𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐇 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 [slow updates]

𝟒𝟑

He changes into a white button up and khaki shorts, and I can't help but laugh at him through the mirror when he's putting on his cologne.

Smiling, he says, "What?" 

"You have your dad outfit! It's perfect."

Levin rolls his eyes at me. "Oh, shut up!"

"I love it!"

"Whatever, man."

I know he's trying to act cool because he's blushing. Did he really think I wouldn't notice? Or was it not even on purpose? It's almost exactly what I described to him two days ago when we had our little talk.

"It suits you, Lev." I tell him, bumping his hip with mine.

"Everything suits me." Right when I'm about to agree with him, flirt with him a little, he speaks up and beat me to it, saying: "Especially you."

And it's true. So, so true.

❄︎❄︎❄︎

We get there right at seven. Everybody but me has their coffees, and I wish that I could have caffeine right now. I feel like I'm going to pass out any minute now. Like, when you were in math class and couldn't keep your head from lolling or keep your eyes from closing.

Anyway, Marley has a white screen and a bunch of lights set up in my mom's living room, all of the furniture pushed aside. Mom's bouncing Eryn on her knee, watching me excitedly. And I don't get why she can be so happy about this when I'm so so miserable.

I miss sleep.

Marley hugs me, greets me, tells me where to stand, how to position my hands and legs, comes up to me to fix my hair, tells me what kind of expression she wants for me to wear. And then at some point, she asks me if I'm comfortable doing one in just my bra and panties, and I've never been more glad that I'm a matching set kind of girl in my whole life.

I pull off my dress, do the poses she instructs me to do, and I try not to look at Levin because he's looking at me like he's the inappropriate kind of hungry, and I don't want to look flushed in any of these photos. My misery might as well produce some good fucking pictures to hang up in my house.

I'm in the middle of putting back on my dress when the doorbell rings and my dad opens the door to reveal Tommy.

Mom texted me when we were on the way saying she invited him, but I didn't think he would actually come. He's never been a morning person.

Everyone greets him, me and Levin included, and then I take pictures with Tommy first. Surprisingly... It isn't terrible.

We don't pose "intimately," just pose in ways where he's touching my belly or something. And then when Levin and him switch, I notice this look pass his eyes. It's almost sad, and I feel a little guilty that he has to see this. Especially when I haven't talked to him about what he would think about Levin being involved.

His opinion on it wouldn't change how I want things to go, but I could have at least warned him. I just didn't know that today was going to go how it's going so far.

I take pictures with my parents, and then Cole comes downstairs, so he joins us. And at some point, Dahlian shows up and he joins us as well. Then, we take the last few photos including everybody. Levin, Tommy, my brothers and my parents.

"Okay!" My mom claps her hands together. "Who's hungry?"

I swear everyone in the room makes an almost animalistic noise, following my mom into the kitchen. Dahlian stays back to help Marley pack everything up, and I wonder for a second if this is a second-chance romance in the making or if my brain is just never to be cured of the beautiful damage that romance novels have done to it.