“Oh…” I brought my attention back to Dawson. “So what did you tell him?”
“I told him yes. Duh.”
He nodded his head up and down harshly and I could have sworn I saw a reddish tint on his cheeks. But all he said was, “Great.”
Now I was even more confused but before I could say anything he asked, “Do you want to go to Ronnie’s?”
I licked my lips. Mmm. Chili fries sounded damn good right about now and chances were, I wouldn’t be able to eat much before the party due to the already-there nerves that would surely amplify in a few hours.
“Sure, right now?”
“Yeah, get in.”
“K,” I answered. “Let me go tell Becca. You’ll drop me off at her house after, right?”
“Yep,” he said, looking straight ahead.
Dawson was being totally weird but there was no way that his weirdness was going to ruin my high right now. One of the hottest boys in school just asked me out (insert high-pitched girly squeal here), and I totally agreed! I was going to a party with a senior. A really, really cool senior.
???
“Here ya, go.” Dawson said, handing me the steaming, cheesy chili fries through the passenger window.
After we’d dropped off Max at his house, I jumped up front and Dawson sped to Ronnie’s—the best eating establishment in all of Ohio. Mr. Ronnie made the most INCREDIBLE chili fries, and they went perfectly with his famous shakes.
I slurped on my chocolatey drink before devouring the chili fries sitting on my lap. I turned down Dawson’s blaring radio, which was playing “Ohio is For Lovers” (our favorite song) and looked over at him.
“What’s wrong, Dawson? You’ve been acting weird since after school.”
He shrugged, taking a huge bite of his Coney dog. He chewed vigorously, jaw chomping up and down, and then he wiped his mouth with his forearm.
He looked over at me and realized that I wasn’t giving up. I noted how his blue eyes looked a little duller than normal and my heart ached.
“Dawson, tell me,” I pleaded, still staring at him intently.
“I just…” he started. He turned his head and looked out the windshield. I did the same, noticing the pretty, blooming flowers just outside of the building. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go out with Andy.”
My heart tumbled in my chest.
“Why?”
He shrugged again.
“Dawson, why? Did he say something?” Suddenly, I thought back to every movie I’d ever watched regarding a really popular guy and a less than popular girl. What if this was a trick? What if Tyler put him up to this? Better yet, what if Breanna put him up to this?!
He shook his head no, causing my wild thoughts to simmer, and then glanced back at me. His eyes searched my face and then I watched them soften. “Never mind, Ivy.”
I scoffed and paired it with an eye-roll. “You can’t just say something like that and then tell me never mind.”
He cleared his throat, placing the hot dog on the center console, mere centimeters from my arm.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
My body relaxed and I smiled. I reached my hand over and placed it on his face. His barely-there facial hair scratched the palm of my hand and I couldn’t help but notice that his cheek fell inwardly toward it. “I’ll be fine, Dawson. I’m a big girl… but,” I took a deep breath, stopping myself.
“But what?” he asked, grabbing my wrist with his hand.
I clenched my teeth before answering. I’d never really been that nervous around Dawson, not since we became best friends, that is, but right now… I was feeling a little panicky to be admitting something so personal out loud.