Dating the It Guy

by Krysten Lindsay Hager

  “I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

  “You look great,” he said.

  My phone got a text just then, and it was from my mom saying the nurse gave Grandma some pain medication and she was going to sleep the rest of the day.

  “Everything okay?” Brendon asked.

  “Yeah, just an update on my grandma.”

  Brendon offered to take me home as the party was winding down and went to get his keys. Senator Agretti was talking to someone and the guy seemed to be pretty aggressive. I decided to walk over to thank him for inviting me and maybe give him a break. His face brightened as he saw me come up.

  “Emme, did you get enough to eat?” he asked.

  “Yes, I wanted to thank you for inviting me.”

  “This is our youngest’s girlfriend,” the senator said to the other guy, who couldn’t have cared less.

  “Now you’ll be a sophomore this year, right?” Senator Agretti asked. I knew he was stalling to avoid his other conversation, but I didn’t mind, seeing as I hated confrontation, too.

  “Now, what are you taking?” he asked, and again he focused on me like I was the only person at the event. There was no way he, or any adult, could be that interested in a high school sophomore’s schedule, but he acted like it was the most important thing in the world at the moment.

  “American history, English ten, biology, creative writing—”

  “Yes, Brendon said you were a writer,” he said. “Who are some of your favorite authors?”

  My mind went blank, and I stammered trying to think of even one writer’s name.

  “I am a Hemingway fan myself,” he said. “Have you read any of his work?”

  I nodded and then noticed how he brought the other man into the conversation about books, and pretty soon he had changed the whole tone between them. Slick.

  “You ready to go?” Brendon asked, coming over. I nodded and then saw Brooke approaching us.

  “So nice meeting you, Emme,” she said, giving me a hug and almost gagging me with her strong perfume. “Who knows, maybe I’ll even see you again.”

  Seriously? Then she went over and hugged the senator and asked him for a selfie for her social media page. She put his arm behind him, and I noticed he crossed his arms in front of himself. I wondered if that was so no one could say he put his arm around her.

  Mrs. Agretti walked up then. “I want a picture of all of you together,” she said. I handed her my phone and asked if she’d take one with mine as well.

  Brooke got right in between the senator and Brendon, and I wanted to barf as she giggled. Mrs. Agretti took the photo and then said, “Honey, we need one with you next to Emme.”

  Senator Agretti moved over to me and put his arm around me for the photo.

  “Everyone say, ‘Six more years,’” he said.

  He gave me a hug good-bye, and Mrs. Agretti handed me my phone. “I took three pictures since you’re a blinker. I always make sure people get a good photo.”

  She hugged me, and as we walked out, I overheard Brooke complaining, “My head’s cut off in the photo.”

  “So what did you think?” Brendon asked.

  Of Brooke’s leech-y ways? “What do you mean?”

  “Of the party. I know it can be a bit much to come to these things, and you said it was intimidating to come here, but you did amazing. Some people get overwhelmed or act stupid, but I knew you’d be fine.”

  “Everyone was pretty nice.”

  “My parents both told me you were adorable.”

  I was hoping for elegantly brilliant and a riveting conversationalist, but adorable was okay. Of course, next to Brooke I’d never be an exotic goddess, but then again, I would probably seem reserved and classy next to her.

  He pulled up to my house, and my parents were both outside, bringing groceries out of the trunk.

  “You must be Brendon,” my mom said, coming over.

  “Hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

  Mom insisted he come in and meet Grandpa.

  We walked in the side door, and Brendon saw our garden gnome in the maize-and-blue college football uniform.

  “No way, that’s my team, too,” he said.

  “Well, you’re okay with me then,” Dad said.

  Mom made us sit down at the table and brought out some iced tea. I hoped Brendon didn’t feel put on the spot as she started asking him questions about his family.

  “Mom, he still has guests at home,” I said. “He needs to get back.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “How is your mother doing, Mrs. Trybus?”

