Sixteen (3 page)

With a nod, Nikki began her task.

After a few minutes, two meager piles lay at each end of the bed. Nikki felt that half of the nice-looking stuff wasn't up to first-date standards, and Christy had barely five items to pull out anyway. Just because Nikki looked good in red didn't mean she wore it a lot. Most of the time she wore black or denim, much to her classy, image-centric mother's dismay. However, she did have a few red outfits, and Christy made sure not to miss any of them.

"Well, this is... a good start,” Christy sighed. “Finding something respectable to wear is a lot easier at my house.”

Nikki rolled her eyes. “You go to church every week, Christy. You have an entire closet of
respectable
.”

“Alright, I see your point. Now, we can look at both piles and see..." She trailed off when she glanced back at the piles. "Nikki, don't you ever wear anything even remotely close to red?"

"Sometimes. It's just... Mom always wants me to wear red, and she gets this... look, like 'ha-ha, I win' if I wear it. So I don't."

Christy stared at her, then shook her head and turned back to the clothes. "The day you and your mom stop this fighting..." She sighed in frustration and let her sentence hang.

"Look, you know how it is. Sometimes.... sometimes I think back to that time when I was twelve and wish I'd just worn the stupid dress. It was a big deal then, but now I don't even talk to any of the girls at that party any more. Then I think,
if it hadn't been that, it would have been something else.
I mean, you know how she is! She always wants me to do everything her way, and she's so picky and overly protective, and it's just annoying!" Nikki huffed.

Christy sighed. "Okay, forget I ever mentioned it. Let's just work on the clothes. You go ahead and show me what you've got."

Nikki held up her outfits. First up came a neon mini-dress with jeans. Then, with a sheepish smile, she showed Christy a cute lace blouse and leggings. “I managed to get these past my mother,” Nikki explained, gesturing to the leggings.

After a few similar outfits, Nikki sighed and fell against the bed. Christy crossed her arms, mirroring Nikki’s frustration.

"Girl, you seriously need some real clothes. Leggings or jeans with a bunch of your school shirts are not
nice
. In style, yes. Good for making other girls jealous because their boyfriends are staring, yes. But nice, or pretty, or date-worthy -- definitely not."

Nikki's jaw dropped in mock horror. She knew how Christy felt about her dress style, but she still didn't like it. Then again, Christy was her best friend and the only one she'd trust for a date this big. "Okay, then, what do you suggest?"

Christy smirked and held up a ruffled red shirt with short sleeves that Nikki's mother had given her for Christmas. Despite the fact that the past three months had been warm enough, Nikki still hadn't worn it or even removed the tags. "Try this on with those jeans you picked out first."

A compromise. Nikki knew she couldn’t make up an excuse to get out of this. She pulled them on and struck a pose; then she pouted.

"C'mon, Christy, why this one? It's not... trendy or flattering or anything. And it's so long, it covers my butt!"

Christy grinned. "Exactly. Nice, but overly modest -- for you, anyway. Pay good attention to Matt's behavior and see if it's different than at ballet, when you're wearing that skin-tight leotard. If so, beware! He's one of those stalker creeps
who only want one thing
.” Christy’s eyebrows scrunched together and her mouth twisted as she spoke the words. “If not, well then, be sure to dish when you get back." She grinned.

Nikki smiled back in spite of herself and fell back onto the bed. "Oh, whatever. I'll wear it."

Christy picked up the clothes on the bed and sorted them back into the closet. Then she turned to Nikki's dresser. As she moved the jewelry box, necklace rack, and earring case to the bed, Christy rolled her eyes at Nikki. "You know, if you'd hide your makeup somewhere else besides the jewelry box, you wouldn't need so many places for your jewelry."

Nikki groaned. "That's the third place I've put it, and I can't find a new one yet. You know how old-fashioned Mom is. Besides, what's the point in moving it until I have to?"

