French Fries with a Side of Guys

by Rebekah L. Purdy

  Lily frowned. “Actually, Craig told me himself. He seemed pretty down about it. I had to give him an extra scoop of ice cream to help him cope.” She set her washrag down and stared at Payton. “You know, maybe just this once someone was actually doing it because they like you. I mean, not that I’m an expert or anything, but Craig seemed pretty sincere to me.”

  Payton’s heart fluttered. Oh no. No way was she going to even consider that the offer had been real. She wasn’t going to set herself up to be disappointed again. “Look, it just doesn’t make sense for some popular senior guy to be interested in me. But trust me, I’ll let you know if and when someone really asks me to homecoming.” She cleared her throat and ambled toward the kitchen. “Do you want to help me get the shredded cheese out?”

  Lily smiled. “Sure.”

  The pair had everything finished by the time they opened the doors to the regular Saturday football crowd. Today would be busy, but the good thing about that was it made the day go by faster.

  “Hi, Mr. Pickens—your usual table?” Payton smiled, leading him to a small table where he was centrally located to all the TV screens. “I’ll get your coffee brought right out.”

  There were certain regulars who came in and ordered the same thing every day or week. Mr. Pickens was one of them. He dropped in as much for the food and games as he did for the conversations around him. He’d been widowed for a few years now, and all his kids lived out of state. Payton had gotten to know him pretty well, and sometimes he’d invite her to sit with him when she was on break.

  “I think I’m going to change up my order today. Try to be spontaneous.” He grinned, his face weathered and tanned. “I want to try the smothered pork chops instead of the steak.”

  “Sounds good. Do you want mashed potatoes or baked with that?” She pulled out her tiny notepad to jot down the order.

  “Mashed. And let me get ranch dressing with that salad.”

  With that, Payton was off and running, taking her allotted break at about three. At four thirty, her dad came over to see her. “I’m heading home now if you want a lift.” Mr. Carter tapped his daughter on the shoulder.

  “Yes, I’m definitely ready to go. Just give me a second … ” She handed off the last of her orders and let Brad know to pick them up, before rushing out the door. “Hey, Dad, I might go for a run after you drop me off. I haven’t been to the falls in ages, and I want to get up there before the weather starts turning.”

  “That’s fine, but I want you back before dark, understand?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay then, I should be back in about an hour or so with Rice.” He pulled into the driveway long enough to drop her off then headed back into town.

  Payton rushed inside, threw on her football sweatshirt along with a pair of black jogging pants, and tugged on her running shoes. After she was ready, she headed out the door and jogged over to the running trail that led up to the falls.

  The crisp air immediately hit her cheeks. Inhaling deeply, she smiled, smelling autumn all around her. The trees were fully changed now, the sunbeams illuminating the amber, burnt-orange, and yellow hues. It was one of the most breathtaking scenes in the area.

  Payton listened to the birds chattering while squirrels raced across the woodland in search of food for their winter storage. Soon the wind picked up, sending leaves teetering down from the trees and skittering across the pathway in front of her.

  She pushed herself harder as she reached the incline, staring off to the drop below where the creek was. Her attention elsewhere, Payton slammed into another runner. She went down in a pile of leaves at the side of the path. She sat there a second and watched the hooded boy take a pair of headphones off.

  Oh shit. Her hands trembled as tingles looped through her body like a roller coaster racing over tracks.

  Craig lowered his hood. “Sorry.” He climbed to his feet then reached down to help her up. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

  Geez, he was gorgeous. Okay, she just needed to stay cool. She’d known him forever. No need to make a scene. Just because she’d rejected him for homecoming didn’t mean he hated her.

  “That makes two of us,” she said at last, taking his warm hand in hers. “Normally the path isn’t too busy this time of day, so I come up to check out the falls.”

