“I forgot how much teenage boys eat,” Emily said as she shook her head.
“Thanks for last night. Once Alan loosened up, we had a lot of fun,” Gina said to change the subject.
Emily gave me a look, so I filled her in.
“One of our friends was out on his first date last night. I guess the date wasn’t going well. We explained to him he would remain dateless throughout high school if he didn’t make a serious effort to show her a good time. He didn’t seem to realize that girls talk. Alan and Gina were watching the car wreck happen. Alan got the hint that if he didn’t show Gina a good time, he might be dateless also.”
“Where were you when I was in high school?” she asked, and then turned to Gina. “You’re right! He’s perfect for Kara.”
I perked up.
“Tell me about this goddess. I’ve only seen a picture. Please tell me that Gina isn’t playing with me, and she Photoshopped it.”
Gina pulled out her phone and showed Emily the picture.
“Actually, no. She didn’t alter the picture. That’s Kara.” she laughed. Then she stage-whispered to Gina, “Should we give him the scoop, or should we let them both be surprised?”
“I was thinking that the surprise factor might be nice, but you know how full of herself Kara can be. It might help if he had some things to fight back with. Plus, I don’t think he’s helpless,” Gina said.
“If half of what you told me is true, he’ll be able to hold his own,” Emily said, and gave me a leer that was so full of sexual heat that it shocked me. “I do have one question, David. Did you really take two girls to the Homecoming Dance?”
“It sounds worse than it was,” I sighed. “They’re actually best friends. The week before, I got dumped, and one of them won me in a bachelor auction. The other one didn’t want some dork pawing her all night, so we all decided to go together.”
“Forget Kara! I’m taking you home tonight to show you what a real woman’s all about.”
“No, no, no! Bad Emily! There’s this thing called statutory rape,” Gina said, waving her hands.
“Uh, I’m not telling,” I said. “You’ll have to drive because I don’t have a license yet.”
I knew that comment would get her to slow down. We could see the wheels turning as Emily tried to figure each angle. She’d periodically would give me a hungry look, and I could feel Gina stiffen next to me. I took Gina’s hand under the table, and I felt her relax when she figured out I was messing with Emily. We finally saw her shoulders sag.
“Shoot.”
“Tell you what, when I turn eighteen you can have your way with me.”
“Kara isn’t going to know what hit her,” Emily said as she laughed.
I hung out with Gina and her sister for a while, until they had to leave for the movies. I wandered back to the guys, and Luke gave me shit about always finding a girl wherever I went. Luke was actually very sought-after, but for some unknown reason he seemed to think I had more success with the ladies.
After Monical’s, we decided to go to the arcade. There was talk of miniature golf, but we decided it was too cold. Surprisingly, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The guys had a good time goofing off. Magic took on all challengers to the dance game he’d commandeered. Once he’d beaten all of us, he made an announcement.
“Does anyone else want to take on the champ?”
“Do you mind if a girl tries?” Tomika asked, surprising us all as she came up behind us.
Magic spun around.
“Little girl, I don’t know if you have the skills to keep up. Why don’t you run along and save your quarters?”
We were playing challenger pays.
“Little girl, is it?” she said, putting her hands on her hips. She turned on us with a little heat in her voice. “Boys, do I look like a little girl to you?”
We all just took one step back. Magic got himself into this, and he could get himself out of it. Sometimes I wondered about my friends.
“Big talk for a little girl. Put up or shut up,” Magic challenged.
She pumped quarters into the machine. They both started out seriously. We watched in amazement as they looked like they were in sync with the game. Then she gave Magic a hip check and her cute giggle lightened the mood. They started to just freestyle, the game be damned. Shortly after that, we lost Magic for the night. I didn’t blame him. I would leave with Tomika if she asked.
I found Jim playing pinball by himself.
“How’re you doing?”
He looked at me and he gave me the first genuine smile I could remember him having tonight. Most brothers aren’t too fond of the guy who might be sleeping with their sister. To make things even more awkward, he went out with Tracy after she dumped me.
“Fine.”
“How’re the ribs?”
“They suck. I found out that I’m done with football this year.”
“Ah man, that sucks,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to playing varsity next year.”
“Jim, I’m hoping you play left tackle next year. I need someone to keep them off of me.”
“No shit. You took a pounding. Those bruises look painful.”
“Nah, they gave me some painkillers when I messed up my back before. I took a half of one before I came out tonight. Those things make me goofy if I take a full one.”
He laughed.
“They do bring down some inhibitions. I’m lucky to be out tonight, given some of the things I said.”
We spent the next thirty minutes just hanging out. I found he had a similar personality to his sister, so we got along great. Based on those similarities, I could also see something was bothering him. He sighed.
“You know I love my sister?”
“Yes, I think she’s special, too.”
He got a sad look on his face.
“I don’t know any other way but to tell you: she and Cindy went to Cindy’s lake cabin with their exes this weekend.”
Whatever he saw in my face was not good.
“I’m so sorry. Suzanne made me promise not to tell you, but getting to know you tonight I realize you’re too nice of a guy for them to take advantage of you like that.”
I gathered my thoughts. My first instinct was to make excuses for them, but if I kept making the same mistake, I was a fool. The last thing I needed to do was vent to her brother.
“Jim, I’ll always remember this. You’re a true friend.”
“The thing that sucks is that I know she likes you a lot. You have no idea how sick I am of hearing ‘David this’ and ‘David that.’ The only guy she would ever leave you for is her ex. She thought he was the one. He’s a complete ass-hat. He always treated her like shit. Last night it was all I could do to not punch him out.”
“Wow, how do you really feel?”
“Sorry, but you weren’t around when he dumped her. When she started hanging out with you, it was as if she was back. I rather hated you because I didn’t want to see her get hurt again, but I loved to see that spark again. The more I get to know you, the more I like you. I see what my sister sees in you, but she makes me so mad sometimes. For some reason she has a blind spot for this guy. Everyone around her knows he’s a dick, but she won’t listen.”
“Thanks for telling me. I need a few minutes to collect my thoughts.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
I went outside the arcade and sucked in the crisp fall air. I thought about being a wimp and sending them a breakup text. I decided to man up and call Suzanne. When she answered, I could hear everyone laughing in the background.
“Hang on a moment,” she said.
I heard the noise level go down. She obviously went to another room.
“How’s your guys’ night going?”