The Perfect Prom Date (14 page)

 
I turned to talk to Brennan just as Mrs. Perkins began class.
Shit!
I want Brennan to ask me to the prom. He can’t now.
We exchanged silent hellos. It was pure torture sitting next to him all period, waiting. I chipped all the nail polish off of my right hand. When the bell finally rang, I jumped up.
 

“Hey, Rubylocks,” he said, reaching over and gently touching my arm. “I almost thought you weren’t going to make it today.”

“It was one of those mornings,” I rolled my eyes. Hoisting my backpack over my shoulder, we headed out of the classroom. Brennan was lightly touching the small of my back - even a small gesture like that sent shivers down my spine.
 

“Everything okay?” he asked with concern.

“Now it is.” I looked at Brennan, and smiled.
How can I be upset when the most gorgeous guy in school is with ME.

“Good.” He reached for my hand and we walked down the hall together.

I was dying to find out what Brennan wanted to ask me, but I was too nervous to bring it up. I knew he would ask me when he was ready. We hadn’t played our game in a few days, so I asked, “Would you rather make out in the hall in front of Mrs. Perkins’ classroom or Mr. McCormick’s?”

“That’s easy,” he laughed. “Mrs. Perkins, because it would be fun to see the shocked look on her face. We should try it some time.”

I grinned. “Yeah, we should.”
 

“I wish we had time right now, but we have a quiz in calc. Are you ready for it?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. What about you?”

“I should do okay. It helps to have a smart and beautiful math tutor,” he said, squeezing my hand.

I blushed. “You help me just as much as I help you.”

“That’s what I meant – it helps that
you
have a smart and handsome tutor – ME,” he joked.
 

I laughed at his joke. “That’s not what you said, B-man.”

“I know, but you have to learn to take compliments.”

I blushed an even deeper shade of red. My face probably matched my hair. I was getting better at accepting compliments, but sometimes he still caught me off guard. “I’ll try.”

“Okay, my turn. Would you rather study with your smart and handsome math tutor,” he said pointing at himself, “or swim with Michael Phelps?”
 

“Well, that’s easy. I’d rather swim with Michael Phelps,” I teased. Brennan feigned being hurt, putting his free hand over his heart. I laughed. It was fun to joke around with Brennan. He was easy-going and good-natured. “Just kidding. I’d rather hang out with you!”

We had arrived at class. It was obvious that whatever Brennan wanted to ask me, he wasn’t going to now, and he probably wouldn’t while we were at school. Thinking fast I said, “My dad is still out of town, so my mom is going to drop me off at practice tonight, but she can’t pick me up. Can you?”

“At 9 p.m.?”

“More like 9:15 p.m. It always takes me a few minutes to shower and get changed.”

“I’d be happy too,” he smiled.

The rest of the day passed without him even hinting at asking me to the prom. I couldn’t wait until he picked me up, because then we’d have a few minutes alone. And just maybe, maybe, he’d ask me then.
 

Rachel and I were hanging out in my room after school like always. I held up two different nail polish colors, “Which should I use, ‘Purple with a Purpose’ or ‘Blue My Mind’?” I asked reading the labels.
 

“Blue My Mind. To match Brennan’s magnificent blue eyes.”
 

“He does have great eyes, doesn’t he?” I sighed, thinking about how much I loved the color of his bright blue eyes with his contrasting dark features. I’d met his parents and discovered that he got his blue eyes from his dad and his dark hair and features from his mom. He was a perfect combination of both of them.
 

“So tell me - what step are you on now?” Rachel asked, while unscrewing the top to the nail polish.

“Eight.”

“Good, because you know I’m not a fan of step seven. Did Brennan finally play the part of the jealous boyfriend, or did you take my advice and abandon the whole idea before you got in over your head?”

“He played the part to my satisfaction. He didn’t go into a jealous rage or anything, this is Brennan we’re talking about, but he didn’t seem thrilled with the idea of me riding alone in a car with another boy.”

“You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t,” Rachel shouted, causing me to mess up the nail I was painting.

“Rachel,” I sneered, looking at my ruined nail.

“Sorry,” she shrugged. “I just can’t believe you went so far as to bum a ride with Noah.
 

