My hand comes up to cover my face. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”
“You really like him that much?”
Do I? “It’s like…he is the only guy that I have ever had a crush on. I barely even know him. He is so cute and really nice from what I have heard.”
Jeremy looks closely at the picture. “Your picture looks better than he does in person.”
“Jeremy!” I chastise.
“What?” He laughs. “If you want, I will try and get you a date with him.”
Crossing my arms, I ask, “How are you going to do that?”
“Make you something he really wants,” Jeremy retorts. “He should want you because of you, but if you really want to get a date with him, then I will help you.”
“Now, that would be cool. It would be a total cliché though.”
With a quizzical look, Jeremy says, “Why?”
“The dorky girl gets the cute crush guy. I am in my own movie.”
A burst of laughter comes from Jeremy. “Am I the fairy god mother?”
“Yes!” I yell, clapping my hands. “See, that is where it’s not a movie. Fairy god mothers aren’t usually hot guys.” I giggle.
Arching his eyebrow, Jeremy gets a devious smirk. “So, you think I am hot?”
Instantly, my face is red. “Shut up! Gosh, way to ruin a moment.”
Jeremy quickly grabs me up into his arms. “I am more than happy to be your HOT fairy god father.”
“Put me down!” I laugh. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 4
We walk through the store making fun of each other. “Where are we going to find this stuff?” Jeremy asks.
“Health and beauty maybe? I have no idea,” I reply.
“Oh!” Jeremy says, “Wait, we need this aisle!”
I look and quickly back up, “No!”
“Yes, your mommy said so!” Jeremy wraps his arms around me and starts to pull me to the contraceptive aisle.
Laughing, I yell, “Jeremy, let go of me!”
“No, I think we should go through all of this.”
Not being able to get out of his grip, I try stomping on his feet. He just lifts me up in the air. “Let me go, you jerk!”
He finally sets me down and holds me in place. “I am trying my hardest to embarrass you.”
“Don’t you think I do a good enough job of that myself?” I ask.
“Nah, you need my help.”
Spinning, I get out of his grip and turn to walk back down the aisle. Suddenly, I come face to face with Eric. “Oh,” I stammer. “Hi.”
“Hey,” he replies slowly. His eyes drift over to Jeremy. Who is, of course, standing next to the condoms. I am going to kill him. Eric looks down at me. “You did your hair differently.”
“Oh,” I say, putting my hand up to my head. “Yeah, I did it today.”
Jeremy comes up behind me. “I think she looks gorgeous, not that she wasn’t pretty before.”
With a nod of his head, Eric says, “No, it looks good.” The corner of his mouth twitches into a smile.
“Well,” Jeremy interjects, “We need to go do stuff. Did you want me to grab something, Izzy?”
I am going to punch him. I am going to punch him and then die. “No,” I hiss.
He chuckles and draws out, “Oookkkaaayyyyy.”
Eric’s eyes get big, and just look at me. “Your hair turned out really nice.”
“Thanks,” I bashfully reply, blushing.
“Come on toots,” Jeremy says, grabbing my hand. “We have other things to buy.”
He starts to pull me past Eric. “See you later,” I stutter, turning back to Eric.
“Bye,” he retorts, waving.
When we are far enough away, I spin on Jeremy and whisper harshly, “How am I supposed to get a date with him if you keep stopping us from talking?”
“You want what you can’t get,” Jeremy replies seriously. “If you throw yourself at him, you are going to come off desperate. If he thinks he has to work for you, then it’s a challenge. Trust me on this one.”
“Do you date a lot?” I ask.
A huge smile creeps across Jeremy’s face. He turns to look at me with a twinkle in his eye. “It depends on what you mean by a lot?”
“Like how often do you go on dates?”
Shrugging, he replies, “Once a week, sometimes twice.”
“Oh,” I squeak. “Am I stopping you from a date this weekend? You can go do something else, if you want. I mean, we did enough today.”
“No, I don’t need a date, I have you. It’s been a long time since I had a female….well a friend. It’s nice.”
