Page 6

Six

Believe it or not, curiosity about my date did not get the better of me; the bridesmaids would have to wait.

Da and I discussed how practice went on the way home, and then I needed to make a quick turnaround to meet Connor.

We always had dinner together on Sunday.

Tonight was Mexican.

“New shampoo?” he asked after I climbed into his Jeep, my hair still wet from the shower.

He must’ve caught a whiff.

“Why, yes.” I dramatically flipped my long locks over my shoulder.

“Herbal Essences with rose hip extract. Thank you for noticing!”

Connor leaned over the center console to take an obnoxious sniff, crooking an arm around my neck.

“I like the coconut one better.”

I felt my phone burning a hole in my pocket while we debated whether or not to order Bomba’s specialty guacamole again (it was delicious, but Connor had spent a while in the restroom last time).

“Wait,” I said when Connor flipped his left blinker instead of his right, heading away from town.

“Where are we going?”

“Kevin’s house,” he replied.

“He invited me and some other people over, and when I mentioned you and I were grabbing dinner, he asked if they could join…” He glanced at me with a guilty look.

“It’s cool,” I assured him, wondering how many of his friends would soon squeeze into the back seat.

Beyond being way more social than me, Connor was one of the nicest people I knew.

If someone dropped even the slightest hint that they wanted to hang out, he extended an invite.

I liked his other friends…

for the most part.

“Mads, hey!” Lauren Bitterman said when she and a friend got into the car with Kevin and another guy.

She wore her fitted blue COUNCIL ROCK NORTH LACROSSE jacket, and as usual, her makeup looked flawless.

“How are you?” She giggled.

“We aren’t crashing date night, are we?”

Date night.

That’s it , I thought, heart racing when Connor mentioned Brenna being sick this weekend.

I’m texting them back!

After Connor backed out of Kevin’s driveway, I casually unlocked my phone and went to the bridesmaid chat to read Reese’s text again.

So I just heard my cousin needs a date for his junior prom…

The other bridesmaids had acknowledged the message with an array of hearts and smiley emojis, but now there was a new text from Katie: She’s in, set her up!

My stomach squirmed, suddenly so not in the mood for guacamole with questionable ingredients.

Maybe Katie was excited, but had she really just accepted on my behalf?

What if I thought someone’s junior prom was too serious for a first date?

Because, funny story, I did.

THERE IS NO WAY , I typed now, fingers flying across my screen.

I’m not showing up in a ball gown to dance the night away with some stranger!

!!

Oh, you make it sound so romantic…

Yasmin wrote with a winky face.

Amanda quickly pointed out that he wouldn’t be a total stranger.

He was Reese’s cousin; she could vouch for him.

True , I realized, but that didn’t make me feel much better.

I didn’t know Reese that well yet.

Why don’t you grab coffee together first?

Meredith suggested. Get to know each other.

Yasmin, Reese, and one of Katie’s cousins agreed with Meredith.

I did too, feeling bolstered by the bridesmaids.

Coffee—coffee wasn’t a huge commitment.

I could totally walk out if I wanted.

That sounds good , I typed, but a message from Katie appeared before I hit send.

It wouldn’t count as a date, though , she’d texted.

“Alright, who’s irking you now?” Connor asked from the driver’s seat, which was a dead giveaway that he’d caught me rolling my eyes.

“Just the bridesmaid chat,” I told Connor, then lied, “They’re talking dates to go dress shopping.”

I loved Connor, but I didn’t want to tell him about Ready-Set-Date yet.

I wasn’t sure why.

“Bleh,” he said as Lauren Bitterman stretched forward in the middle seat, desperate to be part of our conversation—or, more likely, in Connor’s orbit.

He has a girlfriend , I almost grumbled.

“Oh, right!” she exclaimed.

“Connor mentioned the wedding. Where’s the bachelorette weekend gonna be?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged.

As the maid of honor, Amanda was in charge of planning it, but I suspected Katie would sign off on everything ahead of time.

And would I be invited—or even allowed —to go?

I’d be eighteen in September, but legal didn’t equate to drinking age .

“I hope not Nashville,” Lauren said.

“It’s so overdone, don’t you think?”

“Mmm-hmm,” I agreed, skimming the chat’s newest text.

No one said it was a date, Katie , Meredith had messaged.

We just want Mads to be comfortable!

?

Once Katie and the others gave the message a thumbs-up, Reese wrote, Send me some times that work for you, Mads, and I will coordinate with Davis .

Davis , I thought, letting out a slow breath.

Lauren was too busy trying to flirt with Connor while Connor was too busy driving for either of them to notice.

Davis. He had a name.

Knowing his name brought on some relief.

But then I learned nothing about Davis beyond his name.

Katie and the bridesmaids didn’t want me stalking his social media ahead of time.

Remember, the Bachelorette is our inspiration!

Amanda told me. Meeting someone for the first time and knowing nothing about them…

I responded that, as much as Bachelor Nation liked to pretend otherwise, the lead and contestants totally stalked one another on Instagram before production.

Everyone disliked that text.

Please? I started to type, but then someone lightly tugged on my damp hair.

I realized Connor had parked.

Lauren and their friends had already spilled out of the Jeep, but Connor hadn’t moved from his seat.

His steady blue eyes caught mine, and I felt my blood pressure calm.

I was always comfortable with Connor— content with Connor.

“We never made a final call on the guac,” he said.

“Should we give it another chance?”

“It was addicting…” I admitted.

“But, Con, you were in the bathroom for twenty minutes. Your tacos were cold and congealed by the time you made it back.”

He ran a hand through his fair hair.

Sometimes it looked blond, sometimes red.

It all depended on the light.

“You make a good point.” He thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“Eh, who cares? It’ll flush out my system.”

I snorted.

“Connor!”

He grinned.

“What?”

“That’s—” I started, but giggles got the better of me.

Connor cracked up, too.

We sat there laughing until Lauren texted him that they’d gotten a table.