Ceaseless (Existence Trilogy #3)(31)

“Should I wear casual or dressy? Which would he prefer?” I asked Gee as I scanned my limited wardrobe.

“You want my honest opinion?”

I glanced back at her over my shoulder, “Yes. I do. You know him better than I do.”

Gee nodded in agreement. “Okay, wear that pink dress with those pink heels. He’ll be a puddle at your feet.”

The pink dress? Really? I wasn’t even sure why I owned that dress. I had never worn it before. I reached for the hanger and pulled it out. It was sexy in an innocent kind of way. Might be a little dressy but then he hadn’t said not to be dressy. I remembered how he’d picked up those heels and held them like they were precious. Maybe he had a thing for pink heels.

“You wear that and he won’t be able to concentrate. I can swear to you about that.”

Gee knew him well. I’d go with her opinion. “Okay. If you say so.”

Two hours later I was shaved, plucked, dressed and ready when someone knocked on my door. Who was that? I needed to go meet Dank in the great hall in five minutes. Miranda was still out with Nathan. They’d had a lunch date that was still going strong according to her many text messages. Gee had bailed on me after I started painting my toenails. She had lived through all the primping she could handle.

I opened the door and Dank stood there in a pair of khaki slacks, a dark blue dress shirt that was left open at the collar and, of course, his boots, holding a dozen red roses. He looked mouthwatering. His surprised expression as he took in what I was wearing didn’t go unnoticed. What was he surprised about? That I could clean up nicely?

“Pagan, you, uh, wow, I… I really like you in pink.”

I really liked this side of him. The not so cool and confident side. The one that was vulnerable. I pointed to the roses, “Are those for me?”

He glanced down at the forgotten flowers in his hand and chuckled, “Yeah, they are.” He held them out for me to take and I realized this was a first. No guy had ever brought me roses.

“Thank you,” I replied stepping back to let him in. If he’d been spotted in the hall then someone would have said something by now. I wanted to put my first ever roses in water before we left and leaving him in the hall was a bad idea. He might get caught. I didn’t have a vase in here… I scanned the room for something to put my roses in.

“What about this?” Dank said walking over to my desk and picking up my empty pencil holder that Miranda had insisted we buy to match our other cute desk items. It was perfect.

“Yes! It finally comes in useful,” I took the pencil holder and went to the bathroom to clean it out and fill it with water. When I walked back into the room Dank was standing in front of my bulletin board looking at the pictures I’d pinned up there from high school. Several had Wyatt in them. A few had my mother but most were just Miranda and me. I didn’t have that many pictures of my years in high school. Especially my senior year. There was nothing. Sometimes I couldn’t even remember things like my prom or who was in my class. Everything seemed blurry. My mom said it was the trauma of losing Wyatt that messed with my head. Miranda felt the same way so that made sense. She’d lost her boyfriend but we’d both lost one of our best friends.

“That’s Wyatt,” I explained as I walked up to stand beside him. “He was Miranda’s boyfriend and a close friend of mine. He died last year.”

Dank nodded his head. There was a sadness there almost like he understood that kind of pain. Had he lost someone too? “I’m sure that was tough.”

Yeah it was awful. “I hate death. It’s a tragic thing that comes for us all. Some sooner than others.”

Dank shoulders tensed and he shifted away from me. What had I said? This was not what I wanted to be talking about tonight. Death was so morbid and sad. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even brought up such a sad topic.”

I watched as Dank stared out the window instead of looking at me. He was dealing with something. I just wished I knew what. After what felt like several minutes but was only seconds in reality, he turned his attention toward me. “Death can’t help what fate decides.”

That was much deeper than anything I’d expected to come out of his mouth. He was right but still. I nodded, “That’s true. I guess we can’t blame death for the tragedy. Fate isn’t something anyone can control.”

Dank let out a heavy sigh. The guy must have had to deal with death one too many times in his life. Way to go, Pagan. Bring up something upsetting and screw up the mood. “Are you ready?” He asked finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Yes.”

Dank motioned for me to lead the way and he opened the door for me. I made sure no one was around before he followed me out. The tension in the air around us was thick. I knew it was my fault although I didn’t know what I’d said. I could either force him to explain what I’d said wrong or let this go for fear of ruining our night. Perhaps he would open up to me willingly another time. I didn’t get the vibe from him that this was something he wanted to talk about.

When we stepped out into the parking lot, I was about to offer Miranda’s car for us when I noticed a limo waiting on the curb. Dank flashed me a crooked smile, “I couldn’t make you ride on the back of a motorcycle in a dress and heels.”

How had he known I was wearing a dress and heels?