The Perfect Prom Date (5 page)

     
“Yeah, right?” laughed Ellie, bringing me back to reality.
   

     
Brennan glared angrily at Ellie. “I did. Why is that so hard to believe?”
 

     
“Just look at her,” Ellie said, her voice full of disapproval.
 

     
“I am looking at her and I happen to like what I see.” He didn’t have to say that. He smiled at me, and my heart raced.
Does this mean Brennan actually likes me? Is my 10 step plan working?
 

     
The look on Ellie’s face was priceless. Her jaw dropped to the floor. She couldn’t believe Brennan would willingly ask me out. When the shock wore off, Ellie calmly retorted, “Ah, that’s sweet of you to lie, so you don’t hurt her feelings.”

     
“I’m not lying.” He scowled, appearing offended that she had called him a liar. Ignoring Ellie and directing his attention to me, Brennan said, “Are you ready to go?
 
I think the movie starts soon.”
 

     
I didn’t know if Brennan was serious, or if he was just putting on a big show to put Ellie in her place, but either way I didn’t care. “Yeah, I’m all finished,” I responded.
 

     
Brennan collected our plates and brushed passed Ellie as if she wasn’t there.
 

     
“Humph.” She stormed away and rejoined her friends. I could see them huddled together, no doubt trying to figure out what had just happened. I smiled and waved at them.
 

     
Brennan returned to the table, “Ready?” He held his hand out to me and helped me up. He didn’t let go as we made our way to the exit, causing Ellie and her friends to gasp. Tingles traveled from my hand all the way up my arm.
Is this normal?
I looked down at our intertwined hands and smiled, wondering if Brennan could feel the heat too.
 

     
As soon as we were back out onto the sidewalk, Brennan exclaimed, “Now I understand why you wanted to trade her for all four of my siblings.”
 

     
“So do you want to make a deal?” I teased.

     
“Definitely not,” he said, shaking his head.
 
“Let’s just say that I have a new appreciation for my three brothers and sister.” His blue eyes sparkled, and I could tell he enjoyed his family, even if it was large.

     
We had arrived at the crosswalk, and I was happy to note that he was still holding my hand. He could have let it go; we hadn’t been in view of the pizza place for a couple of minutes. I didn’t want him to let go. Ever. Carefully I leaned over, and with my free hand, I pushed the button for the little white hand to indicate it was safe to cross.

     
“Thanks for sticking up for me back there,” I pointed behind me, toward the pizza shop. “Ellie can be a real bitch sometimes.”
 

     
He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear.”
 

     
I blushed. “Yeah, I don’t very often. I just couldn’t think of a nice way to say it.”

     
“That’s okay. I don’t care if you swear. I’ve heard worse, believe me.” He paused and then continued. “You know, I was just being honest – I think you look great. I really like what you’ve done with your hair. You should wear it like that more often.”

     
I blushed a deep shade of red, quite possibly an even deeper shade than my hair.
 
I was happy he noticed that I hadn’t pulled my hair back into its standard ponytail, but instead I had left it down to fall in natural waves down my back. “Thanks,” I responded, quietly.
 

     
“You’re welcome.”
 
He smiled, causing his bright blue eyes to crinkle. “I should tell you - I have a thing for redheads.”
 

     
I felt my heart swell, and I desperately wanted to believe him.
Is he telling the truth?
He squeezed my hand, as if to reassure me that he was for real.
 

     
I found myself at a loss for words, and when that happened, I babbled. “I know you told Ellie that we had plans to go to the movies, but I don’t expect anything. I know you told her that just to make her squirm, which was totally awesome. Thanks for that,” I smiled fully, and for the first time I didn’t worry about the gap in between my front teeth.
 
We arrived at the parking lot. “So, if you’d rather we just made plans to study again, I’d completely understand.”
 

     
“The truth is I’d love to go to the movies with you, if you’re free,” he said, giving me a hopeful smile.

     
I wanted to pinch myself to see if this was really happening.
Brennan wants ME to go to the movies with HIM?!?!
I could barely contain my excitement, I was screaming on the inside, but I calmly answered, “I’d love to. Is there a movie out that you wanted to see?”

     
“No, but we can decide on one when we get there.”

     
“Okay. Sounds like fun.”
 

     
He walked me to my car, all the while holding my hand. Finally I had to let go, so that I could dig the keys out of the bottom of my bag. “I’ll meet you out in front of the theater,” I said, unlocking my door.

     
“See you in a few.”
 

     
As soon as Brennan was out of earshot, I started screaming, and not the silent ones like I’d been doing, but the real all-out kind that left me gasping for air and sounding hoarse. It felt good to let it out. I had been keeping it in for so long I was surprised that I hadn’t exploded. I couldn’t remember ever feeling happier. I drove to the movies in complete bliss.
 

     
Brennan was waiting for me when I got to the theater. “What do you feel like seeing?”
 

     
I looked at the movie posters and said, “Something funny? My brain is too tired to have to do any more thinking.”

     
Brennan laughed. “Agreed.”

     
We got in line to buy tickets. He slid his money under the window before I could, and then refused to let me pay him back.

     
“Fine, but I’m buying the popcorn,” I said definitively.
 

     
“Okay,” he conceded.
 

     
We entered the theater loaded down with popcorn and candy. I have this thing about getting popcorn with tons of butter every time I go to the movies. Brennan couldn’t decide which he wanted more - Sour Patch Kids or Twizzlers, so I insisted he get both.
 

     
“How’s this?” I asked, moving toward the center of a row three-quarters of the way up.
 

