“That pretty much sums it up for me to,” I tell her. “So help me out here, girlfriend. Right about now I’m thinking that Andy is pretty sexy. He’s got wonderful hazel eyes that I get lost in, strong shoulders, a cute butt, and smells so manly. He’s also got a kind and gentle personality. I get all gooey just thinking about him. I also took a good look at Dan today and think he’s pretty cute too, but I know him too well and can’t imagine anything going on there. Am I going nuts or what?”

Laurie smiles and gives me a hug, “No, Tina, you’re not going nuts. You’re just a normal teen girl who is learning about love and life. Welcome to the club. Oh, and you might want to add a few panty liners to your purse.”

Chapter 34: New Opportunities

I don’t sleep well, but when I do manage to get to sleep I have dreams of Andy–a physically enhanced Andy–coming to rescue me from some dangerous situation and carrying me off to a romantic place where we slowly undress one another with copious amounts of kissing and fondling. I wake up feeling extremely aroused–each time just before we consummate our relationship. The latest dream has us standing before a priest to be married. I feel like I’m going to burst into flame I feel so excited. As he carries me over the threshold of the bridal suite at an expensive hotel I manage to stay in dreamland as we aggressively undress each other and fall into passionate love making on the huge heart shaped bed. The real life orgasm which accompanies the dream finally wakes me for good. What an experience!

I remember similar dreams from not so long ago. Then I was the boy–man really–in the dream and the girl was usually an enhanced version of my latest infatuation. I used to wake up with a raging hard on and feeling very frustrated or with sticky sperm filled underpants which needed to be dealt with. This time I awaken to a terribly moist pair of panties and a warm satisfied feeling. The female orgasm is definitely a lot less messy. It also feels more intense. I like it. I also feel guilty. I really need to get my thoughts–and dreams–under control. Brain Central is pretty quiet except to caution me to keep away from the real thing. Sex is trouble–with a capital T.

After sneaking off to the bathroom to freshen up a bit I head back to my bedroom.  It is only six o’clock but I don’t feel like going back to sleep. I don’t think that I’d survive another one of those dreams.

Booting up my computer, I start downloading some of the software I need to do the computer work with Andy.  It takes a little while to download and install some of it. It’s good to have a credit card from the Lab to cover the expense. I also download yesterday’s images from my cell phone, noticing that some of the sound files have been deleted from the device. Someone is monitoring us.

I have some questions about photo editing, so I shoot off an email to Andy to get some answers. I also include a short apology for rushing off yesterday. I figure this is a good, low key, way to reestablish contact with him. Surprisingly I get an email back within a few minutes with some advice on what to do with my photos. Andy is obviously up early this morning. He also suggests that I take a look at updates on his web page. There is–noticeable in its absence–no mention in his email of getting together again. I suppose we’ll just have to maintain email contact until he is ready to make the next move.

Checking Andy’s website, I notice several new images from the hike. They are mostly artistic scenery shots, but he has a few of me and Laurie posted as well as a couple of candid images of just me. The candid pictures are quite fetching. I look like some kind of supermodel. How does he do that?

I send him an email back thanking him for the advice, yesterday’s hike, and for being a friend. I also tell him that I really love his pictures. I also drop a hint that it’d be good to get together to do some more computer work.

I spend some time writing thank you notes to all the people that have been kind to me lately, letting them know that I appreciate it. I write Caitlin and Laurie short notes on the friendship cards I picked up at the store yesterday telling them how much I value their friendship. Feeling girly, I add a few hearts around my signature wave them through a cloud of perfume.

Seeing that it’s getting to a decent hour I decide it’s time to touch base with my Alaskan family. I do need to get some time with them in on the Laboratory supplied cell phone, though I wonder if it’s worth keeping up appearances since the bad guys may well know about my deception.

The Major is out for a run so I chat with Mom Polly for a bit about yesterday’s hike. She seems to have the same radar that the other girls do and quickly picks up on my interest in Andy. We spend almost an hour talking about love and life and how a girl is supposed to deal with her feelings and boys in general. The advice is similar to what I got last night–a girl has to be careful. Mom Polly really gets into the conversation and even gives me an abbreviated reminder about the birds and the bees. She really should have had a daughter of her own. I think she realizes this opportunity to mentor a daughter won’t last long and she’s making the most of it. I really like her.

While we’re talking, the Major returns and has time to take a shower before Mom Polly and I are through talking. He gets on the line for a few minutes and drops a hint–using our code word–that I should call him on the other phone. I was planning on it anyway, so I say my goodbyes only to call right back on the other phone.

“Hello, Princess,” he greets me. “Did you make any progress yesterday?” He just gets down to business–like a typical guy.

“I guess you could call it that,” I waffle in my reply. I embarrassed to talk about my new crush with a guy.

“Oh,” he says, “tell me about it.”

I proceed to tell him about the hike and how difficult life is at the Lang home these days.

“Something else happened, didn’t it?” he asks. Am I really this easy to read?

It’s a good thing that we’re on the phone so I can hide my blush, “Well, er, I guess you could say that I sorta developed a crush on Andy.”