Christy shook her head. "Whatever. I know you don't want my advice on makeup, but let's pick out some jewelry and shoes. Oh, and a purse. Since I'm sure you don't have red, maybe we can find a good contrasting color."

After testing several jewelry combinations on Nikki, Christy selected silver hoop earrings and a matching necklace. Then, she handed white sneakers from the rack in the closet to Nikki and had her slide them on. Christy pulled a clear plastic box of purses from under the bed. It didn't take long to find the perfect one -- a hand-held clutch the exact same shade of red as Nikki's shirt.

"Why didn't you tell me you had this?" Christy squealed. "It's perfect!"

"I forgot about that. Mom bought it to match this shirt. Needless to say, it's never been used."

"Well, it's being used now. Here, you
have
to take it." She handed it to Nikki and slid the box back under the bed. Rising up to her feet, she dusted off her knees and surveyed her friend. "There, now you're all dressed up. The only thing left to do is hair, and you can do makeup if you really feel the need."

Nikki glanced at the clock, slightly worried. "You better hurry on the hair, because we only have twenty minutes."

Christy nodded and pushed Nikki into the bathroom. After disappearing for a few minutes, Christy returned with one of Mrs. Johnson's red hair clips and got to work. Nikki's anxiety grew with every minute. After brushing out Nikki's long, layered curls, Christy parted it on the side and slid in the sparkly red clip. She spritzed it with hairspray and declared, "There, finished!"

Nikki glanced in the mirror. "Awesome. Could you bring me my makeup bag?" Christy retrieved the bag from the jewelry box and handed it to her. After ten minutes, Nikki nodded in satisfaction at her appearance in the mirror. Christy hurriedly hid the bag back in Nikki's room and dashed out the door before Matt could arrive.

At exactly 4:01, the doorbell rang. Nikki smoothed out her jeans, checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror, and opened the door.

Matt wore jeans and a gray t-shirt. Nikki smiled nervously. Suddenly, all her giggly confidence fled. She had never been on a date with anyone, ever. What was she supposed to do?

"Hey." Matt's smile.... Nikki couldn't find words to describe it. He made her feel like melting chocolate. She looked into his wonderful eyes and knew that her first date would be her best. With a gentleman like Matt, what could go wrong?

Claire's dad knocked
on the partially-opened door before entering the sewing room, and Nicole turned from the sewing machine she'd been running while she talked. The tall man’s sturdy frame seemed to fill the small space, already cluttered with sewing baskets, piles of fabric, and clothes to be mended. He slid his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans. "I wasn't sure if I'd make it home from work in time to send you off."

Claire smiled slightly. "You did."

"I see that." He turned to Nicole. "So how's it going?"

Claire’s mother smiled, her eyes radiating a sort of gentle glow. It was sweet, but a bit sickening coming from her parents. At least nobody could accuse them of not loving each other. "We're good. We were just talking."

He raised his eyebrows and winked at Claire. "That's my cue to leave."

She nodded to acknowledge him, and listened as his footsteps padded down the hall to her parents' room. Another minute passed as she waited for Nicole to resume the story. "So... where'd you guys go?"

Nicole started the sewing machine back up. "You remember when the Steak and Shake was built back when you were nine?"

Claire nodded.

"It replaced a diner -- your dad used to take you there for your birthdays, remember?"

Claire sat up suddenly as recognition dawned. "Oh! You mean Quinn's Corner?"

Nicole laughed and nodded. "You loved that place. I did, too, even before your father came along. Everyone at school liked Quinn's. That evening it became more than just a popular hangout to me. It became Matt's and my place.

"We continued to date, even though my mother still strongly opposed it. We went out almost every Friday -- our first date was in late May, you know. Sometimes we'd go for walks around town or to a movie we wanted to see, although we spent more time at Quinn's than anywhere else. When I got out of school, we started dating even more frequently. There were days when Matt would take off work so we could spend the day together."

