Chapter 23: 22- Whatever You Want Us To Be

22

Saturday came fast. Reese had been bothering me for almost every day since Tuesday- doesn’t she have work or something? Liam tagged along with her too. I miss the little kid. Yeah I’ve seen him every day but his antics have become limited to the shop now since he’s back with his parents. Bruce and Skittles have been oddly calm and quiet too. I guess I’m not the only one who misses him.

I wasn’t the dressed up type of girl. I could go out with a pair of jeans, shirt, and flip flops and I’m ready to go. However, this little get together of ours is a little bit special, just a little so I took out the first thing my hand made contact in my closet (I had my eyes closed for a little surprise to myself) and I happened to pull out a sleeveless collared baby pink top and a navy blue chiffon skirt that ended just on top of my knees.

Well, no.

I didn’t want to dress up so much for an event I don’t like but something in the back of my head told me that I should at least look presentable since I was going with Blake and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by looking like hobo. For once, I didn’t disagree. Looking bad in front of Blake was something I did not want to do.

My phone started ringing and I didn’t need to check the screen to know who’s calling.

“What’d you want now?” I asked sharply.

“Aw, is this how you greet me?” I could hear my sister’s voice as I tucked my phone in between my cheek and shoulder. “What happened to polite greetings?”

“Please.” I rolled my eyes. “This is your fifth call just for the day. What do you need?”

“I wanted to know what you’re wearing tonight.”

I raised my brow in suspicion, forgetting that she couldn’t see it. “And why is that? What are you planning now Reese?”

“I’m not planning on anything!” she denied. “I just wanted to know what my little sister’s choice of clothing for tonight’s event with your lover Blake.”

Event? More like a fiasco.

“He’s not my lover Reese.” I shook my head as I grabbed another item of clothing from my closet. This feels like playing stick your hand in blindfolded.  “And for your little curious mind, I’m not saying anything.”

“Beth come on tell me!” She pleaded.

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s for me to know and you to find out.”

She sighed. “At least tell me it’ll be something sexy. Oh! What about that green dress you have?”

What? “I don’t own a green dress Reese.” I only own like five or seven dresses and I’m sure as hell do not have a green colored one.

“Yes you do! Check, now.”

I rolled my eyes. I have such a demanding sister. I scanned my closet a few times before I saw a green dress hanging along with my other dresses. I pulled the dress out and after looking at it for a second, I wanted to put it back in immediately and hide it in the depths of closet.

There is no way I’m wearing that. Let me say it was a tight fitting- skin tight I may add, like my very own second skin- dress. And I’m pretty sure that I didn’t own that.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “Reese, how did you sneak it in my closet?”

“Maybe when you were busy eating on Wednesday night.”

“Well I’m not wearing it.”

“What?! Why?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Reese, it’s a get together, not a club. There’s no way I’m wearing that.”

“Fine.” She said. “But wear something cute. Who knows maybe you and Blake would get things going on tonight.”

“Ew no.” I scrunched my nose in disgust. “Even if that was possible- which is remote, that’s going to be disgusting to have all your relatives just a wall away.”

“That never stopped Andrea from humping on her husband.”

Again, Reese had implanted another image in my head I do not want to see. I shudder just thinking about Andrea and her little adventures with her husband possibly in my old bedroom turned storage room (yuck) or in the garage (I repeat, yuck).

“Speaking of dear Andrea.” Reese spoke. “I’m not sure about this but, I heard she might not be able to attend tonight! I heard she finally got knocked up after a year of trying.”

I started laughing. “Andrea knocked up? Surely that must’ve been an accident. She despises kids.”

“Don’t be so mean Beth.”

“It’s Andrea we’re talking about.” I scoffed. “Andrea who skinny dipped in mom’s fishpond.”

“She did what?!”

I suppressed the urge to laugh. “Don’t tell me you never heard that.”

“I didn’t.”

“Well.” I said rather smugly. “Now you have been informed.”

