I’m babbling now, which makes my cheeks heat. “But yeah. I’ll go. I’m sure they think I really hated their stuff now.”
“We can go.”
I jerk back.
“If you’d like,” he adds casually.
Uh… “Did the whole friendship conversation get lost on you? If the administration would look down on us possibly being friends, they definitely wouldn’t like the idea of us going out to eat together. Platonically, of course.”
He nods once, lips twitching upward slightly like he’s amused. “Of course.”
“And if they knew you drove me home, it’d only be worse,” I point out for good measure.
He watches me for a moment. “We already saw each other there once. By pure coincidence.” And his point is what? “Who’s to say we wouldn’t meet there again by the same odds? It’s not that big of an area.”
Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
“We could find ourselves there together,” is the next statement that leaves my lips parting at him in wonder. “Tomorrow night at seven.”
Tomorrow. Friday. Friday is like a date night. That’s when people meet up for … dates. Is that weird? Am I really overthinking things with him?
He adds, “Platonically.”
I swallow. Platonically. I could do that. Find myself there at seven tomorrow. It gives me time to find somebody to watch Ainsley. Maybe Jenna. My parents would probably do it if they didn’t have plans for themselves.
I’m not sure when I start nodding, but he’s nodding back. It’s a silent agreement.
Carter Ford and I will go to dinner.
Together.
On a platonic non-date.
Chapter Seventeen
Anxiety creeps into my conscience as I flatten my palms down the sides of my outfit that Jenna picked out for me. The black lace blouse is tucked into the extra tight skinny jeans that my best friend insisted was casual and sexy—two things she told me I needed to go for. Pairing them with a comfortable pair of gray heeled boots that go to my shins, I examine myself once more in the mirror before accepting this is as good as it’ll get.
The ride to Bellamy’s is quiet. Too nervous to listen to the radio, I absorb the sound of passing traffic instead. I’m in the parking lot next to the dimly lit restaurant before I know it, noting the familiar vehicle Carter gave me a ride in a few rows in front of me. My eyes drift to the time on the dashboard. We’re both early.
Clearing my throat, I give myself a pep talk like Jenna told me to do and then get out of my car. Purse over my shoulder, phone in hand, I walk up to the entrance and falter when I realize I don’t know what to say. Do I say I’m waiting for someone? Request if he’s here? The panic settled into me earlier comes back tenfold as somebody opens the inside door for me with a smile, giving me no other choice but to walk in.
“Hey.” Stricken, I glance to the voice that greets me, noting Carter leaning against the wall. Like my eyes that drift down his black pants and the royal blue button down tucked into his waist, he gives me a once over with a growing smile on his face. “You look beautiful tonight.”
We saw each other earlier for the class we now co-teach and there was nothing unusual about it. He taught, I made a point or two, but mostly focused on the students. Nobody would have guessed we’d be here hours later, both in new outfits and waiting for each other for dinner.
“Hi.” I lick my lips. “And thanks.” My hands go to my sides again, brushing out a wrinkle in the shirt I should have left untucked. Jenna told me my figure is shown off better if I tuck it in, but now I regret listening to her.
“You look sexy, Piper. Sexy is good.”
“Sexy isn’t what I’m shooting for.”
“Everybody shoots for sexy,” she argues, giving me the evil eye that I know better than to argue with. “Make him drool and regret this is a non-date.”
Like always, my extravagant bestie made me feel empowered. But as soon as the tables turn and I’m on my own, self-doubt takes over any courage she gave me. While I do like the outfit, I think I could have gone with something slightly more casual. Preferably something that doesn’t feel as painted on as the jeans I squeezed into.
He gestures toward the hostess booth. “Table for Ford,” he tells the young girl.