  “Me too. Only I haven’t been up here in a while.” He let go of her hand. “I like the peacefulness. It gives me a chance to kind of clear my head.” He turned his blue eyes to her then shifted to stare off into the woods, where two squirrels were chasing after one another.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. But hey, I should probably get going if I’m gonna make it up and back before dark.” And before she made an idiot of herself. She brushed the remaining leaves from her sweatshirt.

  “Wait, do you mind if I run with you?” he asked, catching her arm.

  “Weren’t you just coming down?” She laughed.

  “I was, but there’s no such thing as too much exercise.”

  “Then sure, if you want,” she said.

  They started to jog, and he easily kept pace with her. Payton thought it’d be awkward, but it actually wasn’t. They talked about football and the restaurant, even about some new movies coming out that they wanted to see. By the time they reached the top, it was starting to get dark. The sun dipped down behind the trees, leaving only small traces of pink and purple trailing in the sky.

  “Wow, it’s magnificent up here.” She focused on the falls, watching as the water struck the rocks below, sending up a spray against the changing trees. “This kind of reminds me of all those scenic puzzles I used to do.” She leaned over the railing to peer down.

  Craig propped himself against the fence as well then turned to her. “Hey, Payton, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “It’s about the dance,” he began.

  “Look, we already talked about it. I told you that you didn’t have to listen to my idiotic brothers … I’m sure any girl would freaking die of happiness if you asked them.”

  “Will you at least hear me out? You’ve said your part, but that day in the hall you never gave me a chance to explain myself.” He sighed. “Your brothers didn’t put me up to it. I asked you because I wanted to. It took me forever to work up the nerve to do it.” He ran a hand through his hair, not taking his eyes from her. “You know the day I ran into you in the parking lot, knocking your stuff out of your hands?”

  Payton nodded.

  “I was about to say something then but lost my nerve. Marino told me not to wait too long, because Chance Montgomery might ask you.” Craig caught her hand in his. “When I found out Chance had asked Kelly, I knew I better say something to you soon, before some other guy took the opportunity.” He took a deep breath, watching her. “What I’m saying is, I really like you and think you’re beautiful. And I haven’t asked anyone else to go with me in hopes that you might change your mind.”

  Payton’s mouth gaped open as she stared at him. Okay, so maybe she’d been wrong about the whole thing. Because Craig seemed serious.

  Holy crap. She needed to play it cool.

  “Can I give you an answer tomorrow?” She flushed. She wanted to make sure her dad was cool with it and could afford a dress before accepting. Which brought her to the next problem: she had no clue how to do makeup or walk in heels or pick out a dress. She lived in a houseful of males.

  “Yeah.” He smiled.

  She glanced up at the darkening sky. “I should probably get going or my dad’s gonna freak.”

  “I’ll give you a lift home. I don’t want you to walk home alone in the dark.” They ran down the path until they came to the parking lot where Craig’s jeep waited.

  “Thanks for the run,” she said as they pulled away. It only took them a few minutes to get to her house, at which point Craig walked her in.

  “Hey, Mr. Carter.” Craig waved. “I met up with Payton on the trail and gave her a
lift home.”

  “Thanks for getting her here safely. The boys will be ready in about an hour.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll go change then come back to get everyone.”

  When he left, Payton went over to her dad. “Sorry about being late. I got to talking with Craig, and it ended up taking us longer to get up the path.” She sat down next to him, watching as he worked on a crossword puzzle.

  “That’s all right, just don’t make a habit out of it.”

  “I won’t.” Now came the fun part. She wasn’t exactly sure how to broach the subject of having a date. Taking a deep breath, she tapped his arm. “Daddy, I wondered if I might be able to get some money from you.”

  “What do you need it for, sweetie?”

  “Um … a dress.” She fidgeted in her seat, clasping her hands together. “For homecoming.”

  He raised an amused eyebrow. “And who’s the lucky guy?”

  “Craig asked me, but I didn’t give him an answer yet, because I wanted to make sure it was okay,” she blurted out in a rush of words.

