Found (Book 2)

Chapter 23

Jessie's POV

It's 7 pm and Eric is picking me up in 2 hours. My nerves are so bad and I feel a little sick because of it. The news that I'm going on a date spread through the house of course and now everyone is excited for me.

I take a shower and wash my hair really well. I put on a robe to go find clothes and when I get to my room all 6 of my sisters are standing there. I laugh a little as they help me get ready. Dani, Christina, and Katherine pick out my clothes, Amy and Lauren get accesories and Lisa of course is going to do my hair, makeup, and nails.

I end up with a white lacey shirt and a black skirt with a cute pair of strappy sandals that I borrowed from Kath. Amy puts earrings in while Lauren gives me a few necklaces to put on. Lisa then does my hair, keeping my wavy texture but adding a bit of salt spray to enhance it. She then does my makeup flawlessly and does a really pretty design on my nails.

I look in the mirror and for one of the very first times, I actually feel kind of beautiful.

"Thank you so much," I tell my sisters and we have a wonderful group hug. I get my purse ready and realize it's 8:50.

The doorbell rings and I panic. I hear the door open and Christina talking to him but it feels like I'm going to pass out.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and I look up to see Katherine smiling.

"Aren't you going downstairs?" she asks me and I shake my head. Her face turns from happy to concerned.

"Why not?" she asks and I tell her that I can't do this. Instead of responding, she grabs my arm and takes me down. I see Eric and I feel a surge of happiness. He sees me and gives me a huge smile.

I go over to where him and Christina are and look at my oldest sister for her thoughts. She grins and I know I have the go-ahead. I give her a hug and also give Kath one. I wave to the rest of my siblings who are staring over the upstairs railing trying to act inconspicious.

I receive a chorus of "bye"s and head outside to his truck. Have I mentioned I like guys who drive trucks. He opens the door for me and I can hear my sisters squealing. I laugh a little and so does Eric.

He drives to this pretty nice restaurant in Malibu and even has reservations, I'm impressed. He really seems to know a lot. That's cool. We sit down at our table and I stare at the tablecloth awkwardly.

"So you sure have a large family," he says, breaking the awkwardness, "how many of them is there?"

"Well there's Mom, Dad, and my 11 siblings and I," I say and he looks shocked, I giggle nervously.

"Wow how old are each of your siblings? And I don't know if it's my place to ask but why don't you look like them?" he asks and I don't mind it. It's true, I don't look at all like any of them.

"They found me and saved me from my destructive family," I say and he nods, "Mike is 26, Christina is 24, Katherine is 23, Lisa is 21, Amy is 19, I'm 18, Lauren is 16, Dani is 14, Christian is 12, Nick is 10 and Joey's 9."

"Wow," he says with wide eyes, "Who were the ones I met at the beach?"

"Lauren and Dani," I say and he thinks thoughtfully. A little strange but I think nothing of it. We continue talking and wait for our food. We eat then he drives us to the movie theatre.

"So what do you want to watch?" he asks and I look at everything that's playing soon.

"Does Pitch Perfect 2 sound alright?" I ask and Eric smiles and nods. He buys popcorn and drinks and we sit in the theatre. Halfway through the movie he puts his arm around me and I get closer to him, smiling in the dark.

It's 1 am and driving home, we can't stop talking about the movie and I feel so happy when I'm with him. Eric is such a kind, sweet, funny guy and I really like him. He opens my car door for me and I walk up to my front door.

"Thank you for a wonderful night," I tell him. He smiles and leans in. I close my eyes and kiss him back. This is my first kiss and it's pretty great. I pull away for air and grin at him.

"Goodnight Jessie," he says.

"Goodnight Eric," I tell him and he drives away. I take a deep breath and walk in the front door. It's quiet, maybe they all went to sleep. Maybe I won't get 10 million questions tonight.

I get upstairs and walk into my room and am practically jumped on. I scream and my mouth gets covered. I fall to the ground and close my eyes.