Page 63 of Rock Chick Rescue

Finally I said, “Sorry to say this, but I should be home early. Slick’s out there and Mom and Trixie are all by themselves.”

“I pulled in a favor. A squad car is going to do a regular round of drive-bys,” Eddie replied.

Something about Eddie doing that made me feel pleasantly strange. It wasn’t a feeling I’d ever had before, but it was nice.

“How will they know if something’s wrong?” I asked.

“They’re gonna make an excuse and buzz up,” Eddie answered.

“They won’t say—” I started to worry.

“Relax, Jet. I told them to be cool.”

I didn’t know what to say. So I settled on a simple, “Thank you.”

Eddie didn’t respond.

The next thing I knew, we were pulling into his alley. Eddie hit the button on a garage door opener that was attached to his sun visor and we pulled into the garage at the back of his house.

“Did you forget something?” I asked.

“Nope,” Eddie answered, setting the brake and turning off the truck.

I sat perfectly still in my seat.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“We’re havin’ dinner,” he said, angling out of the truck.

I watched him walk around the front and come to my side.

Having dinner?

At Eddie’s house?

I didn’t know how to process this. Dates usually didn’t take place at someone’s house. Well, not first dates. I’d known Eddie awhile, and he’d been in a fight for me, spent the night at my house, we’d made out a couple of times and I’d slept in his bed, but this was still a first date.

I threw open my door and jumped down.

When I cleared it, Eddie pushed my door shut, grabbed my hand and tugged me along behind him.

“Are you going to make dinner for me?” I asked his back.

“No.”

“Are we ordering pizza?”

He opened the back door and we went into the kitchen.

“My mom cooked for you,” he informed me.

I stood just inside the door and stared at him.

“Your mom…cooked…for me?” I stammered.

He pulled me into the room, closed the door and maneuvered me so my hips were against the counter, his hands were on them and he was close.

“Yeah. She called today. She wanted me to come over tonight and I told her I had plans. She asked about you, I told her, and she decided to cook dinner for you.”

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