met her at a coffee shop the other day and invited her to class."
"Aww, you played cupid!" Annie said. I smiled and shrugged like I was proud of myself, which made them all laugh.
As we walked into the main room, we could see that there were several empty tables lining the walls. We gravitated toward the left of the room with no rhyme or reason for which way we chose to go other than the fact that we were all following Isaac. There was an empty table for four, and we all found a place at it.
"I'm gonna grab something to drink," Isaac said only seconds after we sat down. "Can I get you guys anything?"
I shook my head. "I'll go in a minute," I said.
"I'm fine for now," Ryan agreed.
"I'll come with you," Annie said.
The two of them got up leaving Ryan and I at the table together. We began to talk, but Carly walked up moments after they left. "Hey, I'm so glad you guys made it!" she said, circling around to the back of the table to hug first me and then Ryan.
"Annie and Isaac are here too," I said.
"I know, I saw them when y'all came in," she said. "I just didn't make it over here before they got up."
I looked around with a big smile. "Pretty good turn out, huh?"
She beamed. "Yes! We're so excited. I'm definitely more nervous than Micah is. I don't think he's nervous at all."
"Don't be nervous," I said. "He'll do great."
"I know," she said, rolling her eyes at herself, "I just can't help it."
Carly turned and looked into the crowd before facing me again. "Will you come to the restroom with me?" she asked.
I gave her a slightly confused expression. Carly and I were good friends. I knew her well enough to know that she wasn't really the type that needed an escort to the restroom. I decided not to give her a hard time about it since she was nervous.
"I could use a trip to the ladies room," I said standing up. I looked at Ryan. "Unless you want me to wait till Annie and Isaac get back."
He smiled. "I think I'll survive sitting by myself a few minutes," he said dryly.
I reached out and squeezed his hand, which was resting on the table. "I'll be right back."
Carly linked arms with me and we took off toward the other side of the room. I figured she was up to something, but I didn't even ask what it was.
I put it all together once we approached the restrooms. Shane, Emily, Brock, and Chelsea we're sitting at a high-top table with barstools that was directly in our path. Brock had on a dark, button down shirt and had just gotten a haircut, which looked terribly fresh and handsome on him.
"Now I see what this was about," I said, leaning in to speak near her ear.
"You look too beautiful to pass up a chance to say hello to him," she said.
"We can just wave from a distance," I said.
"No way," she said, tugging me in the direction of their table.
I tugged back. "Seriously, I'm good just waving from here. I don't want to interrupt their date or whatever."
"Oh please!" she said. She left me no choice but to follow her over there. It was either that or cause a scene, and I obviously wasn't going to cause a scene.
Emily and Shane both got off their stools to hug me when I went over there, which, surprisingly, was barely awkward at all.
"Trish, I know you've met Brock," Emily said, "but have you met my friend, Chelsea?"
"I have, actually. She came to that fundraiser at the Happy
House." I smiled and waved at Chelsea from across the table, and she waved back.
"That's right!" Emily said. "I forgot about that."
"It's nice seeing you," I said. I had been looking at Chelsea, but I let my eyes meet Brock's when I said it. I smiled at him and he smiled back. I had a hard time taking my eyes off of him. I found myself inspecting his injuries. They had definitely faded, but were still noticeable even in the dim lighting. Carly said something to Emily, and Emily said something in return, and the whole time all I could do was stand there and stare at Brock. A warm feeling of excitement and anticipation grew in my gut, and it was at that moment that I knew I was in trouble.
I don't know how long we stayed there with our eyes locked. It was at least ten seconds—far too long for Chelsea's preference because she said, "It was nice seeing you, too!" as if that should be enough to send me on my way.
Her plan worked. I came crashing back to the reality that Brock was her date for the night. I smiled and waved in the general direction of everyone at the table. "You guys enjoy the show!" I said.
"You too!" Emily said.
Carly and I took off into the crowd toward the ladies room, which was situated in a hallway. Our arms were still linked and she squeezed me so tightly it made me giggle. "Oh my goodness, did you see the way you two were staring at each other?" she whispered excitedly, making me laugh even more. "You just stood there and locked eyes like you were the only two people in the room!"
"Was it bad?" I asked. "I hope it wasn't too obvious."
"Of course it was obvious!" she said. "He was staring at you the whole time we were standing there—even before you looked at him. It is an absolute travesty that he is here with that girl and you are here alone."
"I'm not alone," I said.
"Yeah, but you're not on a date with him. We need to make it seem like you're here with Ryan—see if that will make him jealous."
"I don't want to try to make him jealous," I said. "I just want to enjoy my evening and for him to do the same."
She made an expression like she wasn't very satisfied with that, but she wasn't going to push the issue.
"He sort of looks handsome with his eyebrow cut like that," she said. "It makes him look tough."
"Quit trying to talk me into liking him," I said.
"I don't have to talk you into anything. I saw the stare down a few seconds ago. You're already in a hopeless situation."
I laughed. "I am not!"
We opened the door to the ladies room, and there were several women inside, so we discontinued our conversation. I didn't need to use the restroom, but I went in there and tried to anyway (just for general principles, as my mom used to say).
When we were done, Carly asked if I wanted her to come back to my table with me, but I told her I'd be fine going alone. It was nearly show time, and I knew she was anxious to get back to her spot near the stage with some of Micah's band mates' and their girlfriends.
I easily found my way back to the table where all of my roommates were sitting around laughing and having a conversation. I was relieved to have them there with me. I was extremely comfortable around all of them, which made me feel better after the crazy rush of excitement and awkwardness I had just encountered. We messed around for a few minutes before the show got started.