  “Oh, you’re so thoughtful to ask,” she said. Gross, she was gushing. I mean, yes, he was cute, and everyone at the barbeque had been a little gushy over him, but it was embarrassing to have my own mother doing it, too.

  Dad acted more normal, and Grandpa seemed more alert as he joined in the conversation. When Brendon mentioned he was looking forward to football season starting soon, Grandpa spoke up saying, “Looks like we’ll have a pretty good team this year.”

  I was thrilled Grandpa was following the conversation. Maybe I had been worrying about him for nothing.

  “The quarterback looks promising, but then again, I say that every year and get disappointed,” Brendon said.

  Dad and Grandpa both laughed.

  Brendon got a text from Jayson then, asking him to come home and save him from all the annoying questions about his future. I walked Brendon out, and he said he’d text me before he went to bed.

  I walked back to the kitchen and thought my mom was going to do cartwheels.

  “He’s so darling and polite,” she said. I had a feeling she was mentally planning our wedding.

  “He’s a nice kid,” Dad said. “I worried he might be stuck up, but he seems down to earth. More mature than most kids his age, but he’s probably used to being around adults more.”

  “Yes, he did seem more grown up. Polished,” Mom said. “Did you like him, Dad?”

  Grandpa nodded. “It was nice to see Dennis again.”

  “Dennis?” I asked.

  “Yes, we should have him come over more often,” Grandpa said.

  Mom sighed. “Dennis was Grandpa’s cousin. Dad, that wasn’t him. That was Emme’s boyfriend. Remember, Dennis has been gone for twenty years.”

  Grandpa just nodded and went back to reading the newspaper like it was completely normal to think a dead man had dropped by for a visit. I went to look over at my dad, who had a surprised look on his face.

  “I’m starting to think it’s more than just—”

  “Not now,” my mother said, cutting Dad off.

  “Okay, but it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

  “Not now.”

  Chapter 9

  Brendon spent a week away with his dad, but was back in time for my birthday. He wanted to take me to the country club to have lunch and play tennis. When I walked out to his car, I found a tennis racket sitting in the passenger seat. However, Jayson and Brooke were also in the car.

  “Hey, my mom just bought herself a new racket and wondered if you’d like her old one.”

  “Oh, wow. So thoughtful,” I said. It had to be expensive.

  “Her tennis coach said it will take your game to the next level. Promise,” he said.

  “You sure you can handle it, bro?” Jayson asked.

  “At least this won’t be a repeat of my humiliation on the miniature golf course last week,” Brendon said as we walked onto the court.

  “Hey, I told you not to swing like a maniac. At least they didn’t make you pay for chipping the elephant’s trunk,” Jayson said.

  “If I hadn’t been losing by like, a billion strokes, then maybe I wouldn’t have hit it so hard,” Brendon replied. “And then you had to win a free game so the stupid billboard flashed our scores for the whole world to see.”

  “Were you embarrassed that I beat you?” Jayson asked.

  “No, I was embarrassed I got a thirty-two at a par
eighteen course that includes a bear wearing a tutu.”

  “I still have the tickets for my free game. When would you like to have our rematch?” Jayson asked as I served. The new racket was way better than my old one. It was like there was a new power behind my serve.

  “What happened to just playing for fun?” Brooke asked, scowling. I hadn’t even broken a sweat, but Brooke acted like she was exhausted. She seemed overwhelmed, and I thought maybe this was an opportunity to get to know her without all the weirdness. As we sat down for lunch, I told her about how worried I had been the first time I played tennis here at the club.

  “Well, I, unlike some people, was honest about my game. I didn’t say I played only once in a while and then turned into Venus Williams on the court,” she said as she took a bite of her chicken salad.

  I wasn’t sure if she was joking or annoyed with me.

  “I think it’s great Emme’s gotten into it. Usually I’d play with Sam, who kicks my butt, or Jayson, who you can clearly see isn’t as good as me, but now I can play tennis with Emme. My equal…finally.”