"When did he first say he loved you?" Claire hated to show her inner romantic -- especially to her mother -- but she couldn’t resist asking.

Nicole smiled. "We went to a special movie date. The theater was celebrating fifteen years since its first showing, and was playing movies from opening year. We went to one of my mother's favorites -- the only thing she and I had in common, or so I believed then. I knew all the lines from watching it so many times. We’d been planning to go for weeks, and when we did go, I loved it. Then, at my favorite part, where the time-traveling hero declares his love for the famous actress, Matt said the lines with him. I was so surprised. I just stared at him, and he kept looking at me. After a minute, I smiled, and laid my head on his shoulder, and told him I loved him, too."

Claire didn’t know whether to sigh or gag. The scene seemed so romantic -- but these were her parents, not some movie. She asked, "So what came next?"

Nicole chuckled. "A week later, we went to an apple orchard where Matt's dad volunteered, to pick apples with him.”

"Little lady, you
seem to have a knack for this." Matt's father wiped his arm across his glistening forehead.

Nikki shrugged, using her body weight to stabilize the bottom of the ladder they stood by. "I like fruit?"

The large man chuckled. "I can tell!" He wiped his hands on his faded denim overalls and ran a hand over the receding patch of brown hair atop his head. "I'm going to head inside and call your mother, Matthew. Looks like we're going to be a bit longer than she's expecting. You all right out here?"

"We're good, Dad!" Matt called down from his position on top of the wooden ladder, currently propped against a sturdy apple tree's branch.

The man picked up a full bucket of apples and started walking towards the only building in the orchard. "Holler if you need anything."

"Will do, Mr. Monroe." Nikki waited for a few more minutes on the bottom of the ladder before Matt came climbing back down.

He dumped a shirtful of shining red apples into the nearest bucket. "Which one should we do next?"

Nikki was already standing under the next tree. Matt laughed when he looked up to see her staring up at its branches, hands on her hips. "Okay. That works."

He picked up the ladder and carried it over, before realizing there weren't any thick enough branches to prop it against. Nikki began picking the lowest-hanging fruit while he set the ladder against a different tree.

She dropped her harvest carefully into a bucket, then set her sights on the next apple. It didn't seem that high. No matter how many times she jumped, though, Nikki couldn't seem to get a proper grip on the stubborn thing. "Matt, come over here and help me! I can't reach."

She watched as he slowly made his way over to her tree, hands in his pockets. He wore the same style of old denim overalls as his father; Nikki had missed the memo and worn shorts with a Princess Jasmine top. The sunlight danced over Matt's blond hair, which stuck out in all directions today.

"Why don't you just find a new tree, or help me over there?"

Nikki pointed up at her gleaming red antagonist. "Because I want that one."

He laughed. "Why that one?"

"Why not?" She crossed her arms. "Can you reach it?"

"Of course." He leaned over her, and she threw her arms out to balance herself.

"Hey!"

They both laughed. He reached out and plucked the apple, but when Nikki held out her hand, he shook his head. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her and took a bite from the shining fruit.

"Really, Matt?" She rolled her eyes, still grinning.

"If's goot!" He swallowed and repeated, "It's good!"

"I know. That's why I wanted it!"

He just kept eating while Nikki attempted to squirm from his grip. When he finally finished, he tossed the core over his shoulder and released her.

"About time!"

He smiled at her, but it wasn't his teasing grin. Something different lit up his eyes. What was he up to now? "You wanted to taste it, right?"

"What, the apple? Well, eventually. Guess I'll eat one of the others now."

He shook his head. "No need to."

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

In one fluid motion, he grabbed her wrist, pulled her towards him, and pressed his mouth to hers. She let loose a muffled cry of surprise. Their noses bumped, and her eyes flew wide in shock. A fresh, crisp taste of apple on his lips overpowered the slight odor of their sweat. Tingles flew down Nikki's body. The moment the surprise passed, she closed her eyes and wrapped her hands gently around his neck.