“Cool.”
“Yeah.”
The car remained silent for the first few minutes. Cinderella had never been alone with Dave before. It was easy to talk to him with all of her cousins there, but alone was a different story. Even he seemed a little nervous, which Cinderella found unusual.
“So I didn’t even know you had a brother,” she finally got up the nerve to say.
“Yeah, Scott just graduated high school last year. He’s starting at Utah State this fall, but when we moved down here, he decided to stay in Logan for the summer.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah. You ever been to Logan before?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh man, it’s great!” All the awkwardness in the car melted away as Dave continued to speak. “It’s a small town, surrounded by mountains, and there’s this restaurant called the Bluebird that has the best food ever! We should stop there and get something to eat.”
“Sounds good.” Cinderella noticed his eyes seemed to brighten as he spoke.
“It’s just a fun place cause it’s a college town, so there are always activities going on.”
The drive seemed more comfortable after that and soon, the two were lost in conversation. Cinderella didn’t realize how long they had been driving until she noticed they were surrounded by beautiful, green mountains on either side. They passed an occasional house, but mostly all she could see was green and more green for miles ahead. Cinderella gasped quietly when she noticed several deer climbing up a hillside, a few hundred feet from the road. As the car rounded the bend, coming out of Sardine Canyon, Cinderella’s hand flew to her nose.
“Ugh! What is that?” Dave looked over at her and laughed.
“Another one of Logan’s charms. Those are cows you smell.”
“How can anyone live here?!”
“Come on! Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I think I lost it back there, along with my sense of smell. I’ll never be able to breathe again!”
“We’re not even into town yet. The smell will be gone in a minute.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He grinned.
No sooner had Dave finished speaking when Cinderella started to feel the pleasure of fresh air. Soon after, they began passing the stores and restaurants that lined the streets.
“The return of civilization,” Dave announced, his hand pointing out the sites. It didn’t take long for Cinderella to know she wanted to return to Logan with the girls one day soon. She knew they could spend hours just walking through all the little shops and exploring the old buildings. Then Dave turned off Main Street and pulled into a parking lot behind several of the buildings.
“I’m hungry,” he said. “Ready to try the best food you’ll ever eat?”
“Well, I did survive the cows,” she said.
As soon as they were out of the car, Dave took Cinderella by the hand and led her in the back door to The Bluebird. Cinderella looked down at their enclosed hands and then over at Dave, but he didn’t seem aware of what he was doing. The restaurant was humming inside with the sound of several voices and the clanking of silverware on dishes. As they headed toward the front of the restaurant, Cinderella noticed a large, old staircase leading to another floor reserved for parties and banquets. Along one side of the entrance was a bar and several stools which looked like they had been pulled out of a movie from the fifties. Behind the bar were two young women, scooping ice cream, filling drink orders, and making old fashioned ice cream sodas. On the opposite wall sat a large glass counter, filled with homemade chocolates of every kind.
“Best chocolate ever,” Dave whispered in her ear. Cinderella wandered toward the candy counter as Dave told the host they’d need a table for two. Her mouth began watering over the mingled smells of cocoa, mint, and delicately dipped fruit. Cinderella already loved the charming little restaurant and she hadn’t even tried the food yet! She glanced back at Dave, who was waving her over and hurried toward him. The host showed them to their table; a small one pushed up against the wall in the main dining room. Cinderella glanced up as the waitress approached the table.
“Are you feeling adventurous?” Dave asked. Cinderella nodded. “We’ll have two cherry iron ports and two bluebird chicken meals with fries,” he said. Cinderella handed her unopened menu back to the waitress before reaching for one of the warm, soft rolls that she had deposited on the table.
“What did you order for us to drink?” Cinderella asked, eyeing the bubbly, brown liquid that was set down in front of her.
“You’ve never had an iron port?” Dave asked. He took a long swig from his glass and sat back. “Ahhhh! So good!”
