Page 34 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
“You would?” I ask, unsure I heard her correctly.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Okay. Uh…cool.”
With that, I practically bolt across the cafeteria and back to my table, where my friends and two of my brothers sit completely dumbfounded. I endure hours of staring, snickers, and even my brothers ensuring I know what I’m getting myself into before school lets out. Once I’m free from the confines of classes and work, it actually hits me.
I asked Luna Parsons out on a date.
And she said yes.
I run a hand through my dark hair and release a long, slow breath while gathering my things for a long weekend of little more than homework and working on the app I’m trying todevelop. Doing something like this can help me with college applications, so it’s important that I focus on getting it just right.
I slam my locker door shut and work to swallow down the nerves that have been edging in since the final bell rang. Novan and Case have soccer and wrestling practice, so I drove my own car to school. I’m sure I’ll end up at Sweet and Salty doing my homework while I wait for Mom and Dad to finish work, then I’ll head home to the chaos of the rest of the family.
I’m so lost in thought that I almost don’t see the petite, beautiful girl leaning her back against my car until I’m standing right in front of her. Luna smiles and pushes off the car so I can unlock it. I can’t do anything but stare at her because I had not anticipated coming face to face with her again today.
“Um…” It’s all I can think to say as my entire body betrays me. Sweating profusely does not begin to describe the situation, and playing it cool is not a phrase in my playbook. Existing, blending into the wallpaper, ignoring the world around me—those I can do. This? Talking to Luna? Nope, I can’t do that.
“So…” she says, drawing it out while stuffing her hands in her jeans pocket. “You didn’t get my number, and I don’t know yours, so…I’m not sure how we’re going to communicate about that date.”
Geez. What a moron. I smack my forehead with my palm and wince. “Ow.”
Luna giggles, which brings a rare smile to my face.
“Oh, wow. I like it when you smile.” Her cheeks redden, and she looks away, which is good because I’m pretty sure mine match hers. Coupled with copious sweat, it’s not a good look.
I have no moves. None. All I have are fanciful dreams of taking this girl on a date, but none of those seem remotely appropriate now that she’s said yes. Actually, I can’t affordhalf of them, so what’s left are embarrassing renditions of me sweeping her off her feet by—get this—just being me.
“So, did you mean to ask me out or…I mean, I only ask because you don’t really seem like you want to know?” She’s second-guessing herself. Dare I say she’s…nervous? Why she would be nervous around me is anyone’s guess, but it gives me a fraction of a molecule of confidence.
“No, I…I really do want to take you out. I was nervous. I’m still nervous, in case you couldn’t tell.”
“Maybe a little,” she says and smiles again. “I’m kind of nervous, too, actually. I don’t really know as much about you as I do your brothers, but I’m up for hanging out if you want.”
“You want to go with me to Sweet and Salty?” I offer, gripping my keys so tight they’re going to cut into my palm.
She shrugs and points to my beat-up car. “You driving?”
“Sure. Hop in,” I say and try to control the maniac-sized grin that makes my cheeks ache. She rounds the car and yanks on the door, and I remember it’s broken. “Oh, sorry. One sec.” I meet her on her side and yank it harder, then hold it open for her. Once she’s inside, I shut the door and go back to fighting that grin. I just won the lottery, and every guy in the lot knows it.
They watch as I pull out with her in my passenger seat, and I cannot deny how good it feels. She is here of her own accord.
Halfway to my parents’ bakery, she asks, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Have you decided what you want to do? Like for the rest of your life, I mean? I want to major in history, but my parents think it’s probably a waste of money. I’d love to work for a museum, you know, like as a curator. It would be so amazing to travel the world and discover new things and…oh, sorry. Sometimes I ramble a little when I’m nervous.”
I glance at her and let loose that grin I’ve been holding in. I know what it looks like. I see it on my brothers’ faces all the time; it just doesn’t usually grace mine all that much. Still, it says I know things she doesn’t, that I have a sneaky little plan she can’t help falling for, that I might be a bit more trouble than she calculated. It’s not true, necessarily, but we Thomas boys can’t help what our grins do to girls.
Luna arches her eyebrow and bites her lip. “What?”
“Nothing, Pom Poms. You can talk all day about what you want to do when you graduate. I like seeing you happy,” I say like some kind of teenage Casanova. What? Where did that even come from?
“Pom Poms?” Her brows raise even higher now.
My cheeks burn but I’m going with it. Might as well let her see how weird I am now, get it out of the way so she can’t say I didn’t warn her.