That makes me smile. “It’s nice to have you as a friend, too. It will be nice to have your advice if I do start dating. I have never been on one before.”
“Well, I will give you a play by play then,” Jeremy laughs. “And I will call you half way through and ask how it is going. If it is going badly, you can pretend your house burned down and leave.”
I burst into hysterics. “Do people really do that?”
“You would be surprised by the excuses that I have given to get out of a bad date.”
“Jeremy,” I scold, “that is awful!”
Getting a shocked look on his face, he snaps, “Women do it all the time, and it’s fine. A guy does it and we are labeled jerks.”
Hmmmm. “Yeah, but the roles are reversed on that, too. A guy sleeps with a whole bunch of girls and it’s okay. A girl sleeps with a whole bunch of guys and she is labeled a slut.”
“Okay, if a guy sleeps with a whole bunch of girls, he is a slut.”
“So….” I say slowly, “you don’t sleep around that much?”
Jeremy narrows his eyes, his expression is priceless. “Do you really want to talk about my sex life?”
Quickly shaking my head, I spit out. “No, I am sorry! Forget I said that.” I cover my face. “Sometimes, I say what’s in my head and I don’t think.”
“I told you, if you are curious about the subject, you can ask me anything.”
I instantly groan. “No, please, just forget that I said anything.”
Obviously, not being able to hold it in, Jeremy bursts out laughing, “The answer is no, I don’t normally sleep around.”
“Why does the subject keep coming up? This is ridiculous. No more sex talk!” I articulate strongly, gesturing with my hands. When I look up, I see a little old lady scowling at me. Oh, great. I give her a weak smile. She just looks away and walks smugly past us.
“Okay, well I think your stuff is down this aisle,” Jeremy says, pointing to the aisle to the right of us. We turn and I see the flat irons right away. “Okay, I need a blow dryer, a flat iron and some brushes.”
Grabbing a flat iron package off the wall Jeremy grimaces, “This looks dangerous and possibly painful.”
“Yes, well I need it,” I say.
“I think you should get this one,” he says, holding up the flat iron. “It’s pink.”
With an annoyed look, I ask, “Do I look like a pink type of girl?”
“Hmm, maybe not,” he replies, putting it back. “Oh, what about this one, it crimps.”
“What in the world is crimping?”
Jeremy points to the picture. “That’s it, I think.”
“I would mess that up so bad if I tried,” I respond. “I just need a normal flat iron.” Looking at them all, I pick one up and read the back. “Hey, I want this one. It dries your hair as it flattens it. That takes out a whole step.”
Grabbing it from me, Jeremy carefully reads it. “Did Debbie suggest this?”
“No,” I reply, “But come on. Then I don’t have to dry my hair.”
“I say….we get this, a normal flat iron and a blow dryer. Then you have everything and some back up.”
I snort. “Who knew that doing your hair requires an arsenal of gadgets?”
“Oh, you need to get this hair dryer,” Jeremy exclaims. He picks it up and shows it to me. “It has
a skull on it.”
“Awesome,” I retort. “My bad ass blow dryer.”
Jeremy’s smile is hilarious. “Every woman should have one of these.”
“Then that is the one I am going to get.” Looking back at the flat irons, I grab one that is plain. “Alright, now I need two different brushes and I am done.”
Jeremy turns and walks down the aisle. I watch him and then catch myself checking out his butt. Shaking my head in mortification, I make my eyes look somewhere else. Seriously Isabelle! Not being able to help myself, I look back.
Then as if he senses it, Jeremy turns around and looks at me. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah,” I sputter out. My face heats up and I pray he doesn’t see me blushing. This time I make sure my eyes stay looking at the ground.
When I make it to Jeremy, he just stares at me. “Are you alright?”
“Mmhmm,” I hum back. “Let’s just get the brushes.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Okay.”
After we grab those, we head to the cashiers. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for this?”
“Why are you so adamant about that?” I ask. “Don’t you have bills?”
“I am just making sure. Don’t want repercussions coming back from your mom.”
