Page 45 of Kiss the Girl
It did not get better.
It wasn’t that it was a bad date. Nikki was nice. She had a nervous energy that made it hard to relax, but that wasn’t a dealbreaker on a first date. And she definitely did her part to keep the conversation going.
But the whole night, I kept feeling like I was having toworkat it. It wasn’t easy, like hanging out with…
Bah.
BAH.
That was the whole problem. No matter how cute Nikki looked—and she looked cute—or how cheerful her conversation was—and it was cheerful—weirdly cheerful—I couldn’t connect. Because it didn’t feel easy like it did with Grace.
I almost didn’t want to drop by Brooke’s classroom on Monday for lunch, but she would hunt me down in the gym if I didn’t, so I manned up and brought my roast beef sandwich and Fritos over and pulled up a chair at her desk.
“Hey. How did it go with Nikki?” she asked.
“You didn’t talk to her yet?”
“I thought I’d hear your version of events first.”
“She’s cute but we didn’t click.”
“She put it stronger than that.”
“Which is how?”
“That you were—” she made air quotes “—checked out.”
“I don’t even know what that means. We talked all night and bowled two games.”
“She said your mind was on other things the whole time. Was something distracting you?” Brooke’s question was soft, like she was genuinely concerned.
“No, I’m all good.”
She leaned over and went in for the kill. “Then maybe I should ask ifsomeonewas distracting you?”
I knew where she was going with this. The best technique with Brooke—as with well-meaning puppies—was redirection.
“Nope, no one. How’s that fifth period class of yours shaping up?”
She didn’t look like she was going to take the bait, but her classroom phone rang, and she sighed and picked it up. “This is Mrs. Greene.”
I smothered a smile at how delighted she looked at using her married name.
“Hi, Nancy. Yes, he’s here. Sure, I’ll let him know.” She hung up. “Dr. Boone would like you to stop by during your prep period.”
“Got it. Now, your fifth period class?” I made sure the conversation didn’t drift toward blind dates or Grace for the rest of lunch.
* * *
“You wanted to see me, Dr. Boone?”
The principal looked up from her desk and smiled. “Come on in, coach. How’s the booth coming?”
“Great,” I said, relieved I could report that without lying. “The boys have a good concept, they’ve started laying out their design, and we shouldn’t have any problems getting it ready in time.”
“Glad to hear it. That’s DeShawn’s take on it too, but I wanted to hear it from you. He says you’ve got things well in hand, and it’s nice to confirm it.”
I shifted in my seat. “Are you getting more comfortable with the idea of me applying to the head coaching position?”
