"Hazel are you sure you wanna take him? You know I can watch him" Opal says as I take off the third top this morning.
"No he needs to be with people. He'll be inside and with me the whole time. I have extra meds packed for him." I hastily explain as I try on a navy halter top.
I turn around and face my sister who has moved her position to laying on her stomach.
"What do you think of this one?"
"Hazel you look beautiful in everything, just pick a shirt."
I turn back around the face the mirror and scan over my outfit. My navy shirt is a perfect contrast to the black jeans I'm wearing. I decided on dressing up a little because birthday parties aren't usually casual.
"I like it" I finally state.
"Finally" Opal says laying her head on my sheets.
"Hey I'm not that bad!" I defend.
Opal lifts her head and raises an eyebrow at me.
"I haven't seen you this nervous in a while. What's going on with you?"
I shrug my shoulders.
"I just haven't been on a date in a while. And bringing Ollie has me a little on edge. I don't want him to be uncomfortable."
Is this a date? Jordyn never said it was. But he's taking me as his plus one to his friends birthday party.
"Well I'm proud of ya sis" Opal says with a wide smile.
I smile back before putting on my black leather jacket and my black combat boots.
As I make my way into the living room, the doorbell rings. I go to open the door and stare, stunned at Jordyn. He looked handsome. He was wearing a white button up shirt, he had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He paired it with sneakers and a pair of jeans.
His brown hair was gelled back and he had such a charming smile on his face it made his brown eyes pop.
"Hi Hazel, you look beautiful"
"Thank you" I mumble
"You ready to go?"
"Just give me a second I need to check in Ollie"
Jordyn nods his head and shoves his hands into his jean pockets.
"Come on in, I'll just be a minute"
Jordyn follows behind me and stands by the door as I head to Ollie's room.
"Ollie? Honey? Are you ready to go?" I ask stepping into his room.
Ollie comes out of his closet in jeans, converse, and his favorite Spider-Man long sleeve shirt.
"You look so handsome"
"Thank you mommy"
I ruffle his hair before grabbing a hat and heading back to Jordyn.
As we near the living room Ollie puts his hand in mine.
I smile down at my son as we enter the room.
"Ollie honey, this is Jordyn."
Ollie looks up at Jordyn and tilts his head to the side slightly.
Ollie's blue eyes study Jordyn.
"Hi Ollie! How are you?" Jordyn asks him in a cheery tone.
"G-go-Good"
His grip on my hand tightens and I squeeze his hand gently back.
"It's ok honey." I tell my son.
"We should get going, it's a long drive" Jordyn tells me and I nod in response.
As I follow Jordyn our to his car, I can't help but feel anxious about Ollie. He hasn't been in a crowd in a while. I just don't want him to get overwhelmed.
"Do you wanna dj?" Jordyn asks me after we all get settled in.
"I really don't care what we listen to, I like everything"
"How about you little man? Anything specific you wanna listen to?" He asks Ollie.
Ollie stares at the stuffed dog in his lap as he responds in a quiet voice.
"E-El-Elvis"
Jordyn lets out a raspy chuckle as his turns on the radio.
"You like Elvis?" He asks as he looks in the rearview mirror.
"Y-yeah"
"He's awesome. I like him too"
Ollie flashes a small smile at us as the Elvis starts playing through the speakers.
Jordyn glances at me and has a smile on his face.
"So Hazel, tell me more about you. How long have you been in New York?"
Oh boy.
"Umm well I moved here when I was nineteen. So about seven years ago. I was in between jobs for the longest time because I could never find a babysitter for Ollie. Opal was at school and I couldn't ask her to skip out on her education. When she graduated she started watching Ollie and I got the job at Knight Tech. And I've been there ever since"
Jordyn moves one hand off the steering wheel and rests it on the gear shaft.
"What about you?" I ask to keep the conversation going.
"Born and bred here. My parents moved here right after they got married. A few years later I was here and I've been here ever since. I actually grew up next to Gigi and her family. After my dad died I moved into the city and took over the business."
"I'm sorry about your dad"
He shrugs his shoulders.
"He was a great man, but he's in a better place now"
"What was your childhood like?" I ask him.
He chuckles before he starts telling me about his life growing up.
The hours flew by as we laughed and engaged in conversation. Ollie has fallen asleep about half way through the trip.
"I really think you're going to like Gigi. She's such a sweetheart. She really has a heart of gold." He tells me with a smile.
"I'm excited to meet your friends. From the way you've talked about them, they seem like amazing people."
"They are. I hate living so far away, but I come back to visit as much as I can. They're like my second family."
I smile to myself as I look out the window at all the passing trees. It was peaceful. The music was softly playing and and breeze was blowing. And Jordyn was fun to hang out with, he was funny, and he's super caring.
"We're here" he says pulling me out of my daydream.
I look to the house and my jaw drops. It was huge. Standing before us was a giant four story mansion. The outside was so pristine and clean, to the right was a path that led to a lake and to the left was a stable that was filled with horses.
I should have known they would be rich, Jordyn said his dad owned a company and lived next door. I shouldn't be this surprised.
As we walk up to the house my stomach twist with nerves. I wasn't used to this life style.
I could already tell this was going to be a long day.