Life, Love, & Lemons

Ruining All Of My Mom's Good Towels

It was the first Saturday night that Kai worked with me and I was kind of glad to have him there. It was St. Christopher's Homecoming and everything was reminding me that I could have been there. Every girl that came in with her hair done and asking for a diet coke or every boy that should have been getting ready, but instead was ordering a cheeseburger.

Kai tapped his fingers on the counter. We were both working until midnight and after the lobby closes at eleven there wasn't too much to do when it wasn't busy.

"I kind of want to go to Homecoming." I blurted out.

Kai stepped back a bit. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know like just watching all these people go to Homecoming and thinking that all my old friends are there and I'm not." I tried my best to keep the whining out of my voice, but it was hard when I was so frustrated and wanted to go so bad.

"Is Homecoming really that big of a deal? I think I remember my sophomore year health class teacher saying that all school dances were just an excuse to get laid." Kai looked at the counter, the register, and everywhere but at me.

"I don't think that's completely true." I shuffled back and forth on my stupid slip resistant work shoes.

"Well then what's the point of going to the dance?" He wiped the counter with a rag for the millionth time.

"I don't know. To get dressed up, hang out with your friends, and you know dance." I leaned my back against the drink machine. My job for the night was handing out food at the pick-up window, but it was so dead there was nothing to do but lean against the drink machine.

Kai practically snorted. "I don't really dance and I don't like getting dressed up." He threw the towel over his shoulder. "I think I own exactly one tie and I believe that it's a keyboard print one that may or may not play music."

I shoved his shoulder. "You're kind of a jerk."

He let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Bentley, does this stupid Homecoming thing really mean that much to you? I mean can't we do something else that night instead? Just me and you?" He reached over and pulled me closer to him by my belt loops. "No private school friends, no band mates, no parents, just me and you doing something that we want to do."

"Do you two have to do that at work?" Amy, the drive-thru girl who always had the most enormous hickeys on her neck, snarled from behind the grill.

"Oh please Amy I know you've done worse than this at work." Kai rolled his eyes.

"Aw come on, Amy. Aren't they cute together." Clint joked from the grill. The jokes still hadn't died down at work and got worse as soon as Kai and I started dating.

"Ugh, just keep it above the waist while we're here." Amy yelled.

"Kai pressed his forehead to mine. He was so much taller than me and I think that he slouched about six inches to do so. "One night alone. Hell if you really want I'll spend the money that I would have on Homecoming and take you somewhere way better."

"That isn't Perkins?" I asked, leaning in."

"Hmmm..." He smiled playfully. "That's a tough one, but for you I guess I can do that."

"Then where will you take me?" I bit my bottom lip and resisted the urge to kiss him at work.

"It's a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yeah," he let go of me and aimlessly wiped off the drink station. I looked over to see that Amy and Clint were still gawking, so I pretended to wipe it down as well.

"But you have to do one thing for me," he whispered.

"And what's that?" I whispered back, leaning against the pick-up window.

"Please don't make me do anymore of these trying to find out if your friends are gay things or flashing me. I can't keep ruining all of Mom's good towels."