“Informed.” She said, testing the word out. “Now, inform me about what you are wearing!”

I sighed for the nth time. I lost track of how many times I sigh whenever I talk with my sister.

I pursed my lips together. She’ll hang me by my toes when she finds out that I don’t exactly know what I was going to wear. I still wanted to live for at the least the next thirty years so I grabbed the first hanger my hand made contact with.

It was a flared burgundy lace dress. Now I know I was the one who bought that. I might not be the dress up kind of girl but when a girl sees something cute, it’s cute. And trust me, the dress was cute.

I smiled. This was what I was definitely wearing, no doubt about that.

“Well? Are you going to wait for Christmas Beth?” Reese’s impatient voice came from the speakers.

“I’m not telling you.” The smile on my face never disappeared. Before she could complain, I spoke “But trust me that I will not look like a hermit.”

“Something sexy?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Come on Beth!” she grumbled. “Something cute?”

“Definitely cute.”

“Beth.” She stated. “You haven’t introduced me to Blake yet!”

“Now who’s being dramatic?” I rolled my eyes. “You’ll meet him later anyways.”

An hour later I unplug my curling iron feeling satisfied with the loose curls I had just made. I finished my makeup already which didn’t really take long since I sucked at applying it so I just stuck with the simple eyeliner, mascara, blush, and lipstick- my usual look except this time I used a more reddish pink color of lipstick, and put a lot more effort in actually making it look presentable.

The sound of the doorbell caught my attention as I tossed my phone, wallet, and keys in a cross body purse and slipped in a pair of nude flats. I already dressed up way too much with what I was wearing so there was no way I’m wearing heels.

I skipped down the stairs, Bruce and Skittles in tow. I wish I didn’t skip down the stairs when I opened the door, and I wish I took a deep breath before doing so because I forgot how to breathe when I opened the door.

He looked gorgeous. He wore a navy blue button up collared shirt and dark jeans that suited him well. He had styled his hair like he usually would for work. He looked at me with a grin. Well, now at least we didn’t clash colors.

“I didn’t know what to wear without looking formal at the same time looking formal.” He said. “My shirt is formal, collared like you requested- for the wings mostly- and jeans for the non-formal part.”

I smiled at him, shamelessly checking him out. Wow, where did I get this courage from?

“So I take it that you like?” he smirked.

And my courage evaporates as quickly as it came. I blush as I stepped out of my house, asking myself if I already fed the dogs-yes; brush my teeth-yes (I had an apple before I started changing and I do not want it stuck in between my teeth).

“You look beautiful Bethany.”

I turned to him. “You look good too.”

He frowned as he led me to his car. “I’m serious Bethany. You look stunning.”

“Thank you Blake.” I couldn’t help but blush and fight off the giddy feeling inside me, the butterflies fluttering in my stomach. As soon as I realized that we were going to his car and not mine, I stopped dead in my tracks. “Who said you were driving?”

“Not this again.” Blake sighed. “I’m driving.”

“I want to drive.”

“Well you’re not.” He said and slid in the driver’s seat. I remained rooted in my spot and refused to move. Blake looked at me with an arched brow. “Are you coming or not?”

“I can drive there.” I crossed my arms. Why wouldn’t he let me drive? “It’s not like you know where it is.”

His brow remained arched as he looked at me in an amused way. “That I do not.”

“Exactly.” I smiled smugly. “Now scoot over. I’m driving.”

“Bethany.” He sighed rather frustrated, like I was testing his patience which I was. “My presence there is only optional. So it’s either I drive, or you go alone.”

I did not like that. I did not want that. One of the reasons why I agreed to attending the fiasco was because I know Blake was going with me. Knowing Marcus was going didn’t really put me at ease. And I needed to go and see my mom. I gave up and just went in the passenger’s seat, strapping the seatbelt over my chest.

We were on the road now. My mom’s house was about forty-five minutes away because she lived in the outskirts of the city. She likes the quiet atmosphere, and so do I.