“Whoa, Princess,” he warns me. “you need to be really careful here. You can’t let your hormones interfere with the job. People could get hurt if you let your emotions cloud your judgment.”

“Honest, Major,” I defend myself. Actually it comes out more like a whine. “I really wasn’t planning this. The last thing I need is to be falling for anyone right now. It just sorta happened. I think I can keep it under control. I just need to remind myself of who I really am and that this will be over in another six weeks.”

“Does he know about your crush?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I reply, “But I’m pretty sure that he’s got one on me too.”

“You’re a smart kid,” he reminds me, “just don’t forget that. I don’t see any way for you to avoid him. Sometimes the best way to get over a crush is to get to know the person. People rarely live up to the fantasy. Anyway, while you have this crush it’ll be awkward to be around him but for the good of the mission, you need to pursue the relationship. I don’t mean that you should jump in bed with him–in fact, don’t even consider it, Princess. You’re not ready for that. Keep your wits about you and don’t let your hormones lead you into anything you’ll regret later.”

“I understand, Daddy,” I tell him. “I’ll be good girl.”

---<>---

The rest of the day is surprisingly normal–whatever ‘normal’ might be. I spend some time working on computer stuff, laundry, and helped Aunt Jen and Laurie with some yard work. Laurie and I hang out and chat much of the afternoon about a variety of topics. I check my email fairly frequently throughout the day hoping for something from Andy.  I find myself thinking about him quite a lot and wishing he’d call or something.

Eventually, Caitlin comes by to pick me up for running practice.  She’s bursting to hear any news about me and Andy. She’s pretty disappointed when I tell her that all I’ve heard from him today was a short informational email. When I tell her that I’ve decided to pursue the relationship she starts bouncing up and down in her seat like an excited little girl.

“Watch it, girl,” I say in a panic as we start to swerve. “Like, we don’t need to get in an accident, ya know.”

“Oh, sorry about that,” she says as she regains some control of herself and the car. “This going to be soooo much fun, girl. To catch a guy, you’ve got to be careful, Tina. Play it cool and a little hard to get. Let him make the next move. He has to think it’s his idea”

This advice comes from a girl who has been working hard for years to land her dream date and the object of her affection didn’t even have a clue until the other day–and only then because he has become her best girlfriend. No, I don’t think that she’s got this boy attraction thing down yet and I’m not sure how to tell her.  Anyway, I’ll do it my way. I’m sure my way will be unorthodox from a girl’s perspective–that is, once I figure out what I’m going to do.

When we get to the school, the other kids are hesitant about approaching me until Caitlin tells them that everything is cool. I smile at everyone and try to act like nothing happened yesterday.

“I see that you’re in a better mood,” Dan observes.

“Yeah,” I reply, “thanks for the run yesterday. I really needed it.”

“Yeah, well,” he responds, “I’ll be sore for the rest of the week. The things I do for my friends,” he adds melodramatically. “Suzie said to ask you to go easy on me tonight.”

“We’ll see, big boy,” I reply with a sultry voice and a batting of eyelashes. He just nervously backs away.

The workout is light tonight as everyone is saving their strength for tomorrow’s intervals. I’m pretty sure that some of the kids are planning on skipping tomorrow. I know that Caitlin is working. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the others find equally valid excuses for avoiding the torture.

After the workout Caitlin and I go to her house for a couple of hours before I have to go home. We spend most of the time up in her room where she coaches me on the fine art of landing a boyfriend while working our way through her CD collection. I listen intently to see how it works from a normal girl’s perspective. I need analyze her advice from the male perspective so I don’t make the mistakes she did. On the mission front, I don’t learn anything more about her father and his Middle East connections.

Later–as I lie in bed trying to get to sleep–I find my thoughts drifting towards Andy again. He is a good looking boy. Kind too. I checked my email when I got home and there’s still nothing from him. I sent him another email about some things I learned today about databases while surfing the net and ask if he has any advice on the edits which I had done to my web page. I figure I can keep up the communication from this end until he decides to surface. I just need to keep the message low key and friendly–like best buddies. There was another of the surveys in my inbox–which I dutifully completed. As I think of Andy I get that warm feeling again and find that I can’t wait to see him again. In fact, I find myself daydreaming as I leisurely work my way through the survey.

Brain Central kicks in as I become aware of what I’m thinking. The directions which I receive are along the line of: keep it cool, girl. You’ve got to control your passions. My Dad once told me about the Principle of Least Interest.  Basically put, the person with the least interest in a relationship controls the relationship. Maybe that’s why the advice I get from every front is to play this cool.  The problem with playing it cool is the other party may never know you have any interest–that certainly seems to be the case with Caitlin’s approach to attracting Chris.  In fact, it occurs to me that Caitlin is not in control simply because Chris has no interest whatsoever in a relationship with her. She needs to find a better way to develop Chris’s interest–none of her methods to date have been effective. With Andy I don’t have to develop his interest. I’m pretty sure that it’s already there. Somehow I need to let Andy know I’m interested in developing a relationship without throwing myself at him so he’ll take the next step.

