Seven Weeks to Forever (Love / Romance)

BONUS - Scene retelling from Riley's POV

Hi everyone!

I wrote a bonus scene retelling from Riley's point of view for the Wattpad Block Party Winter Edition IV. If you missed it over at the block party, here it is! This retells the end of Cassidy and Riley's first date—when Riley takes her out for her birthday—from Riley's point of view. I hope you enjoy it!

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Riley's turn – a retelling of a scene from Chapter Nine:

I have no game.

Cassidy probably thinks our fingers brushed together by accident, especially since I just chickened out and shoved my hands into my pockets. Smooth, right? I mean, I was only going to hold her hand. I wasn't asking her to marry me or something. It should have been natural at this point in the night, but I froze.

It wouldn't even be the first time I held her hand. We were palm to palm with our fingers laced together the night she was being harassed by a group of guys who anyone could see were bad news. It wasn't a romantic gesture that evening, but me playing the part of her boyfriend for a few minutes to make those sketchballs back off.

There was something I felt then that I still can't explain. It was as though tiny little sparks covered my fingers and palm for a second or two—and yeah, I know that sounds like it came straight from the script of a bad romantic comedy. Maybe those rom-coms are on to something, though, because it was enough to knock me off course. I've been thinking about that feeling, and about her, ever since.

I watch Cassidy now as she fumbles through her purse, looking for something. Is she embarrassed? Relieved? Did she even notice I reached for her hand? A strand of her chestnut hair falls in front of her face before I can read her expression.

"Lose something?" I ask, mostly to break the silence.

"Nope. I just want gum."

Cassidy doesn't look at me. She definitely noticed.

I don't remember if I ever had game, but it never used to matter. The one real relationship I've had in my nineteen years of life was with a girl I grew up with. There was no awkward getting-to-know-you phase with Amanda when we started dating, because we'd known each other since kindergarten. Reaching for her hand never made me nervous, and we got our first kiss out of the way in eighth grade during a game of spin the bottle. We just were, and I always knew where I stood.

Asking out someone I don't have years of history with is new to me, and I didn't even do that right the first time with Cassidy. Riley Davis. Call for emergencies. That's what I typed into her phone. Like the genius I am, I didn't ask her to text me her number. I also didn't ask her to get together or to take her out and show her around L.A., even though I wanted to.

Nope, I choked. My mind got caught up in all the reasons why anyone going on a date with me would be a horrible idea right now, and I watched her get into her car and drive away. Even with all of that, she was on my mind for hours that night and I wondered if she would text me. She didn't, but I got a second chance when we ran into one another at Amoeba Music soon after.

I didn't choke that time, but I also didn't ace it. I technically didn't say this was a date. I used her eighteenth birthday as my way around that, insisting she let me take her out to celebrate since she didn't have plans or any family in L.A. That's how we ended up at La Piazza tonight, dining on Italian food at an outdoor table overlooking a fountain and cobblestoned courtyard. Things were going well once both of us finally relaxed, until just now when I unlocked the Mighty Overthinker achievement badge over holding her hand of all things. I'm a mess.

"Riley?"

Cassidy's voice brings me back to the moment. I see hesitation in her sea-blue eyes.

"They're closing down here," I tell her, even though she already knows that. We were headed to my car when I made things weird. "We should go."

We still have to get through the drive back to her house. I wrack my brain for something brilliant to say that will lighten the mood, but nothing comes to mind.

Neither of us speaks until we're inside my car and I've started the engine. Someone up there must like me, because the song on the radio saves me from stumbling over my words and saying something ridiculous.

"Folk?" Cassidy asks as I back the out of the parking spot. "Let's try a rock station, maybe?"

I smirk, even though I want to bow down to whatever higher power has brought us back to more normal conversation. "It's on a rock station."

"What, did the music director blow out his eardrums at too many real rock shows?"

"Banjos are the new guitar solo," I tease her. "What cave have you been living in?"

"One with much better stations than this." She nearly jumps out of her seat in her hurry to change the station.

"Keep going," I warn her. "There's no EDM allowed in this car."

"Yet you allow indie folk and call it rock. This is a sad day for our friendship."

I could overthink her use of the word "friendship" while we're on a date, but I won't. Not right now, anyway, since I don't know if I should feel deflated over that or be grateful she's rescuing me from myself.

"Guess I won't be giving you my extra ticket to Bon Iver," I joke, naming the first indie folk artist that comes to my mind.

Cassidy scrunches up her nose. "I have to wash my hair that night, anyway."

"You don't even know what night it is," I point out.

"It doesn't matter."

This is more like it. I settle back against the driver's seat and guide the car up the winding roads through the Hollywood Hills that lead us to Cassidy's house. She and I exchange barbs the entire time, until I turn into her driveway.

I park the car and get out to open Cassidy's door. Our banter turns to silence while she gets out of the vehicle and leads me up the driveway. The evening breeze rustles through the trees just as some force outside of myself moves my hand to the small of her back. And there it is again—that feeling. I don't know what it is between us when I touch her, but every nerve ending in my body comes alive. I wonder if she feels it, too.

We're close to her front door when her shoe heel hits a dip in the driveway. I see her wobble and use my hand to steady her. She moves closer to me then, and her eyes lock with mine.

My fingertips come up to her chin before I realize what I'm doing. I hear a hitch in her breath as my head bends down, our lips drawing closer. We both know what comes next, or at least what should.

I haven't kissed anyone since my last kiss with Amanda, the night before she died. I haven't wanted or dared to until now. My heart hammers in my chest, and I feel the adrenaline kick in.

Don't mess this up, I tell myself. Still, it's all I can do to breathe.

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There it is—a little more insight into Riley and what he's thinking at that point in the book. I hope you liked it!