𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣

" scotty "

WAITING FELT LIKE FOREVER to Hope. She would check the time every five minutes and everytime she did it, she felt like time was going slower and slower.

At eight a.m. in the morning, Hope was wondering if she should say something. Gracie's contact was open in her phone and the words 'morning! Am I still picking you up later today?' were saved as her thumb hovered over the send button.

She knew summer was gonna go by quickly, she just didn't want it to. She would go back home, she would finish her last year in high school, and hopefully she would come back to Nashville. She liked it here even if it took a while for Taylor to convince her.

Her phone vibrated and there was a message from Gracie. She had messaged her first.

Goodmorning! I'm hoping that this is the right number
and you didn't play me. We're still on for tonight right?

Hope smiled at her screen and typed out a different response.

Goodmorning, Gracie! I would never play you like that. Of course we're still on for tonight. I'll definitely pick you up after work.

Before Hope could reply to Gracie's new message, she got a call from Taylor. She swiped on the green button and placed the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "Goodmorning, sweetheart!" Taylor's voice exclaimed through the phone.

"Morning, mom! What's up?" Hope slipped her feet through her slippers and walked towards her bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. "Nothing, just over here at grandma's. I didn't wanna wake you up so I came alone. I made you an açaí bowl for breakfast, by the way! It's in the fridge." Hope could barely hear what Taylor was saying but she put her on speaker and brushed her teeth.

As Taylor spoke, Hope swiped back to Gracie's messages.

You live at the beach house, don't you?

Hope furrowed her eyebrows and looked out the window. She gasped when she saw Gracie standing outside her house with roses and a basket full of things. "What's wrong?" Taylor asked. "My date is standing outside the house with flowers and a basket full of things and I look like I got run over by three double-decker buses, that's what's wrong!" Hope sped to tie her morning hair up in a high ponytail and finished brushing her teeth.

She spit the toothpaste out and washed the remaining out of her mouth. She walked out of the house in cat pajamas and cow slippers she didn't even realize she was wearing. "What are you doing here?!" She giggled.

"Miss Hope Swift, will you give me the pleasure of letting me take you on a beach date?" Gracie smiled like a fool. She stood awkwardly in Hope's front yard with the bouquet of roses in one hand and the basket at her feet.

"I thought you had work?" Hope teased as she walked closer to Gracie. "Did I say that?" Gracie questioned with a big smile. Hope giggled and pulled Gracie into an unexpected embrace.

HOPE LAID NEXT TO Gracie at the beach on a vintage picnic blanket. After saying yes, Hope went inside to change and take a quick shower while Gracie waited in her bedroom. "Okay, being completely honest, did you actually have work today?"

"Yes, but... I couldn't wait any longer so I called in sick." She admitted. "That's sweet but I actually have a reservation for tonight, Gray." Hope smiled. Gracie was quiet for a few minutes before Hope looked up at her.

"Gray?" Gracie asked. "You don't like it?"

"I love it, Hope. No one else is gonna call me that ever; just you."

The basket contained candies, books, a lego flower, and a fucking stuffed animal. It was a stuffed cow. "I didn't know what to get you but when I saw your slippers this morning, I knew I made the right choice." Gracie's words had a double meaning.