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Still, I shook off the wandering thoughts and tried to focus on the fact they were massaging my hands and feet. Every once in a while, they hit a spot and something in my back just unlocked. If they kept this up, I’d be going to sleep, not the dance.
“So…” Maria said quietly. “You and Bubba are going tonight?”
Not a topic I really wanted to tackle, particularly with her, so I said, “He asked.”
“It was a gorgeous ask,” Cheryl inserted. “I can’t believe he sang for you.”
He had. The song had taken my breath away. If I were honest, so had the whole scene in the cafeteria. As embarrassing as it had been, it had also been a thrill. He’d wanted to give me a memory, and he’d definitely done that.
“Who are you going with, Maria?” Cheryl asked.
“Just a friend.” For her part, Maria glanced at the woman who was now removing the toenail polish for her. “He didn’t have anyone to go with, so he asked if I’d help him out.”
Ouch.
She shot me a sideways look. “Do you know who Jake is taking?”
Me. But I didn’t say that. “Technically, he doesn’t have a date. He didn’t ask anyone.”
He hadn’t asked me, so not a lie.
Not sure Maria bought that though, but before she could pursue it further, Rachel changed the subject. They talked about music, the decorations, the theme, and the fact that the parade was in a few hours. It would travel the length of our main street, not that it was very long. But it was an important part of the whole effort.
I had no intentions of attending, even if I was proud of the guys for winning the game the night before.
“What do you mean you’re not going?” Cheryl said. “Mitch and the guys will be there. We have to show up.”
“I’m not big on parades, and I have plans, so they know I was at the game last night.”
“You went to a game?” Maria asked. “I thought you hated football.”
“Hate is a strong word. I don’t get it, and no matter how many times Jake or Ian try to explain it to me, it still doesn’t compute. But I went because it was a big game for them.” And the first one they both got to play since Jake got benched. They never complained that I didn’t want to go, but they always seemed pleased when I did.
Besides, Archie and Coop were hilarious with their cowboys versus aliens comparisons on the plays and cracked me up.
“It’s not that hard,” Maria said.
“Maybe not, but it’s like a whole other language to me. French is easier,” I said with a shrug. They were putting my feet in hot wax; it was really warm and very soothing.
“Besides,” Rachel drawled. “Football isn’t for everyone. Me, I like hockey. It’s nice and vicious, and there’s body slams galore.”
I snorted.
“I like figure skating,” Cheryl admitted then held up a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Football might be the life’s blood here, but it’s godawful boring.”
Maria laughed. “It wouldn’t be so bad if ten minutes on the play actually meant ten minutes.”
“More like an hour.” Though an exaggeration, it wasn’t far from the truth.
By the time my nails were painted and my feet had been scrubbed, waxed, and finally massaged before she painted the toes, I was kind of a pile of goo in the chair. This might not have been the best idea if I had to get ready to go out later.
I kind of wanted to go and take a nap, even if I’d been able to sleep in a little that morning. Rachel and I were done first, though Rachel had been done ahead of everyone. She put her barefoot next to mine and snapped a picture of them. Her toenails were done in a rich blue with a little pattern on them but her fingernails were half blue and half black with a little glitter stripe dividing the colors.
“That looks really good,” I told her. She’d also gone the tips route.
“Yeah?” Rachel examined them critically. “I wasn’t sure, but then I thought why the hell not.”
I laughed. “You think that a lot.”
