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I nodded in agreement as the waitress expertly cleared the table.
"Some dessert?"
Co
we might make the states, Coach is insane about us being home by ten when there's no game. He
called Matt's house last week to check up on him."
"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm stuffed."
"I'll bring the check," said the waitress.
As we sat there, Co
touched me. "That dress is really hot," he said.
His look made the whole rice fiasco suddenly worthwhile. "Thanks," I said.
"Wow, I've been yapping away," said Co
That smile. It made me dizzy. "Thanks," I said again.
"But I want to know more about you," he said, turning my hand over and pressing his palm into
mine.
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"What do you want to know?" I asked, suddenly anxious. I should have prepared some fu
anecdotes about myself. What could be more boring than a person just launching into her life
story? Well, I was born in Los Angeles, and after my mother died when I was three ... Co
would be asleep before I hit fourth grade.
Luckily, just as I was considering narrating an imaginary but fascinating childhood posted in port
cities around the globe, the waitress brought our check. Co
handed it over. His casual confidence as he dealt with the check was sexy; it made him seem
older. Not so old that it was gross he was going out with a high-school girl, though. He seemed
just older enough.
"Thank you for di
Co
a dessert." It sounded flirtatious, like we were talking about something way more intimate than
gelato.
"Maybe I owe you a dessert," I said. I hoped I sounded flirtatious, too, and not like I'd been tallying up what each of us had spent on the other.
Co
We both laughed, and when the waitress brought
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the credit card slip for Co
he said, "You're hilarious, Red," even though he was the one who'd made the joke. It made me
feel witty and amusing.
At the door, Co
door and we started making out. His tongue traced a line from my ear to my collar bone. I
wished we'd just skipped di
exactly like you can suggest something like that.
The whole ride home Co
couple of times, so I was able to wipe my palm on my dress before it could get too sweaty. And
he didn't just hold my hand like it was a rock he'd happened to drop his hand down on. He held it
perfectly, tracing my fingers with his thumb and then squeezing my hand into a fist, or brushing
his fingers over my knuckles. I didn't know what Co
definitely get rich teaching other guys how to hold a girl's hand.
When we pulled up in front of my house, Co
understanding about curfew, Red," he said. "Even if we make the states, it's only a few more
weeks, and then we can stay out until dawn. And I expect you to wear that dress." He lifted my
hand up to his lips and kissed it.
Since I pla
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got inside, Co
since staying out until dawn with Co
kissing, until the clock on the dashboard read nine fifty-five.
"I gotta go, Red," he said softly.
"Yeah," I said. I remembered to undo my seat belt before I opened the car door.
"I'll call you tomorrow," he said. I shut the door and waved; before he pulled away, he mimed
howling at the moon.
When I got into bed, I closed my eyes and replayed Co
of bed, grabbed my iPod, and replayed them again, this time to music. I turned out the light and
snuggled under the covers, leaving the music on. I closed my eyes, feeling Co
face, his lips gently tracing the curve of my ear. The last song I heard before I fell asleep was
"Little Red Corvette." I tried to figure out why it was the perfect sound track for the night, and when I came up with the answer, I almost laughed out loud.
Of course it was perfect.
It was Prince.
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Chapter Thirteen
Co
second half together. Later he called again, and we stayed on the phone until the end of the pre-
game show, when he had to get off because he'd told his dad they'd watch the game together.
Monday right after first period, he came up behind me, put his hands over my eyes, and
whispered in my ear, "Guess who," and I felt my stomach drop with familiar excitement. I turned
to face him, wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, and we backed into a locker as some guy
I didn't know called out, "Get a room." I could feel Co
"Catch you later," I said, pulling away and raising my eyebrow at him.
"Not if I catch you first," he said.
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It was weird, though--I seemed to be leading two separate lives. At school, I was never alone.
When I sat down in one of my classes, within seconds, two or three people were competing for
every desk in the vicinity of mine. At lunch, Madison, Jessica, and I sat squeezed together while
people who'd ignored me for two-thirds of the year clamored for a seat at our table. Sometimes
when we had classes in totally different parts of the building, Co
between periods, so I'd be talking on the phone to him and to whomever I was walking with.
There weren't enough hours in the school day for me to see and talk to everyone who wanted to
see and talk to me.
But my fairy godmother must have forgotten to sprinkle her magic dust over my house, because
whenever I happened to be home in the evening, Mara and my stepsisters were either out or they
completely ignored me. Not that I cared. I just couldn't help noticing.
The Friday after my sushi di
Princesses over to their dad's house. He walked in the door just as I was taking Co
out of the closet in the entrance foyer.
"Hey, Goose," he said, dropping his garment bag and giving me a hug. "Hey," I said, hugging him back.
He looked me up and down. I was wearing jeans and a pale yellow T-shirt.
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"Now I may not know much about fashion, but I have to say I really prefer this to that red dress
of yours."