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“Well, they’ll have to wait on mine then too. We need to get Kenzie some help.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his, gently tugging me up out of the chair. We leave the room and even though the skin on my lips is stretched tight from being swollen, I’m grinning. This pain is worth it.

Once outside the office, Trey turns and says, “What should we do?”

“About this?” I ask, pointing to my lips. “I’m not sure. What do you think?”

He shrugs. “I’m not really good at the first aid kind of stuff. My mom just knew what to do and I always followed her instructions.” His eyes go wide. “Maybe I’ll call her?”

I nod. “Go for it. My mother is more into brand name clothes rather than knowing the brands of medicines.”

We walk, still hand in hand, down the sidewalk. I catch a glimpse of me in one of the windows. “I look like Will Smith inHitch.”

“Huh?” Trey asks, trying to understand what I mean.

“You really need a chick flick education, Trey,” I say, doing my best to laugh without using my lips.

Trey puts the phone away. “Are you okay if we go to my parents’ house? It’s not too far from here and we can get you something. You look like you’re in pain.”

“Well, my lips have swelled up like balloons and I’m pretty sure the blisters are only going to get worse.”

He squeezes my hand and leads me to a public parking garage. “We’ll take my car.”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask, curious. None of my former boyfriends would’ve done much except tell me to see a doctor.

“I don’t want to see you in pain.” He opens the door for me, making sure I get in okay before shutting it.

It’s strange to be on this side of his car, since the last time I was in it I was driving him home after he got hit on the head.

He’s right about his parents living close to the office. He guides me inside with his hand on the small of my back and I have to focus on the stinging pain of my lips instead of letting my imagination run wild.

“Mom, we’re here.”

I recognize her from the box suite at the Breeze game a couple weeks ago. “It’s nice to see you again,” I say, but the words don’t sound quite right coming out.

“Oh, you poor dear. Come in here and we’ll get you all fixed up.” She takes me by the arm and leads me into a bathroom. It looks like Trey warned her because she’s got out a box of first aid supplies and a damp cloth. “Take this and wipe gently on your lips. That will hopefully take off whatever is causing the swelling.”

I wince at first from the pain, but the cooling sensation of the cloth helps to battle against the raging fire of my lips.

“Do you know what caused it?” Mama Hatch asks.

“Lip gloss,” Trey says, leaning against the doorframe.

She gives him a disbelieving look and turns back to me. “What were you doing?”

“An interview for a dating thing,” I say. My cheeks have now taken on the flames and I’m just going to go hide in a cave for the rest of my life.

Mama Hatch turns to Trey. “What kind of dating thing?”

Trey doesn’t look like he wants to respond to that. “It’s something Dave set me up with. Kenzie and I will be on a matchmaking docuseries where we’ll go on dates with people we’ve matched with.”

She turns back to me, her eyebrow raised. “Is that true?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“You don’t believe me, Mom?” Trey says, pretending to be offended.

“Well, you had the chance to tell me earlier but you didn’t. So your agent set you up for this, Trey,” she says, then turning to look back at me, “but why are you part of it? You’re such a darling girl, I wouldn’t think you’d need help in the dating department.”

“I’m just getting burned left and right over here,” Trey mumbles.