Page 57 of Kickoff

“Not yet. I had to run it by you first. She’s not even aware Landon isn’t coming. I won’t crush her spirits without having a backup plan to make up for his no-show. Jesus. Keep up, please. Do you trust me?”

“You know I do. Why me? Why should I agree to this little scheme of yours?”

“Because. You owe me. I’m always there for you when you need me. And I let you call me babe and sip on my coffee in the morning. See? I’m a good sport, and you would do me a favor if you agreed.”

“I’m kidding, babe. You know I can’t refuse you anything. And Mel is my friend too. I wouldn’t let her be humiliated by Landon. Stupid basketball player.”

“So?”

It was like the stars had aligned themselves and heard my prayers. Melinda and I going to Homecoming together. My arm itched. I wanted to pump my fist, but I could feel my brother’s eyes on me, so I nodded, acting nonchalant.

“Okay. Fine. You win. I’ll go.”

“You will?” I had to pull the phone away from my ear at the sound of Paige’s high-pitched shrill to avoid going deaf.

“Yep. Didn’t you hear me just now?”

“Yes, but I wanted to make sure you meant it. Okay, here’s the plan.” For the next five minutes, she told me how we should proceed. “Are you in?”

“She won’t be aware I’ll be the guy picking her up?”

“Nope. I’ll tell her I found someone, but I won’t tell her who. It’s gonna be a surprise. Then you’ll both meet Craig and me here. I’ll call Malory, the president of the homecoming committee, and tell her something came up and I’ll be late. It will all work out.”

Excitement bubbled inside me.

Perhaps tonight would prove to Melinda we could be more than friends. I crossed my fingers, hoping Paige’s plan would unfold perfectly.

“Oh, just one question. Mase, are you seeing, sleeping, kissing, or doing whatever with anyone these days?”

“Why?”

“Because the last thing I want is my best friend being caught in the crossfire of some of your possessive fuck friends.”

A weird sensation tickled the back of my throat. I hated the idea people—mostly Melinda—still saw me as a player and nothing more. I thought keeping it in my pants in the last month had proven to my classmates I’d changed. Perhaps, it was still not a given.

“I am not. I haven’t been with anyone since school started. I swear. So, no worries.”

“Awesome. See you later then.” She hung up before I could say another word.

Craig grabbed his phone and bumped my fist. “Thanks, man. I knew you still possessed a heart under all that cockiness. I’ll be at Paige’s. Meet us there.”

I nodded. His joke acted like a knife stabbing me. I knew he didn’t mean it in a bad way, but still, it hurt the fragile ego I was trying so badly to hide from everyone else.

“Melinda, dear,” Mr. Shepard called out from the foyer after he let me in. “Someone’s here for you.” He redirected his focus on me. “I thought my daughter was going to the dance with some basketball player named Landon?” He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me with a tipped dark brow. Even though I was two inches taller than him, I felt like a child facing Mr. Shepard right now. Like he could smell from miles away any bullshit I was hiding.

I swallowed. I had never been here before to ask Melinda out. In fact, I had never been interrogated by a girl’s father before tonight, and it felt a bit intimidating. Sure, the Shepards were nice people, and I’d known them for years, but I bet they were also aware of some of my extracurricular activities. I hated the idea they could decide that my past actions defined me as a person.

“He…huh…Landon had a last-minute change of plan, and when Paige called to inform me, I decided to step in.”

“Does my daughter know? About this little change of plan?”

“No, sir. Paige is supposed to have called her. She wanted to be the one breaking the news to her about her date.”

“Don’t sir me, son. We’ve known each other long enough.” He relaxed his stance and so did the muscles of my upper back. “I’m glad she’s going with you then. I feel better knowing you’re her date.”

“Thanks, si—thanks.”

“By the way, nice game yesterday. That last pass was perfection.”