Chapter 8: Dane

What the heck was she doing in the bathroom so long?

If I didn’t have her backpack, I would have thought that she ran out on me—it had happened once. I asked this girl on a date, but little did I know, she’d agreed to go out with David. We were only thirteen at the time, and I’d caught them red-handed in his bedroom. She claimed that she didn’t know I was still in the house, and David said he was testing waters to make sure that she was the right one for me. Yeah, my brother was a prick back in middle school. Pretending to be one has led to things being easier. We don’t get involved in relationships—we have one-night stands or maybe go on a date, but never more than that. It just makes it too complicated, and it wouldn’t be right dating someone and pretending to be someone else, it wouldn’t be fair to the girl nor my brothers.

“Sorry.” She sighed as she finally made an appearance. It was as if all the color had gone from her face, as she was as white as snow.

“I don’t bite, you know,” I said as I moved toward her, and as I did, all the color was came back.

She giggled. “I know. It’s just that I’m a little nervous… I haven’t been on a date for so long.”

We were standing so close, I could smell her vanilla perfume, and I didn’t know if I wanted to just date her or kiss her. Her perky lips made it hard for me to resist.

“Oh, so I’m not the first?”

“To go on a date, no, but…”

She was turning red as the sexual tension grew. The janitor walked in, it was as if he was sitting and waiting for us to make a move.

“The hall needs to be cleaned. You need to leave and let me get on with my work.”

I smiled because his statement was directed at me. I wouldn’t lie, I’d been with more than one girl in the hall before, but with Lisa, it was different. I didn’t feel the urge just to get down and dirty with her—I wanted to get to know her better, even if my cock was telling me otherwise.

“You ready to get something to eat?” I asked, bending my arm, ready for her to take it.

“You’re such a gentleman.”

I stopped, thinking she had no idea what she was getting into, and put my dirty thoughts to the side. I would leave them for texting only. For now, we would take things slow until we got to know each other better.

Shit!

What was I thinking?

We couldn’t take this any further, and I shouldn’t even be asking her on a date. It was as if I had the devil and angel on each shoulder. The devil told me to go for it and have some fun, to do what normal kids my age did. Date. Fuck. Love. The angel on the other shoulder told me to stop this game. I’ve behaved for four years, so what was a few more months?

I ignored both of them, thinking I was being a gentleman and taking Lisa on a date, nothing more.

“Oh, you’ve got no idea,” I flirted, then she stopped in her tracks. I kept on walking and she followed suit, as I had her backpack, which was kinda heavy.

“You have a dead body in here?”

She shrugged. “Not exactly. I would love to say that I'm the most organized person in the world, but I’m not. I need to lose a few pounds, so I carry most of my books with me. I’m not a gym girl, I don’t run, and I don’t do any sports, so carrying loads of books is my only exercise. Besides, it means I’m always prepared for all classes.”

“You don’t need to lose anything, and don’t let anyone let you think otherwise. Girls get so paranoid about their weight and what society says is the ideal size. Winds me up at times.”

She smiled at me, and her blue eyes lit up as if I’d given her, her first compliment.

I liked this girl, she had all the confidence in the world one minute, and the next, she was as shy as a morning glory, and I was about to change her on this bright day.

“Where we going? You fancy Thai? Chinese? Italian?”

She nodded. “Thai. I haven’t had that in a while, and it’s my favorite.”

“Good!”

I was going to overspend, but she was well worth every dime. Lisa was the kind of girl who made me forget about my secret. Mom wasn’t in a good mood yesterday, and neither was David. Sometimes there’s so much tension in the apartment that getting out and not being at practice was a welcomed distraction.

“Great, we’ll head to the Emporium. The food there’s reasonable and a great price. We’ll grab a towel and eat by the beach. What do you say?”

“Wow, you’re full of surprises. I didn’t think of you as a romantic kind of guy.”

“What did you think of me as?”

She looked up, as if she was thinking about what to say.

“I’m teasing. You have to get used to that with me. I’m always fooling around. I take the romantic gesture as a compliment. I don’t get many.”

