The Perfect Prom Date

by Marysue G. Hobika

  BLOG #3

  Step Three: Flirting 101

  The art of flirting is a very important skill. I know you probably think you can’t do it, right? Wrong. Of course, you can and it’s easier than you think. It’s like anything – all you need is a little practice. I’ll simplify it by breaking it down into two categories – non-verbal flirting and verbal flirting.

  Did you know that 80% of all communication is non-verbal? It’s true, so be sure to pay attention and make the most out of the following suggestions. The most important advice I can give you is to always make direct eye contact with the perfect guy you’ve chosen. Don’t be shy, girl. Look right into those irresistible baby blues. He’ll know that you’re confident and interested in what he’s saying. It’s the first step in connecting with someone. Lean in close, as if what he is saying is the most important thing you’ve heard all day. Also don’t be afraid to playfully hit his arm when he teases you. You might be surprised to find out that your light touch causes his heart to quicken.

  Flirting should be subtle and inconspicuous. If it’s done right, your guy won’t even realize that you’re doing it. Try twirling your hair or playing with a piece of jewelry to nab his attention. If you’re wearing a ring, spin it around on your finger. If big earrings are more your style, twist them around. This type of flirting is feminine and intimate.

  The remaining 20% of flirting is verbal communication. This requires a little more forethought on your part, but it’s nothing you can’t manage. You’re a smart girl – you are reading this blog, after all. Let’s begin with flattery, which by the way will get you everywhere. I mean, who doesn’t like a compliment from time to time? I know I do. Compliments make me feel special and sometimes turn my day from bad to great. Let him know that you like the shirt he’s wearing. You can even take it a step further by adding how it brings out the color of his eyes. Laughing at his jokes is a compliment. It means you think he’s funny. So go ahead and laugh, even if you’ve heard that one before. It will boost his confidence.

  Another good tactic is to say something unexpected that will make him remember you. For example, let’s say that you are trying to hang a banner above the lockers and you can’t quite reach, and suddenly he walks over and offers to help. You might say, “It must be great to be so tall because not only can you hang posters, but you wouldn’t have to stand on your chair to see Brad Paisley on stage, even if you were in the last row.” (You say this because you’ve often seen him wear the t-shirt he bought at the concert last summer). You’ll have to think deep to come up with a clever unexpected comment, but I have every confidence in you, that you will.

  If you’ve run out of compliments, and it feels like the conversation is dying out, try asking him open-ended questions. Always ask questions that begin with what, why, or how. You can chose from the following list or be creative and come up with your own. “What’s your favorite sport? What’s your favorite professional sports team? What kind of music do you like? Who are your favorite bands? What concerts have you been to? What instruments do you play?” And my personal favorite, “What do you like to do during your free time?” Just remember to keep it balanced – make sure he realizes he’s not the only one who is charming, witty, and fun.

  Brennan and I planned to meet the following Saturday afternoon in front of the public library to go over a sample AP Calculus test. I was running a couple of minutes late because Ellie was all over me wanting to know where I was going wearing another new pair of jeans and with my hair down. I refused to tell her anything, but she kept getting in my way.

  I arrived out of breath and slightly flushed from running from my car so that I wouldn’t be any later than I already was. I stopped short when I saw Brennan waiting with a cup of Starbucks coffee in each hand.

  “Hi. Sorry, I’m late,” I said looking right into his ice blue eyes even though there was nothing icy about them. I felt my face flush even more.

  “That’s okay. I just got here. The line at Starbucks was longer than I thought. Here I got this for you…a caramel macchiato.” He smiled shyly, “I hope it got it right?” I made sure that my fingers lightly brushed his as he handed me a steaming cup.

  “Are you kiddin’? I live off of these. How did you know?” I closed my eyes as I took a sip, enjoying the familiar taste while marveling at his thoughtfulness.

  “Lucky guess?” His voice went up when he said that, making him sound guilty. But of what, I didn’t know.

  “Really?”

