Hand Picked

Chapter Four: Two Guys, One Girl, a Million Ways to Go Wrong

A special bonus? What does that mean?

"Um, sure. Great, well, I'll call him later to set up another date. Meanwhile, I'm heading over to your house tomorrow to meet Hugo, is that right?"

"Yes. But you should know, Hugo is nothing like Carter. He's... well, he's different. Not as confident, and he's definitely never had as many girlfriends as his brother."

Carter is a player? Well, I guess I can't be too surprised, but for some reason that stings a little. But I push it away quickly and get back to the business at hand. I have to focus on Hugo; there's no time to be worried about his brother. "Alright, I'll see you soon. And remember, we don't know each other."

"Oh, yes! Mum's the word!" He hangs up, giggling, and I hit call end quickly before scrolling through my contacts to find Carter's number. When I find it, I realize we have a date today; in about ten minutes, actually.

I jump up, run my fingers through my hair and dash out the door. Speeding out of my driveway and down the street, I mentally curse myself for not remembering. I've never, ever forgotten a date before.  I just hope he's still there.

It takes me a full fifteen minutes to get to the park, thanks to a traffic accident near the enterence. As I sit in the congested road, I pull down my mirror and check my face. No make-up, hair in a loose pony tail and my ratty old jeans and tshirt. Yeah, I look really good. At least he won't think I'm trying to impress him.

By the time I get there, I jump out of my car and sprint to the fountain. He's there, thank goodness, leaning against the wall looking cool. I jog over, breathing a sigh of relief. "Hi! Sorry I'm late, there was traffic. I thought you'd be gone."

He smiles. "Unlike my father, I doubted you would forget to meet me."

"What's that suppossed to mean?"

He shrugs and puts an arm around me. "Nothing. It's just, I've never had a girl forget to meet me anywhere, that's all." He grins down at me and tightens his grip. "I must be irresistable."

I pull away, glaring. "Um, excuse me. For your information, I was actually late because I forgot, and I rushed over here as fast as possible, so I guess I'm not like the other girls, am I?"

"Well, you rushed, didn't you? Couldn't wait to see me? Didn't want me to leave?"

"No. Unlike you, I have manners, and I didn't want you to think I bailed because of your little attitude problem yesterday."

There's a moment of silence as we both stand glaring at each other. I realise I've crossed a line, seeing as how I wasn't exactly my usual charming self either. But I'm not one to back down, and I stand my ground, biting back an apology.

Carter sighs and runs his fingers through his gorgeous blonde hair. "Look, I already said I was sorry. I thought we were going to start over? But I guess all we do is fight, so maybe that's not a good idea."

He starts to walk away, and I rack my brain for solutions. It's blank. How can it be blank?! I spend hours every day studying, I've been on more dates than anyone else, and I'm the smoothest talker in the country. And it's going blank now, when I need it most? So I do the only thing I can think of.

I chase after him, turn him around, and kiss him. I kiss him square on in the mouth, and soon enough his tongue is in my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck and put my fingers through his hair, trying  not to lose myself in the moment, reminding myself every five seconds that I'm only doing this because I promised his father.

After a few minutes of us publically groping each other, he pulls back. He smiles deviously, his eyes flashing. "Should we take this to my car?"

I nod, out of breath, and let him pull me to his car, which this time is parked nearby in a secluded lot. I guess he saw the traffic jam and came in through a back road. Or he knew this is what would end up happening.

He opens the back door for me and I slide in, pulling him with me. When he leans in for another kiss, I push him back. "Wait."

"Don't worry, I've got protection."

"Ew! That's not what I mean. I'm not just going to throw myself on you. Like I said before, I'm not like every other girl you met."

"Then why did you let me take you here?"

"To tell you that I like you. A lot. And I want to see you again. And this time, I didn't want you to run away screaming."

"How do you know I still won't?"

I smile slyly. "This is your car, isn't it?"

He shakes his head and lets a smile play on his lips. "Nice. You're tricky, you know that?" I nod and he shakes his head again. "So, what now? Are we going somewhere?"

"I don't think so," I reply, reaching for the door handle.

"Wait! When can I see you again?"

I step out of the car and turn to face him. "Now who's being desperate?" I write down my number and hand it to him, knowing secretly that his father already gave me his. "Call me later with details, okay? I'll see you soon."

As I walk back to my car, I can feel his eyes staring at me. I cut through the buhes and reach my car fairly quickly. Before I leave, I sit in the driver's seat for a moment, collecting my thoughts.

What just happened was... very unorthodox for me. I never, ever, kiss on the first date. It's one of the rules in my scrapbbok that I have taped to the inside cover: "Rule Number Three: Never, under any circumstances, kiss on the first date. Always leave them wanting more." I guess that didn't apply today. These aren't just any circumstances.

Let's just hope he's not that difficult next time.

*****

Another upload! Yay! this is quickly turning into one of my favorite stories (:

So, as you may have noticed, I have entered this story into the Watty Awards! WOO! However, odds are I'll take it back out pretty soon. But, if you want me to keep it in, let me know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Oh, and by the way: This story isn't going to turn out like you think. I bet you're thinking "Eve will fall for Carter, he'll get mad that she's dating him for money from his father, they'll split up, Hugo will be there for her but ultimitely she'll chose Carter in the end". WRONG!!!! you'll see what happens soon....... (;

WRITE ON!

<3 SnazzyReader