Gold Rush

Chapter Sixteen

            I smirked. It was pay back time. “Hey, Cindy!” I called, hopping off the footstool I was on and jogging over to her and Noah. “Are you going to the dance tonight?”

            “Yep!” she responded enthusiastically. “Are you?”

            I nodded. “Yep.”

            “I am too,” Noah pitched in.

            She smiled at him. “That’s cool.”

            “Actually, Noah wanted to know if you wanted to be his date,” I told her, keeping the smirk that so desperately wanted to cross my face, off. “He’s just too shy to ask.”

            “Iris!” Noah cried, looking at me in outrage.

            Cindy laughed. “Is that true, Noah?”

            “I… er…” He trailed off, his face growing more and more red. “Yes.”

            “You should have just asked,” she stated, poking him in the chest. “I wanted you to ask me.”

            “Really?”

            She nodded, now also looking embarrassed. “Well… yeah.”

            I resisted the urge to awe. They’d be such a cute couple.

            “Oh… then, um. I’ll pick you up at seven?”

            “Sounds good,” she responded happily. “But wait. What if my dress doesn’t match your outfit?”

            Noah snorted. “Rian has a tie of every color, so just tell me and I’ll find one.”

            “Okay!”

            “Well, um, I’ve got to put up the banner now…”

            She nodded, nodding her head to the other side of the gym. “I’ve got to help set up tables and table cloths. I’ll see you later, Noah. Bye Iris, bye Luke!” she called a little louder, waving her hand at him.

            As she walked away, Noah pursed his lips at me. “Why did you do that?”

            “You wanted to ask her anyway.”

            “What if she said no?”

            “She wouldn’t have,” I told him, rolling my eyes. “She likes you, Noah. You could actually date her and not have to have it be a fake relationship. And now we all have dates.”

            “Luke doesn’t.”

            Both of our gazes snapped to him. He looked back at us uncomfortably. “What are you guys planning?”

            “You need a date for the dance,” we declared.

            “No I don’t.”

            “Yes, you do,” we chimed back at him.

            “No, I don’t,” he repeated forcefully.

            Noah bounded up to him, putting a heavy hand on his shoulder. “’Fraid you do, mate.”

            He pushed Noah’s hand off. “I don’t need one.”