  “No,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I see you pull in there every morning before school. Sometimes I can still smell the sweet caramel/vanilla flavor on you when you walk into English.”

  My eyes got wide. “I hope that doesn’t mean that I scare you with my bad coffee breath,” I said, covering my mouth with my free hand. “I’ll have to buy the expensive little tin of after coffee mints that are right next to the register from now on.”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry, you don’t have bad breath.” He shyly added, “I think you smell sweet.”

  “I’m still buying the mints next time.” I grinned, embarrassed. I wanted him to notice that I smelled nice, but I thought it would be my perfume that got his attention, not my latte.

  He held the library door open for me. “Thanks,” I said. “Thank you for the coffee too.” I raised my cup up in the air. “I really do appreciate it. I always need an extra boost of caffeine before doing calculus.”

  “My pleasure.” He smiled so sincerely that my insides turned to jelly.

  I quickly searched for a distraction, “Let’s go upstairs to the study rooms. Maybe there’s an empty one we can use.”

  “Lead the way,” he said, extending his arm in an overly exaggerated motion of chivalry.

  I laughed. The librarian behind the checkout counter gave me a harsh look, which caused us both to laugh even harder.

  We hurried to the second floor, and moments later I pushed open the door to the only remaining study room. “Here’s one.”

  We sat down at the table across from each other and spread out our notebooks. I was nervous because this was the first time I had ever been on a study date. Hell, who was I kidding? This was the first date, of any kind, I’d ever been on. I wasn’t even sure if this counted as a date, even though he did bring me my favorite Starbucks coffee, but I was sure that didn’t mean anything. In order to clear my head, I looked down at the math test on the table. Oddly, math had a calming effect on me. I knew I could always count on the logical steps of solving an equation. “How about we each do problem number one by ourselves, then we can compare answers. That way we can see which topics you haven’t covered, and we can then spend time on those.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I like a girl with a plan.” I smiled inwardly at his ironic word choice.

  We sailed through the first four problems without any trouble, each time coming up with the same answers. “Okay on to number five,” Brennan stated matter-of-factly.

  We both copied the problem, and then I saw Brennan pause. It wasn’t like him to not dive right in, usually finishing before me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I haven’t done any problems like this one before.” He had a puzzled look on his face.

  “No problem, it’s easy. Watch, I’ll show you.” Without even thinking, I walked around the table and sat next to him. He smelled so good, like fresh soap mingled with pine. I tried not to let it distract me. Surprisingly, the next hour flew by. We worked on solving implicit differentiation problems, which as it turned out; he hadn’t covered at his old school.

  “Let me check the answer key to make sure we’re right.” I licked my finger, and then thumbed through the pages I had printed out until I found the one I was looking for. “We are right. You’re a quick learner,” I beamed. “Are you sure you really haven’t done these problems before?” I teased playfully, leaning over to draw a star on the top of his paper.

  “It must be because you’re such a good teacher.�
� He drew a smiley face at the top of my paper.

  We both laughed. It was easy to be my goofy nerdy self around Brennan.

  Brennan stretched his right arm up in the air and said, “I think my brain has consumed all the calculus it can for one day.”

  “Mine too,” I said, standing up. I reached down and grabbed my bag and began packing up my stuff that had taken over the whole table. There were more pieces of paper with calculations on them than I would have thought possible. “By the looks of things a new tree will need to be planted,” I joked.

  Brennan and I reached for the same piece of scrap paper at the same time, and our hands touched, sending a warm fuzzy feeling throughout my body and making my face flush. I quickly glanced up at Brennan to see if he experienced the same thing I did. I watched as his eyes light up, and his smile deepened. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought that he felt something too.

  I slowly put the last few things in my backpack. It had been the best afternoon I’d ever had. I didn’t want it to end without at least making plans to study together again. Nervously, I began, “Brennan-”

  “Hey, Josie-”

  “You first,” I said.

  He smiled. “I was just going to ask if you wanted to grab a slice of pizza. Studying makes me hungry. Or do you have plans?”

