[14]

Normal people usually woke up to birds chirping or the sounds the wind made as it rustled the leaves on trees. Modern-day people even woke up to the sounds cars make. At least, these were normal sounds of the morning.

I jolted awake to the sound of Mida and Simone barging into my room and marching to my bed like the US military. With an arched brow, I wondered what the heck these hyperactive girls were doing in my room at-

I glanced at the clock on the opposite wall: 6:43 am.

More confusion washed over me, but neither of them noticed. They were too busy clearing everything off my dressing table. With the swipe of an arm from Simone, pencils, pens, and paper fell to the floor.

I gripped the sheets when I spotted my clipboard amongst the pile of discarded writing materials. A muscle ticked.

"What the fu-" I was unable to finish that statement because my cousin put up a hand to silence me.

I was stunned to silence at how fast everything was going, unfolding right before me, and yet I didn't know why they were here. Both she and Simone turned to me simultaneously, the action seeming more robotic than human. They grinned madly.

"Morning, Cammie," they chorused.

Since when did Simone call me Cammie?

I didn't have time to ponder more on that. The next thing I knew, I was being yanked off the bed, barely even able to gain my balance as I stood. And then I spoke. This time, no one was going to cut me off. I wouldn't let them.

"What the fudge is going on here?" No swearing in the morning.

Simone gave me a dumb look. I crossed my arms and frowned at her, my silk robe bunching up underneath my arms as I did.

Mida sighed and rubbed her temples. "We have to get you ready for your date, Cammie. I should be the one asking why you're not prepared to be prepared."

My eyes grew wide as it dawned on me; I had a date today. A date with Parker!

Well, it isn't actually a date considering we're just getting coffee and-

This meant we were going to be in a car together. Alone. Next to each other. What if something happened and we got stuck in there like we'd been that night? Would there be a repeat of the memory?

I swallowed, staring into nothing, freaking out mentally.

"We don't have time for this," groaned Simone. Her shoes clicked as she headed to the door and flung it open.

To say I was shocked to see a rack of outfits waiting outside the door would be an understatement. And added to the fact that I was going on a date with Parker, my emotions were going haywire. At this rate, I was going to snap soon.

Simone wheeled the rack in, kicking the door shut on the way and stopping right before Mida and me. Both of them had proud smiles on their faces as they made jazz hands towards the rack.

"Tada!" they sang.

"Woah," was all I could say.

"Yeah, woah," Simone grinned. She approached me with small steps. "We ordered the best outfits we could find online and got them delivered straight here by five AM this morning-"

"-Courtesy of," Mida cut in to bow exaggeratedly. "Yours truly."

"She practically stole Shawn's credit card."

"Hey! We're getting married tomorrow. What's his is mine!"

"Whatever." Simone waved her hand dismissively at Mida, facing me with a wide smile. "What do you think?"

What did I think?

I thought that this was the stupidest thing ever! Like, why would anyone order a full rack of dresses for one simple coffee date that they weren't going to partake in? It was too extravagant, too over the top.

And that pink dress sticking out was definitely too sparkly. Who would wear that?

My jaw was still on the floor when Mida answered for me.

"She loves it!" She declared excitedly, pointing her hands in my direction. "I told you she would. Look how we stunned her to silence!"

"We totally rock," Simone nodded at her.

"Heck yeah, we do."

And right before my eyes, they did a high-five.

"I-" I swallowed again, a nervousness churning in my stomach. This was crazy, really crazy. I was going on a date with a guy I still wanted to kiss after a one-night stand. After all my experiences, it felt like I was practically begging for heartbreak. "I don't think-"

Mida grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me violently until the world felt like it was bouncing around me. "You're not backing out of this. You want him, and you're getting him, so get your head in the freaking game!"

"Yeah, where's your fire?" Simone questioned with an arched brow. "Your spaz."

"I have no spaz."

"Then you get yourself a tall glass of wine and some darn spaz."

I blinked, the world around me stabilizing again.

This was stupid, crazy, and dumb-everything I shouldn't have been doing. But despite the small nagging voice telling me to crawl back into bed and sleep through the rest of this wedding, I knew there was no way I was getting out of this. So I sighed in defeat.

"I want champagne." I pulled my lips together, brilliant green flashing through my mind. "As many tall glasses as you can get."

