“What about Kara?”
“No, she’s working. My other faux girlfriend, Sunny, has started shooting her new cable show.”
“You could call Ford. They may have someone who’s looking to get a little publicity.”
“They already offered Haley Durham. I passed because her dad is supposed to be a piece of work.”
“I don’t know her.”
“Google her, she did a sitcom.”
I heard the clicking as she typed.
“I remember her. She’s cute. How old is she?” Adrienne asked.
“I think she’s my age or a little older.”
“What’s her dad’s name?”
“Bill. Google him.”
More clicking.
“Oh, I see what you mean,” Adrienne said. “Hey, I think you need to see this.”
She sent me a text with a link. Haley was in a bikini and either had had a boob job or puberty had been very good to her.
“Those are new,” I offered.
“I thought that might change your mind.”
“Yes, I’m a horny boy. You know what boobs do to me,” I teased her.
I had gotten a copy of our nude photo from Miami. Sunny was a good friend. I’d sent it to Adrienne. She was still threatening to come and track me down to get the photo off of all my devices. I told her it was my screen saver. It might have been if she hadn’t threatened to kill me and then sue me. I thought she was being a little mean, but who can figure out girls.
“I thought I told you to delete that picture.”
“I thought you were going to be my Prom date,” I responded.
“Call Clare and see if Haley’s still available to play your girlfriend. She could come to Prom, and then don’t you have a shoot on the left coast?”
“I’m going to San Francisco when school gets out, but I’m taking someone with me.”
“No big deal, she’s just your personal assistant,” she advised me.
“There are three of them.”
“Oh, good lord, I’m starting to think it’s a good thing I’m not going to be your date. How many girls are you seeing anyway? Wait, don’t answer that, I don’t wanna know. Now go call Clare.”
She hung up on me. I racked my brains as to who I could call. I knew that Tracy was free, but that would not go over well. Eve was already making hints that we were through once school was out. She was being considerate of my feelings by giving me a target date for the breakup. I didn’t need to hurry it along and bring the wrath of the other girls down on me as well.
I thought about Tami, Missy or Harper. They had their formal next week and I was taking them to it. I called Tami.
“Hey, guess who got stood up for Prom?”
“Oh, Buddy, say it isn’t so.”
“Yep, Adrienne has a conflict and can’t come. I made her call Hannah Minacci; I figured we should give her one more chance to come to her senses. I can’t believe she passed.”
“Poor baby, just get Eve to go.”
“She and Bill are going as friends. I can’t do that to him.”
“I’d help you out, but quite honestly I can’t afford it. Missy, Harper and I have been looking forward to going to formal with you. It’s going to be a special night.”
“I could buy you a dress,” I begged.
“‘Stupid Boy,’ I could never find a prom dress now. They’ve all been picked over. Why don’t you go stag? I know you’re not shy and would have a good time.”
“Adrienne suggested I take Haley Durham. Remember the girl who contacted Ford needing a faux boyfriend?” I asked her.
“Didn’t she have a psycho dad?”
“Yeah, but it’s just for one night, how bad could it be?”
“Really? You amaze me sometimes. I take it she’s hot.”
“Maybe,” I hedged.
“I advise you to go stag, but you won’t listen to me, so go for it,” she said, I think giving her permission.
I called Clare.
“Clare Thomas.”
“Hey, it’s David Dawson.”
“What can I do for you, David?”
“Adrienne has bailed on me for Prom. I was calling to see if Haley Durham was still interested and could fill in. Oh, and her dad has to stay in LA. I don’t need him stalking me.”
“Are you sure about this? I seem to remember you putting up a pretty big stink about us suggesting her.”
“I’m sure if I forced the issue I could find a date, but I’d come across as a jerk. This is better with such short notice.”
“I’ll call you back,” she told me.
◊◊◊ XXXXX
I told Eve at baseball practice that Adrienne had a conflict. Bill looked nervous until he heard I was working on finding another date. By dinnertime, Beth, Cindy, Suzanne and Gina all offered to dump their dates. I told them I just couldn’t do it. Gina was just mocking me, I think.
I got home and had just put my dinner into the microwave when my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize.
“This is David.”
“David, this is Bill Durham, Haley’s father.”
“Sir.”
“I was calling to see how much you’re willing to pay for Haley to be your date. I understand that you had a last-minute cancellation.”
I wanted to ask if there were different prices for different services performed, but didn’t.
“I think there’s been a miscommunication. Please thank Haley, but I’ll make other arrangements,” I said, and hung up.
My phone rang again. It was him, so I blocked his number and then called Clare.
“You aren’t going to believe this,” I started without even saying hello. “Bill Durham just called me to prostitute out his own daughter.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” Clare warned me.
“He asked how much I was willing to pay for Haley to go on a date with me. Are you kidding me? I can find a date. Hell, I’ll go stag before I’ll pay for it.”
“Alright, I’ll take care of it. This is certainly shocking. I’ll put the word out so no one else is blindsided.”
“Thanks, Clare, I’ll figure something out.”
BY THE TIME I WENT to sleep, I had figured out I wasn’t going to the prom. I just didn’t feel like going. I had seen the smirks on my teammates’ faces after I told Eve. Tomorrow at school should be fun.
Thursday May 1
I WAS GOING TO LUNCH when my phone rang. It was an LA number. Bill Durham had been trying to get in touch with me all week. He had even called my house and left several messages. I needed to tell him to get lost.
“What do you want?” I answered.
“I was hoping to go to Prom with you,” a girl said.
“Funny. Who is this?”
“Haley Durham.”
“Okay, I’ve got to go. Tell your dad to quit calling, and you have a nice life.”
“Stop! I need to talk to you.”
I didn’t say anything, but didn’t hang up, either.
“Look, my dad doesn’t represent me. He got the call because Ford had my old number. My mom and I moved out. I heard what he did, and I’m sorry.”
“Thanks for the call. I have to go to lunch. They’re having mystery meat, and whoever guesses what it is wins a prize.”
“Look, I want to go to Prom with you.”
“I wish you could, but I canceled everything. No more limo, dinner reservations canceled, hotel room canceled, and I gave my tickets away. They’re sold out, so I couldn’t go with you even if I wanted to.”
“I know you don’t know me, but if I can fix everything, will you go to Prom with me?”
“Why?” I asked her.
“Alright, total honesty time. You talked to my dad. Something isn’t right with him, but he refuses to get help. Mom had enough, and we moved out three months ago. I need some positive press. So we’d be helping each other out.”
“Again, why? I won’t get you the kind of press you need. I’m just a kid who plays sports and does a little modeling. There have to be a thousand men in LA who would do you more good than I would.”
“There are two reasons. The first you probably won’t understand. You said no to me a couple of months ago. I don’t back down from a challenge. Come to think of it, I bet you would understand. The second is that you’re more than you say you are. Range Sports wouldn’t have you as the face of their company if you weren’t a good guy.”