“I would feel better if you wore something longer but since we’re not going somewhere where boys would want to feel you up,” he said casually, making my head snap to his direction. “I guess its fine.”

My dress was not that short. It ended just a few inches above my knee. But I feel the butterflies fluttering again as I recall his words.

“It’s not that short.” I muttered, now conscious as I tugged it down.

He turned to me and quickly said, “I know, but I don’t like sharing.” Before turning his attention back to the road. It was empty except for us and sometimes a few cars pass.

I sulked in my seat, not caring if I destroy my hair I spent numerous hours on watching YouTube tutorials on. What did he mean by that? Were we a couple now? Was he my boyfriend? I felt a little excited at the thought but yet at the same time a little scared.

“What exactly are we Blake?” I said under my breath, a huge part of me hoping he didn’t hear that. I was disappointed that he did hear me answered, regardless I really wanted to know his answer.

“You and I?” his gaze is still on the road, the grip of both of his hands on the steering wheel tightened for a bit before relaxing again. He looked uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat. He was about to say something before deciding not to. Silence passed by us for a few seconds before he finally spoke up. “Whatever you want us to be.”

Somehow his response made me feel like something big and heavy dropped on my gut, weighing me down with it. I played with my fingers, wrapping the faux leather of the strap of my bag around my pinky and unwrapping it again. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to respond to that.

Another part of me felt grateful for his neutral response. Whatever you want us to be. What did he mean by that? Was he as torn as I was? Was he having conflict of emotions like me? I didn’t say anything after that as I repeated his words over and over again, wracking my brain for the answer I crave to find and figure out myself.

“Bethany.” He called my name, cutting my thoughts to a short. “Remember that I needed to tell you something?”

I furrow my brows together, trying to remember  and when I did, my eyes grew wide as my lips parted. “Shoot! Yes I remember! I’m sorry, I’m very easily distracted and very forgetful. That was days ago! Why didn’t you call?”

He shrugged. “Forgot.”

“So what did you want to say?”

Blake gripped the wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white as I directed him to turn right which he did. I swallowed the lump in my throat, worried on what he wanted to say. I said nothing.

He let out a huge sigh before speaking. “Bethany…”

“Oh! We’re here!” I announced abruptly almost half shouting, cutting him off when I saw the lights that illuminated my mother’s house. We almost missed the turn.

My mother belonged to a family with five children, and they all have kids (See? No one dies old and single from where my mom’s from) therefore there were a lot of people going in and out of the house. I could make out the silhouette of more people inside.

Blake turned the engine off as I removed my seatbelt, our earlier subject of him telling me something now forgotten and sat at the back of my head.

I was jumping by now, excited to see my mom. So maybe this little event was as bad as I made it out to be. Excitement always runs through my system when I am about to see my mom. My mom is beautiful. She’s as tall as me with blonde hair that stopped on her shoulders. She has striking blue eyes, something I did not inherit from her.

“Bethany wait!”

I had started walking fast to the door, completely forgetting I had company after years and years of showing up alone. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stopped walking. People were going to talk, there was no doubt about that.

“Are you okay?” Blake asked. “You look nervous.”

“I…uh…I am.” I let out quietly. “They’re not expecting me to bring someone.”

Blake gave me a schoolboy grin as he draped his arm over my shoulder and steered me back to the direction of the door. He clutched the doorknob and looked over at me before turning it open.

“Well then, let’s surprise them, shall we?”

And he pushed the door open.

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I'll be honest: I don't like this chapter. I had to make one before the actual party because then that would've sucked if I didn't because I did get you guys Blake's answer on their relationship.

I'll be honest (again): I feel like I'm in Wattpad heaven right now. #3 in Chicklit and #17 in Romance, serioiusly? You guys are the best! I had never expected any of this to happen! I was so shocked when I woke up after the night I posted the last chapter to see it having over 200 votes. I couldn't keep the stupid smile off my face