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Then I realized that I was letting them get to me, which is exactly what they wanted.
“We’ve been together since kindergarten, Abby. Through every single one of his dad’s deployments.” I smiled at them. What was I supposed to say? “We want him to go to Mac’s.”
“Okay?” I replied unsure of what I was supposed to do about it. I wasn’t keeping Cal from going.
“Tell him that is where you want to go,” Luke said. “Or better yet, don’t go with him tonight. It’s not the same if your tight end isn’t there to celebrate with you.” Aiden nodded, agreeing with Luke.
I didn’t know what to do. They didn’t want me to go with Cal. What could I say to him to make him leave me behind? He would at least have to take me home. Mom and Dad had already left the parking lot.
Then I heard Cal and Tyson. I looked over my shoulder and saw them approaching us. Aiden and Luke got up. “We’ll see you later, Abby.”
I watched them go. Cal stopped for a moment and talked to them then Tyson came and sat down by me. “Aiden and Luke said you want to go to Mac’s. Is that true?” He asked.
I nodded at my brother.
He scrutinized my face trying to decide whether I was lying. “You don’t have to do this,” he said. “I know how you are about parties.”
“I’ll be fine. I don’t have to go if Cal wants to go to Mac’s.”
“Abs, you’re all he’s talked about since he got to the locker room. Don’t let Aiden and Luke run you off.”
I sighed. “Okay,” I said. “Whatever Cal wants, I’ll do. I didn’t let Mom make me up for nothing.”
I tried looking away from my brother, but he wouldn’t let me. He smiled at me then Tyson brushed the hair out of my face. “I’m shocked. You’ve bucked her painting your face for years. Why now?”
“Only since I was fourteen. Almost two,” I said turning back to him.
“Our birthday is coming up. Are you getting your license?” He asked.
“Hell no,” I declared quickly. The last anxiety I needed was the pressure of passing a driving test. “Not yet at least.”
“I’ll drive you to school, Abs,” Ty promised. “Come on, let’s join them.”
Tyson grabbed my hand and pulled me from the bench. We walked to Cal and his friends who stopped talking as soon as we joined their circle.
Cal looked down at me. He was frowning. I wasn’t sure what had made him so unhappy. Not me I hoped. “Are you sure you want to go to Mac’s?” He asked. “It’s in the middle of a field. It might be wet. You’ll ruin those pretty, pink shoes,” he declared looking down at my feet.
“We can stop at my house so I can change them,” I offered. The night was getting a little cooler. I might need a hoodie if we were hanging outside. “I’ll need a jacket anyway.”
He looked over my head at his friends. “I didn’t have this in mind for us tonight, but I’ll do what you want to do.” He was suspicious. I didn’t know Cal well but even I could see that he thought something was up.
“We’ll see you later,” he called over his shoulder as Cal put his arm around my waist guiding me away from the others. We walked in silence for a while. “Tomorrow night, we are going on a date, just us,” he declared with a gruffness that made me think he was irritated.
“Are you angry at me?” I asked.
He stopped and stared at me. His ba
g was thrown over his shoulder. He adjusted it higher, then he smiled. “Nope. I’m pissed at them. I think they did something to sabotage tonight for me.”
I reassured Cal that they didn’t even though his friends had given me no choice. They were kind of intimidating in their insinuation that we needed to go to Mac’s tonight and me being me went along with it. I didn’t even know who Mac was.
Cal held the door open to his 72 Impala. I didn’t know shit about cars. He told me the year and the model. “Dad and I rebuilt this when he was home last time.”
I wondered if I should explain that I knew where his dad was. I remained quiet and slid into the passenger seat. He asked for my address then dropped his bag in the back seat before climbing in the driver’s seat next to me.
For a seventeen-year-old boy, he was big. His hands. His shoulders, his thighs. I found myself staring. Cal smiled at me then turned his attention back to the road.
“You don’t talk much,” he declared. I laughed. “I like it when you laugh. It’s soft and sweet.”
