Page 33 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
It actually all started with a dare…
“Did you hear anything I said, Rafe?” Case waves his hand in front of me, ensuring I lose the game I’m playing. With a grunt, I drop my handheld on the table and look at my brother.
“What now?”
Case rolls his eyes and the other guys at the table laugh. “I said, why don’t you ask one of the girls on the cheer squad?”
“Ask them what?” I mumble and cram a bite of pizza in my mouth.
The entire table erupts into laughter again while my older brother chuckles and shakes his head. “You really haven’t been listening to anything anyone has said at this table. We were trying to convince Hayden to ask Olivia Marchand on a date.”
I pause chewing and scowl. “What’s that got to do with me or the cheer squad?”
Case sighs and scrubs his hand down his face. He’s annoyed, so Novan steps in. “We dared him to ask her out, which led to a whole series of dares, and now it’s your turn, little bro.”
My gaze drifts toward the cheer squad at the table three rows down, two rows across. It drifts there quite a lot during lunch since that’s where Luna Parsons, aka the girl of my absolute dreams, sits with the rest of her friends. She’s popular. A hit with everyone, and while the popular people at Coldstone Creek High School aren’t stuck-up or mean in any way, there is still some unwritten code that they only date each other. Even in a small town, there’s a pecking order, and the lonely gamer boy is at the bottom of it.
Then it hits me.
“Wait, are you daring me to ask out one of the cheerleaders? Me? Like…like me?”
“Yes, like, like, you,” Case teases. I love my brother, but if he thinks I’m going to stand up, cross this cafeteria, and ask out just any random girl on the squad, he’s nuts. I don’t care if the Thomas clan has some name to uphold where courage, bravery, and admittedly…stupidity, are concerned. There is no chance I’m embarrassing myself to that degree.
And then it happens.
Luna’s gaze shifts the slightest, and it locks with mine. My whole body goes weak and my nervous system sounds the alarm. Don’t do anything stupid, Rafe. Don’t do anything at all. Except, for some reason known only to God, I stand.
“Uh…Rafe…what are you doing?” Case asks, his tone a warning. “I was joking. Rafe?” I take a step. “Rafe, dude, sit down! What are you doing?”
“Rafe?” Hayden stands and grasps my shoulder, but I’m committed now. I don’t know exactly what I’m committed to at this point, but I’m on the move.
“Rafe?” Novan’s nervous call is the last thing I hear. I block them out when Luna looks away from me, robbing me of her beautiful gaze. She’s in a conversation now with some other boy, and not for the first time, the maniacal monster of jealousy comes to life in my stomach. I stand a little straighter, walk with more purpose, and this gets the attention of people at other tables. I can’t be sure, but I think they’re watching me. I wouldn’t blame them, especially since seeing me do anything but playing games or coding is a shock.
I’ve not thought any of this through, not even a little. All I can think about is getting her eyes back on me so I can drink in that innocent, warm smile and sparking gaze that makes me feel like a completely different person. When she looks at me, I feel like a person. Not another Thomas brother that falls into a stigma, but an individual. Someone she sees who doesn’t blend into the background.
It's all in my head, of course. Still, if I’m going to make a fool of myself and ask someone on a date who is bound to say no, it’s gonna be her. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid all the way and kill two birds with one stone.
When I arrive at her table, her friends all look at me expectantly.
“Hey, Rafe,” one says, but I can’t remember her name. She’s nice, sits a few seats in front of me in geometry, but my eyes are glued to Luna.
She looks at me and smiles.
And I lose all composure. My heart pounds. My head screams at me that I’m a fool. But I’m in too deep now.
I scratch the back of my neck and try to grin, but I’m positive it presents as more of a grimace.
“Uh, hi, um…I was wondering…Luna, if you…you want to go out with me sometime?”
The whole cafeteria goes silent as the grave. All of Luna’s friends turn their heads to look at her. I know what they’re thinking. I’m not good enough for her, just a gamer with zero future who’s probably asking her out to boost my own status.
Luna blinks a few times and stares at me.
I’m one heartbeat away from running out the door, leaving Coldstone Creek, and never returning when she says…
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“What?” her friend asks and glances between us.
