“Either way, it doesn’t matter. Cancel your plans for tonight. You’re grounded.”
“I’m grounded? That’s funny,” I laughed. “You’re punishing me for having a shitty teacher.” My eyes flashed with anger.
“That’s enough! You’re grounded because even if your teacher is lousy, it’s not an excuse for you to be rude and disrespectful.”
“Ellie gets away with murder, and I do something wrong for the first time in eighteen years, and you’re punishing me. That’s unfair,” I shouted.
“This has nothing to do with Ellie.”
“She cuts class all the time, yet, I never see her staying in on a Friday or a Saturday night.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Ellie if I were you. You should worry about whether or not we’re going to let you go to Florida with Brennan and his family.” My heart stopped and I froze. “Today’s little stunt didn’t buy you any bonus points.”
I held back tears. I turned and raced up the stairs. Slamming my door, I flopped on my bed and sobbed. How could my day go from being the best day ever, to being one of the worst? How was I going to convince my parents to let me go on the trip? I cried harder.
Rachel must have heard my distress signals from her house, because suddenly my phone rang. “Hello,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Josie?” Her voice was filled with worry.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“What’s the matter?”
“My mom grounded me for walking out on Mrs. Perkins’ class. She said that because of my bad behavior, I might not be able to go to Florida with Brennan,” I cried into the phone. “What am I going to do?”
“Oh no, Josie. I’m so sorry,” she sympathized. “I’m sure it will all blow over in a couple of days. Look at the bright side, Ellie is always getting into trouble and your parents never punish her.”
“I already reminded her about that,” I sniffed.
“Don’t worry, everything will work out.”
“I hope so,” I sighed, feeling a little bit better. Talking to Rachel always made me feel better. Just then I got a beep, “Hey Rachel, can I call you back? Brennan is on the other line, and I have to tell him the bad news.”
“No problem. Call me later if you want to talk.”
“I will.”
I clicked over to B-man, explaining to him that I was grounded and couldn’t hang out like we planned. He was bummed, but like Rachel, he was optimistic that my parents would get over it quickly.
I spent the whole weekend in my bedroom - painting my nails and rereading “Jane Eyre.” I barely spoke two words to my parents. I was angry and hurt. I thought the weekend would never end. I couldn’t wait to be back at school.
***
Brennan was waiting for me by his car in the parking lot on Monday morning. He looked so handsome, leaning up against his car, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. My heart began to race and my breath caught in my throat. I felt complete again. I jumped out of Rachel’s car, and ran to him.
“Hey, Rubylocks,” Brennan said, catching me and pulling me against him in a tight hug.
“Hi-ya B,” I wrapped my arms around his middle. “I missed you this weekend,” I said into his chest. He smelled so good, like he always did, a combination of soap and pine. It made my head spin. I didn’t want to ever let go.
“I missed you too.” He ran his hands over my hair and down my back, making me shiver.
“If my parents won’t let me go with you to Florida, I’ll go crazy. I don’t know how I’ll survive an entire week without you. One weekend was pure hell.”
He laughed. He put his arm around me and we headed to class. “Well then, we’ll have to make sure that they say, yes. Let’s start by getting to class on time.”
***
“Josie, come downstairs. Your dad and I would like to talk to you,” my mom called.
“Okay,” I responded, without any real enthusiasm. “I’ll be right down.” I put the book I was reading on my desk. Over the past several days, whenever I was home, I locked myself away in my room. I was still angry with my parents for grounding me, and they still hadn’t given me an answer as to whether or not I could go on the trip with Brennan and his family. I was punishing them, by giving them the silent treatment.
My parents were seated at the kitchen table, where all serious discussions took place. My dad pointed to my chair, and I slowly sat down. I waited for them to begin.
