:Chapter 3:

"The red dress with the straps, or the black skirt with the baby blue shirt?" I asked CeeCee, after almost an hour of narrowing down outfits.

"I still say you should wear that same black skirt, but with your emerald halter top with the sequins. It really brings out the color of your eyes, plus it enhances your chestal region" she sighed shoving the halter top at me.

"Cee, I wanna look nice; I don't want to show too much skin."

"Suze, the skirt isn't even a mini skirt okay. I can pretty much guarantee you that no one has ever shown less skin when out with Gus" she huffed.

"You really think so? I just wanna look good, you know" I asked sounding a little panicky.

"If you wear what I tell you to, you'll knock him dead" she replied smiling, and trying desperately to hold in her laughter.

"Very funny. Hahaha, lets make fun of Suze cause she's pining away after a ghost. Yeah, that's a riot. Now cut it out."

"Jeez, someone's in a mood. I was just kidding around" she whined.

"I…I know, it's just…I don't want to think about Jesse right now okay. Tonight is anti-Jesse night. I want to go out and have fun, while completely forgetting about him" I said.

"I know, I'm sorry. I promise not to mention him once for the rest of the time I'm here. Although that seems too easy since I'm leaving right now" she said, grabbing her purse and over night bag.

"Okay, I'll call you when I get home. And thanks again for last night, and today. I don't know how I would have managed without you" I admitted sheepishly.

"Suze, you don't have to keep thanking me, you'd do the same for me. Besides, this was fun" she replied, before giving me a brief hug, then opening my door and going downstairs.

I looked at the clock on my night stand and saw that I had an hour until Gus showed up. So, I showered, blow dried my hair, got dressed and applied some make up. I actually had about twenty minutes to spare after all that, so I took my time putting on my shoes and digging through my earrings. I finally settled on a pair of silver earrings that have some light green beads and cool silver detailing. 10 minutes left, I realized as I grabbed my purse. My cell phone was charged, my hair was perfect, as was my make up, and I have to admit, overall I was looking great.

"Susannah" I heard mumbled behind me. That voice made me weak in the knees, and the faint accent made me swoon. No bad Suze, you're going out with Gus. We don't like Jesse. Gus: good, Jesse: bad.

"Oh, hey stranger" I cheerfully replied turning around. Jesse, I noticed swallowed hard and stared at me for awhile before saying, "You look beautiful."

"Why, thank you" I blushed.

"Are you going somewhere special?" he asked, coming closer to me. I kept my gaze down, trying to focus on my shoes, because I knew that if I looked up; looked up into Jesse's eyes I'd be lost. As lost as I get every time I look into his stunning chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh, just…out" I mumbled, a shy smile creeping onto my lips, just thinking about how I'd be on a date with Gus.

"That sounds like fun. Are you going with CeeCee and Adam?" Urgh, the question I'd been hoping he wouldn't ask. Should I lie to him? It really wasn't any of his business. He isn't my boyfriend, he doesn't have a say in who I choose to go out with. So why is my stomach tightening, and my palms sweating?

"Umm…not exactly. Just a new friend of mine" I squeaked.

"Oh" he said, looking around my room. His eyes landed on the Spanish rock CD Gus gave me, and he walked over to it. "Since when do you listen to music in Spanish?" he asked, the corners of his lips twitching up into a smile.

"Uhh…that was a gift. Yeah, it's actually really good. The lyrics are…well, they're deep" I explained.

"Deep?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh, you know, like meaningful. Like from deep in her soul" I answered, still trying to avoid his eyes.

"And did this new friend of yours give it to you?"

"Uh huh" I nodded.

"That was very thoughtful of her" he said, assuming my friend was a girl. Maybe that was his way of asking me if it was a girl. Like one of those indirect questions. He wants to see if I correct him.

"Umm…actually it was 'thoughtful of him" I responded, smiling happily. Awh, Gus…who's going to be here in a few minutes. Oh crap he's going to be here in a few minutes! I have to get rid of Jesse. Not that Gus would know Jesse was in my room, but still, I'd feel awkward about that.

"Him?" Jesse questioned, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against my dresser.

"Yes, him" I murmured.

"So, you're going out with this new friend of yours…and it's a him?" he asked.

"Yeah, pretty much" I said beaming.

"How long have you known this friend of yours? Because you really should get to know someone before you rush into anything" he sternly replied.

"I've known Gus since I first moved here. CeeCee actually set us up" I added.

"Your friend CeeCee planned this out?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"Yup. She's probably just as excited about this as I am" I gushed, but regretted saying those words. Jesse looked a little taken aback by my statement and quickly questioned, "You're excited about going out with this…this boy?"

"Well, yes. He's sweet and kind and he's always looking out for me. Plus, he's always there trying to help me, or just make me laugh."

"So am I" Jesse grumbled. But all I heard was something "-m I."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked, almost sounding hopeful.

"Nothing. So what do you know about this…what did you say his name was? Bus?"

"Gus" I corrected him, shortly "it's short for Gustavo. He's the oldest of three, and his mom and dad are super nice."

"You've already met his parents!" Jesse asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, at back to school night, and some other school events."

"So, what if I ask-"

"SUZE! Gus is here!" David yelled up the stairs.

"Squee! Ah, Jesse you can hang around if you want, I'll be back by 11. We can talk then…if you want" I said, grabbing my purse and heading for my door.

"That…that would be nice. I'll see you later queri-I mean, Susannah" he called after me down the stairs.

When I reached down stairs I saw Gus making polite small talk with Andy and my mom. When he noticed me he smiled brightly and said, "Wow, you look amazing."

"Thanks, you look…handsome" I replied smiling.

"Be back by 11" Andy warned us as we walked out the door.

"So, where are we going?" I asked once I was sure Andy and mom couldn't here us.

"It's a surprise" he playfully answered.

"But I don't really like surprises" I pouted, as he opened the car door for me. The door to his fairly new hybrid Toyota Highlander. I gladly hopped in and waited patiently for him to get in.

"Well, I'll just have to change your mind about that."