48 First Dates (Seeking Romance #1)

The Prince Who Almost Made It

19

Strap yourselves in, now–

This date is going to be

a really long one...

B renn and I never spoke about our whisper of a kiss. He didn’t bring it up, and neither did I. I wondered if I had imagined the moment. Was it possible that he had only gotten super close? That our lips had never touched?

One thing I knew for sure—the electric feeling had been real. It lingered and laced through my dreams. During the day, my brain would only see Brenn as a friend. Night was a whole ‘nother story. The polarity of the two took up more emotional energy than I realized, so much so that I hadn’t thought about another first date in several months.

That’s when the Prince Who Almost Made It stepped in.

Sophomore year was in the books. Mitzi and I were heading out on a double date to celebrate the end of another year. Her current boyfriend, Fred, had a friend, Wyatt. According to Fred, he was cute, funny, and exactly the guy I should be looking for. Mitzi had never met him, but she said it was worth a shot.

“Mitzi, we only have Fred’s word to go on. We have no real idea who this Wyatt is—how do you get me into these things?” I said with a groan.

“Because you love me. Because I am the best friend in the whole wide world. And because you need a boyfriend so we can double date more often.” She grinned and switched gears, saying, “Wear the black jeans with boots and that green top. It’s casual yet flirty. And I can do your makeup so that your eyes sparkle instead of fester.”

Mitzi snort-laughed as I attempted to give her a withering look.

I rolled my eyes at her as we continued to get ready. We were going to meet the guys at Rock ‘N Roll Pinball . It was the perfect place for a blind-ish first date. If the guy was a dud, at least the games and music would be a hit.

Fred introduced us to his friend over the Addams Family pinball machine. Wyatt Snooker turned out to be the highest scorer in that game. He had sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Basically, the classic fairytale prince looks, minus the robes and white horse. He made me laugh. We had an enjoyable time, which surprised me.

At the end of the night, Wyatt and I walked back to our apartment building. We lingered outside, and I was sure he was going to ask me out again. A yes-answer was on my lips.

He stepped closer. “Well... this night was better than I expected it to be. But it’s getting late, and I’m leaving to go home first thing in the morning.”

I nodded in anticipation, sure he was going to lean in for a kiss. Instead, he lifted his arms and pulled me in for an awkward hug, which he quickly released.

“I’ll see ya when I see ya, Adelaide Ann.” His arm jerked back and forth in a stilted wave. Then Wyatt turned and walked away.

I stared at his retreating form for a few moments before turning around. I headed upstairs and used my key to get into our apartment. Mitzi wasn’t home yet, and Cynthia was out with Christopher, so I had my thoughts to myself.

Why did he leave like that?

Did he enjoy our evening? Or did I do something wrong?

I was a first-date champ by now. It was my twenty-first. But so far I wasn’t so successful at the ones that came after that. I fell asleep thinking that this date would go down in the books as another one hit wonder.

In the morning, Mitzi’s squeal woke me up with a jerk. “Adelaide, get up! You will not believe this!”

I rubbed my eyes and stretched a bit. I pulled myself out of bed and down the hall. I knew Mitzi would not be ignored—it was better to get up.

She stood in the living room with a daisy in her hand and a note. I figured it was from Fred until she extended her arms. “These are for you.”

“What?” I was flabbergasted.

“You must have made quite the impression on Wyatt,” she teased. “Open the note, now!”

I took the daisy and the note. “I mean, we had fun, but he hugged me and ran. I thought for sure the date was going to be a single hit.” I scanned the open note, seeing Wyatt’s signature and a phone number under it.

“Read it out loud!” Cynthia commanded as she wrapped her robe around her. “If a girl can’t get her beauty rest, she may as well enjoy some gossip.”

Adelaide,

I had a great evening, and I would like to see you again. Here’s my number: 201-778-6917. If you want to play games with me, text me.

- Wyatt

“Hmph, I’m not sure what I think about that,” Mitzi said, rubbing her chin.

“I agree. It’s sweet with creepy undertones,” Cynthia said with a nod.

“I mean, he seemed okay... but he didn’t give me this-is-who-I-want-my-best-friend-dating vibes,” Mitzi said to Cynthia before asking me, “What are you going to do, Ads?”

I have no idea…

“Right now, I’m going to get some water for this daisy. I’m going to finish packing. I’m going to say goodbye to you two—I still can’t believe you are both leaving me for the summer. And I’m going to drive home.”

