by F N Manning
When our date arrived, Max wasn’t exactly nicer than he ever was. He teased me the same amount but would usually touch me after every comment, his hand over mine on the table or leg brushing against mine to dampen any taunt, to ensure I knew he wasn’t serious. Or to drive me crazy. It worked either way.
The restaurant wasn’t fancy, and I didn’t expect that from him, but it was step up from the diner we’d been to earlier. Honestly? He was kinda nailing this for someone who didn’t date. I had always worried when picking places to go with Katie; how did he do so effortlessly what always took so much work from me? No, I shouldn’t obsess. I should just enjoy it. Then probably obsess later.
“So, what are we going to do after this?” I asked as we finished our meals.
“You want more than this, Winthrop? Damn, you’re hard to please,” he teased.
“Well, we’re dating now.” I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t spending time together part of that?”
“We are?” He asked, scoffing as he leaned back in his seat. “What idiot decided that?”
“Well, actually. I think you said, ‘we’re dating or whatever.’” I smiled teasingly. “What does the whatever entail?”
“You shutting your mouth?” he asked hopefully but looked like he was struggling not to grin.
“Why? It’s not like you’re going to shut yours.” As proof, he opened his mouth to respond. I continued, “If you’re going to make an innuendo, please remember that this is only our first date.”
He crossed his arms but did smile at me. He shook his head, grin turning lewd. “Is that your way of saying you aren’t gonna put out after I treated you to this nice evening?”
I didn’t get a chance to respond before the bill came. We had been having such a nice evening, but the moment turned tense when we both reached for the check and neither of us relented.
“I asked you out,” Max said while staring me down.
“Still, I insist,” I tried.
His jaw tightened as he became more rigid in his seat. This was silly. I obviously had more money. I didn’t want him to waste his hard-earned salary on dinner. He should just lighten up and let me take care of it. I wanted to say something but miraculously managed to refrain; it was just so clear none of those words would be met kindly.
“Cal, come on, I think I can pay one bill.”
I let him take the check but didn’t like it. “I never said you couldn’t.”
“You get the next one, okay?” Max said.
“Oh, you’re assuming there’s going to be a second date?” I said, trying to get the teasing mood back.
“Well, I was,” he said, irritation bleeding through. Geez, he didn’t have to be so testy about it. It was just a fact that I had more money, so why shouldn’t I use it? Oh well, we’d work on it. Max could be so stubborn. Like when April enlisted me to help with Max’s college prospects, sometimes there was nothing to be done but to act as necessary and wait for Max to catch up.
***
Aside from a few stilted moments, our date had gone rather well. The next opportunity I had to see Max was at the library for the kid’s spelling study group. The thrill of having two former spelling savants in their midst had waned, perhaps because last time Max and I crumpled up notebook paper and threw it at each other while the children worked. We were less mature than them. April and Brendan waved me away. Maybe Max and I could spend time together in some unused corner of the library. I enjoyed that particular fantasy of mine a great deal, perhaps I could make it a reality.
Except Max texted me that he had to go run an errand. Damn. The brusque tone and to the point message made me frown at my phone for a moment. We were dating now, was that any way to treat his boyfriend? It upset me until I realized that was just Max. We could be engaged and head over heels and he would still probably send a text like that. He was Mr. Too-Cool-To-Express-Emotions-Correctly-Liker-A-Normal-Person, which meant we’d have to take my name because his surname was even longer than mine… That line of thought got off track. Well, I was no longer offended and had nearly an hour to browse the library shelves and see what caught my interest, which was definitely not a bad way to spend the day.
I wanted a break from dense Russian classics, and no one was around, so I looked for an intersection between chick lit and mystery to see if the latest novel about a time traveling werewolf who solves crimes was in stock. How the hell did they come up with that stuff?
I was in luck. I grabbed the latest edition of Wherewolf and went searching for a place to devour it when I saw a familiar dark head bent over a nearby computer. Okay, it wasn’t the dark locks I noticed. He’d taken off his jacket, but I still recognized those shoulders. I really liked his shoulders.
He said he had an errand to run but was actually in this secluded section of the library with just a few computers instead of at the front. Was he doing something embarrassing like looking at porn? That seemed stupid when he had access to a real, willing guy.
I wanted to catch him. I managed to get closer without alerting him to my presence but when I saw what was on the screen, I spoke without meaning to. “That’s a college application.”
He didn’t jump. Damn, that would have been fun to see. His shoulders tightened and he wore a defensive scowl on his face when he slowly turned to look at me.
Nope, I couldn’t process this. “You’re actually applying to college?” I wondered. He crossed his arms and didn’t look at me. “No way, you couldn’t.” His eyes met mine then, annoyed. “I mean, you’re capable. Theoretically. It’s just…” I paused. Surely there was a diplomatic way to say this? Nope, I just couldn’t see it. “You filled out an application, listed your activities and grades, and will wait to hear back from them?
Max sighed. “Isn’t that how it works?”
“With most people,” I nodded. “I just can’t imagine you earnestly filling out why you want to attend a school with a response other than ‘screw you’ or ‘none of your business.’”
“You don’t think they’ll appreciate that?”
