Let's just say that the date Blake Richardson took me on wasn't exactly a dream come true but it was good enough. I guess it wouldn't be any ones dream date to be flaunted around like a toy or a brand new car but it wasn't like it actually bothered me enough to make me leave in the middle of the date. After all, I hadn't had a lot of dates to compare this one to.
With a date like this, it was no longer a mystery to me why the most drool worthy boy of Eastmoor couldn't keep a steady girlfriend.
A normal, cliché date with the movie and the dinner would've been more than okay. Sure, I didn't expect the perfect little rich boy who was still living on his parents' money to take me to a fancy restaurant but the fact that Blake couldn't go through with this without his friends with us just meant that he wasn't ready for an actual relationship.
He had his hand on my back or his arms around my shoulders the whole time as if we were a legitimate couple but aside him constantly checking if I was okay, we didn't get the chance to get to know each other like people on dates were supposed to.
The boys were natural born flirts who obviously didn't know the meaning of personal space, which was no wonder why they were friends with Blake and with the way they looked at me, it was obvious why Blake wanted me here to show off to them.
The girls on the other hand, were the feisty, rich, popular type. I'm sure they must've been nice but for some reason, they felt the need to intimidate me– though they didn't, not even a bit– and they looked like they'd throw me under a bus if they could without risking Blake's wrath and their ticket to their popularity.
There were three of them, Stacey, Brit and Amanda, and they didn't like me. I knew this for sure when I'd over heard them calling me Northwood trash. I was tempted to throw the insult back at them but I didn't want to make them right.
"Babe," Blake nudged me. The way he used the term of endearment made me cringe. It flowed so easily passed his lips, which made me sure he used it on all the girls.
"Mhmm?"
He cocked his head towards his blonde, player looking friend. "Colton is trying to ask you something."
"Sorry," I said. "I was just thinking about something. What was the question?"
"Pretty thing like you, how do you not have a boyfriend and how did you get stuck with our boy, Blake?"
What a flirt, I thought.
"My brother's are kind of intimidating," I said. "No one has ever really had the guts to ask me out."
"I'll have you know that if Blake didn't get to you first, I would've gladly asked you." I barely wanted to say yes to Blake, what made this Colton playboy dude think that I was going to even consider saying yes to him.
"That's good to know," I muttered.
"And I've met one of your brothers," he continued. "He really isn't that bad."
My brother's weren't that bad, they were just intimidating and they came in a group that no one wanted to mess with. The boys were cool when they wanted to be but they were also intense to the point of making the unlucky boys who chose to make a move on me pee their pants.
My brother's came in and out of places like a pack of wolves and that was what just made family more important. But instead of beating up and ruining Austin's life for ruining mine, they picked on the boys who showed any interest in their little sister and they were protecting me from the wrong things.
"You're not talking about my little brother by any chance?"
Colton laughed. "Your brother's cool."
"I guess."
"Your cool, too. And hot."
Blake punched his arm playfully and I laughed, fighting the frown. "Thanks."
"So, Kody," Stacey began. "I felt so bad for you when you totally messed up that last pyramid in your routine last year. It cost you first place."
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
"Yeah, that totally sucked. But you know what sucked more?" she raised her eyebrows, waiting for me to continue. "That even after I messed that up, you guys still didn't place higher than we did."
I knew I should've taken the high rode but when someone jabbed directly at you, only a pushover would let it go 'unnoticed'. Today, in front of Blake and his friends, I was not going to be a pushover. I wasn't going to be the vulnerable cheerleader that they could mess with.
Good news: I got the message across.
Bad news: if Stacey wasn't out to get me before, she definitely was now.
And the rest of group date wasn't a total coliseum. Sure, the boys were animals and the girls had long claws but it was nothing I couldn't handle.
I was in the middle of eating when my phone buzzed on the table in between Blake and me.
Thanks for helping me out today.
Blake, who was never more than a foot or two away from me, read the text over my shoulder and it occurred to me that I had two over confident, easy to hate, jock boys reading my text messages for me today.
"Collins?" Blake scoffed.
"It's not what you think."
"Collins as in Austin Collins?" one of the guys snorted. "That guy's a joke."
I frowned, which I found to be a very unlikely reaction. He was a bit annoying and irritating to the point of making me want to pull my hair out, I'd admit. He was also a jerk most times but I didn't like it when these guys called him a joke. Like, it wasn't even in my list of insults for him.
"Why where you with Austin today?" Blake asked casually.
"We have school work and tutoring together," I said.
"Tutoring is code for something else, if you know what I mean," Colton said with a smirk.
"It's really not," I said.
"Doesn't matter," Blake told me.
"Yeah, he's no competition for Blake," Stacey said. What was that supposed to mean? "That guy thinks he's a football god but honestly, if he's your star player, you guys are already losers."
I scowled at her. "If that was true, then why are you guys afraid of us?"
"We're not afraid of you–"
"Stacey, just stop it, yeah?"
And then she shut up. I choked down a laugh but allowed myself to release a cough just to show her that, yeah, I was laughing. If I thought Austin was a controlling freak show, I was so wrong. Blake was a freaking warden and he had total control over his group of friends and maybe even his whole school.
The Stacey girl was glaring at me the whole time and within minutes of observing her, I noticed how much she craved Blake Richardson's attention. I smiled like I'd won something big but really, I just had something some girl I really disliked at the moment wanted and it felt good.
When it started to look like we were going to kill each other with our eyes, Blake stood up, taking my hand. "Let's go somewhere alone."
"Sure." Best news I've heard all day.
I followed him as he led me around the mall.
"Sorry about my friends," he said.
"No, you're not," I laughed. "I'd bet that you trained them to talk about Austin that way. Those words were just quotes from you."
He smiled. "Yeah, but I told them you were competitive. She shouldn't have tried to test your patience."
I shrugged and then without a reply from me, we experienced an awkward silence.
"So am I getting a second date?"
I laughed. "No."
"We can try to make this work out," he said.
"Can we?"
"Maybe. Look, I can't promise you anything. Sure, I asked you out to piss Austin off, but I kind of like you. And Colton says you're hot." Since when did opinions of friends matter in relationships? "Plus, I know you loved pissing Collins off. You get a hot boyfriend and you get to mess with that guy."
I had no idea if he was joking or not, but either way, he had a thick skull. If I tossed a brick at his head, I doubted he would feel a thing.
"Maybe we can try the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing?"
"I can't promise anything either," I said. "But we can just try this out a little longer."
I was settling. Blake was good enough. He was a football star, he was incredibly handsome, he was well respected by his peers, he was smart, he wasn't full of drama and he was man enough to ask me out when no one would. Blake was somewhat more than perfect for me. Yet, I still feel like there should have been more.
"Good."
He put his hands on my cheek and leaned in for a kiss.
"I'd like that."
I wondered if what Liz described about love or crushes were real or if she was just exaggerating because I wasn't sure what I was feeling was even close to what she talked about.
As an experiment, I stood on the tip of my toes for one more.
Surprising Blake and myself, "Me too."
I was definitely settling.