"Easy," Rachel said. "Just keep him talking about himself. That's what guys like to do anyway."
"Maybe," Aubrie said, "but the subject will come up sooner or later."
Rachel shook her head and then stared at the ceiling in contemplation. "I probably shouldn't reveal my dating secrets. Once I do, you're likely to steal all sorts of guys away from me." She lowered her gaze with a sigh. "Still, what are friends for? Chelsea needs help and she's not getting any good advice from the rest of you." Rachel took hold of my arm and pulled me closer to her. "I have a method. It works every time, and it will work for you if you can manage to follow it."
"What is it?" I asked.
"No matter what the topic of conversation is, you keep asking him questions about himself. Act like you want to talk about nothing but his thoughts, interests, and friends. If he mentions the sky is blue, you ask what he thinks about that and when he first noticed it. Don't say a word about yourself, and he'll worship you by the end of the date."
We all stared at her for a moment. Then Aubrie said, "Don't guys think it's strange that you never say anything about yourself?"
Rachel tilted her chin down. "Like they even notice. All the guys I date think I'm the best conversationalist in the world."
"Wow," Samantha said slowly. "I'm not sure if that's incredibly brilliant or horribly manipulative."
"Don't you get tired of just talking about the guy?" Aubrie asked.
Rachel shrugged. "Sure. That's where kissing comes in handy."
"I'll try it," I said.
Samantha rolled her eyes, and Aubrie shook her head sadly, but Rachel gave me the thumbs-up sign.
Chapter 10
The school day went by, haltingly slow at some times and breakneck fast at others, depending on whether I was excited or dreading my date with Tanner. Mr. Metzerol didn't hit me quite as much with his stick during my lesson with him, which I figured was progress. Molly and Polly were still slouching around, which wasn't.
Whenever I walked by him, Rick gave me dirty looks and mumbled things I knew I didn't want to hear. Rachel told me she'd heard through the grapevine that he thought I was responsible for Adrian breaking up with him. Which was typical Rick. I don't suppose it ever occurred to him that he had anything to do with it.
I knew Adrian would take him back in a second if he apologized—not even to me—just to her, but I wasn't about to suggest it. As far as I was concerned, his relationship with her could fade away, destined to be remembered with the same fondness as dental work.
I'd help her find someone new. Someone nice. Just as soon as she started speaking to me again. See, when you come right down to it, I'm much more forgiving of her than she is of me.
I changed my clothes three times and my hair twice before I went off to meet Tanner. Mom hadn't come home from work yet, so I left her a note and hoped she didn't call me on my cell phone with objections.
Tanner was already at the restaurant when I got there, and keeping with the trend, he looked even better than last time.
He smiled when he saw me walk up. "Hi again."
"Hi." Underneath the glow of his smile, I couldn't remember Rachel's instructions. In fact, I couldn't remember anything, like what to say next.
He didn't seem to notice though, and he made small talk while the hostess seated us at our table. Probably he was used to girls being speechless around him.
Dinner went surprisingly well. Mostly we stayed on safe topics—like our hobbies—we both loved skiing, and we made a date to go the first weekend after the lifts opened. We also talked about a lot of current events. I felt myself stretching to explain my opinions and the logic I'd used to reach them. He listened, and although he didn't agree with me about everything, he respected what I said. I could tell he was smart, and he made me feel like I was smart too.
When had Mike ever made me feel that way?
A few times the subject matter wandered dangerously close to identifying me as a high school senior. That's when I remembered Rachel's advice. When he asked what classes I had, I said, "Just the usual stuff. What about you? What's your favorite class?"
It was biology, something that slightly bothered him since he'd already decided to go the MBA route. It was his family's way of life. They ran businesses.
After that we talked about business, family expectations, and whether it was wise to strike out in new directions if other things interested you.
When we finished dinner we wandered over to Baskin-Robbins for milk shakes. Not because we were hungry; neither of us wanted to say good night yet. The night air chilled my face as we walked, a reminder that November was here, and snow wouldn't be far behind. We took our cups and strolled over to the patio area near the river. The Palouse River is actually more of a stream as it runs through Pullman, and it mostly consists of mud, but it was nice to sit on a bench and look at it, because I was alone with Tanner.
He asked me where I lived—a definite danger area. If I told him, "With my family" he'd ask why. I hesitated and said, "Your parents run the Hilltop, so they must be residents. Do you live with them or on campus?"
True to Rachel's advice, he didn't seem to notice I hadn't answered his question. He said, "I'm in Perham Hall."
"Didn't want to live with your parents?"
"Didn't want to live with my brother."
"Oh, you don't get along?"
He shrugged. "Some of the time we do, but most of the time I want to kill him." He paused for a moment. "You probably think I'm terrible for saying that, don't you?"
"No. I have a little sister, remember?"
"Oh yeah." He shot me a smile. "Tell me about your sister."
Danger area. I smiled back at him. "Tell me about your brother."
He leaned back on his hands, considering. "My brother is the smartest person I know, but he's devoted his entire life to slacking off. I can't tell you the last time he helped out at the restaurant."
I nodded. "My sister blames me for all her problems."
Tanner held out his hand as though showing me something. "My brother hates everything I do. I did sports, so he won't. I got good grades, so he won't. If I've done anything, it isn't cool."
I took a sip of my shake. "My sister refuses to think about her future, plus most of the time she dresses like the bride of Satan."
"My parents would never let me get away with half the stuff my brother gets away with."
"Exactly," I said, relieved that he understood—and surprised that I'd found someone who felt like I did. "My mother is too busy dealing with my sister to pay attention to my life."
Tanner nodded and turned back to me. "It sounds like they'd make quite a pair. Maybe we should get them together."
I shook my head and fast. "No way. My sister just broke up with her loser boyfriend. I'm hoping next time she'll choose someone who wants to reform her."
Tanner shrugged. "Yeah, and actually my brother already has a loser girlfriend." He gave me a quirky smile. "She drives my parents crazy. All you have to do is say the word 'grand-kids' and my mom shudders."
I raised my cup in a toast. "Here's to our future family reunions. May the normal people outnumber the hoodlums and slackers."
Tanner tapped his cup into mine. "We can always hope."
We both took a drink, but the next moment my relief gave way to sadness. Adrian and I had been so close when we were younger. Would it ever be that way again?