I groaned at that, which caused peals of laughter.
“I’ll go to Prom with you if I’m not tied up. Let me get my calendar and I’ll pencil you in.”
Kendal showed me the date and I told Adrienne.
“I still want to do a shoot with you. I told Ford to get it arranged,” she said.
I got serious for a moment.
“Thanks, Adrienne, you’re a champ for putting up with me. It would be a huge honor to do a photo shoot with you. And thank you for agreeing to go to Prom with me.”
“When I heard the stunt you were pulling, I had to get in on it. I called Hannah, and she said you’d launched a Twitter campaign to get her to go. She was impressed with your persistence. I can’t wait to call her and let her know that she lost out.” She paused for a moment. “I never get to have fun anymore. I got into this business because I loved it. You make me laugh, and you’re not shy. When I see the fun you’re having, I miss how it used to be. Plus, you kiss better than most women I know, and just so you know, that’s high praise.”
“I’ll take that. And you’re pretty special yourself.”
“Get back to your dinner, and I’ll be in touch,” she said, and she hung up.
I turned to Clare.
“Adrienne wants you to find a project we can do together. She said she told Ford, but hasn’t heard anything.”
I could see Clare wasn’t sure if she believed me or not. Adrienne didn’t work with up-and-comers like me. If Clare could get me paired with her, I would make a big splash, and be able to be booked in higher-paying jobs. This was a big opportunity, not only for me but also for her as my agent.
“Okay, I need to make some calls. I’ll be right back.”
She got up and hurried from the table so she could get some privacy. After she left, Kendal and Mom about fell out of their chairs laughing. Devin and Sandy looked confused while I sat there smiling like the proverbial cat who ate the canary. Kendal let them know what was up.
“If you haven’t noticed, David’s a smooth talker.”
“He gets that from his father,” Mom interrupted.
“And as you can imagine, he sometimes bites off more than he can chew. Moreover, this little shit is competitive as all get-out, so when he was challenged that he couldn’t get Hannah Minacci as his prom date, he put his team in charge of making it happen. We’ve been using a social media campaign trying to get Hannah to go with him. Of course he has a snowball’s chance in hell, but that hasn’t stopped him,” Kendal shared.
“Today at the airport, we ran into two Ford models who’d heard the rumors. Without batting an eye, he’s spinning a tale about Adrienne being jealous,” Mom said.
I picked it up from there.
“When Clare gave me a hard time, I figured I’d go for broke. I still can’t believe she had, let alone gave me, Adrienne’s personal cell number. When I called, Adrienne was a good sport and played along.”
“Is she really going to Prom with you?” Devin asked.
I grinned.
“It looks like it. I guess she and Hannah are friends. Hannah told her about my Twitter blitz, so she figured it sounded like fun. The long and short of it is I’m taking a supermodel to Prom.”
Devin gave me a high five and we all laughed. About that time, Clare came back in and handed me the phone.
“This is David.”
“David, Deb Thomas. Before I call Adrienne, and make a complete ass out of myself, did she really say ‘yes’ about going to Prom with you?”
I didn’t blame her for verifying the story, so I assured her.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She broke up laughing.
“What about Hannah? Isn’t she going to be devastated that you’re going with another girl?”
“What do you mean, what about Hannah? She had her chance. Adrienne got smart and pulled the trigger. If Hannah Minacci gets upset, I can call Adrienne and see if the three of us can go together. No teenage boy is going to turn down that threesome.”
Devin mumbled, “Nor any straight man alive.”
“Your high-wire act is definitely without a net. Is it okay if we turn this into a media event? I think we’d be willing to work with your Prom Committee to make it something special.”
“Hang on a second and let me ask.” I put my hand over the phone. “Should we make Prom a media circus? Ford may pony up and upgrade Prom if we do.”
Sandy didn’t hesitate with her opinion.
“I’d say absolutely yes. But you better ask Adrienne before you commit.”
Everyone seemed to agree.
“I agree, if this is just for fun,” Mom said.
I went back to Deb.
“I’m okay with media, but run it by Adrienne. She might not want the hassle. Let her know it’s her call.”
I gave the phone back to Clare, and she went off and talked to her aunt.
When she got back, we found dinner to be excellent. I tried buffalo for the first time. I think it’s an acquired taste. It wasn’t bad; I just prefer beef. Sandy announced our plans to go to a club. Devin didn’t seem happy, so he took me aside after dinner.
“I’m not sure about Sandy taking you clubbing tonight. I have to remind you we have a very important photo shoot tomorrow.”
I needed to lay his fears to rest.
“I need to tell you a couple of things: first, I had an incident in my past that has caused me to swear off drugs and alcohol. I’m also acutely aware that how I act in public can affect you. Both my girlfriend and Kendal have pounded that fact into my head. And I’ll also talk to Sandy to make sure we leave no later than 10:00. I came here to work. If Sandy were not a friend, I’d be refusing to go. But she wants to show me off to her friends, so I agreed.”
I was sure that, in Devin’s eyes, I was coming off as a total playboy. Not the boy-next-door image that Range Sports wanted, but I wasn’t going to become ‘no fun David’ either. He still wasn’t thrilled, but relented. Clare was worse: she insisted on going with us. When I told Sandy that my 24-year-old agent was going, she just rolled her eyes. She gave me a look that only a teenage girl can when you’ve really screwed up.
WE DROVE TO PARK CITY, and Sandy took us through the downtown area. It reminded me of a Norman Rockwell painting of old Americana where the old buildings were adorned with Christmas lights. The little town had a just over 7,500 residents. When the mining jobs dried up, the town almost did too. But there were now three ski resorts in the area, and their main business is tourism.
The club Sandy took us to was on the edge of town in an old warehouse. Once a month they had a teen night; we got lucky, it was tonight. There was a line waiting to get in, so Sandy dropped me off to hold a spot in line. After about five minutes I figured out the girls were sitting in the car to keep warm until I got to the front of the line. I was a little pissed because Kendal had picked out my club clothes and she selected lightweight slacks, more appropriate for Miami weather. I was literally freezing my butt off.
I reached the front of the line in time for Sandy and Clare to sprint from the warm car. I gave them a dirty look and they giggled as we went in. For an early Friday night, I was surprised at how busy the place was. Sandy explained that most of her high school was there.
She introduced me to several people. One boy gave me a dirty look and I figured he was interested in Sandy. She just laughed when I asked her about it. Her friends had a table near the dance floor. Olivia was a small Eurasian girl who turned out to be Sandy’s best friend. She was outgoing and cute. The other girl was Joanna. She wore jeans, a plaid button-up shirt and cowboy boots. She was your tomboy and girl next door, all wrapped up into one.
I had just gotten my coat hung up behind one of the chairs when Joanna grabbed my hand.
“Come on, Fancy Pants, I want to dance.”
I let her drag me out on the dance floor. She turned out to be a lot of fun. During our second dance, I noticed people were actually staring at us.