-----

“I look stupid.”

“It’s funny!”

“No, it’s stupid, and I’m not doing it.”

“Come on!”

“NO.”

I stared at Simone, and Simone stared back at me. It was a game we’d played many times over the years, waiting to see who would give first.

This time, it was her.

“UGH. Fine. You don’t have to wear the dress,” she agreed, dropping the candy-pink-and-crinolines monstrosity back on her bed.

“Thank you,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

I felt bad enough about agreeing to the whole ‘joke’ in the first place. The last thing I wanted was to look like an idiot in the process.

“So tell me again, why we’re doing this?” I said as I dug through Simone’s closet, looking for a particular dress I knew she had. I smiled when I found it hanging near the back, most likely in an attempt to hide it from me.

“Because it’s fun—”

“—Funny, yeah, I got that already.” I sighed as I stripped off my jeans and tee, showing off the lingerie I’d brought from home. “I just don’t get why.”

Simone shrugged. “Because Jake’s turned down every girl I’ve tried to set him up with in the last year, and it’s our senior year, and we’re all going off to different colleges soon and because… because…?”

“Because you think it’s neat fooling people into thinking I’m a girl?” I asked as I zipped the dress up and took a look at myself in the mirror, pulling it a bit here and there to adjust it. It looked like a simple denim jumper dress, but with a peach colored top built into it that gave it a very cute look.

“I mean… yeah?”

I shook my head. “Jake knows we do this, so it’s not gonna fool him for a moment. Heck, he’s hung out with us when we’ve done this before.”

“I know! I know. But he finally agreed to a blind date, and—”

“On April Fool’s Day.”

“...Yeah?”

“You sure he’s the one you’re playing a prank on?”

Simone giggled and fell back on her bed, rolling her eyes. “Oh, come on. Jake’s sense of humor begins and ends at dad jokes and bad puns.”

“True,” I agreed with a titter of my own before putting on a serious face. “Still. Don’t you feel like it’s a bit mean to set up a friend like this?”

“Set him up how?” she asked, climbing off the bed and walking over to me. “Here, turn around and do your makeup, and I’ll work on your hair.”

“Alright.”

“God, you need a trim, these split ends….”

“Simone?”

“Hmm?”

“Setting him up?”

“Oh! Pfft.” She waved a hand dismissively. “It’s all in good fun. The two of you get something to eat, you poke a bit of fun at him about it, and you end the night back at my place giving him a big sloppy kiss on the cheek, and we all laugh. End of, right?”

“I still think it’s mean. You could still call Abigail; she’s had a crush on him for a while.”

Simone frowned. “She started dating Eddie last week.”

“Gwen?”

“Got mono.”

“Yeesh. Beth-ann?”

“Doing some kinda rodeo thing with her folks.”

“There’s always you.”

Simone laughed. “I think Robby would have a fit if that happened. ‘Sides, we’ll be eating on the other side of the restaurant from y’all, watching the whole show.”

“Well, at least you’re picking up the tab.”

“Robby is. It is a date night, after all!” She did a little more futzing, then grinned at me in the mirror. “There! Perfect!”

I set down the eyebrow pencil I’d been playing with and studied myself for a moment, and couldn’t help but agree. She’d done wonders with my mop of chocolate-brown hair, and I’d done a very light and simple makeup job, to go with the friendly and cute outfit. I wasn’t ravishing or anything… but it was a bit of a Girl Next Door look that I thought would work well for the evening.

Simone laughed again. “I think the only real problem we’ll have tonight is not accidentally convincing Jake you really are a girl!”

I rolled my eyes at that, but said nothing.

-==-

Simone and Robby spent the entire ride to the restaurant giggling at each other and looking at me in the rear-view mirror. It was something they tended to do whenever we had one of these excursions where I got dressed up and we went out – they got a big thrill out of the whole thing, far moreso than I ever did.

For my part, I just kept a gentle smile on my face. The last thing I wanted from the night was for anyone to be hurt by what happened, even by accident, but there was too much potential for disaster for me to be entirely comfortable with it all.

When we pulled into the parking lot, Jake was already there, holding a parking spot next to his truck for us. He was smiling as we pulled up, but his expression rightfully grew more nervous as we parked.

“Hey bud!” Robby said, slapping him on the shoulder after getting out of the car. “I was a bit worried you wouldn’t show!”

“Why not? Gets Simmy off my back,” he said, though he gave Simone a genuine smile to soften his words. “So, who’s my date this evening?”

“None other than my good girl friend, Addie!” Simone said, swinging the back door of the car open and presenting me like some kind of game show prize.

“Addison?”