  Jayson punched him in the arm, and Brooke laughed like Brendon was a stand-up comic. Lauren had been co-captain of the tennis team last year, and I wondered if they had played together a lot when they were dating. She seemed like the kind of person who would let him win, but then totally annihilate the next person who came onto the court.

  “Okay, I will concede you are the better tennis player, but if only I could find someone who was my equal in miniature golf,” Jayson said. “And might I add, both our parents golf regularly.”

  “I’m rebelling against the establishment,” Brendon said.

  “Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that,” Jayson said.

  “So Emme, do you want to do the movie in the park thing this weekend?” Brendon asked. “Or just hang out at my house.”

  “Whatever you want to do. I can’t believe this is our last weekend,” I said.

  “There’s still Labor Day,” he said.

  “They just give us that to keep us from killing ourselves the first week back,” I said.

  Brendon cleared his throat and looked away, and I wondered if I said the wrong thing, but then he came back to his usual self.

  “Should I take your shoelaces away? You know, I better keep you away from miniature golf courses—you could do some damage with those putters,” he said. “Anyway, I have one other present for you.”

  “What is it? A Faberge egg?” I asked.

  “The mall was all out of those,” he said, handing me a box.

  Brooke was giving me the side eye as I opened it. It was a beautiful, stainless steel Riley Turner watch with a lavender face. I had seen the same one in a magazine, and I knew it cost a lot. I loved it and said a silent thank you my birthday had come before his because I wouldn’t have had a clue what I would have bought him.

  “Oh, cute,” Brooke said with an expression that appeared like she smelled a skunk. “But, Brendon, are you implying she is always late?”

  “No, I just noticed Emme always checks her phone for the time, and I thought maybe she’d like a watch.”

  “Yeah, you can wear it along with those hundreds of bracelets you have on,” Brooke said. “Why do you have so many on?”

  “They’re crystal bracelets, and each one is for something specific,” I said. “The jasper is for grounding, and the onyx absorbs negativity—”

  “You seriously think your bracelets have magic powers?” Brooke asked, sneering.

  I glanced over at Brendon, who seemed uncomfortable.

  “No, of course not. Just trying to have my bases covered, you know?”

  “Hey, we should get Dad an onyx one,” Jayson said. “Do they make onyx underpants? Those could win him re-election the next time around.”

  I gave a little smile as they all laughed, but I wondered if Brendon’s weird expression was because he was embarrassed over my bracelet thing. Looking around the room, I realized I was the only female there with an armful of bracelets. All the rest had on understated jewelry, if any. Even Brooke was wearing just a pair of diamond stud earrings and nothing else. I suddenly felt overdone—like some weird boho hippie chick. Brooke’s whole look was simple, with her blue golf shirt and khaki skirt. Meanwhile I was wearing a dark pink T-shirt and matching gingham capris, and suddenly my outfit seemed loud. Everyone else had a classic or preppy look. I would have felt boring and unfeminine in Brooke’s outfit, but somehow she managed to make a golf shirt sexy without being over the top.

  “Okay, so I hate to bring this up on your birthday, but we need to go over our schedules for school and see when we’ll be in the same halls and stuff,” Brendon said.

  I was hoping to have a least a week until I had to think about school starting. I didn’t expect to have any classes together, but after we compared schedules, we found we didn’t even have the same lunch period. Plus, they had assigned him a seventh hour and given him a study hour during the regular school day.

  “It stinks we don’t even get out of class at the same time. You’ll have to wait a whole hour while I’m in my last class if you want to ride home with me,” he said, frowning.

  “I’m so disappointed,” I said. “I thought we’d at least have lunch together.”

  “Do they make a bracelet to help with that?” Brooke asked with a fake smile.

  “We’ll find a way to meet up during the day,” Brendon said.

  He dropped me off first and walked me to the door—the first time all day we had without Brooke and Jayson around.

  “I hope you had a great birthday,” he said.

  “It was great. Thank you so much for the presents—they’re amazing.”

