Now all that was left was our dresses for the evening, and we were good to go. Our outfits were going to be even more upscale than the ones worn to the sorority social, and I’m sure each of the girls was going to go above and beyond to outshine one another, so I have to make sure my dress was spectacular. Speaking of which….
“Hey Alexis, did your friend get back to you about the price for the photography?”
“Oh, she said she’d do it for free as long as we feed her.”
“That’s nice of her, but I don’t want her to work for free. Jess, what’s the going price for photographers these days, do you know?” I asked because she’s more into that stuff than I am, and I wasn’t about to ask mom because I’d be knee-deep in photographers by tomorrow.
“I’m not sure. Ever since smartphones, people hardly ever use them.” That’s a problem. I guess I could look it up; somebody somewhere must still have a job taking pictures. Henderson had offered to be the videographer since that’s his thing; maybe I’ll pay Alexis’ friend about the same.
My phone rang, and I ran to answer Cody’s special ringtone. “About this party.” Oh boy!
“Yeah? What about it?” My voice only shook a little bit, not enough to give myself away, I hope.
“Who all is going to be there?” Was that my heartbeat strumming in my ear?
“Just the sisters from the sorority and their dates.”
From the way he hesitated, I knew exactly what he was thinking, but my acting skills kicked in, and I was back in the game. “Was there someone else you wanted to invite?”
“No, no, it’s fine. What’re you doing, baby?”
“Nothing now; I just finished the invitations.”
“Do people still do those?” His switch in conversation is going to give me whiplash.
“Of course!” I made my tone as snooty as possible to distract him.
“Sorry, forgot who I was talking to. Baby, are you sure about the car?”
“Is it bothering you that much? I could ask Steve or Chad to take care of it since they both seemed interested.” There had been a lot of talk about it at dinner, though it was all in jest.
“That’s not gonna happen. No other man can drive your car but me, remember that.” Am I supposed to be this tickled over his show of jealous manliness? I’m almost certain I’d be accused of setting women’s rights back a couple of centuries because of a lot of things in our relationship, but I can’t help it. It makes me happy when he gets like a bear with its paw caught, especially when there’s another guy involved.
“They don’t seem too worried about keeping the car safe, but this is like the third or fourth time you’ve asked. Unless…. Was there someone you didn’t want to see you in my car?” The thought hadn’t crossed my mind, and I still don’t believe it, but if nothing else shuts him up, this will, I’m sure.
“What’re you saying, baby? Kill that shit.”
“Well, there were quite a few of your admirers at the last game.” If I sounded any more pitiful, I’d need a pacifier.
“Baby, we’ve been over that. I told you, that’s not something I can control. Didn’t you see me ignore them? Didn’t I come straight to you and left them all standing there? I told you, it’s probably going to be worst when I go pro; it’s just something we’ll both have to deal with, but I won’t ever hurt you like that.”
I started this as a way to get his mind off the car, the party, and whatever else he had on his mind when he called but hearing his reassurance once more didn’t hurt. He’d told me more than once it’s true, that groupies come with the territory, but he’d asked me to trust him, to judge him by his own actions and not by the standards of others.
I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m new to this whole relationship game, or maybe it’s because Cody never dated anyone on campus before I came along, but I trust him. I never once doubted his word, which for me is huge. Still, it gets under my skin when girls prettier and bolder than me throw themselves at him. There’s no telling when another Susie is going to raise her ugly head.
“Yes, I saw, but what happens when I’m not there? What if you fall for one of them the way you fell for me?” Okay, now I’d walked into my own trap. Just saying those words made my heart bleed. It’s not something I think about a lot because when Cody and I are together, it’s plain to see even to me that he’s with me all the way. As for when I’m not there, that hasn’t happened yet.