  Of course, I didn’t have plans, unless you considered the fact that I needed to repaint my nails, as plans. I had peeled it all off while studying. However, I didn’t want to come across as sounding too eager or desperate. Casually I replied, “I’m in no hurry. I’d love to get a piece of pizza.” I picked up my backpack and smiled.

  “Great. Let’s go.”

  We walked the block to the pizza place. It felt good to stretch my legs after sitting for so long. I couldn’t help but notice that the air was losing its crisp winter edge and was quickly being replaced by the warmer weather of spring. But warm weather wasn’t the only thing that spring brought – it also brought prom season. It was only ten weeks away.

  We arrived at Tony’s New York Pizza and ordered our slices. Brennan continued to be the perfect gentleman, insisting he pay because he claimed that he couldn’t have learned how to solve implicit differentiation equations without my help. We chose an empty table near the entrance and began to eat.

  I had barely taken two bites of my pizza, when I noticed that Brennan was finished. “Wow – I guess math really does make you hungry,” I laughed.

  He looked down at our plates and laughed too, “I guess it does,” he leaned back and patted his flat stomach, “but please take your time. I’m just used to eating fast because I have three brothers and one sister. I have to eat fast in order to get my share before it disappears.”

  “Ah…so that’s what’s like to come from a big family.”

  “You have no idea,” he laughed, shaking his head. “What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Just one, a sister. And believe me, it’s more than enough. Actually, I would be happy to trade her for all four of your siblings.”

  “She can’t be that bad,” his blue eyes challenged.

  “Oh…yes she can,” I said with conviction. And then as if I had magically summoned her, the door opened and in walked Ellie with her group of friends, all perfectly beautiful. They were laughing loudly, drawing a lot of attention to themselves like always. A groaned escaped. How could this be happening? Was she purposefully looking for me so that she could sabotage my date with the boy of my dreams?

  Brennan looked to see what had upset me. “Do you know those girls?” He asked, nodding his head in their direction. “Aren’t they Sophmores?”

  “Yeah. And I know them too well.” I could see the revelation dawn across his face as he realized that the dark haired beauty was none other than my younger sister. I’d been told many times that Ellie and I looked alike, except for our hair color, but I couldn’t see it. I think it was because our personalities were too different.

  “She’s your little sister,” he said, smirking.

  “Lucky me.” I grinned falsely.

  Ellie looked our way, and pure shock registered on her face when she saw me sitting with Brennan. She quickly recovered and made her way directly over to our table as if she were on a mission. I noticed an extra bounce in her step, and just before reaching us she tossed her shiny dark brown hair over her shoulder. It was like something right out of a movie.

  I couldn’t stop from rolling my eyes. I gave Brennan a look that said, “See what I mean?” He chuckled. I held my breath, preparing for Ellie’s onslaught.

  She put both her hands on our table, and in a voice that practically purred, she said, “Well, well, well, I don’t think I’ve met this handsome friend of yours, Josie.” She briefly glanced at me, and then immediately turned her attention to Brennan. I wanted to kick her hard in the leg, but I knew I couldn’t without him seeing me.

  Knowing she wouldn’t go away without an introduction, I said, begrudgingly, “This is Brennan. Brennan, this is my little sister, Ellie.” I stared menacingly at her and said through clenched teeth, “Now scram. You’ve left your friends over there and they are waiting for you to wipe the drool off of their faces.” That got her attention. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her entourage right where she left them, looking lost without her and definitely staring like they saw a hunk of meat. She flashed them a look that said they were failing miserably at trying to act cool. Then she shot me a hateful look before resuming her position of smiling pleasantly at Brennan. MY GUY.

  “I’ve seen you around school, and I’m sure you’ve seen me too, but it’s nice to finally meet you.” She held out her hand for Brennan to shake, and he shook it politely.

  Her tone and her insinuations made me want to puke. I wish I could make Ellie disappear just as quickly as she had appeared. I cleared my throat and reminded her, “Ellie, your friends are waiting.”