  “Yeah, I think I can manage. I’ll be back in a second.” He went upstairs and came back down with a couple hundred dollars. “Hopefully this will cover it. Maybe you could call Lily and see if she’d like to take you. I know she doesn’t get out much, and I think this might be a bit more up her alley than mine.” He patted her back. “Don’t make Craig wait too much longer before you give him an answer. The boys said you already turned him down once.”

  Payton grimaced. “Don’t remind me. And I won’t. I’ll probably tell him tomorrow before he leaves.” She rushed off to call Lily.

  They made plans for Lily to pick Payton up early the next day. She didn’t know whether to be nervous or excited.

  Payton sat down to eat dinner with her dad while the boys got ready to go out. They took longer than she did in the bathroom. They were seriously worse than women when it came to picking out clothes and putting in hair gel.

  About ten minutes before they were supposed to leave, the doorbell rang, and Payton went over to answer it. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes came to rest on Craig. Yep. He was definitely hot. He wore a black leather jacket over a dark-blue polo, and a pair of faded jeans. His dark hair was spiked up, and he had a small silver hoop earring in.

  “You going to let them in, Payton, or just stand there?” her father hollered.

  “Uh … sorry, guys,” she said, noticing Steve and Dave behind Craig. She stepped aside to let them in.”

  “Hey.” Bradshaw rushed down the stairs with his jacket in hand, followed by Marino, Elway, and Montana. “Dad said we could take the Expedition so we can all fit and not have to worry about taking two cars.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll leave my keys up here then.” Craig hung them on the family key tree by the door.

  “Hey, Payton, did you want to go out mudding tonight?” Her dad winked. “We could break in Craig’s Jeep.”

  “Sure. Maybe we could see if it can jump the falls. I heard they float pretty well … ” She plopped down on the couch next to her dad and stole some popcorn out of his bowl.

  “Just clean it when you’re done.” Craig waved as he went out the door.

  Payton sat with her dad for a while. “Hey, pops, I’ve got some astronomy homework I need to do, so I’m gonna go out onto the tree house with my telescope. I might actually crash out there tonight.”

  “You haven’t done that since last summer, when you and Rice had a couple friends over. Make sure to bring that little black alarm clock with you so you’re up in time to meet with Lily.” He gave her a kiss good night.

  Payton grabbed a flashlight and her homework, along with the sleeping bag and telescope. She struggled to carry everything up the rope ladder. When she reached the top, she pushed the trapdoor open. She smiled, seeing all the things she and her brothers had painted on the walls over the years.

  Now she was the only one who could stand up in the fort anymore, but only by a couple inches. It had a lot of room, though, and she laid out her sleeping bag before pulling the rope ladder up for the night. Once she had all her things set up, she opened the window to let some cool air in, then scrambled up to the other trapdoor, which led to the roof.

  Payton set up her telescope, focusing on the moon first, before moving to find the position of the comet that was supposed to come through. She had to write a descriptive paragraph about it, then write down the path it took and what other planets, if any, it passed. The homework only took her half an hour to do, at which point she lowered herself back down into the fort and shut the trapdoor.

  Payton put her telescope near the window then slid her sweatpants off, leaving only her nightgown on for the night. She curled deep into her down-filled sleeping bag, hoping she wouldn’t end up freezing her ass off, and fell asleep.

  Payton awoke with a startle when she heard shouting from below the tree house. What the hell time was it? Obviously not morning yet because it was still dark out. It took her a moment to recognize Brad’s and Marino’s voices over the loud music.

  “Damn it.” Payton kicked off her sleeping bag in a huff. When she finally managed to untangle herself from it, she stormed toward the window, ready to ream her brothers. But all of a sudden, her foot caught on the telescope, sending her flying out of the tree house and through the air.

  Oh, God. She was gonna die. She screamed, grabbing hold of branch as she flailed through the air.