“Hey Jake,” I said, unable to hide my nervousness and embarrassment at the whole situation. “Umm.”

“We’ll let you two visit for a bit and see you inside,” Simone said, barely containing her giggles. “Treat her right, Jake!”

“See ya later bud!” Robby said, content to let Simone drag him into the restaurant, leaving the two of us standing outside.

….

“I….” I began, then paused.

“So what’s the plan then?” Jake said, not looking a lot more comfortable than I felt.

I sighed. “The plan was for me to act super-girly and embarrassing in the restaurant, I think, but I shot down the worst of that before we left Simone’s place.”

Jake nodded. “So am I paying or?”

I shook my head. “Robby’s said he has our ticket, but I’ve got enough cash in my purse if I need it.”

Jake nodded. “Huh.”

“I don’t get why this was supposed to be funny,” I admitted, though I couldn’t help but follow it up with a bit of a nervous giggle.

Jake gave me a genuine smile. “Yeah, well. Wanna get something to eat?” He asked, then offered me his arm.

“Absolutely.”

-==-

Simone and Robby’s smiles were gleaming when we walked into the restaurant, but turned to confusion when they saw us arm in arm. That confusion continued as the host escorted us to a table across the way from theirs (though in full view,) where Jake pulled out my seat for me, and then through us making light conversation and laughing before we ordered our appetizer – Robby’s wallet was going to regret this.

Jake shook his head. “I still can’t believe this is what Simone wanted to do for an April Fool’s joke.”

“I know,” I agreed with a shrug. “With how long she’s been badgering you to go on a blind date, you’d think she’da wanted to avoid burning that bridge in the future.”

“Eh. She probably figures we’re seniors and this is one of the last chances she’ll have to do this kinda thing.”

I gave him a long look. “That’s almost exactly what she said when I asked her about it. You sure the two of you haven’t been conspiring against me?”

Jake laughed at that as he reached for a chicken strip on the fully-loaded appetizer platter. “Just astute, I guess.”

I took a strip of my own, and we quietly munched for a bit, neither one of us sure exactly what to do next.

“So… you still planning to start hormones this summer?” He finally asked me.

I nodded. “Yeah. Mom and Dad asked me to stay on the blockers ‘til graduation, just in case I changed my mind… but that’s not gonna happen, and I think they’ve resigned themselves to that.” I sighed. “I guess it’s better than them refusing to help at all, but still.”

“It sucks.”

“...Yeah.”

“Well, you look nice,” he said, pointing at my dress. “That yours or Simone’s?”

“It’s Simone’s,” I admitted. “I know it’s probably pretty dumb, but I still haven’t told her I’m….”

“You don’t think she’d take it well?”

“I don’t know, and that’s scary. But after this summer so much stuff will change, y’know?”

“You’re still going to State though, right?” He asked me, just a little nervously.

I laughed. “Of course!”

“Good,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I wasn’t about to abandon ya.” I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Our entrees arrived – a small steak for him and a plate of pasta for me – and for a while it was just us eating, as Robby and Simone continued to watch us from across the way, half in annoyance as they ate their own salad and burger, and half in morbid curiosity.

We were halfway through our food when Jake popped the question.

“So, are we ready to turn the tables on ‘em now?”

I grinned and reached across the table, taking his hand in mine. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask that since we got here.”

He squeezed my hand, then waved the waiter over and requested to-go boxes for our food before telling the waiter to give the check to Robby. The waiter checked with Robby before going to get our boxes, and now the looks of confusion on our friend’s faces were even worse.

“I still can’t believe we’ve gone all year without either of them cluing in to this,” I said, lifting our joined hands just enough I knew they’d be visible to our friends.

Jake laughed. “Well, we’ve all kinda been caught up in our own stuff,” he said, kissing my hand gently.

“True.”

Our to-go boxes arrived, and as we packed our food away I told Jake about Simone’s plan to get a picture of us sharing a big post-date cheek kiss at her house.

“Well, we can’t disappoint her, can we?” He asked me as he pulled out his phone. He offered me his free hand, and as we stood up he pulled me close… dipped me back… and gave me a deep, toe-curling kiss.

Click

-==-

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” I said, grinning over my lunch plate of leftovers from the date night before.

“Yes I do!” Simone said, ruining the effect with another giggle. “You led me on, you set me up, you—”

“Got the best April Fool’s ever pulled over on you?”

“—YES! I hate that!”

I just grinned and munched, Simone’s cell phone laying between us. On its face was the selfie Jake took of our kiss in the restaurant, my eyes closed in bliss… and there were Simone and Robby in the background.

The look of shock on their faces was absolutely worth it.

-==-

END

NOTES:

Melanie E.