  Ellie wouldn’t take a hint. She continued standing there. Acknowledging me, she said, “How did you manage to trick this cutie,” she smiled widely at Brennan, then turned back to me, “into taking you out? Are you paying him?”

  “Of course not,” I exclaimed, my face turning as red as my hair. I am going to kill Ellie when I get home.

  “I asked Josie out,” Brennan stated, matter-of-factly, surprising even me. He looked into my eyes, urging me to play along.

  “Yeah, right?” laughed Ellie, bringing me back to reality.

  Brennan glared angrily at Ellie. “I did. Why is that so hard to believe?”

  “Just look at her,” Ellie said, her voice full of disapproval.

  “I am looking at her and I happen to like what I see.” He didn’t have to say that. He smiled at me, and my heart raced. Does this mean Brennan actually likes me? Is my 10 step plan working?

  The look on Ellie’s face was priceless. Her jaw dropped to the floor. She couldn’t believe Brennan would willingly ask me out. When the shock wore off, Ellie calmly retorted, “Ah, that’s sweet of you to lie, so you don’t hurt her feelings.”

  “I’m not lying.” He scowled, appearing offended that she had called him a liar. Ignoring Ellie and directing his attention to me, Brennan said, “Are you ready to go? I think the movie starts soon.”

  I didn’t know if Brennan was serious, or if he was just putting on a big show to put Ellie in her place, but either way I didn’t care. “Yeah, I’m all finished,” I responded.

  Brennan collected our plates and brushed passed Ellie as if she wasn’t there.

  “Humph.” She stormed away and rejoined her friends. I could see them huddled together, no doubt trying to figure out what had just happened. I smiled and waved at them.

  Brennan returned to the table, “Ready?” He held his hand out to me and helped me up. He didn’t let go as we made our way to the exit, causing Ellie and her friends to gasp. Tingles traveled from my hand all the way up my arm. Is this normal? I looked down at our intertwined hands and smiled, wondering if Brennan could feel the heat too.


  As soon as we were back out onto the sidewalk, Brennan exclaimed, “Now I understand why you wanted to trade her for all four of my siblings.”

  “So do you want to make a deal?” I teased.

  “Definitely not,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s just say that I have a new appreciation for my three brothers and sister.” His blue eyes sparkled, and I could tell he enjoyed his family, even if it was large.

  We had arrived at the crosswalk, and I was happy to note that he was still holding my hand. He could have let it go; we hadn’t been in view of the pizza place for a couple of minutes. I didn’t want him to let go. Ever. Carefully I leaned over, and with my free hand, I pushed the button for the little white hand to indicate it was safe to cross.

  “Thanks for sticking up for me back there,” I pointed behind me, toward the pizza shop. “Ellie can be a real bitch sometimes.”

  He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear.”

  I blushed. “Yeah, I don’t very often. I just couldn’t think of a nice way to say it.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t care if you swear. I’ve heard worse, believe me.” He paused and then continued. “You know, I was just being honest – I think you look great. I really like what you’ve done with your hair. You should wear it like that more often.”

  I blushed a deep shade of red, quite possibly an even deeper shade than my hair. I was happy he noticed that I hadn’t pulled my hair back into its standard ponytail, but instead I had left it down to fall in natural waves down my back. “Thanks,” I responded, quietly.

  “You’re welcome.” He smiled, causing his bright blue eyes to crinkle. “I should tell you - I have a thing for redheads.”

  I felt my heart swell, and I desperately wanted to believe him. Is he telling the truth? He squeezed my hand, as if to reassure me that he was for real.

  I found myself at a loss for words, and when that happened, I babbled. “I know you told Ellie that we had plans to go to the movies, but I don’t expect anything. I know you told her that just to make her squirm, which was totally awesome. Thanks for that,” I smiled fully, and for the first time I didn’t worry about the gap in between my front teeth. We arrived at the parking lot. “So, if you’d rather we just made plans to study again, I’d completely understand.”