Page 97 of Puck My Stepbrother

He took a moment to think it over. I didn’t sweat it. Quinn always made the right move in the end.

Finally, he said, “Okay, Levi, you’re on. What did you have in mind?”

I rubbed my hands together.

“We’re going to have a really nice dinner out, that’s what,” I said. “Best place in Buffalo. You pick the restaurant.”

“No,youpick the restaurant. Surprise me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I trust you.”

Hearing those three words meant more to me than anyone could ever know, because I understood the meaning behind them. If my boyfriend trusted me, he didn’t fear me. Any scars I’d inflicted on him had healed. I wasn’t his bully anymore, and he was no longer my whipping boy. The past was truly behind us.

“I know a great place,” I said. “And I’ll keep it a secret until we go.”

“Awesome.”

“So we’ll start with dinner and then go from there?”

“Sure, but if we’re going to have a magical first date, we can’t just stop at dinner.”

“Of course not. It’s Buffalo. There’s plenty for us to do.”

When he rolled his eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Listen, we can play the whole thing by ear,” I said. “After all, you can’t plan magic, can you?”

He shrugged again.

I reflected on the night we’d danced together outside the reception hall and how magical that’d felt, and reminded myself that none of it had been planned.

“Like I said, you should surprise me,” he said. “I trust you.”

Those three words again…

39

QUINN

“What time should I pick you up?” Levi asked.

“We live in the same house,” I told him. “How are you going to pick me up for anything?”

“How do you know I won’tscoopyou right up?” He literally swept me off my feet, just because he could.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

“I think you just did,” I said.

“I get your point, though. Maybe I should restate that: when do you want to go to dinner?”

I understood what Levi was aiming for—my boyfriend wanted to be romantic, something I totally appreciated. Before, I wouldn’t have thought romanticism even existed in his DNA. He was off to a good start. When you think about it, the thought mattered more than anything.

We agreed to leave the house by five thirty. I wore a button-up shirt and dress pants because I wanted to look nice for our first real date. I figured Levi would wear a T-shirt and jeans, maybe a hoodie, because that was all I ever saw him wear outside of his birthday suit. I didn’t mind. At least he wouldn’t outdo me.

When five thirty rolled around, I saw my boyfriend at the top of the stairs, decked out in a full suit. Honest to God, he looked like he could’ve graced the cover ofGQ.