“ D’accord ! I know it’s the first summer since sixth grade that we haven’t spent it lying on the beach working on our tans. No more helping the tourists—yeah! But, boo! Cyn and I are going to miss you.” The three of us hugged in the middle of the room in our pajamas. I wanted to cry.

Several hours later, I found myself in the car on my way home. I was heading toward another summer of renting paddle boards to cranky tourists on the beach. Only this summer, I didn’t have my two best friends to complain to.

That’s when I decided I was going to text Wyatt back. After all, what else was I going to do that summer?

Since I couldn’t text and drive, I waited until the morning to make certain. As I was getting ready for work the next day, I sent Wyatt the following message:

Me

Tag, you’re it.

We’ll see what comes from that! The reply came quickly:

Wyatt

Oh, so that’s how we’re going to play it

Several minutes later:

Wyatt

I’m glad you texted Adelaide.

And that’s how Wyatt and I started a summer-long text storm. We shared the big things and the little things. It wasn’t the same as when Sebastian and I had texted during those weeks before prom. But it had its own brand of lovely and entertaining.

When we got back to school, I introduced him to the cinco compadres , hoping he could make it seis . But they were less than impressed by Wyatt. I would have seen that if I had been paying attention, but by that time, Wyatt had his hooks in me, and I had love blinders on. I could say a lot about my year with Wyatt.

I could talk about how things got a bit rocky any time his ex-girlfriend, Cecelia, was around. I could talk about how he always seemed a bit too flirty with her.

I could talk about how my friends, especially Brenn, never warmed up to him.

I could talk about how I expected he would propose sometime during our senior year.

But he’s not the final prince.

I’ll just say that he was a decent boyfriend until he wasn’t.

He was the first person I felt I was in love with. Yes, Sebastian had been my first serious crush, and I thought that might end up in love, but Wyatt was the one who stuck around. He was the one who wormed his way into the spot. Like the daisy charm wormed its way onto my bracelet that summer. Pretty soon, I was sure that I wouldn’t be adding any more charms to the bracelet.

Wyatt and I seemed to fit together. At least, that’s what I told myself. Yes, there were those moments of friction. Moments when I didn’t understand him and moments when I wondered if we were meant to be together. But I figured that was normal. The wonderful moments seemed to outweigh the difficult ones.

Love was a choice. And I had chosen Wyatt, which meant I stayed and ignored the nagging voice that kept getting louder as time went by. The day after the last final of my junior year, the nagging voice and reality met in a single, horrific moment.

I planned to stay in Sparksville that summer. I had an internship. Wyatt was only there for a few more days, and he had to go home for work. We were soaking up the last few moments we had together, hoping they would last through the summer.

Wyatt popped some buttery popcorn as I closed the curtains. We snuggled up together on the worn velvet couch, watching a movie in the middle of the day. He picked out one that had received a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. One that had won an Oscar for the best picture. It was the recipe for a few hours of relaxation.

Unfortunately, the movie wasn’t my cup of tea. I drifted off to sleep with my head on Wyatt’s shoulder. Before I started drooling, the ringing of my phone forced me back to consciousness. I answered sleepily without looking to see who was calling.

“Adelaide Ann, it’s Dad.” My sister’s words jolted me out of my partial slumber.

“What?” I stood up and started walking out of the darkened room.

“Dad’s sick, really sick. The treatment is not working anymore. He was going to tell you the cancer was growing again when you came home for a visit this summer. But it’s gone faster than anyone expected. This can’t wait. We need you home now.”

“What?” I heard my sister’s words, but my brain couldn’t process them with anything more than sloth-like speed. My pace slowed. I felt like I had been sucker punched in the gut.

“Adster! Cancer! Dad! Home! Now!” My sister understood I needed simple directions.

“But how?” I asked. The walls of the hallway closed in on me as my brain realized what she was saying. My feet stopped moving.

“We’ll explain everything when you get here. For now, I need you to get here tonight. Have that boyfriend of yours, or Mitzi, or Cynthia, drive you. You shouldn’t drive right now. Get home. We need you here. Dad needs you here.” Her words cut through me, and tears formed in my eyes.

I wiped them away as I hit the end call button. My back was to Wyatt. The room was silent. I realized he had turned off the TV and opened the curtains.

