She nodded. “Sounds about right. Well… have fun with that. I have to get to the diner. Don’t sleep with him yet.”
I almost fell over. “Uh. Okay?”
She sighed. “You want to, though.”
“Jesus Christ, Mom—”
“Do you need me to pick you up some condoms? I think I have a coupon.”
I banged my head on the kitchen table. “Please leave. Please.”
So she kissed me on the forehead and went to work.
WE WENT on a date.
It was awkward.
Not because of us.
Well. Not just because of us.
He knocked on the door.
I opened it even before he finished.
He said, “These are for you.” He handed me more mini muffins. And then he grumbled, “I couldn’t find any bears.”
I said, “That’s okay.” Because I didn’t honestly know what I would have done with a bear carcass.
He rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry.”
“So, mini muffins?”
He grinned brilliantly. “Mini muffins.”
“I am okay with that.”
“You look hot,” he blurted out. Then he frowned. “I mean, you look very nice. I am going to keep this classy. Mom told me to keep it classy.”
I glanced down. I was wearing jeans and a red button-up shirt. “Thanks?” I asked him. But I meant to tell him that, so I said, “Thanks.” And then, “You look very nice too.” Though my traitorous mouth almost said fuckable instead of nice. “I like your… pants.”
“My pants,” he said.
Gray slacks. Wool, maybe?
I stared at them.
And he said, “Really? Just what do you like about them? Maybe how they’d look on your floor?” His eyes widened. “Whoa. That sounded classier in my head.”
How had he moved that much closer without me noticing?
I could feel his breath on my cheek.
“We,” I said. “Uh. We should. Go?”
He said, “We could stay,” and his lips scraped against my cheek.
So I said, “Thanks for the muffins,” and stepped away.
He glared at me. “I can smell it, you know.”
And I said, “That’s not normal.”
He rolled his eyes and dragged me to Elizabeth’s car.
It was expensive. With so many buttons. I pressed one and my seat vibrated and I said, “Ooooh.”
We also went to the only fancy place in Green Creek. And by “fancy” I mean it was the only place that had tablecloths and folded napkins.
So of course Frankie was the waiter.
He said, “Hi, Joe!” with a big smile. He glanced at me. And grimaced. “And Ox.” It came out more stilted.
“I didn’t know,” Joe told me, eyes wide.
I said, “That’s okay.” Because it was. I didn’t care. Just because Frankie had gotten there first didn’t meant anything to me. “Hi, Frankie. It’s nice to see you again.”
Frankie ignored me and said, “So, how have you been? Haven’t seen you this summer. Excited about senior year?”
Joe said, “Things are good. I’ve been—”
And so I said, “I’d like a lemonade, and what are the specials?”
Frankie glared at me, and I thought Joe was about to laugh his stupid head off.
Frankie told us the specials. Sarcastically. And then turned back to Joe and said, “Sorry about that. You were saying?”
And Joe said, “Maybe give us some time to decide?”
Frankie said, “Are you sure?”
I said, “Yes.”
And so Frankie left.
Joe said, “That was awesome.”
I scowled at the menu. I didn’t know what half the things on it were. I just wanted a hamburger.
“You were jealous,” Joe crowed.
“No, I wasn’t.”
He kicked me under the table.
I ignored it because I’d just found hamburgers on the menu.
Joe said, “Ox.”
I stared at the menu.
“Ox. Ox. Ox.”
I said, “What!”
“So jealous,” he whispered.
Frankie brought back the lemonade. It spilled on the table when he set it down. He said, “Oops,” and set Joe’s water down carefully. And then he just stood there.
I said, “More time.”
Frankie looked at Joe.
Joe said, “Ox,” and he was amused.
And a woman behind me said, “Ox?”
Joe growled low in his chest. Frankie arched an eyebrow at him.
I turned. Jessie was being seated at a table behind us with a woman I didn’t recognize. I said, “Hi, Jessie.”
Frankie said, “So, Joe. I was thinking.”
Joe said, “Well, hey, Jessie.”
She looked over my shoulder. “Hey, Joe. It’s nice to see you.” There was a small smile on her face like she knew something I didn’t. She said, “Out on the town?” and I knew.
I said, “Yeah,” but kept my face and tone blank.
Frankie said, “Joe, I was thinking. There’s this—”
Joe said, “So, Jessie. I think I might have your class next semester.”
I said, “Oh no.”
Jessie said, “Is that right?”
Frankie said, “Yeah, me too,” and everyone but me ignored him. I tried to make him leave by willpower alone. It didn’t work.
“Should be exciting,” she said. “We’ll be reading some great books. Some cool projects going on. You can’t call me Jessie in class, though. You’ll need to call me—”
Joe said, “Is that right? I can hardly wait.” He didn’t sound like he meant that at all.
I said to Frankie, “We aren’t ready to order yet,” because he wasn’t getting the message.
The woman Jessie was with said, “Ox? Oh, isn’t that your…?” She trailed off, having the decency to blush.
“Yes,” Jessie said. “That’s Ox.”
“He’s so… big,” the woman said as if I wasn’t sitting right there. “Look at his hands.”
Everyone looked at my hands. I hid them in my lap.
Jessie grinned and said, “You know what they say about a man with big hands—”
“We’re on a date,” Joe said quite loudly.
Frankie said, “You’re what? But he’s so old.”
Jessie said, “You’re what? But he’s so young.”
Joe and I said, “Hey,” at the same time, sounding equally offended.
“He’s only twenty-three,” Joe said.
I said, “He’s almost eighteen.” And god, that argument sounded awful.
Frankie said, “I knew it. The whole time.” He looked pissed.
Jessie said, “I totally called this.” She looked amused and hurt. It was a weird combination.
I said, “You what?”
Joe said, “No. Frankie. It’s not like that. Okay, it was, but that’s not it.”
Frankie said, “Oh, please. You only talked about Ox every second of every day.”
Jessie said, “It was always Joe, Joe, Joe.”