“Josie, we’ve been thinking a lot about Brennan’s invitation,” my mom stated. I held my breath. “Even though we aren’t happy with the stunt you two pulled last Friday, we have decided to look at the whole picture. And the truth is, that you’ve always been a very responsible kid. You’ve given us little to complain about over the years. You study hard, and you get good grades. So,” my mom paused, and looked at my dad who nodded, “we’ve decided that you can go.”
I jumped out of my chair, finally releasing my breath. Speaking for the first time in days, “Thank you, mom. Thank you.” I gave her a big hug, and then went around to my dad and did the same.
“Do not make us regret this decision,” my mom stated firmly.
“I won’t, mom. I promise.” I was ecstatic. My face was beginning to hurt because I was smiling so hard.
“It’s good to know that you are talking to us again,” my dad teased.
I flushed, embarrassed for having acted like a toddler for the past week.
“Don’t you think you should call Brennan and tell him?” my dad asked with a twinkle. Initially I was surprised my dad was so cool with all of this, but then I remembered that deep down he was a big softie, always giving in before my mom.
“Yes, of course.” I gave them each another quick hug, and then I dashed upstairs.
***
I thought Friday would never get here. I spent the week packing, and then repacking. I analyzed everything from the clothes I was bringing to what it would be like to spend a week with him and his family. I fretted over whether to bring my bikini and shorty-shorts, or more conservative clothes. What about pajamas? Normally I slept in a big t-shirt and pajama shorts. After I finally decided on what to put into the suitcase, I began to worry about his family and what they would think of me. What if they didn’t like me?
The moment finally came for Brennan and his family to pick me up on Friday afternoon, and I was a nervous wreck. I was waiting on my front porch with my parents when they arrived. Brennan jumped out to help me, “Hey Ruby, you all set?”
“I think so,” I said, handing him my suitcase. I almost dropped it on his toe, my hand was shaking so much. “Sorry,” I winced.
It was a tight squeeze with eight people and everyone’s luggage, but Brennan managed to find a space for my suitcase. After cramming it in, he pulled me into a hug. “Don’t be nervous,” he whispered in my ear. “I promise you’ll have a great time. You’ve had fun helping me babysit, right?”
I nodded my head. “But what if they don’t like me?”
“They already do.” He let go of me and took my hand, walking around to the side of the mini-van with the door open. My parents were still talking with Brennan’s parents. I hoped they were almost done.
Before Brennan could even get one foot inside, Madison said accusingly, “Brennan, you promised Josie could sit next to me.”
Brennan looked back at me, letting me decide.
“Brennan, you promised that I could sit next to Maddie.” I tugged on Brennan’s arm, shoving him out of the way playfully, making Madison laugh. Then I climbed in first, sitting next to Madison on one side and Brennan on the other. The three boys were in the back row.
My mom leaned in and reminded me for the hundredth time, “Don’t forget to call us when you get there.”
“I won’t,” I promised, stopping myself from rolling my eyes.
“And have fun.” My dad winked.
“I will,” I smiled, settling back into the seat.
It took about ten hours to get to Orlando with a stop for d
inner and several potty breaks. We checked into the resort and went straight to bed. It was already past midnight. As promised, I shared a room and a king sized bed with Madison.
When I woke up in the morning, little Maddie was staring at me with a strange look on her face. I began to panic, reaching my hands up to smooth out my hair. It was probably such a mess I was scaring her.
“What the matter?” I asked, sitting up. “Is it my hair? Is it my makeup?” I was so excited about going on vacation with my boyfriend, that I never once stopped to think about the fact that he would see what I looked like first thing in the morning – before I showered or even brushed my hair.
She giggled, “No, silly. We really are sisters now. We’re sharing a room just like my brothers do.” She stood up and started jumping on the bed, shrieking with laughter. My body relaxed and I laughed too.
By the time Madison and I finally got out of bed, Brennan was already gone. He had early morning practice for the tournament that started later that afternoon. I thought it would have been weird to hang out with his family without him, but it wasn’t. His family was so easy-going that I felt right at home. We spent the morning swimming in the resort pool and running through the sprinklers until it was time to leave for Brennan’s game.
