The Blind Date by Landish, Lauren (suggested reading .txt) 📕

not enough, and Loretta pops me on the back, which makes me cough again because her taps are more like body slams. But it gives me something to think about other than telling Arielle about Noah . . . and that kiss . . . and how he said please.

God, I can picture that text, hear him saying it when he came over. He’s not a man who says that, which he confirmed if there were ever any doubt.

I’ve managed to get the nacho down and drink some water to soothe my throat, but I’ve been quiet too long, and Arielle, the bestest best friend ever, saves me by drawing the attention away with a joke. “You’ll find the right guy, Riley. Some people just can’t set aside the clouds to see the sunshine.” She holds her hands out wide, gesturing to me and waving jazz hands in an imitation of my Sunshine Salute.

Everyone laughs because I’m the epitome of sunshine, but not everyone is ready for that, especially on a daily basis and in big doses. I’ve learned that the hard way, and I hope Noah is ready for me.

Funny thing, I don’t feel particularly sunny right now. I’m excited about Noah, but I can see a thunderstorm gathering in the distance as Arielle throws me a wink for saving me. “You okay?” she mouths, and I give her a subtle thumbs-up.

“Thanks,” I whisper.

What have I gotten myself into?

Chapter 10 Noah

Last night, when I saw that I had a message from Riley, my heart had jumped into my throat. For a split second, I was already preparing for the worst, expecting it. But also, hoping I was wrong.

Hope—what an odd emotion, one I haven’t known well, but a short time with sunshine beaming down on me, A.K.A. time with Riley, and it damn near bubbled up inside me to overrun any doubts.

She said she’s in.

I’d been ready to go her immediately. In fact, I’d already hopped up from the couch and headed to my closet to grab my shoes when she’d said she was out. And then other new emotions had shown up in a blink. I’d nearly gone crazy with worry and jealousy, thinking she might be on another Blind Date until she said she was out with friends.

Five seconds and a few words. That’s all it took for this girl to take me from maybe not cocky but confident and turn me into a jealous little panting pile of testosterone-fueled worry. That’s what Riley’s done to me, and I felt like a damned fool afterward.

Of course, Arielle’s told me about their Crew outings, and though I know they’re nothing but easy fun with good friends, it was still all I could do to not ‘randomly’ wander by whatever place they were hanging out. It wouldn’t have taken much to figure it out. Hell, I could’ve texted Arielle and asked where she was, and she probably would’ve invited me to join them. More than once, she’s tried to get me to stop by and hang out with her friends in order to inject a little levity into my life.

But I stayed away last night, waiting and biding my time. And making plans for tonight because planning is what I do.

The first step was a good morning message, telling Riley that I dreamed of her last night. It’s not a ploy, it’s the truth.

And then we messaged back and forth a bit, with basic ‘what’re you doing’ type stuff. I purposefully don’t ask anything too deep because I don’t want to scare her off, not before tonight. Not before she actually gives this a chance.

She sent me a picture of her yellow-painted toenails in answer. I don’t know what it is about Riley and her lower body, but this woman’s going to turn me into a full-on leg and foot fetishist at this rate, with her cute socks, tiny toes, and curvy calves.

And now, it’s time for me to make my next move. They say the stomach is the way to a man’s heart. I’m betting that’s true for women too. Or at least I hope it is when I knock on Riley’s door again, this time with cheesecake and some type of blueberry muffin dog biscuits they sell at the bakery for Raffy. I actually spent as much time trying to decide what to get Raffy as I did picking out the cheesecake.

We didn’t talk about what we’d do tonight—go out or stay in? But we need to talk, I know that much, and I’ve thought about what I want to say, how to plead my case and get more than an ‘okay, I’m in’ from Riley. She doesn’t do anything that simply, and I want her full-throttle, the way she was in our messages, unfiltered and bold. The openness before she realized Mark was me and that we have a history. She might’ve dismissed that on Friday, but there’s got to be something to it because she’s all but avoided me in the years since.

Though I suppose River and Arielle don’t hang out either, so maybe I’m putting too fine a point on it, giving that old conversation and those insults more weight than I should? But Riley’s eyes glittering as she ran from the bookstore flash in my mind, and I know this is going to take more than ‘I’m sorry’ to get more than ‘I’m in.’

I’m going to have to work at gaining Riley’s trust, but I’m up to the challenge.

Before I get out of my car, I take a moment to collect my thoughts as I stare at myself in the rearview mirror. I know I look good in a white dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled halfway up my forearms, with dark gray slacks. I was going to go with black, but I decided the gray was just a little less funereal.

I also realized that I might need to seriously brighten up my wardrobe if I’m going to spend time with Riley.