Joanie stepped out of her office and looked around at the crowd of boys at the counter. She asked, “Anybody here who actually wants to buy something?”

Donny looked up from leaning on the counter. He said, “No ma’am. We’re good.”

Larry tried to look over everyone’s heads. “Can I get a chocolate shake?”

Joanie grinned. “Amy. Can you take care of that? I can see that Scotti is busy.” Amy frowned at me.

I asked, “Guys, what’s up? You’re going to get me fired.”

Larry laughed. “She’ll never fire you. You bring in too many customers.”

With a smirk, I said, “You have to buy something to be a customer.”

Larry held up his shake and pointed at it. I grinned and shook my head.

Donny rapped his knuckles at the counter. He looked around and said, “I don’t know what these losers are here for, but I wanted to deliver this news to you personally. The cheerleader coach told me that your application for a cheerleader scholarship has been approved. Plus, she’s been impressed with you at practice.”

I stretched out both arms and yelled, “Yay!” I leaned across the counter and gave Donny a kiss. I quickly pulled back because Joanie definitely frowns on employees showing affecting while on the clock. Donny grinned at me.

Larry smiled. “That’s great, Scotti! If that grant comes through, you’re definitely set for next semester.”

I laughed. “That only leaves three years unfunded.”

Larry touched my hand, with the hand he was holding his shake with and it was ice cold. He said, “Piece of cake, girl. We’ve got this.”

Donny touched my arm. “You’re coming to the victory party after the game Saturday, right?”

Larry chucked and punched Donny on his shoulder. “You’re certain it’ll be a victory party?’

Donny shrugged. “What else would it be?”

Larry and I both laughed. Jerry frowned and turned to walk towards the door.

I turned from the other boys and said, “Jerry! Did you need something?”

He said, “Nothing important.” He continued walking towards the door.

I quickly looked into Joanie’s office. “Joanie! Can I take five minutes please?”

Joanie shrugged. “Why ask me? I’m just the owner.”

I ran around the counter and hurried to the front door. Jerry was just closing the door on his car. I tapped on the glass to get him to lower his window.

Jerry just looked at me a moment before he said, “I’ve got to get to my next class.”

I leaned in his car window. “Jerry! You wanted to say something to me?”

Jerry frowned at me. “I told you it was no big deal. Look. I have to go.”

“Jerry!” I almost shouted. “What did you want?”

Jerry shrugged. “Nothing. I… I was just going to ask if our date for Friday was still on. But it doesn’t matter.”

Frowning, I said, “It matters to me. Why wouldn’t our date still be on? Is it because now you know about me?”

Jerry studied his steering wheel. “About you being a dude? I really can’t picture you that way. But look. I can’t compete with those others. I’m just a shrimp compared to Donny and Larry. You go have fun with them.”

I grunted a laugh. “Is that it? Really? Larry’s gay and I’m not dating Donny anymore. I seem to be stuck with you.” I grinned.

Jerry narrowed his eyes at me. “Really? I didn’t know that about Larry. Stuck with me, huh? It must suck to be you.” He grinned at me.

“I know, right? And I never got to thank you for standing up for me to my dad. With his glare, Dad can reduce lesser men to just puddles.”

Jerry chuckled. “What are boyfriends for?”

I leaned in through the car window and gave Jerry a long deep kiss.

The week went by ok. The usual parade of boys coming in to the restaurant to buy lunch or dinner. I got a text from Dad saying he was writing me out of his will. Mom later texted me to not to worry. I wasn’t expecting anything from Dad anyway. Larry found another grant I could apply for. Oddly, Jerry never came by once.

And then finally, Friday came around. I expected Jerry to stop by Pink Bear for a snack or something, but he didn’t. It was approaching six and I was just applying my lipstick when there was a knock on my door.

I smiled when I opened the door. There stood Jerry, looking nice with his hair combed and wearing a button shirt. Jerry smiled back and said, “You look great, Scotti. Are you ready to go?”

“Hey Jerry. You’re very handsome tonight.” I sniffed and added, “Is that aftershave you’re wearing?”