“Why not? I’ve ridden with Noah millions of times.”

“Yeah, but not in a long time. It just seems so calculating and totally out of character for you, that’s all.”

I suddenly felt guilty about being so manipulative. “I know, but I pulled it off in such a way that Brennan will never know it was all part of my 10 step plan.” Letting go some of the guilt, I added, “Don’t forget, he gave Tracy a ride a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s right,” she agreed.

“Anyway, you didn’t let me finish – step seven really worked.”

“What do you mean?” Rachel stopped painting her nails, and looked at me.
 

“Well, on the phone last night Brennan said he wanted to ask me something.”

“So, don’t keep me waiting. Tell me. Tell me.” Rachel was practically shouting at me.

“He hasn’t asked me to the prom, yet, but I know he’s going to. He’s picking me up tonight after practice, and I think he’s going to ask me then.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,” said Rachel, being a very supportive BFF.
 

“What about you – has Kyle asked you yet?”

“No, not yet. I think he wants to, but he’s too nervous. I’m going to give him until Monday before I move on to step four because I like Kyle way too much to back off.”

“You go, girl.” I smiled.

***

I climbed out of the pool and took off my goggles and swim cap. My muscles ached after swimming laps, but my mind was relaxed. Swimming always had that effect on me. I swore it was better than therapy.

I was reaching for my towel to dry off, when Noah approached me, smiling. “I saw your mom drop you off earlier, and I wondered if you needed a ride home?”

“Thanks for offering, but I have a ride.” I felt a tinge of guilt for having involved him in my plan, but it really wasn’t that out of the ordinary for me to catch a ride from him. I might have over done it a little though. I hoped he didn’t think that I was interested in him. I’d known Noah since elementary school and we’d been on the school swim team together since middle school, but we were friends and that was it.
 

“No problem. I just thought I’d check before I went into the locker room to change.” His gaze swept over me.
 

Suddenly, I felt an awkwardness I’d never felt around him. I wrapped my towel tightly around me. “Thanks again for asking.”

“No problem. See you later,” Noah said, walking away. I saw him turn around and look at me one more time before pushing open the locker room door.

Remembering that Brennan, MY GUY, would be waiting for me in a few short minutes, I stopped frowning and hastened into the girls’ locker room to change and freshen up.
 

When I exited the locker room, Brennan was standing in the hall, looking as handsome as ever in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt with the school’s baseball team logo on it. “Hi, Brennan,” I said, smiling from ear to ear, barely able to hold back my excitement.

“Hi,” he chuckled. “It’s good to see you too.”

I looped my arm through his, and we walked out to his car.
 

“Do you want me to drive you straight home, or do you want to stop and get something to eat?”

I smiled because Brennan knew me well. I was always starving after a vigorous workout. “You read my mind. I’d love to get something to eat.” I patted my empty stomach.

He laughed. “Honestly, I don’t know where you put any of the food you eat. You must burn a ton of calories in the pool.”

“I know, right.” It was easy to be myself around Brennan.

“What do you feel like eating?”

“Breakfast food. Let’s go to Carol’s Diner. They have the best pecan pancakes in the world, and they’re open 24 hours.”

“Sounds good to me.”

We arrived ten minutes later and sat in a booth in the back corner. I ordered the pecan pancakes, while Brennan ordered a side of French fries.
 

“Did you finish the reading for English class?” I asked, trying to make light conversation. I hadn’t forgotten that B-Man had something important to ask me and I was biding my time.

“Yes. And if I have to listen to Mrs. Perkins read aloud to the class again, I’m going to walk out.”

“You wouldn’t?” I declared in astonishment.

“You’re right, probably not,” he said, while his blue eyes said otherwise.
 

“Here’s an idea – if you walk out, I’ll walk out too,” I said, feeling rebellious.

“You would?” He raised his eyebrow.

“Sure. Then we could hang out together – just you and me.” Even though I had never cut class before, or even so much as turned in a late assignment, the idea of skipping out with Brennan turned me on.
 

“Cool,” Brennan said, smiling and nodding his head in approval. “You know, you are not the girl I met on my first day of school.” He stared at me pensively, “You’ve changed.”

