𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 | 𝐛. 𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩

09. In Tad We Trust

"When I saw you last night with Brooke at the dance, you looked happy," Ashley told me while she and I fixed our drinks at the counter at Pat's.

I smiled, remembering the whole night with Brooke. The kissing, the dancing, the laughing. "Well, it was the best dance of my life."

Ashley beamed as we walked toward the table. "Everything worked out the way it was supposed to," she told me and we sat down.

We then heard Brooke groan while she was looking at her phone. "Next screen, please. I've clicked all the traffic lights. I'm not a robot."

"Guys, guess who kissed me?" my sister quizzed, still smiling like an idiot.

Brooke and I gasped. "Tad!" we said in sync. We all squealed and pulled Ashley into a group hug. Brooke muttering an 'aw." 

Taking a deep breath, Ashley continued, "It was amazing. I'm going to ask him out today."

"Wow. This has been your dream since you first got here. Can you write 'Brooke gets rich' on your bucket list?"

"Or Athena gets famous?" I added hopefully.

"Ooh, Tad's here!" Ashley yelled excitedly, and we all turned around to see Tad Cameron walking through the door. My sister scoffed before saying cooly, "I mean, Tad's here."

Once she got up and left, I leaned towards Brooke. "Brooke," I called to get her attention that was on her phone.

"Sorry," she responded, "I'm doing something really important."

I leaned back and nodded. "Sure. I've got some important things to catch up on myself." I pulled my phone out and pretended to be scrolling and typing on the screen.

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I was back in Pat's, still looking at my phone --for real this time-- when Brooke Bishop walked in and stood in front of me. 

"I'm sorry I ignored you this morning," she told me, "I swear I wasn't being rude. I was refreshing Ticketmaster like crazy to get us these." She showed me her phone and my eyes widened. "Front-row tickets to young weasel tonight."

I stood up, gaping at her before questioning, "Young Weasel? The international K-pop star sensation?" She nodded at me. "Is he playing at a super small venue? Maybe a bookstore?" 

To be totally honest, I was nervous about my first date with Brooke. I love Young Weasel and concerts, but I really didn't want our first date to be somewhere so crowded. I wanted to be somewhere semi-crowded. Like a restaurant or a park picnic.

"Nuh-uh," she responded, "Staples Center. Fifteen thousand screaming and stomping fans."

To be totally honest again, I wasn't a very big fan of crowds either. I love being in front of them, singing or cheerleading, but being in them? Not so much.

Once Brooke saw my face, she continued, "Look, I know you were anxious before the dance, but I ended up being there for the reason you wanted me to be there, didn't I?" I nodded my head slowly. after thinking about it. "And I said that you would have fun and you did, didn't you?" Again, my head goes up and down slowly.

"I did."

"Just like you're gonna have a good time at this," she compared, "Even though you'll be crushed against the stage, feeling like you can't breathe or move for four hours. It's such an adrenaline rush."

"Can't wait."

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I had invited Brooke to my house so that we could talk. I had been thinking about what to say to her, and I had finally decided to do the only thing I could do to not hurt her feelings.