https://youtu.be/je5yFQcHZHM

*NOTE: Check out the Audiobook version of this chapter voiced by Kristen aka kaelking12! Featuring Music by Hey Violet, The Band Camino, The Victors, Jet, and Valley. Enjoy the listen!

Elias

After twenty minutes of trying to battle a demon boner and super slow traffic, I manage to make it to La Jolla without ruining my only clean part of shorts.

I pull into a tiny parking lot about a block away from my first destination. Jersey's been too busy staring out the window, drooling over the ocean view to pay much attention to anything. Not that I mind. She'd freak if she knew I've been trying to keep the Little King from popping out of my pants by thinking about literally anything else aside from her. But every time I come close to getting Jersey out of my head, I look at her, and things get worse.

I need to calm down. I need yoga or some really hideous old lady to walk by, so I can chill the fuck out before Jersey freaks out. Real talk.

"Where are we?" She asks.

I fold my hands over the crotch of my shorts real quick and smile at her like nothing's wrong.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out. Did you ever go to prom?" I ask.

"Random much? What does prom have to do with anything?"

"Answer the question, it's important that I know."

She shoots me one of her sideways stares that silently answers the question before she does.

"I didn't. I was basically a social outcast during junior and senior year, so instead of going to prom I stayed in and cracked out on Netflix instead. It was fun."

An image of her sitting sprawled out on her bed in a pair of frumpy pajamas flashes across my conscious, and I can't help but smile. Even if Rory hadn't fucked up her last half of high school, I can't see her being the type to flaunt around prom in some overdone dress trying to impress her date like so many girls do.

Jersey's the type to cuddle up to a bowl of popcorn on prom night instead of cuddling up with some guy. And that ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why she's future wifey material. Quote me.

"Did you wanna go?" I ask.

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and stares out over the dashboard like the past is painted on the window pane.

"Yeah. More than anything. My mom and I had this whole plan to pick out my dress together and have my dad document the entire thing with this old camera he's had since he went to prom, but all that went to hell after Rory, so what can you do?"

"This."

I open the car door and wave at her to follow me outside. I stand up and stare down to find that all that prom talk calmed the Little King.

Thank God.

Jersey pops outta the car, stuffs the rest of her brownie in her mouth, and looks at me, confused.

"What are you doing, and where are you going?" She asks.

"We're going on an adventure."

I waltz over to her and take her by the hand before she can fight me about it.

"An adventure where? To some shopping district I can't afford? This whole area reeks of rich people, Elias. I don't belong here."

"Sure you do."

She digs the heels of her sneakers into the pavement, but I don't slow my pace. She's the best thing that's ever happened to this part of town.

She's real, gritty, and teeth and nails beautiful. Not fake like the typical stuck up types that haunt this place.

She's different.

She's always been different. She just doesn't understand that it's a good thing yet.

"Look, if you need to buy something here, that's fine. You can leave me in the car, and I'll be here when you get back, okay?" She says.

She slips her hand out of mine and folds her arms across her chest.

I stop walking a couple steps short of the crosswalk, turn around, and stare her down until she finally finds it in herself to look up at me.

"I'm not leaving you in the middle of the sidewalk. I'm not leaving you in the car. I'm not leaving you period. Comprende?"

"No. No compre-compare-c-com"

I lift a finger to her lips and shush her.

"Don't hurt yourself, Jersey."

"I'm not. I just don't understand why I have to tag along."

I shove my hands in my pockets and try not to choke on the nervousness clawing its way up my throat. When I planned all this, I thought I'd go in, balls out, gguns blazing and just tell her what I wanted to buy her and why. But now that I have to actually explain myself I don't know what to fucking say.

"Because I--"

Say it you, pussy.

"Because you what?" She asks.

I choke.

"Because I wanted to--"

Bravo, E.

Way to stand there, stutter, and choke like your nuts are the size of fucking raisins.

"You wanted to?"

She raises her eyebrows at me like I'm some kind of poor hopeless puppy who pissed all over himself. I might as well have. I'm surprised my shorts aren't soaked the way I'm going.