I took a deep breath and turned around. There was Wyatt, sitting with his heels up and legs tensed. The color had drained from his face. His hands were rubbing his thighs as he stared at me with wide eyes.

Did he hear what my sister said?

I took another deep breath and walked back to the couch, preparing myself to tell him the bad news when he started speaking. “Adelaide, I never meant for it to happen. I swear it’ll never happen again. She means nothing to me compared to you.”

I stared at him, eyebrows furrowed as my brain scrambled to understand.

The movie. He must mean the movie. How did that movie win an award?

“Adelaide... Addie, please... say something? We can work through this, can’t we?” Wyatt’s voice pleaded.

But his words can’t be about the movie.

My brain could not process the news that was assaulting it.

Daddy…

I plopped back onto the couch next to him and said, “That was my sister. My dad’s cancer is...”

Wyatt muttered a choice word before turning to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. “I thought it was... never mind, forget what I said. I’m so sorry, Addie. I’ll do whatever you need. We’ll go right now to be with your family. It’s going to be okay.” He reached around my back and patted my other shoulder.

Wyatt let go as he stood up. He tugged on my arm to pull me up. The couch creaked as I rose. I caught a whiff of burned popcorn as he grabbed my hand to lead me down the hall. He murmured something about packing.

Wait…

I dug my heels in and refused to move. My body was a shocked wooden statue.

Why did he apologize? The question bubbled out. “Wyatt, did you... apologize? For what?”

Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say...

The last thing I needed at that time was more bad news.

Wyatt took a step back as his hands fell to his side. “Adelaide... honey... I thought... I didn’t want you to ever find out. It was a huge mistake.”

“What was a huge mistake?”

He took a deep breath, focusing on the ground. “A few nights ago, you stayed home to study while I went out. You were supposed to come with us, but we had another fight?” Wyatt waited for me to respond.

I nodded, remembering that night. We’d been fighting more than usual lately, and we had a huge argument.

Wyatt had been pressuring me to take our relationship to the next level. I had been consistent with my desire to be married, or at least engaged, before that happened. That night, I reiterated my wish, and he kept pushing.

I told him I needed to focus on doing well in my finals and finishing the semester strong. We could discuss the rest later. He expressed his frustration with the status of our relationship. After all, other girls had opened up to him. After that, he stormed out.

I wasn’t sure if he was leaving for the night or for longer than that. But Wyatt had come back the next day. He apologized, saying it was all his fault. He promised to be more understanding. He’d been super nice since that day. He had expected nothing, barely touching me beyond a peck on the cheek and a hug goodbye.

A small part of me wondered why. But I was so happy things were better between us that I hadn’t dug any deeper.

“I was mad. I got drunk. The boys kept telling me to let you go unless... and you know how Cecelia is around me. You know what our relationship was like back in high school? The alcohol... my guard was down... I ended up spending the night at her place,” Wyatt confessed.

My guts got sucker punched for the second time in less than five minutes.

“I wish I could say nothing happened, but it did. I regretted it the moment I opened my eyes. I’ve never felt so bad. I ran out of there as quickly as possible. All the way home, I wondered what to say when I saw you that afternoon. You looked so beautiful when you opened that door, and I apologized for the fight, knowing it was all my fault. I planned on telling you the entire story, but you were so quick to forgive... I just couldn’t hurt you anymore. I couldn’t risk you not taking me back.” The words rushed out of Wyatt’s mouth—every single one hitting me like a dagger.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t speak.

“I’ve felt terrible these past few days, wondering if and how I should tell you. Trying to say I’m sorry, even though you had no idea. I was going to wait until, well, I don’t know when I was going to tell you, but now...” Tears slowly fell down Wyatt’s face.

I stared at him with bone-dry eyes. The shock of the evening’s double whammy had shut down any physical response.

He squirmed under my gaze and looked down at our carpet again. “I’m glad it’s out in the open now. I haven’t seen Cecelia. I told her there would never be anything between us again, that I loved you before I left that morning. I promise, Adelaide, I promise, it will never happen again.” He looked up at me with his last sentence and waited.

I kept staring.

My ears, brain, and mouth were desperately trying to sync up.

I remained a wooden statue until they did.

“Please, Addie, please, please forgive me...”

I stood there, mouth open, no words coming out.

“Say something... please... I love you.”

Click.

Everything synced. I realized the cold, hard truth.