Micah had great showmanship and had us engaged the moment he stepped on stage. I was thoroughly entertained, but I still caught myself glancing toward the other side of the room every couple of minutes.
It was during the fourth or fifth song when I saw Brock. He was unmistakable. His dark, masculine form weaved through the crowd as he maneuvered toward the entrance of the building. I begged myself not to stand up and chase after him, but it was a lost cause. It felt as if I was being pulled toward him like a magnet.
"I'll be right back," I said.
"You okay?" Ryan asked, taking his eyes off the stage to regard me with a concerned expression.
"I'm good," I assured him. "I'll be right back."
I walked in the same direction as Brock. I had no idea what I would say when I reached him, but not going over there wasn't an option. We made it to the area near the merchandise table at about the same time, and I acted surprised to see him.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey," he returned.
The same devastatingly engaging eye contact started to happen again, and I tore my eyes from his to glance at the stage. "It's a great show, isn't it?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "Micah's awesome."
We stood there in silence for a second as I carefully avoided eye contact with him.
"I thought I might see you tonight," he said, causing me to glance at him.
Big mistake. I could barely look at him without over-inspecting every inch of his face. Carly was right about a cut on his eye looking handsome.
"You're looking good," I said. "I mean your cuts and stuff… they're looking better."
He smiled. "Oh, because for a second there, I thought you were paying me a compliment."
"I was, I mean, you do… or uh, I was saying both. Your cuts look better, and you look good in general."
He smiled. "Thanks."
I smiled back at him. "I'm not sure how appropriate it is for me to tell you how good you look when you're here on a date. If I didn't think that was morally questionable, I would probably offer compliments more freely."
"I don't think it's morally questionable," he said. "I'm not the one who put me on that date. That was my brother's doing."
It was exactly what I wanted him to say, and yet I was still uneasy. I shifted my stance and tucked a bit of hair behind my ear.
"You look beautiful tonight," he said.
I looked at him and he smiled at me.
"See? I don't have any problems offering compliments."
I laughed awkwardly since I didn't know how else to respond. I couldn't stop looking at his eyes, and mouth, and jaw. He was so manly, and the fading cuts and bruises only served to amplify that.
"I might have bought you something," I blurted. I regretted it the instant it came out of my mouth.
"Oh yeah?" he said. "Why'd you do that?"
I shrugged. "It's nothing, really. I was probably going to bring it back to the store without even giving it to you. It's sort of silly. I just got it because I felt bad about the other night. It's not a big deal. I shouldn't have even told you about it."
"Now it's too late," he said. "You have to give it to me now that I know about it."
Chapter 12
I glanced to my left just in time to see Chelsea approaching. Brock and I had only been standing there talking for a minute, and she was already busting us.
"Here's Chelsea," I mumbled before she arrived. She was a beautiful girl, and I felt annoyed as I watched her approach wearing a bright smile.
"Hey, I was gonna grab something to drink," she said, looking at Brock. "Do you want anything?"
"No thanks," he said. "I'm gonna step outside with Trish for a minute. I have to grab something out of her car. I'll come back to the table when we're done."
Her expression shifted to one of surprise. "Oh, okay," she said. She looked at me as if it was the first time she noticed I was standing there, and then she looked back at Brock. "I'll see you in a minute."
The front door was close by, and I followed Brock to it feeling a bit like I was in a dream.
"What are you going to grab out of my car?" I asked.
"That thing you bought me, remember?"
He held the door open for me to walk out, and I stepped out into the brisk night. We began walking slowly towards the end of the building.
"I don't have it with me," I said. "And I didn't even drive my car. I rode with Ryan."
"Who's Ryan?"
"You know my roommate, Ryan," I said. "You guys met before."
"You came here with him?"
"I go just about everywhere with him," I said.
He didn't say anything else, and we slowed to a stop as we appr
oached the edge of the building. He leaned against the wall and turned to face me. I hugged myself and began running my hands up and down my upper arms in an attempt to warm up.
"I'm sorry for dragging you out here," he said. "I just wanted some fresh air."
"Are you still having problems with crowds or whatever?"
"Not too bad," he said. "I have my moments, but they're manageable."
"Are you having fun with Chelsea?" I wasn't sure why I asked it. I guess I wanted him to say he was having a terrible time.
He shrugged. "She's a nice girl."
"Pretty too," I added, like the big dork I was. I wanted to make it seem like I didn't care, and that was probably totally obvious. I had to change the subject. I held my hand out proudly so he could notice that I was wearing my grandmother's ring.
"It looks good," he said.
"It's better than it was before I lost it. I think whomever had it got it cleaned and sized. It fits me better now."
"That's a bonus I guess."
I absentmindedly rubbed my arms again, trying to warm up. Before I knew what was happening, Brock reached both hands out to rub them for me. His objective was only to rub my arms, but I misunderstood and thought he was pulling me in for a hug. I stepped close to him, but sort of stumbled when I realized I had been mistaken about his intentions.
I played it off by looking up at him with a smile. I had on heels, and he was still taller than me. I was in close proximity to his face, and gazed helplessly at it. He had dark stubble on his cheeks and jaw and above his upper lip. I couldn't stop staring at him.
"You trying to hug me?" he asked.
I giggled. "No, I thought you were trying to hug me."
"I would if I didn't think you hated me."
I playfully scowled at him through narrowed eyes as I made 'humph' in frustration. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"
He smiled. "I'm just messing with you. I don't think you hate me."
"Good, because I don't."
Our eyes locked. His seemed as black as midnight, and I stared into the depths of them.
Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me Book 3) Page 8
