Slugger

6: As Smitten As a Tiger

"Maybe this was a bad idea." I tell my step-dad, David. He's chopping potatoes right now and stops to look up at me. "I mean... like... yeah."

Coherent sentences aren't my thing right now.

David returns to chopping his potatoes. "You like the boy, right?"

"Well, yeah," I say and then rest my chin atop my hands. "I don't think I should like him this much though."

He puts his knife down and folds his arms, looking at me from across the counter. "You think you like him too much?"

Understatement of the year. Instead of telling him that though (I doubt he'd appreciate my tone of voice), I simply nod. He rests his index finger against his chin and thinks about the whole situation for a few moments before going back to the potatoes.

"You should go," He says simply. I squint at the chopping board, my stomach tying itself into knots.

"But I'm nervous,"

"Don't confuse your nerves with excitement."

"But what if he doesn't like what I'm wearing?"

"Then drop him, you look great."

"Should I have left my hair alone? Like I normally do?"

"You can do whatever you want with your hair, it always looks great."

He really has all the answers. Damn.

As though he's worried by my sudden lack of questions, David looks up at me and sighs. "Kennedy, you'll be fine. If he's as good as a guy as you say he is then everything will go smoothly and you'll come home as smitten as a kitten. Now, what are you doing tonight?

I sit up. "That's the thing. He says it's a surprise,"

"That'll be fun. Maybe he'll take you to see a movie."

Oh God no. "I think it'll be a little more original than that," I comment and stare at my watch. It's ten to seven and Dante said he'd pick me up at seven so I'm a bit on edge right now. Oh God.

It just occurred to me that he might cancel at the last minute. How does one recover from being jilted?

"What's more original than going to watch a horror movie with a girl and her cuddling with you when she gets scared?" He says, now transferring the potatoes into a pan.

"Everything?" I shake my head and David chuckles in response. "Is that how you and my mom got together?"

"Nope, we watched a romance movie and she fell madly in love with me after realising I was ten times better than the lead male in that flop,"

"How amazing," I lean my head against my palm. "Who said romance was dead?"

Just as he is about to reply, the doorbell rings. Feeling nerves wash over me once again, I say goodbye to David and jump off the stool I'm sitting on. I almost fall down a few times on my journey towards the front door but I can't tell if it's because I can't walk or if I'm just nervous.

Tyler bounds down the stairs two at a time, whistling a tune.

"Why are you all dressed up?" he asks me suspiciously as he gets to the door, standing in front of me.

"I'm going out," I say, brushing a stray piece of hair out of my face. He raises both his eyebrows at me and then chuckles. "Could you like... move?"