FIGHT FOR ME Read Online Free PDF Page A

not going to follow you for the rest of the day. I’ll pick you up at Jess’s. Seven?”
    “Seven.” She nodded.
    He walked away. Before he started down the stairs he turned to her and smiled.
    Oh.
    Oh my.
    Ivy collapsed into the armchair again and took a few deep breaths.

Chapter Six
     
     
     
    She left the library right away. She could always go back there later –and she didn’t feel like reading right this moment.
    When Ivy got back to the apartment she found Jess and Emma playing a board game on the coffee table. Emma was moving her piece over the board and counting loudly.
    “One, two, three, four…”
    “Hi guys!”
    Jess looked up at Ivy. “Hey! How was your adventure?”
    Ivy laughed. It kind of was an adventure. “I had fun. I went to the park and the library. Oh, and I ate brunch at that cute place… I think it was named after a flower?”
    “Hyacinth’s,” Jess guessed. “Sounds nice.”
    “It was.” Ivy paused. She considered mentioning what had happened with Lucas but ultimately decided not to, at least not then. Emma would be confused to hear that her teacher wanted to see her aunt later that night. Maybe Ivy would tell Jess later.
    She watched her sister and niece finish the game and played with them afterward. When Jess asked what she wanted for dinner, Ivy said she was thinking about going out that night. Jess seemed a little confused but didn’t ask any questions.
    Around six, when Jess and Emma were eating pizza and watching cartoons, Ivy started to find herself glued to the clock. She kept looking at her phone. Should she start getting ready now? Did she need an hour to get ready? Not really, but why not?
    She excused herself from the living room and went to Jess’s room –where all her stuff was –to pick out an outfit.
    She hadn’t packed for this trip with a hot date in mind. After almost ten minutes of frustration, she settled on a flower print dress, denim jacket, and blue flats. Still casual, but a step up from the sweat pants and jeans she had worn every day since she’d got to Paisley.
    She wondered where Lucas wanted to take her to dinner. According to her phone, there were a total of five restaurants in Paisley that weren’t downtown. Only two of them weren’t chain junk food places.
    Ivy took a deep breath.
    Makeup. She should put on a little makeup.
    She went to the bathroom. As she put on mascara and lip gloss she realized just how unusual it was for her to get this excited and nervous over a date. She felt sixteen again, unsure and inexperienced though that really wasn’t the case.
    Would he still like her after spending more than a few minutes with her?
    She reminded herself of the kiss they had shared in the library. The way he had kissed her… She wondered what might happen after dinner.
    Whatever happened, she wanted to be prepared. Feeling her cheeks get hot even though there was no one to witness, Ivy took a pair of black lace panties out of her suitcase and slipped them on.
    * * * *
    When Lucas texted her to say he was there to pick her up, Ivy told Jess she was going out to dinner but still withheld exactly who she was going with. She was pretty sure that Jess knew exactly what was happening, even if she didn’t know the specifics.
    Jess looked like she was about to ask why Ivy had put on a dress and makeup if she was going out to dinner by herself, but instead asked an easier question. Ivy sighed in relief.
    “When do you think you’ll be back?”
    “I’m not sure. Probably a… a few hours.” She really didn’t know what to say.
    “Okay. Have fun.”
    She gave Jess a quick kiss on the cheek and nearly ran down the steps to the street.
    Idling next to Ivy’s decade old Honda Accord that she hadn’t touched since she got here was a glinting red vintage convertible Mustang, probably from the sixties or seventies. Lucas was sitting in the front with the top down. He was wearing a black button up shirt and had slicked his hair back.
    He didn’t