Wyatt thought my sister, who was telling me about Dad, was Cecelia telling me about the other night.

Wyatt spent the night with her...

When he hasn’t ever spent the night with me...

Wyatt chose her… instead of waiting for us...

Wyatt cheated.

Dad’s cancer.

And I’m standing here like a solid idiot tree.

I opened my mouth, and this time, the words flowed. “Get out!”

Wyatt’s face fell into a pained expression. “Addie, honey, we can work this out. It was just that once–nothing actually happened over Christmas break. But I swear none of it will ever happen again! Please, please... don’t let what we have go...”

So, that explains his weird behavior after Christmas break.

“I didn’t let it go. You did. When you hopped into bed with Cecelia just because we had a rough few weeks. You didn’t want to work it out then, and apparently, you weren’t so concerned over Christmas either!” I spat out.

Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “It was stupid. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“You’re right. It won’t happen again because we won’t be together ever again. We are done, Wyatt. You knew when we started this whole thing that the one deal breaker was cheating. You chose for both of us that night.” Anger pulsed through my body and flashed out my eyes. If looks could burn, the apartment would have filled with smoke.

Wyatt looked down at the floor, his shoulders slumped over in defeat.

“Wyatt, look at me.”

He glanced up, eyes hopeful, until he saw the lightning in my eyes.

“Get out. You can come back for the stuff you have left here in an hour after I’m gone. I have to go home to be with my family. And when I come back, I expect to see all the evidence of your presence gone.” I had no idea where the strength to say what I had said came from, but there it was.

Wyatt stared at me. He opened his mouth to argue with me. But there must have been something in the way that I looked back at him that made him think better of it. He nodded and turned to walk out the door.

As the door shut, I collapsed on our shabby couch, phone still in hand.

I pressed Mitzi’s number. She picked up on the third ring. “Hi-ya, Ads, what’s up?” she answered cheerfully.

“Dad... Wyatt…” It was all I could say before the sobbing took over.

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon...”

Thirty seconds later, the door burst open.

Only it wasn’t Mitzi.

It was Brenn. Out-of-breath, ready-to-fight Brenn.

“Where is he?” Brenn growled.

“Wyatt?

Brenn nodded.

“He’s gone. But how did you know?” I asked incredulously.

“I didn’t,” Brenn responded. With less than three steps, he was next to me. He kneeled on the worn beige carpet and placed a hand on my knee. “Mitzi texted me, ‘ADS 911,’ and I ran over here. I figured it had to do with that punk. What happened to Ads?”

I stared at him, taking a deep breath. A fresh fragrance washed over me, and I noticed Brenn’s wet hair and hastily pulled-on shirt. “My sister called to tell me my dad’s really sick, and I needed to get home as soon as possible. And Wyatt thought it was Cecelia telling me about the night they had spent together.”

Brenn bolted up and said through clenched teeth, “Where is he? We need to have an unpleasant chat right now. I swear, Adelaide, I warned him. If he ever—”

“Stop! Brenn! I need you to listen to me!”

He took a deep breath, taking much longer to sit down on the couch than he did to stand up.

“Brenn, my dad is sick again, really sick. I need to get home now. Wyatt can wait.” My words sunk in. The anger melted off his face, and he put an arm around me. My last bit of strength left as I softened into his embrace. His soft, clean scent enveloped me.

“Sorry, Ads, I missed that first part. I’m so sorry. What can I do?” At that moment, the door burst open again. This time, Mitzi ran in, slightly out of breath.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Wyatt’s a cheating arse. Mr. Monroe’s not doing well,” Brenn said as he let go of me.

“Not surprised about Wyatt. Surprised about your dad. Adelaide, what can we do?” Mitzi, getting to the heart of things in a flash.

“I need someone to drive me home. And I need someone to make sure Wyatt gets any traces of himself out of here.” My words delivered the third and final gut punch as I gestured to the backpack Wyatt had left behind.

Mitzi took charge. “Brenn, go pack a bag. You’re done with your exams. You can take her back home. I still have two finals, so I’ll stay here and give the trash his junk.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Brenn said as he got up to leave.

Mitzi turned her attention back to me, pulling me into a bear hug. “It’s going to be okay, Ads, we got ya.”

Finally, the tears flowed.