  “Just wanted to do something special for you.”

  “I didn’t know Jayson and Brooke were coming,” I said.

  “Yeah, I was getting ready to leave, and Brooke insisted. She kept saying we all have to hang out more. She likes you a lot.”

  There was no possible way she liked me. Either she was looking for a way to spend more time with him or sabotage our dates.

  “Thanks again for everything.” I went to kiss him when someone honked the horn and we sprang apart.

  “Brooke’s such a kidder,” he said. “I better get going. See ya tomorrow.”

  I put out my outfit for the first day of school and checked my e-mail before I went to bed. Brendon had sent me a reminder he’d pick me up at seven and said it was supposed to be cool tomorrow. He was obsessed with this new weather app and always had to know the exact temperature. He’d freak if he planned on wearing long sleeves and then it was hot, or if he wanted to do something outdoors and then it rained. I thought his weather obsession was weird, but he said it was no weirder than how I was always paying attention to which sign the moon was in. He’d tell me I was crazy when I’d say that I had no energy because it was an Aquarius moon day. Although once, on a Cancer moon day, he did admit he had a little more energy than usual, but he said it was probably the sugar rush from the three cans of soda he drank.

  Brendon walked me to all my classes on the first day. Darren Ritts was sitting by the window in my creative writing class. We had been in the same history class last year, and he had been the only thing that had kept the class from sucking. I was happy to see someone I knew, since I knew I’d have to read my work out loud in class. Other than Rory, I didn’t know anyone else in the room. Mr. Horowitz walked in and made us go around the room and tell the class our names and our favorite books. I brought my bloodstone crystal along for self-confidence and held it in my hand as he talked. I figured I’d just repeat the title of a book somebody else mentioned, but my brilliant plan failed when he called on me first.

  “My name is Emme Trybus, and I’m a sophomore. My favorite book is The Bell Jar.”

  “Good, and why did you choose it?” he asked.

  Crap, I was hoping he wouldn’t ask. My hand was so sweaty the bloodstone almost shot out of my grip. I hadn’t finished the book
yet, and I only chose it because I thought it would make me look smart in front of all these brains.

  “I recently read a Sylvia Plath biography and got into her work,” I said.

  He seemed satisfied with my answer and moved on to the next person. The rest of the students named serious books they probably understood all the themes of, whereas I just read for enjoyment. Then I found out there was only one other sophomore in the class besides me. Everyone else was a junior or a senior. I wondered if it was too late to drop the class. Darren and I were catching up on what we had done over the summer when Brendon walked up. I told Darren to have a good weekend, but he didn’t say anything.

  I went to Brendon’s grandparents’ house on Saturday. Each year his whole family got together for a big barbeque Labor Day weekend. Everybody decided to play volleyball, but I stunk at sports so I sat on the porch and talked to his grandparents. I could tell Brendon wanted me to play, but he didn’t say anything. Since I was used to my own grandma being sleepy and not able to follow a conversation, I made sure to include his grandpa.

  “Are you from Michigan?” his grandpa asked.

  “Yup, my grandparents voted for you,” I said smiling.

  He and his wife laughed. His grandfather had some issues speaking and searched for words a lot, so I tried to follow him as best I could. He pointed a lot to the kids while smiling, and he’d clap his hands when someone did well during the game.

  His family had a tradition where they took a big group photo, and Brendon made me sit in the front row with him. I wondered if they’d cut me out of the picture if we broke up someday. Brooke was there again with Jayson, and she sat on his lap for the photo. I bet Mrs. Agretti would cut her out of the picture, even if she and Jayson stayed together.

  We were all standing by the table with the food, and Brendon picked up a bowl of chips.

  “Hey, Brooke left some for the rest of us,” he said.

  She winked at him, put her finger out, and tapped his nose while making this annoying, “boop” sound.

  “He’s always teasing me,” she said to me like I was a complete outsider. “No one picks on me more than Brendon.”