Collide

Seventeen

During my debutante ball, it was decided that Logan and I were going to go down to the Hampton's to spend time with our other grandparents. It was also decided between Brennan and me that he would just happen to be down there as well. 

"Are these too short?" Logan asked me as she walked out of the dressing room.

We were getting a head start on spring break and summer shopping.

"I feel like if you have to ask then they are." I said to her. "And we're going to New York, not Miami, you're going to freeze in your daisy dukes."

She looked in the mirror. "Abuelo said we were going to Belize in June to celebrate your graduation and shit. These are for then."

"Yes, Abuelo the Catholic." I reminded her. "Get the ones with the three-inch inseam."

She nodded her head. "Fair enough."

"So, do you wanna go poke around the prom dress store after?" Logan sat down next to me. 

I grinned. "Prom is for seniors only little sophomore, but yes I do."

"Great, I can't wait." Logan cheered as she walked back into the dressing room.

I kept smiling to myself. "I think my feelings for him are really real now. Well, I don't think, I know."

"A blind man could've told me that." she commented.

"We're doing a paint date at his house on Saturday." I announced. 

"He knows the way to your heart." my sister responded.

I nodded. "Guess where he's going to college."

"Where?" she asked me.

"Columbia, so I don't really have to worry about long-distance being a possibility now." I informed her.

"Awe, Ryan." she walked out with her clothes in her arms. "I'm so happy for you. I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you this happy."

I can't even remember the last time I felt this happy.

"I know, I can't wait for Saturday. It's basically our first real date." I stood up from the bench. "I'm practically floating."

"You're floating and glowing." Logan agreed.

The minute we walked into the dress store, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many fricking choices.

"What do you want?" Logan asked me as she looked through the racks.

"Nothing too ballgown, no sequins, nothing too pageantry. I think that I want a classic black moment. A dress that I won't think is ugly in ten years." I described what I was looking for.

"I can work with that." Logan agreed.

We ended up with twenty dresses. 

"This is too plain." I looked in the mirror.

It was a plain black column dress.

"There needs to be something more. This is just too plain. On second thought, I wouldn't even mind a sequin." I decided. 

"I think I'm beginning to sense your vision." Logan handed me more dresses.

I think we stayed in that dress store for over two hours. It was a Tuesday at 4, so they weren't busy.  I found exactly what I wanted. It was trendy, fun, and it felt like Ryan.

Not everyone would like it, but I did. That was all that really mattered.

The rest of my week was spent working, studying, or doing something else school-related. All the stress was worth it once I got to Saturday.

I didn't have work, he didn't have a basketball game, all we had to do was enjoy each other's company.

After my little talk with Brennan's mom on Valentine's Day, our relationship had gotten much better. She greeted me when I came into the house, and sometimes even gave me compliments.

Baby steps, right?

Brennan sat up the cutest date in his backyard.

There was a blanket, my favorite snacks, and painting supplies.

"B!" I exclaimed. "This is so cute."

"And we have a reservation at that all-you-can-eat sushi spot at seven." he added.

I was just telling him how much I wanted to go there.

I sat down on the blanket. "What are we painting?"

"Well, Miss. Artist, I was thinking that we could try to paint each other. It would be a good laugh." he answered my question. 

He looked so cute with his glasses on. I couldn't wait to paint that face.

"I found a prom dress on Tuesday. It's really cute." I looked at all the colors he picked out.

"What color is it?" he wondered. 

"Red." I responded. "It's everything I didn't want, but I ended up liking it anyway. It's campy in a good way."

He smiled. "You could wear a garbage bag and manage to make it look high fashion. I know it looks amazing."

Swoon.

"Have you spoken to your dad recently?" he asked me.

Way to be direct and to the point.

"He said that he could maybe manage to slip away and see me while I'm in New York. I know that the whole situation is crazy, but I really want to see him. Even if it's only for five minutes." I looked at Brennan.

"I get that and I support you." he began to put the paint on a tray. "I just want to be there or close by in case anything goes wrong."

"Ok." I agreed. "I can work with that."

I looked over at him. "I am assuming you're staying at your place in The Hampton's?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I might have my cousins over for a couple days, we'll see."

"This is going to be good for us." I put my arms around him.

"Just like the good ole days." I added.