I clear my throat, straighten out, I finally convince my mouth to say what it needs to say before I psych myself into another panic attack.

"I wanted to get you something."

Holy shit I said it. #Kingoftheworld.

Jersey cocks her head to the side and flashes me a blank, blatantly confused stare that's cute enough to catch me off guard. My mouth starts to slip into a twitterpated smile, but I stop myself before I scare her.

"Is it food? I've literally only eaten two snack brownies today, and I'm still hungry."

"No, we'll eat at my dad's. I wanted to get you something else."

Super specific, Elias. What the fuck.

"Can I eat it?" She asks.

Sometimes, I'm pretty sure the only thing she cares about is food. Like, even if we got back together, I'm never gonna please her the way cookies or pizza can. Real talk.

"No. It's something good...for you."

"As in, healthy? I don't really like healthy food, Elias."

Me neither. Good to know.

"No, what I mean is it's something that'll look good on you. Not that you don't look good already, it'll just--make you look better."

Her eyes flatten out.

"What's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with how I look now? Shorts and a tank top not good enough for you anymore?"

Shit.

"Jersey, anything you're wearing or not wearing is good enough for me. I just wanted to get you something special, so I can fantasize about you in one of these--"

I take her hand for the second time and lead her across the street until we reach a two-story, elegant, red-roofed store my mom used to take me to when I was a kid.

Before my dad turned into a royal asshole, he used to take her out to all his snazzy work parties. My mom had a dress for everything, and I used to sit in the room when she'd get ready. I'd watch her dance around the room and smile at how beautiful she looked.

I loved that smile.

I loved how much light there was in it because back then she didn't doubt how gorgeous she was. She was confident, instead of crushed. Always sunny on the inside. Always strong.

I used to think those dresses were made of magic because they made her shine. She bought her favorites from this store, Alena Maris, a little beachside spot snuggled right in the heart of La Jolla.

I never thought I'd come here with anyone else aside from my mom. But right when my dad said Jersey and I needed to show up dressed to the nines, this was the first place that came to mind.

If even one of these dresses can make Jersey feel the way my mom did, it'll be worth all the embarrassment I put myself through to get her here.

Not only that, but if she actually agrees to go along with this, I get to watch her stripping out of her street clothes and model fancy new threads just for me.

Win-win situation.

"Elias, this is a dress store."

"Yep."

"An expensive looking dress store."

"Sure is."

"And you expect me to walk in there and let you buy me one?"

"Yeah, if that's cool. I mean my d-dad said we were supposed to look nice for tonight, so I thought it'd be a good idea to--"

"No."

She shuts me down without even batting an eyelash. I figured she'd put up a fight, but for a girl who just said she dreamed about buying a prom dress, she's stubborn as balls. Oh well. Two can play at that game.

"What do you mean, no? My dad said we have to."

"Elias, call me crazy, but I'm starting to think that maybe it'd be better if you went alone. Just leave me at a mall somewhere, and come get me when it's over. I can entertain myself just fine."

She stares down at the concrete where her feet have tapped a hole halfway to China. I shouldn't enjoy seeing her this nervous, but I do.

Sue me.

"Jersey, please don't be like this. I want you to come."

"And what about your dad? What if he hates me on sight or freaks when he finds out that I'm the one who called a bizillion times? He pro-he probably doesn't want to meet me."

I take her by the shoulders and try to tease out her tension with my hands. Her whole body stiffens at my touch. She's still not used to it. To me. But we'll get there. A step at a time.

"I want him to meet you. I've never introduced him to anybody before. Not my friends, not--"

"Not even Lacey?"

I take a second to swallow the sting of old memories before I answer her.

"No. I guess I just--didn't feel right about it, you know?"

She nods, but she doesn't understand. I didn't expect her to.

I never wanted Dad to meet Lacey. Not because she wasn't special enough, but because I knew it would break her. That he'd break her.