Cinderella smiled at his exaggerated sound effect and carefully took a small sip through her straw. “Wow! That is really good!” she said, surprised.
“The regular kind is good too, but I prefer mine with cherry,” Dave said, taking another long drink.
“Good call,” Cinderella replied. Just then their salads arrived and Cinderella looked up at Dave. “Did we order salads?” she asked.
Dave laughed at her surprised excitement. “It’s just part of the meal,” he said, gesturing for her to go ahead and eat it.
“So how is football going?” Cinderella asked as they began eating.
“It’s not bad. A lot of work, but we usually have a good time.”
Cinderella waited for Dave to go on, but he said nothing else, so she let the subject drop. Their conversation lulled until the waitress brought their meals out a few minutes later.
“Wow!” Cinderella exclaimed, her eyes widening at the sight of her plate.
“I know!” Dave said eagerly. “They really give you a lot of food here.”
Cinderella took her first bite. “Mmmm,” she nodded as she chewed. “This is really good!”
Dave smiled. “I’m really glad you like it,” he said, shoveling another forkful into his mouth.
“So how long did you live in Logan?” Cinderella asked, trying to get the conversation going again.
“All my life,” Dave responded.
Cinderella walked out of the restaurant half an hour later with a box of leftovers in one hand and clutching her very full belly with the other. “I think I ate too much,” she said. “How on earth did you finish all that food?”
“It takes years of training,” Dave said. “You’ll just have to keep coming back until your stomach can hack it.”
“So you’re saying I have to eat that yummy chicken until I’m as good as you? Darn,” she said, snapping her fingers.
“Oh no, you’ll never be as good as me. But you can come close,” he teased. She stuck her tongue out at him in return.
“It’s almost getting dark, I guess we better get this stuff to my brother,” he gestured at the box sitting on the back seat. He then put the car in gear and pulled back out onto Main Street.
Chapter Eight
Cinderella didn’t know why, but she suddenly had butterflies in her stomach. She stood a little behind Dave as he knocked again on the white-washed door. They could hear music blaring inside, but the occupants obviously couldn’t hear the knocking over their own noise. Cinderella glanced around at the other three identical doors that stood in the hallway. The door directly behind them had a small, homemade wreath on it and the door next to it held a neon pink welcome sign. The third door, the one next to where they stood, was open and Cinderella could smell baking cookies from inside. Yup, this is definitely the only guy’s apartment on this floor. She looked up again at the bare white door before them and jumped back when it was finally thrown open.
“Hey! You made it!” Cinderella was yanked into the apartment and pushed into a seat surrounding the kitchen table. There were four other guys sitting around the table, their hands moving mechanically from the bowl of chips in the center to their crunching mouths. Off to the right, in the adjoining living room, were three couples dancing to the deafening country song that blared through the s
tereo. Cinderella had never seen dancing like this before! The girls were being spun and tossed around by their partners and occasionally even flipped over the guys’ arms in all sorts of complicated moves.
Cinderella looked back over the kitchen at Dave, who had slipped into the group as if he’d been there the whole time. Glancing around the table, Cinderella knew exactly who Dave’s brother was. He stood a foot taller than Dave, with a similar, yet bigger build. His dark hair sat thick on his head and when he smiled, she saw Dave’s face. Where Dave’s eyes were a deep blue, however, his brother’s were an even deeper brown. Cinderella couldn’t think of any other way to describe them. She guessed they were brown, yet they seemed almost as black as his hair. The two Prince boys were talking animatedly with their hands and Cinderella blushed when they both turned their attention to her. She tried to turn away and pretend she had been watching the dancers, but Dave grabbed her shoulder and twisted her back toward him.
“Scott, this is my friend Cinderella Princess,” he shouted. “Cinderella, my brother Scott.” Scott’s grin widened and he stuck out his hand to shake hers. His hand was surprisingly soft, yet his shake was firm. Cinderella tried to slide her hand out of his grip, but Scott wasn’t done yet.