My brain didn’t have words to adequately process my horror, so a series of high-pitched shrieking filled my head.
Max finally relaxed and laughed. “It’s a freaking joke, oh my god. Your face.”
I smoothed my shirt reflexively and tried to send him a prim look. “I know, I knew that.” My face wrinkled. “But even the thought of it—” I stopped, shuddering, and his lips quirked up in a tiny smile.
“All you need are some pearls to clutch and a fan to wave and you’d be a regular damsel in distress,” he teased lightly.
He moved to stand but I pushed my hand down on his shoulder to keep him down. Well, I wasn’t sure I’d actually be able to hold him down, it’s not like I had the element of surprise anymore, but he sat back after a moment, not comfortable but resigned.
“You’re actually applying?” I asked.
He stared at the screen. “It’s not a big deal.”
“College is important. It matters,” I insisted.
He shook his head. “I just did it to get my family and boss off my back.”
“But you’ll get in.”
He shrugged. “Don’t sugar coat it. I’m not the best candidate.”
“You attended more than one National Spelling Bee.” I grabbed a nearby chair and sat next to him. “You won multiple Regional bees.”
“As a kid,” Max dismissed, “and you would lead with that.”
I plowed on. “Even doing the bare minimum, you could probably manage at least a B- in all your classes, and there’s no way you don’t have killer SAT scores.” If I’d still been standing, I would have put my hands on my hips while explaining all his virtues. I probably sounded like his mom, real sexy, but I couldn’t stop. “If all else fails, you could just get in a room with an interviewer and badger them with how smart you are until they give in.” He struggled not to smile at that. “You also have a job and watch your sister.”
He stopped me. “I don’t want th
em to pity me.”
“It’s not pity.”
“I don’t have extracurriculars, but we can’t afford a sitter, so I do it.” Max rolled his eyes. “Sounds like charity to count that.”
“They take every situation into account,” I tried diplomatically. I could see him starting to roll his eyes again, so I changed tactics. “If only grades and certain extracurriculars mattered, college would be solely for rich kids like me who never worked a day in their lives and could afford to have hobbies.”
He stared at me, then nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense.” I didn’t reply but he said, “Shut up.”
I blinked. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Your thoughts are loud, and you’re staring at me like a weirdo.”
I just kept gazing at him. He was applying to college.
“It’s really not a big deal,” he told me.
“Sure, sure,” I agreed. “Can I watch you click the apply button?”
Max was so flustered he didn’t even notice the cheesy book I had with me. I didn’t get to read or make out with him in a secluded corner, but I did get to watch him click the button. It was awesome.
***
Max
Even from a cautious viewpoint, and since when did I have one of those, things were mostly okay as I settled into dating Cal. Moments like this made all the apprehension and fear seem silly. April and Brendan wanted to hang out after their study group and we all came back to our place.
“You know we don’t have video games or anything cool here?” I told them. I had a suspicion April had roped Brendan into her whole frenemies thing and they were going to torture Tinsley together. April being friends with a boy from another school? Tinsley would just die. Nope, no, I wasn’t getting sucked into 11-year-old drama. If they wanted to go launch flaming arrows into her home, I’d just leave it alone and bail them out later.
“I have games!” April replied indignantly.
“You think my parents let us have a gaming system?” Brendan said at the same time.
“We could go to one of my friend’s houses. They have video games,” she started innocently.
“Just go,” I told them. They rushed out.
“Hey,” Cal objected, “You don’t even know where they’re going.”
“I do,” I sighed, “But don’t make me explain it. I already know way more about the social hierarchy of 6th grade than I want to.”
He opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head. “Fair enough.”
“Though maybe you like drama, you secret chick lit lover,” I teased him. I had been too busy freaking out earlier when he caught me filling out college applications to mock him, but there’d also been a sizable collection of trashy books in his room. What a loser. He was my loser though.
Cal had never been to this apartment before. His family always had more money than mine, but it wasn’t so obvious back then. We’d lived in a nice little home in the suburbs with white shutters and flower beds and now he was here in our crappy, perpetually messy apartment.
Still, he looked comfortable while smiling at me as we stood in the entryway. “Yeah, that would totally hurt if you hadn’t acted like your college applications were the worst secret in the world.” He thought about it. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being addicted to serial detective novels featuring strong female protagonists. Who have supernatural abilities.” His shook his head. “You know, you’re pretty good with kids.” His shoulder nudged mine.
I ducked my head. “I don’t know about that.”
“You’ve never given any thought to teaching?’ Before I could get defensive, he added, “This isn’t a ploy to talk to you about the merits of a college education. It’s a genuine question.”
“I haven’t given it much thought,” I answered. It hadn’t ever entered my mind before. I drove a motorcycle and the only reason I didn’t have a tattoo or two yet was because I had more important things to spend my money on. I would be the worst influence in the world. “It’s just so stupid.” Cal opened his mouth to argue so I continued, “Why did I apply anyway? I don’t even—“ I felt compelled to reaffirm how little I cared.
“Want to go college,” he supplied for me, holding up a hand and ticking off items in a list, “It’s so expensive, and you might not get in, and you might not go even if you get in, yeah. You’ve mentioned that all.”
