“I’ll have a strawberry shake,” I said, tapping my purse to make sure I had my wallet. I’d lost it one time a couple weeks ago and had to try and pay with the coins in my purse. I didn’t want to repeat that in front of Dax.
“I’m going to go with a brownie sundae, extra whipped cream.” Dax took my menu and stacked it on top of his before handing the two of them to Penny.
My friend nodded. “Awesome. I’ll get those right out.” She took a step and paused, turning back to us. “How was the football game? You did go, right?”
I looked at Dax and saw he was waiting for me to respond. I kept my eyes on him as I spoke to her, seeing the small flicker of emotions crossing his face. “It was good. Dax taught me about a few of the positions and what they’re supposed to do on the field. We won.” I gave an exaggerated smile.
She giggled. “That’s good. Rosemont Football can always use another win.” With that, she walked over to the kitchen, disappearing around a wall.
Once she left, nerves took over my stomach, but instead of worrying about missing curfew, I found myself more anxious about being around Dax in a setting like this. It was almost like, well, almost a date.
“What’s the plan for the dance tomorrow?” Dax asked, wrapping the paper from the straw to his water around his pointer finger. He looked a mixture of nerves and was trying to make conversation to combat it.
“Great question. I probably should have told you sooner, but I’m good at procrastination with the things that are actually in my control.” He laughed at that, and I wanted to remember it forever. His casual sitting pose, the slight smile on his face making him look more tired than anything. “We’re going to a rock-climbing place for the day activity.”
He nodded. “Rock climbing, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever done that one before.”
“It’s fun. I’ve been once. You should have no problem with those guns, though,” I said, pointing to his arms. And then the realization of what I’d said hit me, and I was sure my face would melt off from embarrassment.
Dax leaned forward, the corner of his lips quirked up at one side. “You think I have guns?” His voice emphasized the last word a little longer than normal, and I could tell he was getting a kick out of this.
“Oh, please.” I waved my hand in front of my face and shook my head. I was not going to keep embarrassing myself like this. “We’ll have dinner at my house after and then head to the dance.”
“What are we wearing? Isn’t this one of the dress-up dances?” He leaned over and took a long draw from the water glass.
I nodded. “Yes, it is one of those. I’ve been trying to decide if we should go as Sleeping Beauty and Prince, or if we should do something Shakespeareish.”
“Say what now?” He had to pound on his chest as he started to cough, water getting trapped in his throat. His eyes watered as he coughed a couple more times, and then he glanced up, waiting for me to say something.
It took everything in me to keep a straight face for at least ten seconds, and then I broke, laughing hard enough that I started coughing. When I got it under control, I said, “I wish I’d taken a picture of your face just then.”
Dax studied me. “Why? Please say we don’t have to dress up in old-timey clothing.” He clapped his hands together and scrunched his face in a silent plea.
“It’s a glow-in-the-dark theme. We can either go with white t-shirts or do all black and attach the glow sticks to our clothes.”
I sat back as Penny approached with our order.
“Here’s your shake and your sundae. Can I get you guys anything else?” Penny asked.
Dax took a scoop of the brownie-and-ice-cream combination and shook his head. “No, this is delicious.”
I took a bite of my shake, savoring the bits of strawberry. “What are you and Jake wearing tomorrow, Pen?”
“White shirts. Jeans. Light-colored shoes.” She shrugged, dropping the tray she’d brought our desserts on by her side.
“I just can’t believe you’ve gotten him to go to all these dances,” Dax said in between bites.
“You and me both, Daxy. It’s always a little touchy, but he didn’t protest much this time. It’s fun to have something to go to.” She glanced down at the table, probably trying to see if there was anything else we needed. “What about you two?”
I glanced back at Dax, my mouth open for several seconds before I looked over at her. “We’re still trying to figure that out. I guess it will be a surprise for all of us.”
Penny nodded and slipped the check onto the table between us. She looked at the both of us and grinned, some private thought not quite visible on her face. “Okay, let me know if you need anything else, and have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
My nerves spurred into action again, and I tried to avoid eye contact for several seconds after, even though I knew Dax was studying me.
“If you could dress up as anything, what would you be?” he asked.
I snapped my eyes to him, the sincerity on his face causing me to think.