We arrived at the game just as his team finished warming up. Brennan saw us and waved. I hadn’t spoken to him yet, so I went to say a quick hello before the game began.
“Hi B-Man,” I said shyly, suddenly feeling embarrassed. I still couldn’t get over the fact that I was actually here. It looked like some of his baseball buddies couldn’t believe it either. A couple of them were whispering to each other near the dugout, and then every few seconds they’d look over at us with disbelief in their eyes, as if they were talking about us. I often felt awkward around his teammates. Brennan said I was imagining things, but I wasn’t so sure. Something didn’t seem quite right. I pushed it out of my mind though, because I didn’t want anything to ruin this trip.
“Hi.” He leaned over the fence and quickly brushed his lips against mine. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Good.” I smiled, remembering Maddie jumping on the bed just a couple of hours ago. “How about you?”
“It was tough, knowing you were in the next room,” he whispered.
I blushed. I knew the feeling. It had taken me forever to fall asleep last night. As I listened to Maddie snore lightly, I kept thinking about Brennan, wondering if he was snoring too. I could hear sounds coming through the wall, but I didn’t know whom they belonged to, Brennan or one of his brothers. I guess I had my answer. I’d have to tease the boys about it later.
“I just wanted to wish you luck,” I said, giving him a quick hug. “I’ll see you after the game.”
“Thanks.” He smiled.
Brennan played a great game. It was fun sitting in the stands with his family, all of us cheering him on. By the end of the game, my voice was horse from yelling so much. His team won, 7 – 2.
On Sunday his team played a double header and won both games, bringing home the first place trophy for the tournament. Brennan was named MVP for pitching a perfect game and hitting three home runs. I was so proud that my eyes filled with tears.
“Congratulations, Brennan.” I rushed toward him.
He picked me up and twirled me around before setting me back down.
“Thanks for coming. It meant a lot to me to have you here.” He brushed a loose hair from my face. “It’s easy to focus on playing ball, when I know you’re watching.”
My face turned as red as my hair at his compliment. “You do all the work. I just watched,” I said with a scratchy voice.
Brennan laughed. “It sounds like that’s not all you did.”
His family gathered to congratulate him too. His dad took lots of pictures of the team posing with the trophy.
“Can we go see Cinderella now?” Madison asked, tapping her foot. “Baseball takes forever.” She put her hands on her hips and let out a huge sigh.
Everyone burst out laughing. She had been waiting patiently for three days to see her favorite princess.
“Mom, can we? Can we go see Cinderella now? She’s been waiting for me since we got here.”
“Madison, honey. We can’t go right this minute. We’ll go tomorrow. Brennan needs to go back to the room and shower. We’re going out to dinner with his teammates and their families to celebrate.”
Madison pouted. She was desperate to see Cinderella, but what she didn’t know was that Mrs. Fisher had booked a breakfast with Cinderella in the castle for tomorrow morning. It was a surprise.
“Madison, you can sit next to me when we go to dinner, and I’ll teach you a magic trick,” I said, hoping to boost her spirits. She looked like she was about to cry.
Brennan leaned down and whispered something in her ear, and that made her smile. My heart melted.
***
The next morning I quietly tiptoed out of the room. I didn’t wake to disturb Madison. We were all going to the Magic Kingdom, and I wanted to use the bathroom before Brennan saw how hideous I looked in the morning. He had gone right to practice the past two mornings before I even got up, so he hadn’t seen how scary I looked when I woke up.
I had my hand on the bathroom door when it opened, and Brennan walked out with only a towel wrapped around his waist. My mouth fell open as I admired his muscular frame and washboard stomach abs.
“Oh, sorry,” I sputtered, closing my mouth.
“I didn’t think you’d be up this early,” his blue eyes sparkled. He was enjoying the effect he had on me.
