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Bryce roars with laughter, then focuses back on me. “Don’t believe anything bad they tell you.” says, winking. Bryce softy kisses my lips and gives my nose a little peck. I blush as I turn back to the ladies. They all give me the “told you so” look.
Eventually, the women change the subject, which I’m more than thankful for. While I don’t mind hearing that Bryce has been happier since he met me, I still don’t enjoy being the center of attention. Here, I’m getting asked questions left and right by them. Maybe in time it’ll get easier.
Tonight definitely has been a bit of a surprise for me. I feel pretty relaxed around the guys and their significant others. No one calls me horrible names or makes fun of me. No one does mean things or bully me. Each one of them speaks to me as if I’ve been part of this little group for quite a while.
I glance over at Bryce while he’s talking and shooting pool with the guys. I look forward to doing this more often with everyone. By the end of the night, I honestly feel like I really socialized for the first time in my life. I don’t feel like the outcast or the strange girl.
For the first time, I feel like I belong.
Chapter 17
Katrina
“Hey, Kitty Kat.”Bryce says when I answer the phone. He’s been at the gym all day with Austin, so I’m surprised to see his name pop up on my phone.
“Hey. I thought you were working out. Shouldn’t you be spotting Austin right now?”
“Eh, he’ll be fine. So, I actually called for a reason.” I can hear the clacking of weights and all the grunts in the background. You’d never catch me in a gym; I’d just buy a treadmill for my place. But I hate running so that probably won’t happen either.
“Okay, what’s up?” I say curiously, now that he’s caught my attention.
“I want to take you out to dinner. Can you be up at my place around six thirty tonight?” Bryce asks, his voice sounds shaky, like he’s worried about something.
“Um, I guess. Yeah. You don’t need to take me out, Bryce. I can cook us something.” I bite my lip nervously. I don’t want to feel like I’m on display. And I know that Bryce’s intention is far from that, but it still makes me scared for tonight. I don’t like the attention.
“Nope, I want to take you out. So just be at my apartment then, okay?” This is probably one of those times I won’t win.
“Okay. Sure, Bryce. I’ll see you then.” I reply, closing my eyes and trying to calm my racing mind.
“I promise it’ll be okay. Bye, Baby.” With that, Bryce ends the call.
All right. This is not how I’d envisioned my night going, but here we are. Entering my room, I pull out an outfit for tonight. Crap, I didn’t really ask if it was somewhere fancy, which I hope it isn’t. I own nothing that could be considered fancy. Texting him really quick, I ask him if I need to wear something nice. Bryce lets me know I can just wear what I’m comfortable in. Sounds awesome. Nice top and jeans it is.
I pick out a scarlet red chiffon babydoll blouse and pair that with a pair of light wash skinny jeans. Looking around my closet, I pull out my black knee-high boots to complete the outfit.
By four in the afternoon, I’m doing my usual going out prep. I hop in and out of the shower, dry my hair, and get dressed. Since I really don’t do that much to get ready, I finish a little early, so I pour myself a glass of wine. I’m not sure where we’re going, but I have a feeling I’ll need a little liquid courage. New places don’t really give me warm and fuzzy feelings. I prefer the tried and true ones, but I trust Bryce.
At a little after six thirty, I lock up my apartment and head up to Bryce’s. I put my key in and open the door. I walk through the door and immediately stop. My eyes take in what stands before me, and my breath catches in my throat.
The lights are all turned off, but all the rooms are lit with candles. Every single room. Standing a few feet in front of me is Bryce. He’s holding a dozen roses in his hands. Instead of moving further inside, my emotions get the best of me, halting me where I stand.
A feeling of weightlessness goes through me, and there’s fluttering in my stomach. I can’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.
“Oh, please tell me those are happy tears, baby.” Bryce runs up to me, putting the flowers on the table next to the door.
“Y-yes. V-very happy,” My hands go to his chest and I grab hold of his shirt.
“Gotta be honest, though. I wasn’t going for tears, sweetheart.” Bryce cups my face and wipes my cheeks with his thumbs.
“N-never got f-flowers b-before.” He pulls me into his chest and kisses the top of my head.
“Well, you’re going to need to get used to it.” Bryce laughs. “I’m going to spoil you, sweetheart.”
Once I finally calm down, I take the roses and smell them. I’ve never, in all of my twenty-five years, received flowers from a guy. Seeing him hold them just triggers such an emotional reaction. My heart swells with love. This man has a way of pulling my most emotional states from me.
Bryce takes my hand and leads me over to his dining room table. Two chairs sit next to each other with place settings already set out. There are candles already lit, two glasses of red wine already poured, and a vase with another set of roses.
“Bryce …”