“Well… good,” I said mulishly. I walked into the living room.
Cal came over to stand in front of me. His hands played with the front of my leather jacket. “Can I just say that this whole thing is kind of adorable?” Cal grinned.
I glowered. “What?”
“You being so flustered about this,” he teased gently.
“I’m not flustered,” I bluffed poorly.
“It’s a big deal.” He pecked my lips with his own. “But college isn’t everything.”
I raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Oh really, is that what the Winthrop-Scotts believe?”
“Okay, no,” he admitted. He smiled sheepishly. “But in my case, I possess very few skills aside from obsessive note taking and citing sources in MLA expertly.”
My hands wrapped around his waist. “That’s the dorkiest thing you’ve ever said but it was kind of hot.”
Our foreheads were pressed together softly. I could see his eyes sparkle. “Oh, then I should tell you about my highlighting system.”
“Yeah, talk dirty to me.”
He laughed and shut me up with his mouth. We kissed for a few moments as I began to walk us to the couch, but he pulled back and put a hand on my chest. “Really. Applying isn’t a commitment or anything, but I’m glad you did.” He kissed me again. “And all you can do now is wait and see what happens. If I can survive that, so can you.”
“I guess. But—”
“I know,” he interrupted. “You don’t really want to go to school and you just did it to get April and your mom off your back,” he filled in, lips quirking up in a little smile.
“That wasn’t what I was going to say,” I said, even though it was. Then I added, in a quiet voice, “But maybe I want to get in. A little. Just to say I did or whatever.” I didn’t look at him as I admitted it but could feel his warm gaze on me.
“Understandable,” he said softly, nuzzling his head against me. As my insecurities about college were insanely obvious and it was a weak moment, maybe I leaned into his caresses, just a little.
“Also, you have no room to critique my reading choices,” Cal remarked, bringing the conversation to easier topics. “You loved the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew as a kid.”
“You have no proof of that.” I pushed him onto the couch and he pulled me with me. We spent the time chatting about nothing, trading lazy kisses, and goofing around. Maybe this dating thing wasn’t so bad.
***
Brendan and Cal came to April’s Regional Spelling Bee. They had been to all of April’s bees. Well, Cal had. They even skipped school once, and skipping school was like a cardinal sin in Cal’s book. Them showing up to this competition made perfect sense: it was a Saturday and April and Brendan were good friends. Yet my heart gave a pathetic flutter because my boyfriend showed up to my sister’s event. Wasn’t that so sweet? Yuck.
Brendan went to find April while I greeted Cal. Uncomfortable with my fond feelings, I fell back on sass. “Oh my god, do I actually look more presentable than you right now?” Sponsors took pictures of the winner and their family, so close relatives of contestants always dressed up a little while everyone else wore whatever they wanted.
Cal’s lips thinned as he touched my arm in greeting. “You’re wearing jeans.”
“These are my nice jeans.” He snorted like there was no such thing. I carried on, “You’re wearing sweatpants.”
The jibe landed. His mouth dropped open in adorable horror. “In no way are these sweat pants. They’re clearly lounge pants.”
They were stretchy blank pants, not as loose and flowy as the women’s s
tyle, but still yoga pants. He wore a simple cotton t-shirt. He looked relaxed and comfortable. I wanted to see him like that more often. Even if I was currently winding him up.
“They’re the equivalent of sweatpants.”
He brought a hand to his mouth as he considered it. “Oh dear.”
I laughed before touching his arm in return. “Thanks for coming,” I said quietly.
Cal shook his head slightly. “Of course.”
“No, I mean…” Well, I wasn’t going to say anymore of what I meant. I just appreciated Cal here and being his easy to mock self. “Do you think they both have what it takes to make nationals?” I asked instead of saying anything mushy and embarrassing. I must have looked or sounded concerned, dammit, because Cal grabbed my hand and squeezed it lightly.
“Yes,” he said eventually. “We made it to nationals more than once. They’re both way better than us, right?” I relaxed at the words but didn’t pull away from Cal. “They didn’t start as young as us, but they kinda did in a way, since they were around it when we competed.” I didn’t know if I believed it. It was their first year, and there were older kids who had done this before, but I wanted to believe it when Cal said it.
“Yeah,” I nodded, bringing my arms up around Cal’s neck. “This bee will get April in and Brendan will follow.” There was nothing to worry about.
Cal looked surprised but relaxed into the hold. “Yeah, you’re right.” He studied my face. “You’re really not going to freak out?” I thought about it. Nationals would make them competitors. Just like Cal and I had been.
I brought our heads together for a moment, savoring the easy contact and the feel of his body embracing mine. “Nope. Since April’s gonna win the whole thing, it’s you that needs to not freak.” I hoped he could hear my grin if he couldn’t see it from this close distance.
He gave me a peck on the lips. “I think I can do that.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
Cal pulled back, and the way he looked at me made my breath catch in my throat. I didn’t have time to identify his expression or why it made me freaking weak in the knees when he surprised me and moved back in to capture my lips more insistently. He kissed me, chastely enough for this public place, but firmly, and it took a moment to breathe normally again when he pulled away.