I shake my head. “We have money. She actually has a good job. She is a functioning alcoholic. During the day, she drinks a little bit, but at night and on the weekends, it’s a whole different subject. Her parents died before I was born and left her an inheritance. That has helped.”
“I am really sorry that you have had to deal with that on your own,” Jeremy says quietly.
My heart gets heavy. “Yeah, me too. I used to wish I had siblings, but then I know that they would have to put up with this too and I couldn’t do that to anyone.”
We drop everything on the conveyer belt. I suddenly feel Jeremy’s arms go around me, pulling me against him. “I know you don’t know me, I understand that, and I don’t want to creep you out, but I am here for you. You don’t need to go through this alone.”
I look up at him and smile. “Thanks.”
Getting a wicked smile on his face, Jeremy whispers, “I should scare you, you know.”
“I am still waiting for you to kill me and hide me away in some bizarre, thriller movie sort of way.”
“Yes, I haven’t figured out what I am going to do yet, so right now, you get to live,” Jeremy says, narrowing his eyes.
With an exclamation, I yell, “Sweet!”
Jeremy just laughs and pushes me down the line. The check out girl obviously cannot take her eyes off of him. I see this and try not to smirk. Jeremy notices. He saunters over to the cashier. “Hello.”
“Hi,” she replies, in a girly, giggly sort of way. I roll my eyes. “Did you find everything alright?”
“You know, we got a little hung up in the contraceptives aisle, but I think we figured it out.” I haul off and kick Jeremy in the shin. He bends over and screams, “Ow!”
I cross my arms and smile. “No need for a contraceptive when you can’t stand up straight.”
Turning his gaze on me, he says, “Well honey, now you aren’t going to need them for a while.”
“Boohoo,” I whine, as I gesture that I am crying.
“So, you found everything alright then?” The cashier asks, staring at us.
I nod my head. “Yes, I am sorry for him. I only let him out of the house once a month, if you can’t see why.” Doubling over with laughter, Jeremy turns around. I walk over and pat him on the back. “He is single if you are interested.”
“Oh, honey,” Jeremy interjects. “Are you dumping me?”
“Yes,” I reply dramatically. “I am moving on to bigger and better things.”
Giving the cashier his alluring smile, Jeremy asks, “What’s your name?”
The cashier looks at him like he is crazy and starts to scan the items. It doesn’t take her long to finish. “You’re total is 85.68.”
“Now, you have to pay for your stuff. I will no longer be your sugar daddy,” Jeremy says, crossing his arms.
“Fine,” I sigh. “I don’t know what I will do now. Oh wait, it’s called a debit card.” I take the card and swipe it through the machine. It takes me a second to remember my mom’s pin though. I rarely spend money on anything.
As the cashier hands me my receipt, Jeremy leans in. “Are you sure you don’t want to give me your name?”
I start to shove him away. Turning to the cashier, I say, “Sorry, we haven’t eaten yet.”
Jeremy snags the bags and we walk out the door. “You are
WAY too much fun!” He yells.
“For someone who is out to change my life and save me from the evil witches at school, you sure are out to embarrass me more than they ever could.”
“Yeah, but I can do that because we are friends. It’s in the friend creed,” Jeremy replies.
Laughing, I retort, “There is a friend creed?”
“Yes,” Jeremy says proudly. “We will go over our friend creed while we eat dinner. So, you want to learn how to drive?”
“Not in this car, NO! I can’t drive stick either,” I tell him seriously.
Leaning against his car, Jeremy exclaims, “What bragging rights though? Not only do you learn to drive in a 1967 GTO, but you get to learn to drive stick in it. That would be awesome. If only I had been so privileged.”
“You are crazy,” I laugh. “We can talk later about how I am going to learn to drive. I have to get my temps.”
“We will do that on Monday after school,” Jeremy says. “We must get you up to speed and get you driving.”
I shake my head. “You sure have a lot of plans for me. When are you going to live your life? Have these dates that you were bragging about.”
