The Perfect Prom Date (11 page)

Brennan took in my new look and laughed. “There is no doubt that you are my number one fan. And my good luck charm.” He picked me up, lifting me right off the ground, and spun me around. I giggled. I thought I heard someone guff at our display, but I was too happy to care.
 

“Wow, you were really great, B-man,” I gushed, when my feet touched solg ground.
 

“B-man?” He smirked.

“Yeah, you know, B for Brennan and baseball. Plus you’re such a superstar, I was thinking – you, Be the Man.” It had come to me while I was swimming laps. Swimming had a calming effect on me, and it was when I did my best thinking. B-Man fit all three of the criteria – it was unique (no one else called him that), it could be said in public, and it was flattering.

He laughed and bent to collect his things. “I like it.” He mumbled it to himself. “I like it a lot.”
 

“Good,” I smiled. I was worried he wouldn’t like it. Finding the perfect nickname had been easier than I thought.
 

Walking toward the parking lot, he asked, “Do you need a ride home?”

“That’d be great. Rachel couldn’t come to the game today – she had to go home right after school.”

“Hop in,” he said, throwing his bat bag in the trunk.

A little while later we were parked in my driveway. This was the first time since Friday that we’d been alone. I knew he’d have to leave soon to ice his arm, so I wanted to make the most of these few precious minutes. No longer shy and self-conscious, I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his neck. The kiss started softly and then grew more demanding. My tongue teased his, and I could taste the sweetness of the Gatorade he downed on the way to my house. My heart was beating fast, and I forgot how to breathe. When we pulled apart, I felt lightheaded. I looked at Brennan, and he seemed as affected by the kiss as I was.

I knew he had to go. I opened the car door slowly. “Do you want to come over after dinner and work on calculus?”
 
I loved spending time with Brennan, so I used every excuse to be near him.
   

“Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll come by around 7 pm.”

“Perfect.” I felt better knowing I’d see him again in a couple of hours. “See you later, B-man,” I said, shutting the car door.

I hoped that we’d have some time to ourselves tonight to finish what we just started. I sighed dreamily. I was pretty sure that I was falling in love.

***

I paced back and forth, while I waited for Brennan to pick me up. I had agreed to help him babysit his brothers and his little sister tonight while his parents went out. I picked at my already chipped nail polish. I was going to meet his family for the first time.
What if they don’t like me? What if they think I’m a terrible babysitter?
I had never really done a lot of babysitting, not because I didn’t like kids, but because I was always too busy with swimming and other activities on the weekends. I hoped they wouldn’t be able to tell how inexperienced I was.
 

“Mom, Dad, I’m leaving. Brennan’s here,” I called out when I saw him pull into the driveway.
 

“Okay,” my mom yelled back. “What time will you be home?”

“I don’t know. The Fisher’s are going out, and I’m helping Brennan babysit, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right, honey. Have fun.”
 

I hopped into Brennan’s car, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Brennan smiled. “Are you ready for tonight?” He rubbed his palms together excitedly.
 

“I’m ready,” I said, my voice sounding unnaturally high pitched.

He reached over and squeezed my knee. “You aren’t nervous, are you?”

“Only a little,” I picked the remaining nail polish off of my thumbnail.
 

“Well don’t be. I have the whole evening planned, and trust me, you are going to have lots of fun.”

“What if they don’t like me? What if I’m not as cool a babysitter as you?” Worry lines creased my forehead.

“They’re going to love you,” he practically beamed.

“How do you know?” I still didn’t believe that everyone would like me as mush as Brennan seemed to think they would.

 
“I just do.”
 

We arrived at his house five minutes later. From the outside, the house didn’t look any different from my own front porch, shutters, partial brick façade, but that is where the similarities ended. As soon as Brennan opened the front door, I was struck with how different our homes really were. Noise and chaos filled the air, kids were chasing one another and screaming while his dad was yelling at them to settle down. My house was never that noisy. It was always quiet because Ellie spent more time at her friends’ houses than she did at home, and my parents were always at work. Brennan’s house looked lived in – a cluster of backpacks, shoes, and sports equipment littered the entryway, while my house was always in order because my dad was a neat freak. I instantly preferred the warm and inviting feel of Brennan’s house to my own cold museum-like one.
 