“I was hoping to be first in the shower.” I cringed, remembering how horrible I probably looked. I glanced down at his bare chest, and my face burned red. Stating the obvious, I said, “I guess you beat me to it.”
He laughed. Here he was with a towel wrapped around his slender waist, carrying on a conversation with me like it was the most normal thing in the world. I hoped his parents didn’t choose this moment to walk down the hall.
I shook my head to clear it because I was completely distracted by the sight in front of me. “I should hurry and shower. I know your parents want to leave by 8 a.m. to get to the Magic Kingdom.”
“Yeah, I should get dressed.” He pointed behind him to the room he was sharing with his brothers.
I closed the bathroom door and turned the shower on cold. I needed to cool down before spending the day with Brennan and his family. It was going to be difficult to forget how hot he looked this morning, and it was going to be even more difficult to think clearly when my blood boiled whenever I was around him.
Three hours later we were all seated at Cinderella’s breakfast. I looked around the room at all the little girls in their make-believe ball gowns and tiaras. Madison was the cutest of them all with her blue dress just like Cinderella’s and her blonde hair in a bun. It all reminded me of the upcoming prom. Cinderella got to go to a ball wearing a beautiful gown, and she even danced with Prince Charming. When was Brennan (my very own Prince Charming) going to ask me to the prom? Would he ask me while we were on this trip? Has that been his plan all along? I suddenly felt as excited as all the other little girls here.
Brennan played the perfect part of Prince Charming. He pulled out my chair for me and even stood when I excused myself to use the restroom. Madison giggled at his over exaggerated gestures. I really didn’t think he’d ask me in front of everyone, but I couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit disappointed when breakfast was over and I still didn’t have a date to the prom.
We spent the next couple of hours with his family going on rides. By early afternoon Madison and Cameron were getting tired, so Mrs. Fisher took them back to the resort, while Mr. Fisher stayed behind with Will and Owen. Brennan and I headed off on our own for the first time since the trip started.
“What do you want to do first,” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Would you rather get some food or go on Space Mountain.”
I knew he wanted me to say Sp
ace Mountain. The whole drive to Florida he kept saying that it was his favorite ride, or at least it was when he was nine years old. “I would rather…” I patted my stomach, teasing him.
“No - ” His forehead crinkled.
“Go on Space Mountain.” I shouted. A big smile spread across my face.
Brennan cheered. He grabbed my hand, and we raced toward the entrance. We waited over an hour in line because the fast passes were already sold out for the day. I thought maybe now – he’ll ask me. We had time, and we were alone. Only he never did. We passed the time playing “Would You Rather,” sticking to silly questions.
“Would you rather eat fried worms or drink curdled milk?” I joked.
“I’d rather eat the worms,” he laughed. “At least they’d be a good source of protein.”
I grimaced. I couldn’t picture myself doing either one of those things.
After many rounds, it was finally our turn to be loaded onto the ride. It was cool and dark inside Space Mountain, but I felt safe with Brennan sitting right behind me. The rush of the ride and the pure excitement of sitting close to Brennan made me forget all about prom.
We spent the remainder of the day riding our favorite rides and laughing. He spun us so fast on the Mad Hatter Teacups that tears were running down my cheeks from laughing so hard. t also felt great to hold Brennan’s hand as we walked through the park and waited in lines. It was easy an easy relationship. I never pretended to be someone I wasn’t – he liked me just the way I was.
Finally our feet were tired from walking around all day, and we returned to the resort in time for dinner. I smelled hamburgers when we opened the door and my stomach began to growl.
“Perfect timing,” Brennan chuckled.
“Oh, I’m glad you two are back. You must be starving,” Mrs. Fisher commented.
We spent the next four days visiting the different Disney theme parks – Epcot Center, MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Blizzard Beach. I didn’t have time to stress about prom. Brennan and I would hang out with his family at the parks in the morning, and then after lunch we would break off and do our own thing. Each day went by faster than the one before.
The Perfect Prom Date Page 12