“I never bragged about my dates,” Jeremy says. “They usually end badly.”
We climb into the car. “Why do they end badly?”
“Eh, I find the girl annoying, vapid or shallow and I get bored. Girls usually go for me because I am good looking and have the nice car and bike. It’s rarely about me.”
“That’s sad,” I reply.
With a big smile, Jeremy goes, “Yeah, I know, but that is what happens when you have devilish good looks.”
“Oh geez,” I groan. “Where are we going to eat?”
Backing out of the parking spot, Jeremy replies, “A little Italian restaurant. I am dying for their lasagna.”
“I make really good lasagna,” I state, looking through my bag.
“Well then, you will have to make it for me sometime,” he says. When Jeremy turns back around, and shifts the gear, he looks at me. “You do look really pretty you know.”
That makes me grin really big. “Thank you. I have never heard that before in my life.”
“That is so sad,” Jeremy sighs.
“You are telling me,” I mutter.
Reaching over, Jeremy starts to blare the radio and sing along to it. At least we like the same music. I watch him and laugh. He grins at me. He does have such a pretty smile. Looking out the window, I take a deep breath. I have never had this much fun. I just pray it doesn’t blow up in my face.
When we get to the restaurant, Jeremy opens the door for me. “You are such a gentleman,” I say.
“Of course,” he replies. “Someone was really strict with my manners upbringing.”
“Your parents?” I ask.
It seems as though he ignores my question. Jeremy walks up the hostess and says, “Table for two, please.”
The hostess grabs two menus and says, “Follow me.”
I shake my head, because he just walks away with the hostess. Did he not hear me? Of course Isabelle, he doesn’t need to answer all your questions. Debbie did say he wouldn’t talk about his past, why would he with you? We just met. I am being silly. With a sigh, I follow them to the table.
We sit down and I look at my menu right away. The silence is rather awkward. Jeremy suddenly
sets his menu down. “I don’t even need to look the menu. I know what I am getting.” Leaning forward he says, “You should get the chicken alfredo, or pesto tortellini, or the chicken parmesan. Those are my favorites. Or, you could go with the lasagna, too. It’s awesome!”
“What if I don’t want any of that?” I ask, grinning.
Dramatically crossing his arms, Jeremy sits back. “Well fine, don’t listen to me.”
That makes me laugh. “Fine, I will get the pesto tortellini.”
“Good choice,” he retorts.
Suddenly, the waitress walks up to us, and my, oh my, she is beautiful. My eyes dart to Jeremy and he has the biggest smile on his face. The waitress smirks back. “Hi, my name is Vicky. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Well,” Jeremy says, “I would like a glass of merlot, please.”
“Can I see your ID?” She asks.
Pulling out his wallet, Jeremy replies, “Most definitely.” He plucks out his license and hands it to her.
She looks at it and then him. “Well Jeremy, it seems as though you are of age.”
“Yes,” he emphasizes, “Vicky. I am 21. You look to be what 19?”
“Oh, aren’t you sweet,” Vicky giggles. “I am 23.” I roll my eyes, but thankfully, neither of them notices. Of course, I could disappear and it wouldn’t register to either of them. I lean back and watch the show.
Jeremy says, “I haven’t seen you here before.”
“I just started actually,” Vicky replies, putting her hair behind her ear. “Do you come here often?”
Oh geez.
“Actually, I do. Maybe I will have to request you as my waitress from now on.”
“Only if you tip nicely,” Vicky giggles back.
Leaning forward, Jeremy says, “I tip very nicely.”
That seems to tickle Vicky’s fancy, because she gets a big grin, “Sounds good to me.” I raise my eyebrows and stare at them. “Let me get you your drink.” Now, I frown. Really?
“Oh,” Jeremy says, “My friend probably wants something.”
Vicky turns and looks at me. Faltering a little, she asks, “What can I get you?”
“Iced tea,” I respond, quietly.
“I will get that right away,” Vicky says, turning to walk away. Of course, she has to look at Jeremy as she does this.
The Art of Life Page 6