“You look like you could use some dancing,” he said, and without waiting for an answer, Cinderella found herself on her feet and in the middle of the make-shift dance floor. Scott pushed two of the other couples aside to make room for them in the crowded space. Then he took both her hands in his and quickly showed her the basic step. She tried to protest, claiming she couldn’t dance, but he shrugged her off saying, “Just follow my lead.” Cinderella then found herself spinning very fast, her arms twisting in all directions. As the song came to an end, she was lifted into the air with ease before finding herself dipped over Scott’s bent knee, her head almost touching the floor. Scott gave Cinderella a high-five after pulling her back on her feet.
“You were awesome!” he said, guiding her back to the kitchen. Someone had shut off the music and everyone seemed to be preparing to leave. Cinderella found she was disappointed. She wanted Scott to dance with her some more! That was the most fun she had had in a long time.
“How was it?” Dave asked, his eyes laughing, no doubt at her dazed expression. Cinderella had no words. She was still breathless from being flung around. Scott came up behind Cinderella and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“You’ve got quite the girl here, little bro. Better hang on to her.” Cinderella could feel the heat rising in her cheeks again, so she quickly looked down at her feet. She felt like an old science experiment, with someone constantly pushing the button. Her rosy cheeks being turned on and off, on and off, for all the judges to see.
“She’s not really mine,” Dave replied.
“Well then, I might just have to snatch her up,” Scott said.
Kill me now, Cinderella thought, her face getting warmer by the minute.
“Well, you guys comin’ with us or not?” Scott asked, releasing her shoulders and looking between them.
“Where?” Cinderella finally found her voice.
“Dancing!” And then in reply to her confused look, “There’s a club down behind Main Street; everyone goes there for western swing dancing on Thursday nights. We were just getting warmed up here, the really fun stuff starts when we get to the club.”
“It’s almost ten o’clock!” Cinderella said noticing the clock above the stove.
“It starts at nine, but only beginners get there before ten!”
“I’d have to call my mom…” Cinderella trailed off. She wanted to stay more than anything, but she knew what her mom’s reaction would be.
At that moment, two girls who had been standing nearby, listening, walked over.
“You could stay the night with us,” they offered. “We just live across the hall.”
“My mom’s kind of a worrier.”
“Wouldn’t your mom feel better knowing you’re staying the night than the two of you driving through the canyon after dark?”
Cinderella looked over at Dave.
“It’s up to you,” he said. “My mom wouldn’t care if I stayed on Scott’s couch.”
“Come on,” Scott pleaded. “It will be fun and I could show you some more moves.” Pushing a lock of chocolate brown hair behind her ear, Cinderella walked away from the circle of people and pulled out her cell phone.
“Hi mom, it’s me. No, everything’s fine. I was just wondering if I could stay the night up here.” Dana started to protest, but then the phone was ripped out of Cinderella’s hand. She looked over in surprise to see one of the girls from before talking to her mother.
“Hi, Mrs. Princess? Oh, I’m sorry, Ms. Princess then. My name’s Jenny and I’m a long-time friend of the Prince’s. Yes, I do understand you’re worried about your daughter getting home safe, but so am I. It started raining pretty bad up here and we’re all worried about Cinderella and Dave making it through the canyon. It gets pretty slick out there. I can assure you she will be in good hands! No, of course the building isn’t coed.” Jenny pulled the phone away from her mouth and put a finger over her lips to silence everyone’s laughter. “We live in the building next door. What are we planning on doing tonight? Oh, well the girls were all about to head home and watch a chick flick. Alright, sounds good. No, thank you.” Jenny slapped the phone shut and took a bow. Everyone clapped their approval and then started filing out the door.
Before Cinderella could get to the stairs leading to the parking lot, Jenny and her roommate pulled her aside.
“Come with us,” they said. Cinderella followed them through the door with the bright welcome sign, past the kitchen, down the hall, and into their shared room.