Jerry grinned. “Well, since I shaved today, I thought what the hell?”

Smiling, I said, “Let me grab my purse and we’ll go. What’s the plan?”

Jerry stepped aside to give me room to exit my dorm room. He said, “Do you like Korean BBQ?”

As we walked towards the elevator, I said, “I don’t think I’ve ever had it before.”

Shrugging, Jerry said, “It’s a little on the spicy side, but I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“Cool.”

Jerry drove us to a place cryptically called Korean BBQ. It looked like a fairly new place.

As we exited Jerry’s car, I asked, “This looks new. Have you been here before?”

Jerry walked up to me to take my hand. He said, “Yeah. It’s been here about a year. I brought my girlfriend… uh… yeah, I’ve been here before.”

I grinned as I shook my head. “Jerry. It’s no big deal if you brought another girl here. Did she like it?”

Looking sheepish and staring at his feet, Jerry said, “Yeah, she did.”

I smiled at Jerry and squeezed his hand.

As we were shown our table, I was surprised to see a grill in the middle of the table.

Sitting down, Jerry said, “We get to cook our own beef and vegetables. Is that okay with you?”

I laughed. “It’s a little late to ask! But sure. It’ll be fun.”

Looking nervous, he asked, “You’re angry, aren’t you?”

Feeling confused, I chuckled and leaned over to give Jerry a quick kiss. “Chill, dude. This is great.” He nodded.

While we cooked our dinner, Jerry chatted about a few classes he was nervous about. I’m not a big history buff, so all I could do was offer encouragement.

As we started to eat, I discovered it was a little spicier than I was expecting. But not in a bad way. It was very good and cooking it ourselves just added to the overall experience.

While he ate, he fell silent for a minute. Finally he looked up at me and said, “So. You’re going to get to stay at the university?”

I had to jostle a piece of meat back and forth in my mouth to avoid burning my tongue. I nodded a couple times before answering. “Yes! At least for the next two semesters. Larry is a miracle worker. I never knew I had so many options for scholarships and grants.”

Jerry smiled at me as he took another bite. “That’s great! I was really worried when your dad said you had to quit.”

I nodded. “Me too.”

Jerry poked at his food for a minute while he looked as if he was trying to think. He sighed deeply and gave me a grim stare. “When were going to tell me?”

I knew what he meant. I felt a chill run through me as I stared at my plate. “Tell you what?”

He looked away from me for a moment, then said, “You know what, Scotti. When were you planning on sharing the fact that you’re a dude?”

My stomach knotted up. I set my fork down on my plate. I couldn’t look over at him. “You don’t have to say it that way.”

Jerry frowned. “How about ‘biological male’?”

I sighed. “That’s actually worse.” I sighed and felt tears starting to well up. “If our relationship was going to start getting deeper, I planned to tell you. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest up front.”

Sounding a bit pissed, Jerry said, “I kissed you.”

With pleading eyes, I looked over at him. “Do we have to discuss this now?”

Folding his arms across his chest, Jerry said, “Yes. Does Donny know about you?”

I started to cry. “I… I honestly don’t know. Probably not.”

“And Larry?”

“I was his male next door neighbor when the semester started. So I’m sure he guessed the truth early on.”

“There’s the word I’m looking for.” Jerry frowned. “Truth. Why didn’t you trust me with the truth?”

“How could I?” I exclaimed. “I liked you, even though you’re a bit of a goof-ball. You’re funny and fun to be around. I didn’t think there’d be anything serious between us but I was afraid you’d reject me.”

“It hurts you didn’t trust me.”

“You don’t understand how there’s so much more riding on rejection for someone like me. Especially the fear of being exposed.”

Jerry looked sad. “I would never hurt you, Scotti. I think you’re a wonderful girl.”

I just looked down at my hands. What was there for me to say?

Leaning towards me, lifted my chin up with is fingers. “I don’t care who you used to be.” He looked me straight into my eyes. His lips parted as he leaned in closer.”

To be continued…