“Nah, it’s fine. She’ll be fine with it. See you this Friday after the game.”
“Are you coming to the game?”
“Nope. I’ll get my mom to drive me, and I’ll meet you.”
They arranged a place to meet, and by the time they finished, the bell for first classes sounded.
Theo wanted to kiss her, but he also didn’t want to spook her. Walking her to class, he ran toward his own, and got there just in time before the door closed.
He found Mike in the back, and took a seat next to him.
“You got her to say yes?”
“I’ve got her phone number.” He held it up in victory. Now, all he needed to do was to convince Ruby that he was a sure deal.
There was no joke attached to him wanting to date her, not even a small one. Mike had thought there was when he first mentioned his feelings for Ruby, but his best friend soon realized he meant business and had stopped trying to tease him over it. While the English teacher started to go on about some poem, he pulled out his cell phone and typed in her number, saving it.
Theo: Got your number saved, Theo. X
He thought about adding an emoji and quickly decided against it. A X was serious, he liked to think.
Stop being a pussy when it comes to this girl.
Ruby: You should be listening to your teacher.
Theo: I like to live dangerously.
Ruby: I like to graduate.
Theo: Be a good girl and study.
He didn’t get a response back, but he was already feeling positive from her responses. Today was going to be one hell of a good day.
****
Ruby had a nightmare week after accepting Theo’s date. Her phone was confiscated by the teacher as she was caught putting it in her bag. The math teacher then decided to read out all the messages from Theo, which only served to make her embarrassed, and for all the popular girls to point out that she wasn’t the real kind of girl that he liked to date.
As if she didn’t already know that!
She did get her cell phone back at the end of the day but with a strict warning to not get it out during class again. Her mother laughed at the entire incident and even made a comment about there not being cell phones when she was in high school. It was always folded-up notes they passed
“I don’t think you should drop me off,” Ruby said.
“You’ve got your cell phone, and if you’re not happy with how your date is going, call me. You know I’ll answer no matter what.”
“I don’t like this, Mom.”
“You’re going to have fun tonight.”
“That sounded like an order.”
“It was.” Her mother chuckled.
Releasing the seatbelt, Ruby stared out into the night, wishing for something to come up. A random phone call, anything that would stop her from getting out of the car. Nothing came. Opening the door, she said a final goodbye to her mother, who gave her a thumbs-up. She stood in the parking lot just as the last car drove away.
Rubbing her hands together to ward off the chill, she spun toward the main high school building. Football meant a great deal to a lot of people in town. She’d never shared the same sentiments about it. Even her mother enjoyed a good game of football, and often made a load of snacks for the street to enjoy while Ruby watched on in amazement as a bunch of people who rarely spoke came together in food and football.
The cheerleaders were the first to leave.
Several of them took one look at her and giggled. She couldn’t stand it when they did that. Next, a few of the team left. Again, a couple looked her way and smirked. Did it look like she was hanging out here waiting for Theo when he was the one to ask her on a date?
She pushed the doubt aside, and she didn’t have to wait much longer for Theo.
He walked out with Mike, who she knew was his best friend.
The moment Theo saw her, he stepped right up to her. “I was worried you wouldn’t come. I didn’t see you at the game.”
“I’ve been studying. Mom just dropped me off.”
Mike approached, and she sensed the awkwardness of the moment.
“You two coming to the party?”
“Nah, we’re out of here. See you tomorrow? Practice?” Theo said.
“You practice on a weekend?” she asked.
“Mike comes to my place. We take some practice shots and tackles, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, right. Sounds fun.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. She wondered, not for the first time, if she should have put it up.
“You don’t have to pretend. I know sports isn’t your thing. You look beautiful,” Theo said. He held out his hand, and her heart sped up. “You ready?”
She wanted to scream that she was so not ready for any of this.