Mitzi kept hugging me and rubbing my back without saying a word. When I had calmed down, she looked me in the eye and said, “I’m going to go pack your bag now. You stay here. We’ll talk later when you can.”

I nodded. I was numb. I don’t think I could have moved even if I wanted to. I heard the sounds of Mitzi in the bedroom, grabbing my clothes and toiletries.

The front door opened again. Brenn stood there. Keys in hand. A backpack slung over his shoulder.

Before he could say anything, Mitzi burst out of the bedroom, and the two of them nodded at each other. “Honey,” Mitzi said gently, “we’re going to help you up and get you to the car.”

I nodded. The two of them cocooned me as we walked toward the door. I felt like I was moving through water. Everything was harder than it should have been. At the same time, we made it to Brenn’s car quicker than I expected.

I sat down. Mitzi put my seatbelt on as Brenn walked to the driver’s side. He got in as she kissed me on the cheek. “Sweetie, I’ll be praying for your family. It’s going to be okay. Call me when you are ready to talk.” Then to Brenn, “Take care of her!”

Brenn nodded. “I will.” And with that, we were off.

For the first two hours, I stared out the window.

I didn’t move. I didn’t speak.

I barely blinked.

“Wyatt and Cecelia,” I said, breaking the silence without warning.

Brenn clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“Wait, how do you know where to go?” I asked.

“Mitzi texted me your parent’s address. She was worried you wouldn’t be able to give me directions. Plus, I’ve been there before, remember?” Brenn shared.

I snorted. “She was right!”

“What happened, Adelaide?” Brenn asked, gentleness lacing through his words.

I sighed, looking out the window at the trees flashing by on the highway. I turned my gaze back to Brenn, who was gazing intently at me. “Keep your eyes on the road, bud.”

He grinned and turned back to focus on the road.

“Let me call Mitzi and put her on speaker so you guys can both hear the story.” I dialed her number. She picked up on the first ring.

“Ads, talk to us. Cyn is here, too.”

I put her on speaker and launched into the sordid tale. My sister’s call. How Wyatt had thought it was Cecelia. His confession. The aftermath. The whole time, my friends were uncharacteristically quiet. Brenn listened with a clenched jaw.

When I was done, Cynthia piped up, “You did good, Ads, kicking that garbage to the curb.”

Mitzi said, “It’s no secret that Wyatt wasn’t my favorite, and I always wondered about Cecelia.”

“I know, Mitzi. I thought he was going to be the one. I almost gave in. I was seriously considering...” I said with a sigh. “I’m just glad I didn’t give him what I couldn’t take back. To be honest, at this point, I want to be done with it. I need to focus on my family and what’s going on with my dad. I can’t handle Wyatt’s mess right now.”

“Okay, girlie, we are going to leave you in Brenn’s capable hands. Update us when you get to your parents. Give everyone a hug from Cynthia and me. We love ya!” Mitzi was wrapping up the call because she needed to study.

“You, too. And thank you.” I pressed the button to end the call. I blew out a breath before looking over at Brenn.

His face was a mixture of pure rage and deep empathy. He glanced over at me and said through gritted teeth, “I knew that dude was not good enough for you. He looked at other girls, especially Cecelia, in ways that you shouldn’t. Somebody who deserves you wouldn’t do that.”

“I know, Brenn, you told me that. But I didn’t listen. And I didn’t listen when Mitzi told me she wasn’t his fan, either. I just thought that...”

“He shouldn’t have been pressuring you.”

“I know, but I overlooked it. It’s na?ve and old-fashioned, but my parents encouraged us to wait for marriage. To wait for someone willing to commit to us for life. They did, and I saw how great they were together, so I promised myself I would. But Wyatt didn’t agree. He said it would solidify our commitment to each other. Ugh, I almost gave in. He was pretty convincing...” I shuddered at the memory.

“He should have respected your wishes. That’s what real men do. And Wyatt was no real man.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I thought about staying with him. It was nice to have someone who wanted to be with me. And I thought all the other stuff would work itself out.” I looked out the window as the tears flowed again.

Brenn reached over and took my hand. His warmth calmed me as he rubbed circles into the back of my hand with a cottony-soft touch. If my day had been different, I might have had the strength to figure out the sensation his touch created.

But my day was what it was. Hurricane Wyatt had blown through, leaving a wake of destruction once more. On top of that, my dad’s cancer was back with a vengeance.

I needed to figure out which end was up...