When we first started dating, Dad didn't think I was serious about her, so he never made a point to ask who she was. The few times he'd actually mention her, he'd ask if I'd finally dropped the "shy girl", or if I'd moved on to someone more "memorable". I hated him for it. I hated how he couldn't see Lacey the way I did and how he teased her the way other people would at school. He didn't get why she was quiet, why she was broken, so he bullied her from a distance. So I kept her at a distance.

But Jersey wasn't afraid to get close. She wasn't afraid of him. She picked up the phone and called out my dad on his bullshit, his avoidance, on everything wrong he was doing, and I was floored by that and by her.

I want my dad to know who she is and how important she is.

She may not know it, but she's the reason I'm still here. The reason I survived rehab. And one of the reasons I survived him. And I want him to see that. I want him to know that I'm still fighting to be more than he ever expected me to be, and that she's the reason I keep pushing.

"Look, if you really don't wanna go, I won't force you--I just think him meeting you would be a good thing," I say.

"For who?" She asks, accent in dancing on the tip of her tongue.

She pops her hip out with a little bit of Jersey swag that makes me want to forget the whole lunch, throw her in the back of the car, and relive last summer and then some.

"For us. Let's make an adventure out of today. How often does a guy as good looking as yours truly offer to buy you a dress? Plus, If you don't find anything you like, I'll show up at my dad's in my boxers. Scouts honor."

Jersey stares at me for a couple seconds, but her eyes aren't focused on mine.

"Yo. Earth to Jersey? You there? I'll cop a feel if you don't answer in the next thirty seconds."

She perks up and snaps back to reality lightning fast.

"Did you just threaten to grope me?"

Maybe.

"Me? Never. Let's go in. We don't have that long and I wanna get you out of your clothes,--"

"Elias!"

"--and into a dress. Trust me, it'll be fun."

I start up the stairs and wait for her follow me, but she stays rooted to the ground, biting her nails like there's no tomorrow. I turn back, hold out my hand, and wait for her to take it. She starts mumbling instead.

"Elias, I don't want you to feel like you have to do any of this for me or that I have to meet your dad like this. I know you and him don't have the best history, and I don't want to make things worse between you two. Honestly, I just want today to be okay, and I want you to be okay. Especially after last night."

I step down to her and weave my fingers through hers whether she's ready for it or not. She can't say things like that and expect me to not wanna hold her hand like this. It's what I do. It's what I've wanted to do for long time. So I seize the moment. Rules or no rules.

"Then let me treat tonight like your prom night."

"My prom night? Elias, we're not going to a dance, we're going to your dad's. Does he tend to dance after he hosts get togethers?"

No, Jersey. He tends to scream and yell and throw things, but I plan on bolting before he can start shit with me tonight.

"Fuck no. He hates dancing."

"Then how does this prom plan even make sense?"

"Because I'm gonna make it make sense. The day's ours, Jersey. Anything can happen, and I'm gonna make it happen."

She rolls her eyes into the back of her head, but I step right into her comfort zone get her attention.

"Are you doubting me, Mrs. Doubtfire?" I ask.

She smiles, and her cheeks light up like the sunrise on the coastline.

"Kind of. I may or may not revise my doubts at the end of the night depending on how this whole dress thing goes."

She winks at me, and my stomach starts doing backflips.

"For real?! You'll let me buy it?!"

"Yes, even though my mom would kill me for letting you do this. And FYI this does not mean anything between us. I just feel sorry for you, so I'm letting you have your way. Just this once."

I lean back and holler so loudly into the air that a couple passersby stare at me like I'm crazy. If I am, there's only one girl to blame.

"You are the best girl--"

"Friend!"

"--f-friend, I've ever had. Just you wait, I'll get you a kick ass dress, I'll put on a suit and tie, I'll take you to meet the shittier half of my family. We'll do the whole song and dance. Just you and me against the fucking world. And if lunch at my dad's sucks, I'll take you out to the beach, and we'll dance like crazy people until we stomp all our fucking sadness down into the sand. What do you say, J?"

She glances past me up the stairs and a megawatt smile warms every inch of her face.

"Lead the way."

***

(Thank you guys so much for reading! Kristen and I are back from vacation and excited to finally share this update with you! Hope you're excited for next weekend's update!)