“Mom, Dad,” Brennan shouted over the noise, “I’m back.”

A dark haired woman with big brown eyes came from the kitchen wearing an apron and wiping her hands on a towel.
 
“Hi, I’m Brennan’s mom. You must be Josie.
 
I’ve heard a lot about you.” She smiled warmly and put her hand out for me to shake. I liked her immediately. “Sorry about the mess,” she indicated her surroundings, “I was making dinner.”

“I don’t see any mess. You have a beautiful home,” I smiled and meant every word.
 

“You’re really sweet. I can see why Brennan likes you.”

I blushed, embarrassed. Brennan’s cheeks looked a little pink too.
 

Hearing a timer going off in the kitchen, I suddenly remembered that I wasn’t just there to meet his parents, “Can I help you with anything?” I asked politely.

“That would be a great, if Brennan doesn’t mind that I steal you away.” He nodded, and I followed her into the kitchen. “Then I can go and finish getting ready.”

There was a big pan of lasagna cooking in the oven that smelled amazing. She was making a salad and showed me what was left to do. Then she pointed at the loaves of Italian bread that needed slicing.

“Brennan’s great with the kids, and they adore him, but he’s not so good in the kitchen. It’s a good thing you’re here. Not to mention that the kids have been dying to meet you.” She gave me a smile and a quick squeeze. “I’m going to finish getting ready – do you have any questions?”

“None that I can think of.”

As soon as she left the room, a cute little blonde with the same color eyes as Brennan and wearing a pink dress, came into the kitchen and eyed me, warily.
 

“Hi. You must be Brennan’s little sister, Madison,” I said cheerfully.

She nodded, but she didn’t advance any further into the room. She was probably deciding if she could trust me or not. I thought perhaps she was angry with me because Brennan had been spending a lot of time with me recently, taking him away from her. I knew he was very fond of his little sister, and I was sure it was mutual.

“I brought something special, just for us girls. Wait here a second, I’ll go and get it.” I walked into the front hall, grabbed my purse, and returned to the kitchen. Madison was still rooted to the same spot. Rummaging in my purse, I asked, “What’s your favorite color?”
 

“Pink,” she answered slowly.
 

“I knew it.” I pulled a pink sparkly nail polish out of my bag and held it out for her to see. “It’s pretty, isn’t it? I’ll paint your nails for you tonight.” Madison remained silent. “And your toenails too.” Still nothing. I pulled out all the stops, “And you get to keep it when we’re done.” I smiled.
 

“Okay,” she nodded. “I’m going to go tell my mom before she leaves.”
 
She skipped out of the kitchen and down the hall.

When dinner was ready, Madison entered the kitchen first, “Josie, can I sit by you?”
 

“I’d like that.” I set a plate in front of her, filled with the delicious smelling dinner. My stomach growled. Lasagna was on of my favorite foods.

Brennan and his brothers came in soon after. “Smells good in here,” he stated, patting his stomach.
 

“It’s obvious you’re not cooking,” teased one of his brothers.

They all laughed.
 

Brennan introduced each brother to me as I served the food.
 

Dinner tasted as good as it smelled. The boys joked around and teased each other about who would win tonight’s game. Halfway through the meal, Madison climbed onto my lap, making me feel like I belonged. It was great to be a part of it all. It was a side of Brennan I hadn’t seen, and it made me feel even closer to him.
 

Afterwards, little Madison stayed behind with me, while the boys went outside to set up game night.
 

“Can I be on you team, Josie?” She asked as I loaded the dishwasher.
 

“Of course you can.” I reached out and gently patted her shoulder.
 

“I like you,” she confessed, and her pigtails bounced up and down. “I know Brennan likes you too.”

“How do you know?” I asked, curiously.