  All the guys looked up, and at that moment, Payton wished she was invisible. Her nightgown was pulled up around her waist, revealing her silky, pink bikini panties.

  “Hey, that’s my sister.” Brad slugged Dave and Steve, who were both gawking.

  “Well, she ain’t ours.” Dave whistled then turned the other way as Marino grabbed his shirt collar.

  Craig was the first, and only, one who seemed to realize she was hanging from a branch and might need help. “Just let go of the tree, I’ll catch you,” he ordered.

  Right. Easy peasy. Payton couldn’t picture a more embarrassing moment, but she released her grip, moving her hands to keep her nightgown from flying up any further. True to his word, Craig caught her in his arms and held tight to her while Brad took off his jacket and raced over to cover up her legs.

  “What the hell were you doing up in the tree house?” Marino stomped over, his face pale with worry.

  “Well, I was sleeping until you idiots woke me up. I have to be up early tomorrow to go shopping for a dress.” She glared at them.

  Elway busted out laughing. “You, wear a dress? Yeah, right. You never wear dresses.”

  She flipped him off. “For your information, I do for special occasions.”

  “And what special occasion is that?” Montana crossed his arms over his chest, staring at her.

  “Homecoming.”

  “You don’t even have a date.” Marino threw his hands in the air.

  “Yes, I do, I’m going with Craig.” Payton glanced at Craig. “I was going to tell you tomorrow, but since we’re here and you kind of saved me … I mean, if you still want to go.”

  “Trust me, I want to go. I’ve been waiting all month to ask you.” He held her tighter to his chest.

  For a moment, it was only the two of them. Her arms slid around his neck, and she nestled into him. His cologne smelled so good. And he was warm, strong, and gorgeous. His gaze met hers, and both of them moved in closer.

  Marino cleared his throat.

  Payton snapped out of her daze. “Oh, and by the way, not a word of this leaves this backyard, understand?” She peered around the group. “My football team better not find out about my pink underpants, or so help me, I’ll kick your butts.”

  “And I think my sister needs to go in and put on some pants now.” Brad nudged Craig until he set her down, at which point Brad wrapped her up in his coat. “Next time I think a little more clothing would be nice.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him, and the others followed them back into the house
.

  By the time she was changed and ready to go outside, she saw the boys were already scattered around the family room in their sleeping bags. Well, other than Craig, who was brushing his teeth with the bathroom door open.

  Payton caught his gaze in the mirror, and for a moment, she wondered, Chance who?

  “Hey,” he said, putting his toothbrush back in a baggy. “Thanks for saying yes.”

  “You’re welcome. But actually I was going to thank you for catching me and, well, giving me another chance.” For the first time since she’d known Craig, she felt shy.

  “You’re welcome on both accounts.” He moved closer, as if to hug her, but stopped when he heard Brad calling him. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Night.” She went back out to the tree house and lay there, wondering how in the hell she’d snagged Craig Helton. She smiled in the darkness. Maybe freshman year was going turn around.

  Everyone was still in bed when Payton got up the next morning. After she showered and changed, she went out onto the porch to wait for Lily. She paced back and forth, too fidgety to sit down. Today she’d be shopping for her first-ever homecoming dress. What if she didn’t find one she liked? Or what if she did, and she didn’t have enough money? She totally wasn’t good at this stuff. Dresses. Makeup. Shoes. Give her a football any day, and she was good.

  A few minutes later, Lily pulled up to the house and waved.

  “Good morning.” Lily peered at Payton as she slid in.

  “Morning. Thanks again for coming with me,” she said. “I didn’t want my dad or brothers helping decide what kind of dress to get—or I’d likely end up in a pair of jeans and an eighties-style turtleneck.”

  “Trust me, it’s my pleasure. I don’t get much girl time myself.”

  They pulled out onto the road and headed for the interstate. Payton toyed with handle on her purse. “Oh, guess who I’m going to homecoming with?” she blurted out.