by Sarah Pointe
“I have to fill out a profile?”
“Yep. It will be fun. Do you have any pictures of yourself you really like?”
“Oh dear, no.”
“Maybe we can have a photo shoot or something. But take a look at what you have. See if there’s one we can use as your temporary profile picture. You know, in the meantime.” I wasn’t too excited about her attracting any possible dates. But I did want to help her.
While she started scrolling through pictures, I began the process of filling out her data. Name. Age. Hobbies.
She looked over my shoulder. “No. you can’t put my hobbies as crochet and doing crafts.”
“Okaaaay. What do you want me to put?”
“Well, how about something a little more…appealing? I do yoga.”
“Right. Okay.” I switched her hobbies to yoga, golf and tennis. “Do you want to put your volunteer work at the soup kitchen and as a driver for the elderly?”
“Sure. That shows some of my good sides, right?”
“Totally.” Honestly, whoever got to be with Mom was the luckiest guy in the world. And if he didn’t immediately know it, he was not needed in her life. And that’s basically how I felt about her and the dating situation.
Immediately, Cal came to mind. And I saw him in a whole different way. Turns out I didn’t need someone in my life who didn’t appreciate me either.
We got Mom all set up on her new dating app. “Now, we just need to turn it on. Do you want to be available locally only or more broad?”
“Oh goodness. I don’t know if I want to turn it on yet. Let me think about that.” She reached for her phone.
“Sounds good, Mom. All you do is click this right here and choose local or by region or whatever.” I switched to a sample notifications page. “If anyone on here chooses you, as in, they want to talk, it will notify you right here. If you choose them too, then you’re in.”
She shuddered. Like an actual dramatic movement. “This is all too much. I think I’ll go hide in my room now.”
I laughed. “Mom, I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Oh believe me, if finding companionship did not involve dating, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
“Dating’s the fun part…isn’t it?” I thought of all my fake dates. They were fun. At least I thought so.
“I guess so. I’m happy you are starting to get out more. It’s been a hard few years for both of us.”
“Thanks for being there for me.”
“And you too, kiddo.”
I smiled. Sometimes I loved it when she called me kiddo.
She kissed the top of my head and left the room. As soon as the door was shut, I burst into tears. It’s not like I planned it or even knew it was coming, but all that emotion I’d kept hidden away so I could help Mom came pouring out and wet my pillowcase.
I hugged my other pillow tight, so tight, hoping to squeeze out any pain, but it came anyway. And it was a hard kind of hurt. But the tears didn’t last. And when they ended, I felt…better. Something had lifted.
My phone buzzed. Pete.
I texted. Just a sec.
And then I ran into my bathroom, splashed cold water on my face and tried to not look like I’d been crying.
I called him back by video. And as soon as I saw his face, I smiled.
“You happy to see me?”
“You don’t even know how happy.”
“Everything okay? Have you been crying?”
“Yeah, my mom and I were just going through some stuff.” No way did I want to tell him I just set my mom up on the dating app.
“Do you want to talk about it? Or are you ready for some music?”
“Music please. I don’t want to talk about it ever again.”
He laughed. “Ah, one of those conversations. Well, let’s get this party started!”
I didn’t know what conversation he thought we were having but the sooner he distracted me with some good happy tunes, the better.
And he did not disappoint. For an hour we listened and laughed and discussed lyrics. And I think I might have fallen just a little bit in love with him when he played his guitar and sang to me.
But then at the very end, right before we hung up, he said, “Hey, is it alright if we start late on our date Friday, like around nine? My family planned a thing I can’t get out of.”
“Sure.” A spark of hope I could actually manage this weekend without making anyone mad at me lit my mind.
“Awesome. Thanks. I think we’ll skip the banquet. It’s gonna be later, but not any less epic. Prepare yourself.”
I laughed. “No matter what it is, I’m gonna love it. And Pete.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for tonight. I needed this.”
“Me too. Any time. I’m here for you. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
I stared at the blank screen for a while before finally putting my phone on the nightstand. Maybe everything would be alright.
Chapter 15
I texted Jackson about ending our date early first thing in the morning. Maybe I could fit everything in, and my weekend would not be a disaster.
I parked at school again. Sasha’s car wasn’t there yet. Which was fine because I had to find Tad.
Turns out, I didn’t need to look very far. He was waiting for me on the sidewalk.
“Hey, babe.” He waved. “Let me get that.” He reached for my backpack.
But I shook my head. “Tad. We need to talk. Your Instagram post, not cool.”
“What! I thought you’d love it. That was my public declaration I want to take things to the next level. Fake just isn’t enough for me, babe.”
“Stop. You don’t even mean that.”
He stared at me for a second, and then he said, “You’re right. But this is really helping me. I finally got girls texting. Everyone trying to be all up in my DMs. Tell me it’s not doing the same for you.”
