Page 16 of Bookish Boys Don't Date Social Girls
“I can’t take you up on that, Mrs. Jones,” my friend says. “Thank you, though.”
I look at Ava. “You should wear one of my dresses. I have so many and honestly, I’ll never wear them again.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Sam,” Mom says.
Ava nods. “Thanks, I would love to do my part in making sure your wardrobe is used sufficiently.”
I can see the wheels in Mom’s head turning, trying to figure out how she can pay to get the dress altered to fit Ava without offending her. I catch her eye and wink, letting her know I’ll help her out. She relaxes and turns toward the door. “You girls enjoy your evening.”
“You too,” we chorus together.
Dad winks and waves.
As soon as they pull the door closed, Ava pounces on me.
“Tell me all about Brent. What did you think? Is he totally smitten? Oh my gosh, you two would have beautiful babies.”
“Gross, Ava.” I laugh.
Bek pauses in her quest for pizza and looks at Ava with concern. “I’m not sure I agree with that. What color would their hair end up? Would it be somewhere between his brown and her blond? What if they got his square jaw and her prominent cheekbones? Would that make their features too sharp to be appealing?”
My mouth hangs open. I can’t believe she’s talking about how our kids might be ugly. Ava has the same shocked expression on her face as I do.
Then Bek’s breezy smile lights her face. “Just kidding.”
Ava and I make noises of protest at the same time.
We crawl off the bed to get our own pizza. Ava’s foot tangles in the bedspread somehow and she falls forward onto the cushy carpet.
“You okay?” I ask, offering her a hand.
“Of course.” She sighs.
When we’re seated again, I tell Ava about my first visit and then tell them both about my second.
“Bridget says next time I go in I should talk to him about things that aren’t book related to see if we have anything in common.”
Bek leans her head back against the bubble wall and stares up into its black depths. “That’s a good idea. Even though he seems suspicious about you suddenly showing up, he likely hasn’t considered it’s because of him.”
Ava nods slowly. “Why don’t you just ask him out? Isn’t that what you’ve done with the other boys?”
I wag a hand back and forth. “Kind of. They showed interest, so it didn’t seem strange for me to ask them out. Brent is giving me nothing.”
“When do you plan to go back?”
“This week. The new copy of that magazine we both like will be available.”
“Oh, that gives you something to talk about,” Bek says.
“But it’s reading. So, it isn’t telling me anymore about him than I already know.”
“Oh, that’s true.” She sounds like a fairy who lost her wings.
“At least it could get a conversation going, though,” Ava says. “And from there, maybe you can ask what else he likes to do when he isn’t reading or selling books.”
I brighten. “That sounds logical.” I pound the back of my head against my headboard. “Why am I having such a difficult time talking to this boy?”
“It sounds like he matters a little more than the others.” Ava’s expression questions if that’s true or not.
