Lottie seems happy about being in her uniform, but I'm self-conscious about mine. It sticks to my stomach and barely covers my butt. How do the girls who are cheer veterans get used to this? I mean, do we have to wear them everywhere? The school's black and gold colors adorn the fabric, with matching sequins. Anyone wearing them looks like giant bumblebees. Sexy bumblebees, but still bumblebees.
Roxie seems okay with the lack of coverage, too. She leans over her booth so far you can see that her spanks are a bit too tight.
"Oh, my God," Lottie whispers, pulling me close. "Doesn't she realize people are trying to eat?"
Her ill-fitting spanks are the least of my worries as she jumps up and leans toward the door. "Oh, hey!" she calls as Parker and Tay enter. "Guess we all had the same idea, huh?"
Upon hearing her voice, Tay cringes, and Lottie fights back a laugh. Parker even looks terrified. Poor kid. Roxie's high-pitched voice is pretty scary, especially when it's aimed at you. Who wouldn't be afraid of her long acrylics and thick eyelashes? Everything about her screams stereotypical head cheerleader.
"Why do you look so scared?" Roxie pouts, her full lips poking out so far out you could slice them off and barely nick her nose. She's faking, that much is clear, and neither guy falls for it.
"I think they just want to relax, honey." Darcie rests a hand on her friend's shoulder.
Half of the students here can't possibly have a free period at the same time. There are at least fifteen people here from three different grades, and seniors are the only ones who get a free period at the end of the day if they aren't taking other classes. Some Juniors get to leave during study hall if all their classes are caught up. I'm not skipping, but I still feel bad for not using this time to study.
Are Tay and Parker skipping? The two guys in question are already at a booth in the corner with their friends, who don't seem to have a care in the world. Parker is busy laughing, but Tay... Well, he's being Tay. His eyes are cast down at the table as he wrings his hands.
"He's been a mess, you know." Lottie leans over and plucks my milkshake from my hands before I can think.
I blink. "What?"
"Since you agreed to go out. He's been a wreck trying to decide if he should text you about it or wait until you text him." She takes a long sip of the shake, squeezing her eyes shut and shuddering. "He really likes you. And even though you've had a bad past with jocks, I think you ought to give him a chance."
Darcie chimes in as well when Roxie leaves to walk up to the counter, "He's a good guy. He'd be perfect for you. But he's so shy. It's up to you." There isn't a hint of maliciousness in the way her skin crinkles around her hazel eyes as she smiles.
Heat rises to my face, and I snatch my milkshake back from Lottie to distract myself. Is it too late to ask him? Maybe he thinks I lost interest.
"Come on, girl!" Lottie shoves me. "Go after what you want! He ain't gonna say no!"
Steeling my courage with a deep breath, I stand up from the booth and the sounds of girls cheering follows me. I turn and glare at them for causing such a commotion. It only makes me more nervous, especially when everyone's eyes turn to me.
When I make it to the guys' booth, Parker nudges Tay, who looks up at him.
"Emori's here."
He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "I don't know if you've heard anything about the posters around town. But there's a community event on Sunday that grants participants the chance to eat brunch with the person who made the basket they bought. So, if you can manage to purchase my basket, that will serve as our date."
He cocks his head to the side. "What?"
"If you would still like to give us a chance, buy my basket."
A smile creeps onto his face, and Parker nudges him before I turn and go back to my table.
—
"Momma, I'm home!" I call as I wrestle the door and my bags.
"Ooh, is that the stuff for your basket?" Mom comes to the door and picks up the bags, peeking inside them.
Before Lottie and I came back, we went to the arts and crafts store to pick out stuff to make our baskets. We need the rest of the week if we want to make them perfect.
"Yeah, and I'm gonna need your help decorating. I don't want it to seem too not me." If Tay is going to buy my basket, I need to give him a good shot at figuring it out.
"Well, isn't the point to make it the way you want?" Mom pulls the supplies out of the bags and sets them on the kitchen table.
"Tay asked me out, and I said that if he can find my basket, then that would be our date." I pull up a photo of what I want my basket to look like and set it on the table. The photo is too pink for me, though, so I'm going with beige instead.
Mom gives me a look. "You don't wanna make it difficult. By making it more like you?" She sounds out each syllable as I try to avoid eye contact with her.
"Yes." I start tying bows and gluing them to the basket's handle. She isn't going to get much more information from me. After putting myself out there like that today, I just need to think about everything. Will Tay be able to figure out which one is mine? It will suck if someone else buys my basket instead. Well... maybe it won't be so bad if it's Asa.
Stop it. It's useless to think like that. Tay is the one who matters.
Mom sighs but doesn't say anything else as she helps me with the basket. I can feel her gaze on me at times, but I'm too committed to decorating my basket to meet it. I've put a lot of work into planning this event, and I'm going to put just as much work into this basket. The food will come later in the week when I have more time.
"When are you going to explain this to me?" Mom stops what she's doing and puts on her I'm serious face.
I swallow a groan. "Tay said something rude in a time of... anger, you could say, and he asked me to hang out to make up for it. As a date. And like I said, this is his chance."
I mean, even if he doesn't manage to find mine, I'll still find something else for us to do.
She hums in thought. "That's a pretty good idea, although I think you could have made it easier."
I could have. But I don't think Tay minds that it's a little hard. He's always liked a challenge.
"I'm tired. I'm gonna go up and lay down, okay?" Darcie bought the whole team dinner at the diner, so I'm not hungry. Plus, after a milkshake and a burger, I'm getting close to passing my calorie limit.
"Oh, okay." Mom leans over to hug me.
There seem to be more steps up to my room than usual. My feet feel like weights as I lift them up the steps and drag myself into my room. Funny, because I'm not that tired.
Tay's house stares at me through my window, and I find myself worrying again that he won't find my basket.
Just as I'm about to sit on my bed, the bushes beside my balcony shift. What the heck? I send a silent prayer to God. Please, Lord, don't let it be a coyote. It's raining so hard I can't see anything around the bushes to figure out who it is.
A hand grasps the floor of the balcony, and I squeak, smacking it with my broom.
"Hey! Stop!" a guy calls as a figure pulls itself onto the deck, hands raised as soon as they're able. "It's me!"
I peer closer, whacking him on the head with the broom. "Dang it, Travis! You scared the bejesus out of me!"
He chuckles and catches the broom when I move to smack him again. "Slow down, there, killer. I just came to talk."
I frown. What can he possibly need to talk to me about that he couldn't have called, or at least had the decency to knock on the dang door?
"Look." He shifts his gaze away, shaking the rain out of his hair. His lip disappears between his teeth before he returns his gaze to me. "I'd never tell Tay this, but he needs this win. Can you please just tell me what your basket looks like so I can help him? I'll make it seem like it's his idea."
I open my mouth to ask what he means, but he waves it off.
"I like you for him, okay? And maybe I didn't give off the right impression at first, but I do." He lets out a breath, and I stand still in shock. "I don't want to cause any problems for you, so I won't tell him you helped me. But please, give him a better shot."
My shock wears off quickly, and I step back to get out of the rain. "Bows. Red and white. That's all I'm giving you."
"Thank you," he says, stepping backwards and pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Thank you so much."
Rain continues to fall, soaking my clothes even more as I stand still, watching him run through the gate and disappear in his truck.