Better Off Friends

I tried to grasp on to reality and not overreact. “No, yeah, I think that would be great.”

I looked at Levi, who was studying my face. “Sure,” he said. Although he didn’t sound sure.

“Great!” Ian was way too excited about this. “We’ve got that party at Keith’s next weekend.”

“We do?” I hadn’t known we had that.

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you?” I shook my head in response. He continued. “Oh, well, let’s go grab a bite beforehand and go over together.”

“Ah, okay.” Levi got out of the car and gave me a little wave before going inside.

“See.” Ian leaned over toward me. “Look at me playing nice with your BFF. What does this get me?”

“The privilege of driving me home,” I stated flatly.

He laughed. “You’re something else. You know that, right?”

So I’ve been told.

I didn’t know if it should comfort me that Levi was as hesitant about the double date as I was. I’d met Carrie a couple of times, but I’d tried to give her lots of space. I knew that Levi having a girl as a best friend could be intimidating. She seemed sweet and he liked her, so I wanted it to work for him.

Plus, I had learned to knock before entering rooms, both literally and metaphorically.

The four of us were eerily quiet on the drive over to the restaurant for Friday night fish fry. I gave Levi the front seat, thinking he and Ian could talk about guy things and I could get to know Carrie more.

“I like your skirt,” I offered. Carrie was wearing an orange skirt with an off-white cashmere wrap sweater.

“Thanks. I like your outfit, too,” she replied, although I was only wearing jeans and a basic black top. But she was clearly trying to make an effort.

“Thanks.”

She smiled at me. “And you have, like, the best hair.” She started fiddling with her own long honey-brown hair.

“You’ve got great hair, too.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “My color is so boring.”

Levi turned around. “Seriously, hair and clothing? Way to shatter stereotypes, Macallan.”

I shot him my patented death stare. “What were you guys going to talk about, sports?”

“Well, we’re clearly manly.”

“Seriously? You want me to get in this with you right now in front of Carrie.” I raised my eyebrow, daring him.

He turned back around. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

While I was pretty sure he was saying it in a joking ma

I tried to adjust my attitude as we sat down at Curran’s Tavern. We made small talk before the waiter came over and took our orders.

Levi gave me a crooked smile. “Shall I order or do you want to?”

“We always get the same thing,” I explained to our confused companions. “Yes, I’ll have the fried cod with baked potato, but can I please have extra sour cream with that? And blue cheese dressing on the salad. Thanks.”

“I’ll have what she’s having,” Levi a

“Oh! Cheese curds!” I practically screamed. “Um, can we start with an order of fried cheese curds as well? Thanks.”

The waiter nodded and turned toward Carrie, who asked for a grilled chicken Caesar salad.

“And I’ll have the cheeseburger, medium rare,” Ian ordered.

I didn’t have to say anything, because I knew Levi would.

“Seriously? Who goes to a fish fry and doesn’t get fish?” He shook his head. “First of all, I will not be sharing my corn fritters with either of you, and I know for a fact that Macallan won’t, either.”

“Preach it,” I encouraged.

Levi leaned in, his face so serious it was almost solemn. “Listen, guys, I never heard of a Friday night fish fry until Macallan’s family took my family. You have no idea how spoiled you are in Wisconsin: fried fish, corn fritters with honey butter, baked beans, bread and butter, coleslaw, potatoes — you get your choice of potato! And did I mention the butter? So much butter! I mean, what more could you want on a Friday night? Ordering something else … It’s madness, madness, I say!”

While Carrie and Ian didn’t look as amused as I was, a strange sense of pride overwhelmed me. If only seventh-grade Levi could see himself now. He was even starting to get a little Midwestern accent.

“What are you smiling at?” Levi inquired.

“Nothing,” I responded a little too quickly.

“Like I would ever fall for that.” He leaned forward and gazed in my eyes as if he was trying to read my mind. I looked away. At that point, I wouldn’t have doubted that he could. “Ah, see, I know you’re up to something.”

“Who, me?” I said in my most i

“Please.” He leaned back and put his arm around the back of Carrie’s chair. “Let me tell you a little something about this one, Carrie. Do not fall for the good-girl, straight-A-student façade. Beneath her sweet exterior is a snarky center with quick wit and even quicker rebounds.”

“Which is exactly why you’re best friends with me.”

“Obviously,” Levi agreed.

Ian cleared his voice loudly. “So, Carrie, I think we need to intervene before the Levi and Macallan Show takes over. Once they get started, they don’t stop. Ever.”

Carrie maneuvered uncomfortably in her chair and played with her straw wrapper.

I mouthed sorry to Ian. This wasn’t the first time, nor did I think it would be the last, he’d had to intervene when Levi and I got into one of our epic conversations.

I ended up playing twenty get-to-know-you questions with Carrie until our food arrived. Besides being really sweet, she was ru

Although I was having a good time, I had to fight every instinct I had to talk to Levi whenever a thought came up that I knew he’d enjoy or have a comeback for. I needed to be on my best behavior. We had our dates to consider. After all, it was a pretty big miracle we could find members of the opposite sex who enjoyed our company as much as we did.

We arrived at Keith’s house when the party was in full swing. Everybody from the football team, cheerleading squad, and marching band was there.

“Hey, California!” Keith came over and did that guy hand-slap/chest-bump combination that must be taught in some dude class. “Welcome, welcome, all!” He looked me up and down, and I gave him a stare that made it clear I wasn’t the least bit interested in anything he was looking for.

“Hey, man,” Ian said, coming between us. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Oh, right, you two are together. See, I keep forgetting that, since she’s always with him.” He pointed to a clearly a

“Keith, this is Carrie.” Levi gestured in her direction.

For whatever reason, Keith laughed. “Okay, I get it, I get it.” He reached down in a cooler and pulled out some cans of pop. “I’d say go long, Levi, but I don’t think my mom would appreciate getting pop on the carpet.” He laughed again. We all remained stone-faced.

We each took a can and made our way over to the corner of the kitchen.

“Don’t let him get to you,” I said to Levi.

“But he’s right. I can’t catch anything … except grief.” He shook his head.

I turned my back to Carrie and Ian. I knew how embarrassed Levi got about his lack of catching skills. “You’re getting much better. The other day, Adam was telling me you caught a ball nearly all the way down the block.”

“I guess.” His voice was faint. “But it’s so humiliating sitting on that bench every single game.”

“I thought you only wanted to play football to make some friends and fit in.”