About six o'clock that afternoon, I was attempting to tame my hair. I don't like it's natural state that's somewhere between straight and curly, so I have to either straighten it or curl it. I decided on straight hair for tonight.
Since it's May, I got dressed in a pair of jean shorts, a maroon tank top, a white cardigan, and my maroon Converse. I absolutely despise wearing makeup, but I put on some mascara for Emily's sake. She loves to try and doll me up but I hate it.
“You almost ready?” Alex asked, walking into my room.
“Yeah, do I look okay?” I asked, twirling in a small circle.
“Of course you do,” he said. “Besides, Paul would think you look great even if you show up in sweats and a hoodie.”
“Oo, good plan. Maybe I should change,” I said, jokingly.
“No, don't,” he cried out dramatically. I rolled my eyes as I sat down on my bed beside him.
“Ya know, Paul is always telling me how great you are and he even asked me if it was alright that he asked you out,” Alex said.
“He's so sweet,” I said.
“He really is,” Alex said in response.
It was quiet for a few minutes, and Alex and I were okay with it. It was never awkward when Alex and I sat in silence together. I always found it sort of reassuring to just spend time with my twin.
Like all great things in life, our silence came to end when Jared started harassing Paul down stairs.
“I should probably go, huh?” I asked quietly.
Alex nodded and shooed me out of the room. I stopped in the doorway and turned to speak to him. “Thanks, for everything, Xander.”
“You're welcome, Rosie,” he said, answering my use of his nickname with his own use of mine.
I headed downstairs and stopped when Paul noticed me.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, smiling at me.
“Hi, Paul,” I said, softly.
“Let's go,” he said, holding his hand out for me to take as I walked down the rest of the stairs.
“She better be home by midnight, and in one piece,” Sam said sternly.
“Yes, sir,” I mocked him, causing Paul to laugh.
“I will take care of her, Sam,” Paul said.
“You better,” Sam said, glaring at Paul.
“Sam, let ‘em go,” Emily said, placing her hand on his shoulder to gain his attention.
“Bye, love you all,” I yelled as we walked out the door.
“We love you too. Now go,” Jared said, shutting the door on us.
“What was their problem?” I asked, taking Paul's hand as we walked across the yard to where his truck was parked.
“I don't know. They're crazy,” he said, smiling down at me as we walked.
“Here ya go,” he said, opening the door for me.
“Thanks, Paulie,” I said, smiling at his reaction.
“Baby, you're great, but please don't call me Paulie,” he said.
“But why not?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“Because, I don't like it,” he said.
“Fine,” I said, feeling this urge to listen to him. He has this authority of him that compels me to listen to him. I don't know why, and I'm not sure how I feel about it; but, I do know that I like Paul, a whole lot.
He smirked at me before closing the door and heading around to his side of the truck. He hopped in and clicked his seat belt before looking at me.
“What?” I asked, becoming self conscious almost immediately.
“Seat belt?” He asked.
“I was getting there,” I said, clicking the belt into place around me.
“Mhmm, sure you were,” he said.
As he drove I started to notice the little things about him that I really liked. The way his right hand held my left one loosely, but at the same time just tight enough to remind me he was there. It was almost as if he was afraid of breaking my hand with his if he tightened his grip too much. Or, the way his eyes lit up and glanced at me when I giggled. His eyes never left the road for long, making me thank the Gods that he was cautious about driving, but everytime he successfully made me laugh, his eyes glanced at me and lit up. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly to, making me realize that my laughter seemed to be bringing him some joy. Whenever I would blush at one of his compliments, he seemed to smile just a little more than the normal smirk that was always plastered on his face. My blush occasionally made him blush too, but it was just slightly harder to see his blush due to his darker skin tone.
Within an hour of getting in the car, we arrived in Port Angeles.