     
“Looks good to me,” he responded, sitting down.
 

     
Since going to the movies was a last minute plan, we had a few minutes before the movie actually began. We snacked on our junk food while we talked, getting to know each other better.

     
I grabbed a handful of popcorn and asked him something I’d been wondering since the day he walked into English class, “Was it hard to move here during your senior year?”

     
“Yes and no,” he shrugged.

     
“Why, yes?”

     
“Because I had to leave all of my old friends behind.” He ran his hands through his hair.
 

     
I nodded my head. “Yeah, that must’ve been tough. I’ve lived here my whole life. I can’t imagine how hard it’s going to be next year when Rachel, my BFF, and I go our separate ways to colleges halfway across the country from each other.”

     
“Well, that’s part of the reason why it wasn’t so bad. I knew in a few short months it was inevitable, anyway.

     
It was easy to talk to Brennan. The conversation flowed naturally, and I even forgot to be nervous. I asked him open-ended questions and made eye contact when he gave his answers. “Have you heard from any colleges?”

     
“I’ve been accepted at Boston University – early decision. I want to study aerospace engineering, and they have a really great program.” Even in the dim light of the theater it was easy to see the look of excitement on his face when he talked about what he wanted to do with his life. His eyes blue eyes looked even brighter. “I want to help develop a new airplane that will use an alternative form of fuel, so that we’ll no longer be so dependant on other countries for oil. I’ve been fascinated with airplanes since I was a kid.”

     
“That sounds cool. Would you believe it, if I said I’ve never even been on an airplane?”
 

     
“No, I wouldn’t.” He shook his head in disbelief.

     
“Well, it’s true. I’ve never been on an airplane.”
 

     
“How is that even possible?” He wondered out loud. “Haven’t you ever gone on vacation?”

     
“Of course I have, but we always either went to Florida or the Carolinas, both within driving distance.” I chipped my nail polish absentmindedly. The truth was I didn’t want anyone, especially Brennan who wanted to study airplanes, to know that I was terrified of the whole idea of flying.

     
“What about visiting out of state relatives?”

     
“We have a small family and everyone lives nearby.”

     
“Huh,” he said, his voice still full of surprise. “Well, I’m sure there’ll be an opportunity to take one soon. And trust me, when you do, you’ll wonder why you waited so long. Hey, where are you going to college? Maybe you’ll need to take a plane to get there.”

     
I smiled shyly and said, “I’m planning on driving there at the end of the summer to bring all of my stuff, but it’s possible that I might fly home for Thanksgiving and Christmas break.”

     
“See – what did I tell you?” He paused to eat another Twizzler, “You forgot to say where you were accepted.”
 

     
“I’m going to Wellesley College.” I couldn’t believe that Brennan and I were going to be within miles of each other next year. What a wonderful coincidence.

     
“Hey, that’s great,” he responded with genuine enthusiasm. “Maybe we can book the same flight home at Thanksgiving, so I can be there for you to offer moral support.”

     
“I’m going to hold you to that.” I held his eyes with mine, so that he would know I was serious. It would take away some of the anxiety to have Brennan there with me.
 

     
“I’m counting on it,” he said smiling, making my insides turn to mush.
 

     
Needing something else to focus on, I held my popcorn out to him, “Do you want some?”

     
“Sure, thanks.” He grabbed a handful.

     
Suddenly the lights dimmed and the movie began. We didn’t hold hands like we did earlier that afternoon, but I did remember to brush up against him several times, causing my heart to quicken. I was so distracted by his nearness that I found it impossible to follow the movie. Instead I mapped out the remaining steps in my head, wondering how long it would take until they were all completed and Brennan asked me to be his date to the prom.
 

Comments:

2cool4words: You made flirting seem so easy I gave it a try.
 
It was fun!
 
I discovered his fetish is long strawberry blonde hair – lucky 4 me.
 
I twirl it a lot & always make sure it is clean and shiny.

countrygirl:
 
Who knew I was a natural flirt? Keep the good advice coming.

BLOG #4

Step Four: Back Off

      
That’s right. The next step is to back off – a little. I know you probably think I’m crazy, right? I mean, why would I ask you to back off when things are just beginning to go your way? Believe me, this is a crucial step. You want him to realize that he needs you, and that he wants to be with you. This step will accomplish that.
 

     
How, you ask? Good question. I’ll admit this is a tricky step. You’ll need to back off just the right amount, or else it might backfire on you. On one hand, if you back off too much, he’ll think you’re rude and arrogant, or simply not interested. And you don’t want that. On the other hand, if you don’t back off enough, you run the risk of appearing desperate, and you don’t want that either.
 

     
Confused? It might make more sense if I just show you what I mean…

     
Things went really great between Brennan and I on our first date. (Just because we studied for the first half, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a date. We did go out for pizza and then to the movies.) However, I wanted more. It was time to move on to step four.
 

     
The timing was perfect to back off - a little. Brennan and I didn’t have plans to see each other again until school on Monday. I wanted to call him on Sunday, and I even picked up my cell phone and clicked his contact info, but then I shut my phone before hitting send. It took all of my willpower, but I reminded myself that it was necessary to give him some time and space, during which I hoped he was thinking about me as much as I was thinking about him.
 

     
I knew simply not talking to him for the rest of weekend wasn’t enough, so I carried step four over to Monday morning. I didn’t want to back off too much, but at the same time I had to be sure to back off enough. Normally, when I walked into English class I said hi to Brennan as I took my seat, even on the days when I was running late.
 
Today my plan was to walk by him without acknowledging him. Harsh, but necessary.