"Are you sure you wanna go through with this?" JC asked, the phone cradled between his ear and shoulder.

"For the millionth time, yes." Leah sighed. "God, you're more overprotective than Aidan." With her brother away at Georgetown, she actually thought she'd have some semblance of freedom. She thought wrong.

"What do you even know about this guy?" JC questioned.

"What do you know about any girl you go out with?"

"Don't answer my question with a question."

"Jace."

"Lee."

"God! You're obnoxious!" Leah groaned. "I'm going out with Michael tonight. Everything's going to be fine!"

Knowing this was a fight he wasn't going to win, JC conceded. "Fine," he huffed. "So, where you guys going tonight?" JC asked. Lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, it was all he could do to not to hang up the phone, jump up and run over to Leah's place and stop her from going on that date. The thought of seeing her with Michael, or really anyone for the matter unnerved him.

"That new Cuban place downtown." Leah replied, her voice sounding distant and distracted.

"That bodega place?" JC asked, scrunching his face as he tried to correctly pronounce the name.

"La Bodeguita de Mima," Leah corrected.

"What are you doing right not?"

"Trying to decide what to wear."

From the tone of her voice, JC could tell that she was anywhere, but on the phone with him. Picturing her twirling around in her room in different dresses did something to him. He wasn't exactly sure what, but the confusion unsettled him. "Do you want me to hang up?" He asked, his heart dipping to his stomach.

"No. I need your opinion." Leah replied.

"On?"

"On what to wear."

"What? Why me? Why can't you ask Jennifer or Lindsey?"

"Lindsey's in Tampa with her parents, and Jennifer's already out on a date." Leah replied. "Besides, you're my best friend."

JC swallowed. For some reason the words best and friend had a much different impact than before. "Okay number one, I'm not there, so I can't see you-"

"But you know what I look like, and you know what suits me best."

True. "And number two, I'm a guy. I'm straight up going to tell you that you look great in anything you wear."

Leah let out an audible gasp. "So all those times I asked you how I looked?"

"Stock answer; yes, you should wear it, you look great."

"Joshua Scott!"

"Learned it from my dad. Keeps ya outta the doghouse!"

"So, what you're saying is that I literally cannot trust your opinion when it comes to what I look like?"

"What I'm saying is, I know absolutely nothing about fashion, and don't give a damn or even know the difference between purple and periwinkle. But you can trust me one hundred percent when I tell you that it doesn't matter what you wear, because you're beautiful regardless." There was a hushed silene between them. Suddenly, JC was beginning to regret what he'd said.

"Jace-"

"Lee-"

"Look, Jace. I should go. Thank you."

"Wait, I-" Before JC could finish what he was saying, he was met with sound of the dial tone in his ear. Pulling the phone away from his ear and sitting up, he reached over to his nightstand to press down on the switch hook. Before talking himself out of what he was about to do, he dialed a number. It rang twice before he got an answer.

"Yo, whattup?"

"Joey, it's me."

"'C, what's goin' on? You goin' out tonight?"

"Do you like Cuban food?" JC asked.

Joey snorted. "It's me you're talkin' to. I like all food! But more importantly, I love Cuban women! Whatcha got planned?"

JC smiled to himself, feeling the wheels in his head turning. "Wanna hit up that new Cuban place downtown?"

"Sure. But you're drivin' cuz I'm drinking." Joey said.

"Deal. See you in ten."

"Cool."

After hanging up with Joey, JC jumped out of bed and ran over to his closet. What does one wear for a casual night out on the town that also doubled as a reconnaissance mission?