She nodded. “Please, you must get them all the time. You’re popular. Good-looking. Hot. Funny.”

“If you keep describing me like that, I’ll get a big head. I’m just Dane, nothing more and nothing less.”

She held onto me tighter as we headed off campus and to the bus stop. She smiled as we walked; other students were looking, but I didn’t care and judging by the smile on her face, neither did she.

Today, I didn’t want to think about the consequences of going out on a date with her. I just wanted to be plain old Dane. Something I hadn’t been for the longest time.

* * *

We picked up a few dumplings, which were easier to eat by the beach. Nothing worse than not picking up finger food, getting to the beach, and figuring out they weren’t the best choices when it comes to eating take-out. David and I had done it a few times, and we’d learned our lesson the hard way.

“This is too much, right?” she said as she gave me the chicken satay. “I’ve overdone it.”

I shook my head. “Whatever you want to eat is fine. Don’t worry about it. You overthink.”

I loved the idea that she was a girl with a healthy appetite and didn’t worry too much about eating out with a guy. I picked up Pad Thai, I’d been told by the owners that it was a popular street food in Thailand. I’d never been, but I knew one day when I became a professional player, it’d be one of the first places I would visit. It was top of the list, but then again, so were so many other countries, and I seemed to add more to the list every day. At times, I wondered if in my head I was spending a lot more than I’d make in my first year. I had to be professional first, then things would fall into place—there was too much riding on me making it in the first place.

Within a short time, we hopped on the bus. She was taking in the sights like a typical tourist as we headed to the beach. Once we arrived, it was clear we weren’t the only ones with the same idea. There were a few couples, all sitting, drinking, and having a mini picnic.

“I’ve never done something like this,” she confessed as I tried to find a spot in the sand.

“Been to the beach?”

She shook her head.

“Gone out with a guy?”

Again, she shook her head. She wasn’t making conversing easy. If anything, the comment was opposite, and I wondered if maybe I read her all wrong and she wasn’t interested at all.

“I mean, had a picnic on the beach.”

“Ah, so I am your first in something.”

She laughed, I loved the way she did it as she flung back her head, and no more was she avoiding my stare, but returning it. “More than something…”

I didn’t ask her to elaborate, because I wanted us to sit down, then I found a quiet space. Somewhere we could sit and chill, to get to know each other better. I rushed over to it before anyone else took it. She caught up, trying to catch her breath.

“Take it easy, just I found a spot, a good one, and I want us to get it before someone snatches it,” I said as soon as she caught up with me.

“I thought there was a fire,” she said as she rushed up to me with one shoe in her hand. I didn’t even give her time to take them off properly.

I laughed. “No, just wanted a good spot, and as soon as I saw it, I rushed over here. Sorry, didn’t mean to leave you behind.”

“I thought you were going, as if you had enough of me already.”

She was insecure, that part was clear.

“I asked you on a date, I’m not going to ditch you at the beach. That would be wrong.”

She raised an eyebrow as she spoke, and her voice was shaking. “So, you’re a gentleman then?”

I nodded. “I try to be. We going to stand here all day or have something to eat.”

She sighed. “I’ve worked up an appetite, that’s for sure. I really need to be cutting down on my calories. The little jog we did just now had me so out of breath.”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be hard on yourself. You’re perfect the way you are.”

She blushed, and I smiled at her, realizing her problem wasn’t going out with me. She wasn’t experienced and for some reason, being with me made her feel nervous.

“I don’t make you feel nervous, do I?”

She shook, then nodded her head. “Just a bit.”

“Don’t. I’m human, just like you. Nothing special.”

She mumbled something under her breath. I paused, thinking she would tell me what was on her mind, but she didn’t, so I laid down the towel and placed the food next to it. We sat facing each other as if we’d known each other our whole lives. I felt relaxed with her as she took out the hand gel and we prepared to eat. Then she took out the serviettes, and we automatically took out our rolls as we placed the spread on the towel. We knocked our bottle of Cokes together as the food was ready for us to tuck in.

“Cheers!” I said.

“Cheers. Now, let’s eat. I’m starving!”