"It's not exclusive or anything." I reminded Emma and Patrick as we walked around the mall the next weekend. "We haven't kissed or anything like that, we haven't said that we're dating or anything...it was just a dinner and the occasional chat in his bedroom. Or mine. Whichever one of us was awake first."

For the past week, Lincoln Carter and I had grown exceptionally close, exceptionally fast. There was nothing holding us back this time; no lies or secrets or the fact that we didn't even live in the same region. There was nothing keeping us from delving straight into a very real and very natural relationship.

The only problem was that it was far too natural. I didn't want him to think that I knew all of the things I knew previously about him from three summers before, so instead there seemed to be a lot of explaining being done by him and a lot of keeping my mouth shut done by me. But I was fine with that; it meant that I got to listen to him and remember all the wonderful times we had. A small part of me, growing larger by the day, was desperately hoping to regain those times again.

My phone dinged in my pocket as we continued to walk around and I picked it up to see a text from an unknown number. 

"Who is it?" Emma asked casually as she stopped in her tracks to admire a dress in the store window. Patrick rolled his eyes and took her arm to steer her away from somewhere she would spend money she didn't need to.

"I don't know. Let me open it." I replied.

I felt myself blushing profusely as I read the message, and Emma snatched the phone out of my hand immediately.

"Holy crap it's Lincoln." She informed Patrick. "He totally texted you first!" the phone dinged again as she held it and I snatched it back. "You two are totally going to get married."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Em." Patrick rolled his eyes. "They literally just started talking."

"You never know." Emma shrugged. "Dreams can come true!"

"I don't think marrying Lincoln Carter is her dream."

I ignored their bickering as I read the message.

"He wants to go out tonight!" I interrupted Emma and Patrick, "He totally wants to go out. What do I say?"

"Say yes!" Emma cried as I added his number to my contacts, "But don't sound too eager."

"Yeah, don't sound how Emma does right now." Patrick added in. "Sound like you don't care about it or about him."

"Don't do that either, then he'll be turned away." Emma said.

I nodded as I typed a response, deciding against running it by my friends before pressing send.

I turned the phone off and continued walking casually, while inwardly I was a complete mess; what was I going to wear? What was he going to wear? What was I supposed to look like? What was I supposed to bring? Where were we going?

"I can tell by your walk that you're freaking out." Emma told me as she and Patrick stopped fighting and caught up with me. "We're buying you a new outfit."

"Em, you're on a budget."

"But you're not!"

"But whenever I buy new things, you do too!" I laughed. "I'm not going to buy a completely new outfit for this date."

"Yes you are." Emma replied. "And we are going to find the perfect dress right now."

She turned into the nearest boutique and I followed quickly. Patrick was the last one in, looking as awkward as possible as he entered what was clearly a store geared towards girls.

"Guys, do I have to be here?" he asked as we walked around, looking for a dress that wasn't trying too hard to be cute but also wasn't ugly, "I feel like I'm getting weird looks from the store clerks."

"I'll fix that." Emma replied instantly, walking over to the nearest girl who had been eyeing Patrick with confusion for some time. 

"Look what you unleashed." I muttered as she opened her mouth.

"My friend is perfectly content in his masculinity and is simply helping our friend find a dress for a date tonight. If you don't quit looking at him like he's from the planet Mars, I'm going to write down your name and have you fired immediately. My name is Emma Flores. Flores. You know, like the name of the store? My mother is Janet Flores and as the owner of this boutique's entire chain, she would not be too happy to find out how you were treating your customers. Thank you." she spun around and stomped back over to Patrick and I, both of whom were staring at her with our jaws open.

"Shut your mouths, you look like fish." Emma snapped as she got closer.

"I haven't heard you pull the Janet Flores card in years." Patrick shook his head in awe, "You're really quite something when you're angry."

"Workers at my mother's store should not be mistreating my friends." Emma replied. "I didn't recognize that girl, she must be new. All the regular employees know me."

"I'm sure. Have you yelled at every single one of them yet?" I laughed.

"Not all of them. But most." Emma grinned slightly. "And every time I get talked to by my mother for "overreacting", but the looks on their faces are always priceless." she continued to look around the rack that we were at before pulling out a deep royal blue dress that looked like it would go down to about my mid-thigh.

"This would look absolutely stunning with your gold heels!" she squealed. "Please try it on!"

I took the dress from her and entered the dressing room on the far side of the store. Slipping the sleeves over my shoulders and having Emma zip me up from the back, I stepped back to look at whether or not I looked like somebody that Lincoln Carter himself would actually date.

"You look amazing." Emma gasped. "Do I have good taste or what?"

"You have incredible taste, and I tell you that every day." I laughed. "Would it look good for tonight?"

"Honey, it would look good for any night. He won't be able to keep his eyes off of you! But he'd better keep his hands off, or I'll have to scare him straight." Emma giggled as she helped me out of the dress. "You're so lucky, Liv! He seems like such an amazing guy."

"I really think he is." I blushed as I pulled my regular clothes back on. I heard a ding from my phone and pulled it out. "It's him!"

Emma squealed as we exited the dressing room and I pulled up my messages. I felt my heart sink immediately and I took the dress from Emma's hand.

"We're putting it back."

"What? Why? You looked amazing in it!"

"I don't have anywhere to wear it."

A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for your support of this book and I hope the chapters keep getting better for you! I planned out how I want the book to go and it's looking to have around 30-35 chapters!

-Katherine