The Dating Game

TWENTY-THREE

Seven o'clock rolls around much quicker than I expect, as it usually seems to go with Chase. I hear the ringing of the doorbell as soon as I'm finishing up the last step of my makeup routine, checking my outfit twice before running to answer the door.

The living room is empty and my parents' bedroom is suspiciously quiet when I step outside of my room—an action I've been strictly avoiding for the last few days. I assume it's safe to open the door when I hear the television in my parents' room turn on.

"Hey," Chase greets me as soon as I swing the door open. He's showing up in a pale blue sweatshirt and gray sweats to match and I force my eyes to stay level with his. I can't allow myself to fall for his masculine manipulation.

"Hey," I say back, practically pushing him out the door already. He can't even get another word in before I shut it behind us and walk toward his car.

"I should probably give you some pointers about my parents before we head over there," he mentions as I open the door to his car.

"Okay..." I respond suspiciously when we both hop in and close the doors in sync with each other. "They're not, like, murderers, are they?"

A soft chuckle pushes past his lips. "No, they're not murderers. But the way they ask questions sure makes them seem like they are."

I force a smile onto my face through the sneaking fear roaming the back of my mind. I can't imagine what he's implying, and I'm not sure that's something I would like to find out. But as he starts the car and flips the radio on to play some soft R&B music, I realize it's too late to turn back now.

A minute passes without a sound from either one of us and it's practically torture. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Chase's voice when he's making fun of me or flirting with me nonstop, but anything is better than sitting in a car in silence.

"So, who am I meeting tonight?" I ask suddenly, wanting to get the ball rolling on the conversation. There's nothing worse than sitting in the passenger's seat of someone's car who you've almost hooked up with and not talking.

"My mom and dad," he answered swiftly. "Well, my stepmom, but that really doesn't make a difference to me. Also, my little brother."

My ears perk up at the sound of that. "You have a little brother?"

He nods with a gentle smirk. "His name is Liam."

"That's cute." I giggle to myself at how painfully white their names are, though I suppose 'Michelle' isn't exactly the most exotic of names either.

"What are you laughing at?" Chase asks, catching me red-handed.

I brush him off. "Nothing, I just like the name Liam."

"More than 'Chase'?"

"Oh, definitely."

He scoffs playfully, turning up the music to let me know he's done with my jokes. I just laugh it off and stare out the window as he drives for another ten minutes until we get to his house. At first, the voice-less car ride feels awkward, but after only a couple of minutes, it falls into a comfortable silence and things feel much less heavy.

As soon as Chase pulls into the driveway of his little bungalow home, I move to pull the handle inside the car until Chase grabs my wrist and stops me.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a confused expression as if I'm being completely ridiculous by trying to open the door.

"Um, getting out of the car?" I answer cautiously.

"No," is all he says before he hops out himself to open the passenger door for me instead of allowing me to do it myself. I just sit there and watch him feign this silly proper attitude before he gestures with his hands for me to exit the car.