Love Lie ( COMPLETED)

12. Friday

     Friday night finally came and nervous didn't even begin to cover how I was feeling about my date with Landon. I feel like I flipped through every outfit in my closet at least a dozen times. Landon hadn't told me where he was planning on taking me. Since I was the one to ask him out he insisted on planning everything out to make our first date perfect. What do you wear when you have no clue where you are going?

     I finally decided on the perfect outfit. A black dress with a zipper in the front, my leather jacket and black boots. Just as I was about to start on my hair I hear my door open and mom is standing there with a look of amusement on her face. "Did you finally find an outfit in this cyclone?" I chuckle and do a little twirl for her. The recent change in our relationship is really refreshing, I can't remember a time where mom and I have ever gone this long without fighting. 

     "Do you need some help with your hair? I could curl it for you while you do your makeup. You don't want to leave him waiting." She's right, without her help there is no way I will be ready in time for Landon to pick me up. He is supposed to be here in 45 minutes and I am running severely behind after fighting with my closet for so long. I hand her the curling wand and she starts in on my hair. I tell her all about Landon and the little bit of what I know is planned for our date. We laugh and joke around while I finish getting ready and I am grateful for the distraction from my nerves. Just as she we are both finishing up the doorbell rings and my heart drops.

     "I'm going to go get the door." My nerves turn to full out panic as I start to question whether this is a good idea or not. "Wait, Mom. What if this is a mistake? What if I'm not ready after Ethan? Or worse, what if he ends up being just like him..." My mom turns around and gives me a reassuring look, "Sweetheart, don't let Ethan ruin this for you. I think he has taken enough from you. Not every boy is going to be the same as him. You have to at least give Landon a chance because I really feel like he might just surprise you." She gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze and heads towards the door to go let Landon in.

     She is exactly right! I have no reason to believe that Landon is anything like Ethan. I try to let my guard down, so I can really give him an honest chance. He has been the only person to truly be there for me since I moved here, and he is really the only friend that I have made. He knows my secret and never once has judged me. The differences between him and Ethan are too many to count. The truth is, I am tired of letting what Ethan did define me. I expected everyone else to ignore the lies that he spread about me, but I haven't been able to let go of them myself. I decide my mom is right, he is done taking things from me. I take one more look in the mirror and head down the stairs to the sweet, handsome, wonderful guy that is waiting for me.

     As I come down the stairs I can feel him staring at me. There is a look in his blue grey eyes like he is looking at me for the first time. He looks fantastic with his jeans and black button down. "You look—just wow!" he manages to get out. I can hear my mom fight back a little chuckle. He seems so calm and collected but I can sense that he is just as nervous as I am. We stand there eyes locked on one another when mom finally speaks up, "Landon, are you going to fill me in on where you plan to take my daughter tonight?"

      For a second, I don't think he hears her but then he looks away, "If it's alright with you Mrs. Caldwell I would really like to keep it a surprise, but I promise I don't have anything too crazy planned and I swear I will have her home at a decent time." I can feel butterflies going crazy in my stomach. No one has ever put this much effort into surprising me before and I can't help but be excited to see what the night has in store.

     Just looking at Landon you would never expect him to be the chivalrous type. He has a rough exterior, so he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to hold a door for you, but I am pleasantly surprised when he leads me to the car and opens the passenger door to let me in. This is honestly the first time I've ever experienced this kind of treatment from a guy and it is refreshing to know that there are actually guys like this out there.

      I peek over at him as he pulls out of the driveway, "So any chance I am going to get a hint about where we are going?" He laughs a little, "Not a chance. Be honest though, the anticipation is killing you right?" We both laugh, and we settle into our normal conversation as we are driving along. I think one of the biggest things that have drawn me to Landon is how easy our conversation flows. We can talk for hours and never run out of things to say or have that awkward silence where we don't know what to say. The ease of things with him feels so natural that the doubts I had earlier in the night seem silly to me now. 

** What I picture for Sadie's outfit

Landon's outfit-