 
“We always play Candyland, and one night he left before the game was over. He told me he had a date,” she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
 

“I’m sorry he left early. You must have been disappointed.”
 

“No,” she giggled. She looked around, and even though no one else was inside, she whispered, “Don’t tell Brennan, but after he left, I cheated.” She giggled again. “I put the snowflake queen card on top, so that when we played again, I would pick it and win.”

“And did you - win?”

“Yes,” she laughed, mischievously. I laughed too. It was fun to picture this sweet little girl in front of me, pulling one over on Brennan.
 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him. It will be our little secret.”

“I think you’re pretty,” she said, making me blush. It was the first time I had ever gotten a compliment from a four year old. “Brennan thinks you’re pretty too. He said so right before you came over.”

“Really?” I asked, almost dropping the plate in my hand.
 

“Yup,” she smiled. “Hey, maybe you can be like my big sister. I don’t have one,” she frowned. “All I have are brothers – four of them.”

It was my turn to giggle. Brennan’s sister was too cute with her blonde hair and big blue eyes. And she had a sweet personality to match. “I’d love to have you as my little sister.” I smiled, and bent over to scoop her up.

Walking outside, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The boys had set up an enormous obstacle course, using what looked like every piece of sports equipment that they owned.
 
These guys meant business. Secretly, I was glad that I was somewhat athletic, but I wasn’t about to let them know that. Brennan’s fourteen-year-old brother, Will, couldn’t wait to show me the course. The plan was to split into two teams. Each member of the team would run the course, and then team with the lowest combined time would win. The stakes were high – the losing team had to make dessert and serve it to the winning team.
 

Brennan and I were the team captains. I picked Madison, just like I promised, and Owen. Brennan picked Will and Cameron to be on his team. The teams were fair and well matched.
 

We completed the giant obstacle course one at a time, writing the times on the driveway with chalk. Once everyone had their turn, we totaled each teams’ time.
 

“We won, we won,” Own shouted, running in circles around the yard.
 

“That’s not fair. I want a rematch,” said Cameron, scowling.

“You know the rules big guy, fair is fair.” Brennan ruffled his hair.
 
“ No sore losers allowed here, and no braggers either.” He looked pointedly at Owen, who at least
 
stopped whooping.

“Fine. But next time Josie comes over to babysit, she’s on my team,” retorted Cameron.

“Uh-uh. She’s on my team. She’s my big sister,” Madison said proudly.
 

“Now, now, now, no fighting over Josie or she won’t want to come over again,” Brennan said gently, but firmly. “It’s time to clean up, and then we’ll make dessert.”

We all worked together to clean up the yard, and it was finished in no time. Then Brennan, Will, and Cameron scooped everyone ice cream, topping it with hot fudge and a mountain of whipped cream. We ate our dessert out on the front porch.
 

Looking at Brennan, I laughed. “You have hot fudge,” I pointed to the spot on my face where it was on his. He wiped his face, but missed the hot fudge. All the kids were watching and laughing. I thought Cameron might even fall off of the porch, he was laughing so hard. “Here,” I leaned over and wiped it for him with my finger.
 

The boys stopped laughing, and began chanting, “Brennan has a girlfriend, Brennan has a girlfriend.” Madison added a little dance.
 

Brennan stood and chased them all around the front yard. Everyone was shrieking and laughing. I felt a little jealous that I didn’t have the same kind of family fun growing up. Ellie and I were always too busy arguing with each other. We still weren’t at the point where we enjoyed each other’s company, and I didn’t think we would any time soon. I laughed out loud when everyone ended up in a big heap, with Brennan on the bottom.
 

Returning to the front porch out of breath, Brennan sat down. “Yes, I confess - I have a girlfriend.” He hugged me to him, “And I think, she’s pretty cool.”

“Me too,” replied Madison and Owen in unison.
 

“Thanks,” I said, blushing.

Suddenly, Madison jumped up, “You still have to paint my nails.”

“That’s right, I do.” I stood and collected the empty sundae bowls and carried them inside. I returned a minute later with the nail polish.