Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 74

*Shelby*

I couldn’t help but feel nervous as I got ready for my date with Jerrick. I stood in front of the mirror, holding my hair up into a high ponytail before letting it down again and breathing out a deep sigh. I knew I was overthinking it, but I couldn’t help the nervous energy flowing through me.

“You’re making this too hard. Just go out and have fun. Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Lin told me, watching me mess with my hair in the mirror.

I dusted a light brown eyeshadow over my lids and applied a glossy pink shade on my lips. I looked in the mirror again and ruffled my hair.

“Ugh… Lin, what the hell am I doing?” I asked, exasperated.

“You’re going out to have fun. You are not going out to overthink things. It’s not like you’re going to marry the man; you barely even know him. It doesn’t have to be a fling, it doesn’t have to be anything if you don’t want it to be,” Lin said with a small shrug.

She’d spent the entire evening helping me pick out an outfit. We ended up going with a black tube top with a pair of black pants and a jean jacket over the top. I spun in the mirror, checking to make sure everything was in place before walking out of the bathroom to pace nervously in the living room.

I didn’t understand how it was so much harder to get ready to go on this date than it was to get ready to go to five-star restaurants with Michael. Jerrick and I were going to a little dive bar just off campus, but with the amount of time I’d spent getting ready, you’d think I was preparing to dine with royalty.

“I wish I could just turn my brain off for the night,” I admitted.

Lin laughed a little watching me fret.

“Hun, that is what the alcohol is for. But if it makes you feel any better, if at any point during the date you hate it and want to come home, just text me. I’ll be there in five minutes to pick you up,” Lin said, throwing a smile my way.

“Thanks, Lin. That does help,” I said, offering a small smile in return.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a text from Jerrick telling me he was downstairs. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that he hadn’t made the trek up the stairs to knock on the door. If it were Michael… but I stopped myself.

It wasn’t fair to compare two very different men. Michael was older and sophisticated, and Jerrick, well… wasn’t. However, I wasn’t going to let musings of the past ruin my night.

“He’s here,” I told Lin as I grabbed my bag off of the counter.

“Seriously, I can be there in five minutes,” she said, holding the door open for me.

“You’re the best. Thank you for all of your help getting ready and for not letting me back out,” I said, walking through the door.

“Go have fun,” she told me with a laugh, shooing me down the hallway.

Jerrick was waiting next to the passenger door of his car; he surprised me by opening it and helping me inside. I chastised myself for judging him too quickly and promised myself that I would give him a fair chance.

“I’m really glad that you wanted to do this. I’ve been wanting to get to know you better since we met at that party,” Jerrick said, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“I agree. Plus it’s a little hard to get to know each other while you’re trying to avoid getting puked on,” I said with a laugh.

He laughed, too, “Honestly, I’m just glad Lin didn’t lose her cookies in the back seat. I don’t know how you can ever really get that out.”

We rode the rest of the way in awkward silence. I forgot how awkward it could be to keep a conversation going with someone you barely know. I figured it would be best to replace something we had in common so we talked about school.

He pulled into a parking spot and got out, making it to my door too fast for me to open it myself. I blushed as I got out and hoped he didn’t see it as I thanked him.

“So, where’d you grow up?” I asked as we walked next to each other through the parking lot toward the bar.

“I grew up in New Jersey,” Jerrick answered, which surprised me.

I’d just assumed he grew up in New York, so their family could be close to his father’s business. I remembered how his father, Stewart, had told me about how he’d married a woman significantly younger than himself. I wondered if they’d moved out of the city to get away from some of the gossip.

“That sounds really nice. Did you like it there?” I asked.

“Honestly, I loved growing up there. It had that safe suburban feel, but it was just a short car ride away from the big city. My dad used to take me to New York with him on business trips. My mom even got me a tiny little briefcase to take with me so I could be my dad’s little business partner,” Jerrick said with a laugh.

“Aww, that is so cute. I’m going to start calling you that, ‘little business partner.'”

“I don’t know why I told you that,” Jerrick said with a shy smile, leaning up against the bar.

We ordered drinks and then found a small table to stand at as we talked. The music thumped consistently in the background, but we were focused on our conversation more than the atmosphere.

“So what did you do during the summers in New Jersey when you weren’t your dad’s little business partner?” I asked, taking a sip of my drink.

“All growing up, I remember spending my summers out on the golf course. My mom would drop me off in the morning with ten dollars in my pocket for lunch, and I would literally play all day long. Sometimes I would bet the older guys on the course my lunch money if I could beat them.”

“And did you?” I asked.

“Sometimes I did. As I got older and I got better, most of the time I did. But my fondest memories from when I was younger were when I would lose, and they’d still buy me lunch,” Jerrick smiled at the memory.

“They sound like good guys,” I answered.

“They are. It’s funny being friends with a bunch of guys who knew you when you were barely big enough to hold a golf club. What about you? What did your summers look like?”

“It was always just my parents and me. My dad loved to travel, so he bought a camping trailer and took us all over in it. Every summer, we would pick a new destination, pack everything up, and spend a week or two exploring,” I said, the thought making me miss my parents.

“Wow, that’s really lucky. I always wanted to go on a trip like that. Where’s your favorite place you visited?”

“That’s an easy answer. One summer, we drove all the way to Yellowstone National Park. We camped just outside of the park and would spend all day driving through the parks and seeing some of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen.”

Our conversation turned into recollections of our past, telling each other funny memories of our childhoods. Then we rounded the corner into conversations about our undergrad years, the tiny apartments, and amazing roommates.

I was surprised to learn that Jerrick’s dad didn’t shell out money for him to live in a place all by himself. He didn’t have to work his way through college like I had to, but his dad didn’t exactly spoil him either.

“What type of law do you want to practice?” I asked him.

Jerrick took a while to answer before opening up to me, “Honestly, environmental.”

“Why do you seem so hesitant to admit that? Environmental law is a really honorable field to go into.”

“Yeah, but it’s not exactly what is expected of me. My dad owns a pretty large cooperation. It’s never been said out loud, but I’m expected to go into business law so I can go to work for the company,” Jerrick said, swirling the last of his drink in his almost empty cup.

“Well, whatever you go into, I’m sure he will understand,” I offered, although I couldn’t admit to knowing his dad without explaining how I’d met him.

“Maybe. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said with a little shrug.

The more we talked, the closer we seemed to slide together. I blamed it on the music, which as the night drew on, got louder and louder. We had to slide closer together just to hear each other. To anyone looking on, we may have looked like two people in a deep conversation, but to me, our arms brushing together felt like a betrayal to Michael.

“I’m really glad we did this,” I said, hoping that Jerrick would take my hint that I was ready to go.

“Me too. It was really nice getting to know you better, Shelby,” he said with a smile, slipping his hand into mine as we walked out of the bar.

“If it wasn’t such a cold night, I would suggest we walk back to your place,” Jerrick said.

“I can order us a ride share,” I answered.

“That’s probably a good idea,” he said. “I just wish we could walk so I could get more time with you.”

My heartbeat sped up at his obvious flirting.

“Well, next time we go out, we should go on a night when we don’t have classes the next morning.”

“It’s a date,” Jerrick said, not letting go of my hand.

Our rideshare arrived, and we squeezed into the back seat together. It dropped us off at my apartment a few minutes later.

“I really would like to do this again sometime,” Jerrick said at the steps below my apartment.

“I would too.”

Jerrick leaned in closer to me, his eyelids fluttering softly closed, and I knew that a k**s would soon follow.

I contemplated letting it happen; I felt myself lean in closer to him for a fraction of a second. Part of me wanted to know what his lips would feel like against mine.