I thought about Cal. “It is.” But I shook my head. “But I don’t need any more people up in my DMs.” I secured my backpack on my own shoulder. “You’re gonna have to stop. We went on one fake date. We do not have a fake relationship.” Or a real one.
He looked down for a minute, but then he perked back up. “I think it already did the trick. One of these girls is talking prom.” He held up his hand. “Give me some skin.”
I high fived him back and then he swaggered away. He called back over his shoulder. “I’ll fix the Instagram thing.”
“Great!” I waved. Then I wondered just what he meant to do about the ‘Instagram thing.’
So maybe the Tad problem was solved.
My phone dinged. Good luck with the Tad conversation. Pete was texting me this? Was he reminding me? Didn’t I say I would handle it? Something about his text really sat wrong with me. I just needed to put my phone away and answer him later.
But then he texted. Sorry. That came out wrong. Wish I could delete sent texts. Then he sent a sad faced emoji.
So I responded with a heart and let it go.
I had to. ‘Cause now I had English and Cal to deal with.
And a whole slew of new DMs. And Jackson hadn’t texted back yet about ending the night early.
And now that I’d finally found someone amazing who was really into me and we’d even kissed, things were falling apart and I couldn’t even figure out how to let that become what it needed to. Basically, I was a mess.
When I walked into the English class, another girl was sitting in my seat next to Cal but as soon as he saw me, he said something to her and she pouted and moved.
I couldn’t very well ignore that invitation and it was my seat. I’d been sitting there all year. And Cal did make a good partner for things. He agreed with everything I said. I liked that.
When I sat, he nodded. “That’s more like it.”
When I laughed, he leaned closer. “You’re beautiful when you smile.”
“Thank you.” But then I leaned closer to him which I think sur
prised him, but he didn’t move, so our faces ended up being closer than I had planned. But I stuck it out. “But do you really mean that?”
“Mean what?”
“All this stuff about wanting to get to know me and all that.”
He shifted back in his seat and nodded. “Of course I do.”
I didn’t believe it for a second, and I didn’t know why he was so interested, but class started and so I turned back to the teacher.
We had been whispering during the announcements, but the next one caught my attention. “And we would like to announce the first ever girls’ choice Winter Formal. The Saturday before Christmas break right here in our own cafeteria. Tickets go on sale tomorrow.”
Cal cleared his throat.
But I didn’t look.
Then he scooted close enough that our desks touched. “We should go to that.” He lifted his eyebrows toward the intercom.
“You want me to ask you to the Winter Formal?” I panicked. How could I divert him? At least I needed time to think about it.
“I think I’ve made it very obvious what I want.” He moved so that he could talk right in my ear. “What do you want?” His whispers sent a line of tingles down the soft skin on my neck.
“I—I need to think of a creative way to ask.” Then I looked away. What else could I say? I hadn’t asked anyone else yet, obviously.
About halfway through class I realized I could have just said I was going to ask someone else, that I was interested in someone else.
Words never came to me right when I needed them.
And Cal stayed close like that for the rest of class.
And he kept looking at me.
Just one week ago, this kind of attention would have been the highlight of my life. But now, I just wished he’d give me some space.
I felt another set of eyes on me and turned to catch Sasha’s gaze from across the room. Her eyes were full of questions, but I didn’t have any answers.
When class was over, Cal lifted my backpack onto his shoulder. “Where’s your next class? You have Math now, right?”
He knew I had Math? “Yes, I do. And thanks.”
As we walked together, so many people gave me—and then him—knowing looks. What was that all about? Did they all assume this was a fake thing? Did they all know Cal was interested? What did everyone seem to know that I didn’t?
When he got to Math, he pulled me into a hug at the door. “I’m into you, Ava.”
“Thanks.” I hugged him back for a second and then slipped into my class. When I fell, breathless, into my chair, it was not the excited wonder of new love. It was in total and utter confusion.
“What’s going on with you and Cal?”
Janae, another girl on cross country, but one of the popular ones, leaned across my desk from her seat in front of mine.
“If I knew, I’d tell you.”
“Well, I heard he’s like, totally into you. And he doesn’t know about the fake relationship thing.”
I opened my mouth, but she kept on talking.
“But a lot of other people are just assuming you guys have set up some kind of fake agreement to have a date to the Winter Formal.”
Wow, world travelled fast. “You don’t think we could get dates without setting up a fake date?” The words blurted out without planning, but I was proud of them.
“Oh, of course. I mean, it’s girls’ choice, right? But sometimes it’s all about timing. You gotta get the guy you want right away before someone else asks, and of course the guy doesn’t want to be asked by just anyone. I think Cal wants to have you in the wings to prevent him from having to go with someone he doesn’t like.”
That sounded like him. But I just shrugged. “Maybe he’s not even interested in the Winter Formal.”
“Oh, he’s interested. I hear there’s gonna be a court, like Homecoming.”
“And you think he cares about stuff like that?” I nodded. “Right. He does.” Of course he did. He lived for that. Another soccer player had been crowned Homecoming King. Maybe he was hoping to redeem his status and be King of Winter Formal.
