“Why are you letting him take your girlfriend to Homecoming?” Chuck asked.
“It’s her fault. She made a big deal that no one had asked her to go, and Dare suddenly was able to talk and asked her out.”
“Did I hear correctly that you’re taking three girls?”
“Yep. We’re going as friends. They didn’t have dates, and since my girlfriend decided to go rogue, I figured what the heck.”
“And you don’t see any potential problems with all this?” Chuck asked.
“Nope,” I said confidently.
Brook and Dare came out of the house, and I almost decided to call off this farce. She was in a little black dress that reminded me why I loved Brook Davis. She’d pulled her hair up, so her neck was exposed. The little head had some ideas when she and Dare got into the back row.
“Where are we going to dinner?” Brook asked.
“Chuck E. Cheese,” Dare whispered.
From the lasers I felt boring into the back of my skull, I decided I’d better quit teasing the boy.
“That’s what I told his mom. We have reservations at the Covered Bridge.”
“That’s where you took Zoe,” Brook said.
They’d converted an old covered bridge into a restaurant that was open three nights a week and had a set menu. It was one of the most romantic places in our area to take a date. Tracy had somehow wrangled reservations for us.
Our next stop was to pick up my dates at Tracy’s house. All three of them came out rocking little black dresses. When I saw they each had their hair up, I could tell the four girls had decided to match tonight. Gina and Pam got into the back with me, and Tracy sat up front with Chuck.
“David told Dare we were going to Chuck E. Cheese,” Brook announced from the back seat.
“We could drop you two off,” I suggested.
“Be nice,” Tracy said.
“Where are we going?” Gina asked.
Tracy told everyone. Pam and Gina were excited. It turned out I was the only one who had been there before, which was understandable because you had to plan far ahead to be able to get in. They were usually booked a couple of months out. Most high school kids didn’t think that far into the future, so the Covered Bridge was never an option.
The bridge the restaurant was in had once been on the main road out of town. The state had built a new bridge. A couple had bought the old one and converted it into a restaurant about ten years ago. They’d left the look rustic but brought in tables and chairs that reminded you of a high-end place in a big city. Each table had a view of the river. For us, they’d put a couple of tables together so all six of us could sit together.
Our waitress came out.
“Welcome to the Covered Bridge. Is this your first time dining with us?”
“Yes,” Brook said.
“Let me give you a little background. The owner and chef wanted to have a place where you could get fine dining without it turning into more than he could handle while holding down a full-time job. We are open Friday through Sunday nights and have a set menu. That means that you get what we’re serving,” she said with a smile.
The waitress looked around the table and then continued.
“I’ll start with drink orders. If you’re feeling adventurous, I would like to suggest you get tonight’s special. It’s a fizzy herbed pineapple limeade with basil and mint. The chef picked it to go with tonight’s menu. As a starter, he has prepared an antipasto that will be accompanied by French onion soup. For the main course, there is the blue-cheese-smothered filet mignon, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and maple-glazed sweet potatoes with bacon and caramelized onions. For dessert, we’re serving roasted pears on an espresso mascarpone cream that is to die for.”
I’d coached Dare for his date. He liked the part where I told him that he should steer the conversation towards Brook so she would talk about herself. Girls—all people, actually—are happy to tell you what they’re interested in if you show genuine curiosity. The next part unnerved him. I gave him Greg’s advice about answering her questions … fully. He couldn’t look at his shoes and nod, or get his phone out and type his answer. During dinner, I watched Brook slowly get him to talk to her. I considered that a win for tonight.
I wasn’t quite sure what Dare’s deal was. At first, I thought he had some sort of social phobia or anxiety disorder. What made me believe that wasn’t the case was that he hung around my friends and me. He didn’t avoid being around people, he just had problems talking to them or looking them in the eye. That made me think he was simply overly shy.
What made me decide that was his mom’s comment about him talking to her. My guess was that because he was such a bright kid, he never fit in. Most likely, his teachers and other students had been mocking and critical to the extent that he was bullied. I hoped that once he trusted us more, he would open up and see that not everyone was ‘out to get him,’ so to speak.
Mr. Palm had done him a huge favor by pairing him with me. I hated to imagine how he would’ve been treated if not for my protection the first couple of weeks. Even with it, the bullies had targeted him. Once word got out about my declaration of the consequences for any bullies if anything happened to him, the bullying had calmed down some. The problem was, he wouldn’t always have me to protect him. I wanted to help him come out of his shell enough that he could at least get by.
That was also why I hadn’t told him what he could do with his idea to take my girlfriend on a date. At first, Brook hadn’t been happy with me. She understood once I explained it to her. She was now totally on board with my plan to help him. I was glad because my friends all thought I was a dumbass.
Gina reached over and touched my knee.
“Whatcha thinking?”
“Hmm?”
“You looked lost in thought.”
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking I was lucky to have all of you as my friends. You look nice tonight,” I added, hoping to change the topic.
“You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“He doesn’t realize he comes across as such a flirt. I’m a cautionary tale of his evil ways,” Pam said, and then giggled when I looked confused.
“You can get those ideas out of your head,” I said, giving Gina and Pam meaningful looks.
“Please. You’re still the biggest slut at Lincoln High, even if you are dating the head cheerleader. What a cliché,” Gina grumbled.
“Bite me, Princess. You had your shot at dating me but decided you’d rather date Alan,” I teased.
“You two can stop right now. I don’t want any bickering on my date,” Tracy said, stepping in as referee.
Gina rolled her eyes, and I kept a straight face.
When dinner was over, I decided that we could have gotten just as good a meal at Our House. I thought Tracy’s mom was an excellent chef. The only thing the Covered Bridge had that my restaurant didn’t was the view of the river. From everyone’s reaction, though, this particular outing had been a success.
◊◊◊
Chapter 25 – Homecoming Friday October 14
This year’s Homecoming theme was The Great Gatsby. Everything was done in black, white, and gold, with sparkling lights. I was impressed by the way they’d transformed our gym into a 1920s speakeasy.
They’d hired a photographer, and I got pictures with my dates and Brook. Then I had the photographer take one with all six of us. Dare got one with Brook, who was still being a good sport about everything. The only downer for the night was that even with my pain pills, there was no way I could dance. I shook my head when Dare also refused to dance. I sent a text to my brother and told him to dance with Brook for me. Once Phil broke the ice, other guys came over to ‘help’ me by dancing with my dates.