One hour, thirty minutes, and a quarter a bottle of ice cold champagne later, they shoved me out of my room into the empty hallway, a flurry of 'good luck!'s muffled by the slamming of the door.

Yes, they slammed the door in my face.

The buzz of the champagne was still fresh in my tongue, giving me that spaz Simone was talking about, yet, I couldn't bring myself to walk down the hallway and stairs to Parker. A part of me kept laying out all the one thousand ways this date could go wrong. And even if it did go right, who said Parker wouldn't be like the other thirteen?

My phone buzzed, a message from an unknown number flashing across the screen.

Unknown:

Morning, Camsy! This is Parker. Meet me outside. I'm waiting ;)

After reading his message, I drew in a sharp breath and let it out slowly. He was waiting for me outside. One way or the other, I had to do this. We were friends, two people going out for coffee. Nothing more.

My racing heart needed to get that.

I started down the hall, then proceeded downstairs.

Today was day two of the wedding party. The decorators had already begun work. Yesterday, Simone promised to take care of the preparations, so I didn't have to worry about anything. So I could focus on Parker. Wonder where she got the idea that I wanted to focus on him anyway.

"Cam!"

Marcus hurried towards me with a broad smile on his face. I replied with a smile of my own.

"Morning, Marcus."

He got to my side, falling into two with me. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, until your fiance and best friend barged into my room this morning." I rolled my eyes.

He laughed, shoulders shaking a little as he did. Then his gaze traveled down my body before settling on my face again. "You look nice," commented Marcus. "Going somewhere?"

"Coffee date," was my simple reply.

His eyebrows shot up. "Date?"

"It's just an outing, nothing serious," I said dismissively, not wanting to tell Marcus about my complicated love life.

He gave me an unbelieving look but shrugged when we got to the door. "Okay."

Behind us, the decorations were in full swing. Some workers carried baskets of flowers and ribbons up the stairs, while others handled the curtains, putting candles in place. The bridal shower promised to be a nice event. Too bad I wasn't attending.

"Will you be at the bridal shower and bachelorette party?"

I looked at Marcus's brown eyes and shook my head. "Bridal shower, no. Bachelorette party, most likely, no as well."

"You know bridal showers bring good luck, right? You could finally find the perfect match for yourself."

"I'll pass."

"Why? Have you already found the one?"

My eyes narrowed slightly, dread filling me. What had Simone said to him? "No."

"But I saw-"

Marcus's statement was interrupted when the doors swung open, almost smacking me in the face. We both stepped back on impulse, Marcus reaching out to pull me out of the way in time. My heart went to my throat, beating rapidly.

"Shit, I'm so sorry about that," whoever it was that opened the door apologized.

My attention snapped to him, and once it did, I realized why his voice sounded familiar. He was Parker.

His eyes widened a fraction.

"Camsy?"

"What are you doing here? I thought you were outside?" I detached myself from Marcus's hold and went to stand before Parker, mesmerized by him once again.

"I was, but since you didn't reply to my message or come out, I thought I would come and get you myself." His hands shot out. One went to grab mine. The other cupped my chin as his eyes scanned me for injuries. "Are you okay?"

I swallowed, heat crawling up from all the points of contact. "I'm fine. Marcus pulled me away in time."

"I did," Marcus cut in.

"I'm really sorry about that," Parker apologized again.

Marcus waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. You're Shawn's best man, right?"

"Right," nodded Parker.

Marcus grinned at me, sending an obviously suggestive wink my way. "That's cool. You guys have fun, okay, Cam?"

I glared daggers into his skull, praying silently that he wasn't reading any meaning into this. "Bye, Marcus."

He didn't reply. He just nodded and went away.

Parker cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him. Only now did I notice his outfit. Just like mine, it was simple. Black jeans and a plain gray tee-shirt. Unlike the usual, he wasn't wearing a watch.

He was still holding my hand.

"You look stunning," he commented.

My outfit wasn't all that extravagant. In fact, it wasn't extravagant at all. After Mida and Simone's craze, the outfit they'd come up with was a flower-patterned flared skirt and a loose top tucked into it. This was a coffee date, according to them. I would chase away my man if I appeared overdressed.

"Thanks. You look pretty cool too."

I mentally face-palmed myself. I needed to get my shit together. This wasn't some high school date. We were both adults. So I had to be natural about this.

Parker grinned, flashing his white teeth. His hold tightened on my hand. "Let's go grab a coffee."