She flipped her hair. “Enjoy your ride on Cal’s arm while it lasts. From what I’ve noticed, it doesn’t last long.”
I wanted to tell her I didn’t care one whit how long it lasted because I was going to ask Pete. But I closed my mouth tight to stop any words from coming out, and then I just nodded. Just keep nodding.
My dive into the backpack to look for something was totally a diversionary tactic and it worked for now. She faced the front again and the teacher started talking.
I really just wanted to ask Pete to the Winter Formal. But what if he couldn’t go? I needed a backup, and Cal was the best kind of backup.
Did I feel a little guilty, keeping him on hold while I waited to hear from another guy? Not as much as I would have if he hadn’t picked me up for the party with a car full of girls.
With that memory as fuel, I texted Pete. “I have news! And a question.”
No answer from Pete, even after I stared at my phone for literally the entire Math class.
Chapter 16
He did finally answer but not until after lunch.
Can’t wait.
That was it? Not even an emoji.
I told myself he was at school and obviously more studious than I was. I made up all the reasons I could about why he didn’t say more. A teacher just took away his phone, or he was in the middle of some class discussion. But nothing really made me feel better. Nothing would until I saw him again or at least heard his voice.
To keep my mind off Pete’s less than enthusiastic response, I started scheming about all the ways I could ask him to Winter Formal. I wanted it to be special, to show him I was ready to take the relationship to the next level. I didn’t need all these fake dates. I’d be happy to be his girlfriend. Just his alone.
I doodled in my notebook, idea after idea. And then I hit on the perfect one. I wanted it to be funny. I wanted it to make him laugh and then kiss me again because he loved it so much.
Suddenly, more than ever before, the day couldn’t end soon enough.
And Jackson still hadn’t responded. I texted him again. None of this was going to make anyone happy if Jackson couldn’t get me back home in time to go out with Pete.
After school I hurried to the Jeep, jumped in and made my way to the store. Poster board, markers, and some of his favorite candy from eighth grade would do it. Plus, one signature Joe’s Pizza from the middle school hang out. I drove to an old tree house we used to use sometimes, a group of us. Pete had gone at least once. Mostly it was just Sasha and I that had gone there. That was before my dad passed away. So many things were different back then. And I was just now realizing it. Sasha had given it all up for me. At least I think she had.
After I set it all up in there, poster and everything, I climbed back down and headed back home. Time to get ready for my date with Jackson. I called him and put the phone to my ear.
He answered. “Hey is this my date for tonight?”
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Yes. It’s Ava. You have not been responding to my texts.”
“I haven’t?” His voice went further away. “Oh, I see them.” He didn’t answer for a minute, then I heard his voice close again. “So you want to end the date early?”
“Yeah. I had something come up. Can we get what you need all finished by nine?”
“Oh, uh…I think so. My mom did some stuff for us too, but I think we can fit it all in. No problem. Still picking you up in an hour?”
“That works great for me.”
“Thank you, Ava. This means a lot. This whole fake date thing. I appreciate you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s been good for me too.”
But not in ways he might think I meant. I’d have to shut down this part of the whole process, too. I really didn’t like it that families had become involved. Hopefully I could keep things on a friend basis and no hard feeli
ngs would even surface.
His mom calling about my favorite cookies made me nervous.
And then Pete called.
“Hey.” Wow it was good to hear from him.
“Hey yourself. You ready for tonight?”
“I’m so ready. So, sometime, can we make a pit stop somewhere for your surprise?”
“My surprise? I love the sound of that. Totally, whatever you want.” His voice literally melted me with happiness. It was low, and deep, and full of evidence of his smiles. It settled inside and simmered right there.
“Okay, great. Does nine still work?”
“Yes, that’s great. I’ll come pick you up.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“And, babe?”
I thrilled inside at the word. “Yeah?”
“I missed you today.”
“I missed you too.”
When he hung up, I knew this was love. Or something like it. All stress about his lackluster text response was forgotten. I would be counting down the seconds until I could see that guy.
I was just about to get in the shower when Mom stepped into my room. “So, how is everything going to work tonight?”
I told her how I was going to do both dates back-to-back and that Pete was the one who had needed to make his date later, and that it was all working out great.
“And Jackson is good with it ending early?”
“Yeah. He said he would just fit everything in.”
She looked a little concerned about that part, but I needed to get in the shower.
“So, now I just have to get ready and he’ll be here in like forty-five minutes.”
She lifted her phone. “I clicked Okay, for my profile to air.”
My stomach twisted. “Oh? Just now?” I moved to stand beside her. “You nervous?” She looked nervous. Her face had gone a kind of green color, and her mouth twisted.
“Someone already messaged me.”
I needed to hold onto something to hear that news. And there was nothing nearby. So I gripped my mom’s arm. “And?” I peered over her shoulder.