“Is that good or bad?” I questioned.

“It’s good.” He squeezed my hand.
 

I smiled, realizing he was right. I had changed. I was more confidant than I used to be, and a lot happier too.
 

The waitress arrived with our food. The pancakes smelled delicious, covered in warm maple syrup and a mountain of whip cream. I couldn’t wait to dig in.
 

“Would you rather have a roommate that snores, or one that is a complete slob?” Brennan asked jokingly. We still played the game whenever we had the chance. The questions made us laugh, and it really had helped us get to know each other better.

 
“I would rather have a roommate that snores, because I can always use earplugs, or listen to my i-pod.
 
I have a hard time with messiness and disorganization,” I shuttered.

“Yeah, I’ve seen your locker. It’s so organized I don’t know how you find anything,” he chuckled.

“What is that supposed to mean? I’ve seen your bedroom and it’s totally neat,” I said, and then blushed red. Picturing his room made me think of how close to him I felt the night I helped him babysit. He had showed me his room when we were putting his little sister and brother to bed. There were no clothes on the floor or dirty dishes lying around. Everything looked like it was in its place.
 

“I know. I’m almost as big of a nerd as you.” He grinned.
 

“Hey, I’m not a nerd,” I defended.

“Yes, you are. It’s not a bad thing. Actually it’s one of the things I adore about you. You take school seriously, just like me.”

I smiled; it was true. Brennan and I had a lot in common. We both studied and worked hard. I never saw him get anything less than a 95% on a quiz or test.
 

I finished every last bite and slid my plate away. “Wow, that was good.”
 

“I’m glad.” Brennan reached over and wiped my face with his finger, sticking it his mouth, “Yum…sweet.” His eyes light up.

I almost forgot how to breathe. I wanted to lean over and kiss him. I didn’t know if I could wait until we were alone.
 

“How was everything? Good?” The waitress asked, returning with the check. “I’ll take care of that for you when you’re ready.”
 

Brennan grabbed the check before I could. “Don’t even think about it. I got this.”
 
He pulled out his wallet and put a twenty-dollar bill down on the table.

“Let me pay this time. Please. You always pay.”

“I know. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

“Say’s who?” I drew my eyebrows together.

“Says me.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem fair,” I pouted.

He smirked, clearly enjoying his advantage.

“Forget about the money. I wanted to ask you something.” His voice lifted.

My heart stopped. He was finally going to ask me to be his date to the prom. My hands started shaking, so I placed them in my lap because I didn’t want Brennan to see how nervous I was. Prom was exactly one month from this upcoming Saturday.
 

“Sure.What’s up?” I tried to sound normal, but my voice cracked, betraying me.

“Do you want to go with me and my family to Florida over spring break? I already asked my parents, and they said you could come. I’m playing in a baseball tournament, and they’re all coming to watch. You’ve been coming to all my games, and I love knowing that you’re there in the stands cheering me on. You’re kinda like my good luck charm,” he added shyly, looking completely adorable. “We’re driving down right after school next Friday. We play in the tournament on Saturday and Sunday, and then my parents promised the younger kids a trip to Disney for a couple of days. So, what do you think? Do you want to come?”

I was in shock. Obviously it was not what I expected him to ask.
 
And all I could think was HE STILL HASN’T ASKED ME TO THE PROM! I STILL DON’T HAVE A DATE TO MY SENIOR PROM!
 

Then I realized Brennan was waiting for me to say something. He had just invited me on a family vacation, which was way cooler than being asked to the prom. I opened my mouth to speak, when he said, “It’s okay, if you don’t want to go. I understand.” He looked down at the table. “We should go. It’s getting late.” Brennan made a move to stand up.

I reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait! I didn’t say I didn’t want to go.”
 
Brennan turned to look at me. I gave him one of my most sincere smiles. “I’m sorry it took me a second to answer. I was surprised that’s all; it’s not everyday that my boyfriend asks me to go on vacation with him and his family. I’d love to go. It sounds like so much fun. I’m not sure what my parents will say,” my forehead creased when I thought about how my dad was going to react, “but I’ll make them say yes,” I finished with optimism.