“Are you sixteen?” one of them asked.
“No, not yet,” Cinderella said.
“Take this then,” one of them said, tossing a card on the bed. Cinderella looked down at the school ID card. The girl in the picture had similarly long, brown hair but other than that, she looked nothing like Cinderella.
“You have to be sixteen to get in, but the bouncers don’t look at ID’s too closely. And Sara is gone for the week,” Jenny said pointing at the card. Cinderella wasn’t sure what to do. She already felt guilty about lying to her mom so she could stay, but now these girls wanted her to lie about her age too! She stuck the plastic in her back pocket. I’ll talk to Dave once I get outside, she told herself.
“And try these on,” the other girl said, returning to the room. She handed Cinderella a cute pair of blue sneakers.
“I’m okay…” Cinderella started to protest.
“Dancing will be much easier,” she insisted. Cinderella didn’t even know these girls, but she could already tell there was no sense in arguing. With shaky hands, she removed her large boots and replaced them with the feminine looking pair of tennis shoes. The girls then led her back out in the hall where Dave and Scott stood waiting for them.
After Scott and his friends started to walk away, Cinderella handed Dave the ID card.
“At least she looks a little like you,” he said, handing the card back.
“Then it’s not a big deal?” she asked.
“Naw! Before I turned sixteen, I used to borrow Scott’s friend’s ID’s,” he said. “If they give us any trouble, we’ll leave,” he added, putting his arm around her shoulders for comfort.
Cinderella looked up at him and finally nodded.
“Let’s go then!” Dave said, hurrying them out the door.
When they stepped outside, Cinderella noticed how warm the night air was. She looked up at the clear, bright sky and then over at Jenny.
“Well look at that!” Jenny smiled. “Cleared right up!” Cinderella felt a little uneasy but then she looked over at Dave, who smiled, and she forgot all about her mom again. When they got to the car, Scott opened the door for the three ladies to climb in the backseat. Dave got in the front next to his brother.
“Showoff,” he said. Scot
t glanced in his rearview mirror and caught Cinderella’s eye. He winked at her.
“No wonder she doesn’t want you,” he said punching Dave in the arm. “You’ve got to treat her like a lady.”
The drive to the club was very short. Cinderella was nervous as they waited in line at the door. She began fumbling with the card in her hand.
“What’s the matter?” Scott asked, coming over and standing beside her. Cinderella handed him the card without saying a word.
“You’re not sixteen yet?” Scott asked in surprise.
Cinderella shook her head. “I just turned fifteen a couple months ago,” she said.
“Wow,” Scott seemed stunned. “I thought for sure you were sixteen...or maybe even older.” Cinderella noticed he said the second part quietly to himself, as if he were disappointed. “Look, I’m really sorry!” Scott added, looking her in the eyes. “I didn’t realize...if you want to forget about it, I can take you back to the apartment.”
Cinderella thought to herself for a minute. On the one hand, I can spend the night dancing with two gorgeous guys. Or on the other hand, I can sit alone in their apartment, which just seems pathetic. Plus I don’t want to ruin everyone else’s fun.
“Just call me Sara,” Cinderella said, forcing a smile.
“Are you sure?” Scott asked, handing the ID back to her.
“Yes,” Cinderella said, trying to convince herself as well as Scott.
When their turn came he took Cinderella’s ID and, putting his arm around her, handed both cards to the large man standing guard. He barely glanced at the couple before ushering them inside. Scott then paid for both her and Dave before taking off to say hi to some other friends. Dave took her by the hand again and led her past the bar and pool tables into the dark room beyond. As soon as they stepped inside, Cinderella’s white shirt began glowing. She smiled up at Dave, who smiled back. They noticed each other’s bright, glowing teeth and laughed. The country music poured down on them from the huge speakers on either side of the wall.
“Wanna dance?” Dave offered.
“Do you know how?” Cinderella asked.
The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series) Page 5
