Page 15 of The Handoff

Chapter 8

Dane

Whattheheckwas she doing in the bathroom so long?

If I didn’t have her backpack, I would have thought that she ran out on me—it had happened once. I asked this girl on a date, but little did I know, she’d agreed to go out with David. We were only thirteen at the time, and I’d caught them red-handed in his bedroom. She claimed that she didn’t know I was still in the house, and David said he was testing waters to make sure that she was the right one for me. Yeah, my brother was a prick back in middle school. Pretending to be one has led to things being easier. We don’t get involved in relationships—we have one-night stands or maybe go on a date, but never more than that. It just makes it too complicated, and it wouldn’t be right dating someone and pretending to be someone else, it wouldn’t be fair to the girl nor my brothers.

“Sorry.” She sighed as she finally made an appearance. It was as if all the color had gone from her face, as she was as white as snow.

“I don’t bite, you know,” I said as I moved toward her, and as I did, all the color was came back.

She giggled. “I know. It’s just that I’m a little nervous… I haven’t been on a date for so long.”

We were standing so close, I could smell her vanilla perfume, and I didn’t know if I wanted to just date her or kiss her. Her perky lips made it hard for me to resist.

“Oh, so I’m not the first?”

“To go on a date, no, but…”

She was turning red as the sexual tension grew. The janitor walked in, it was as if he was sitting and waiting for us to make a move.

“The hall needs to be cleaned. You need to leave and let me get on with my work.”

I smiled because his statement was directed at me. I wouldn’t lie, I’d been with more than one girl in the hall before, but with Lisa, it was different. I didn’t feel the urge just to get down and dirty with her—I wanted to get to know her better, even if my cock was telling me otherwise.

“You ready to get something to eat?” I asked, bending my arm, ready for her to take it.

“You’re such a gentleman.”

I stopped, thinking she had no idea what she was getting into, and put my dirty thoughts to the side. I would leave them for texting only. For now, we would take things slow until we got to know each other better.

Shit!

What was I thinking?

We couldn’t take this any further, and I shouldn’t even be asking her on a date. It was as if I had the devil and angel on each shoulder. The devil told me to go for it and have some fun, to do what normal kids my age did. Date. Fuck. Love. The angel on the other shoulder told me to stop this game. I’ve behaved for four years, so what was a few more months?

I ignored both of them, thinking I was being a gentleman and taking Lisa on a date, nothing more.

“Oh, you’ve got no idea,” I flirted, then she stopped in her tracks. I kept on walking and she followed suit, as I had her backpack, which was kinda heavy.

“You have a dead body in here?”

She shrugged. “Not exactly. I would love to say that I'm the most organized person in the world, but I’m not. I need to lose a few pounds, so I carry most of my books with me. I’m not a gym girl, I don’t run, and I don’t do any sports, so carrying loads of books is my only exercise. Besides, it means I’m always prepared for all classes.”

“You don’t need to lose anything, and don’t let anyone let you think otherwise. Girls get so paranoid about their weight and what society says is the ideal size. Winds me up at times.”

She smiled at me, and her blue eyes lit up as if I’d given her, her first compliment.

I liked this girl, she had all the confidence in the world one minute, and the next, she was as shy as a morning glory, and I was about to change her on this bright day.

“Where we going? You fancy Thai? Chinese? Italian?”

She nodded. “Thai. I haven’t had that in a while, and it’s my favorite.”

“Good!”

I was going to overspend, but she was well worth every dime. Lisa was the kind of girl who made me forget about my secret. Mom wasn’t in a good mood yesterday, and neither was David. Sometimes there’s so much tension in the apartment that getting out and not being at practice was a welcomed distraction.

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