It also occurs to me that the girl really needs to hold the key to the relationship in order to keep from being coerced–or enticed–into doing something she’ll regret. As Laurie pointed out, while we girls may be sexually excited every bit as much as the boys, the consequences are much more dire so we need to be careful to gain control of the situation. Boys don’t seem to be as concerned with the consequences–probably because they can just walk away and leave the girl to deal with it. As a boy, I was always been kept in check by the girl and now I can really see why. Now, I need to be the one who is clear headed enough to set and hold the boundaries. This is going to be more work than I reckoned on.

Still, a girl can dream, can’t she?

---<>----

Wednesday morning seems just like any other day at work–almost.  Everyone is back from their holiday and much of the morning is spent comparing notes about the activities of the long weekend. One of the women comments that she’d seen me at the fireworks in the company of a handsome young man and wants to know who he was. When I blush a little–I wish I could control that–she also smiles as she congratulates me on being so quick to find a nice boyfriend. My insistence that he’s just a friend only brings a knowing smile from the woman. This bit of intelligence apparently launches a round of gossip amongst the women, many of whom stop off to congratulate me and ask for details even though I continue deny any such relationship. I swear that women are much more intrusive into each other’s lives than men are. There is nothing like a budding romance to catch their attention.  When I mention that it was Dr. Lang’s son that I was out with I receive a few vague comments that mostly express the sentiment that they hope he isn’t too much like his father.

When I do find myself alone, I search through the file drawer at the receptionist’s desk and am rewarded with finding another file labeled ‘Top Secret’. When no one is around, I photograph the location with my cell phone and slip the file into my oversized handbag. Finding time to take pictures of the pages proves to be difficult. When I head off to the women’s room to find some privacy to photograph the file, I find a couple of my co-workers there.

“Tina,” one asks, “What’s this I hear that you’re dating Dr. Lang’s son?” Her name is Denise and works as an electronics tech in one of the labs.

“I don’t know if ‘dating’ accurately describes the relationship,” I respond. “We’re just friends. I went over to his house to learn about web page stuff then we went to the fireworks with my cousin.”

“I hear that you went out with him Monday also,” the other woman commented.  I don’t recognize her.

“Yeah,” I reply, “It was just a hike in the hills with him and my cousin. Just friend stuff.”

I notice a ‘yeah, right’ look passing between the two women.

Denise warns me, “I don’t know if you’ve met Dr. Lang yet, but I’d steer clear of him. Just between us girls, he’s a real pain in the behind.”

“I agree,” says the other woman, “I work with him sometimes and he is a real condescending macho sexist jerk. I swear, he thinks that you’ve got to have balls to be able to think. His mother must have been mean to him or something. I’d swear off men if they were all as bad as he is. I hope his son’s not like that–after all ‘Like Father, like son’.”

“Actually, Andy is a pretty nice boy,” I tell them. “And yes, I’ve met Dr. Lang and I know what you mean. He was pretty rude to me when I went to their house. He accused me of being a spy for Mrs. Harrison since I work in the temp pool and she is my supervisor.”

“Oh,” says Denise with interest, “are you? I’d love to see him canned for being a sexist jerk. I can’t tell you how many times that arrogant bastard has been rude to me and the other women around here. We’d all like to see him get his due!”

“You got that right, sister,” chimes in the other one. “Too bad he’s so good at what he does. I think he’d be easier to get rid of if he wasn’t.”

“Actually,” I reply, “no. I’m not on assignment to nail him for harassment. I’m just a summer office temp. I’m just a kid. How would I know about this kind of stuff?”

“Well, kid,” Denise says as they head back to work, “just a word of advice: avoid the bastard whenever you can.”

The two women leave the restroom as I duck into a stall where I quickly photograph the pages of the report.  I finish just as another pair of women enter the women’s room.  It sure is busy around here this morning.

As I wash my hands and touch up my makeup, I end up in another short conversation with these two women similar to the last. It would seem that the arrogant Dr. Lang is not well loved by his female coworkers. It also appears the gossip network around here is pretty active.

After transmitting the images to the security team, I return to my work space to find Mrs. Russ, the Director’s Administrative Assistant waiting for me.

“Hi, Tina,” she smiles at me. “Have you a few minutes to talk with me?”

“Sure,” I reply, “just let me put my bag away.”

After stowing my bag in an empty file drawer, I follow her into the conference room.

“Tina,” she begins, “thank you for all your help these past couple of weeks. You are a ray of sunshine with your efficiency and wonderful attitude. You’re wonderful to work with.”

Blushing slightly, I reply, “Just doing my job, Mrs. Russ. It’s not too difficult, you know, but I do like working here. Most people here are very nice and helpful.”

“Ah,” she says, “That’s what I want to talk to you about.  I know that we’ve not been challenging you here. How would you like some increased responsibility?”

“It depends on what you want me to do,” I tell her. “I’m still in high school you know. It’s not like I can contribute much to laser research. Not only that, but I’m only temporary and Mrs. Harrison may send me somewhere else.  Starting a new project might not be wise.”

“Oh,” she says, “I’ve talked with Susan and–after a lot of haggling–she’s agreed to let us have you for the rest of the summer–that is if you agree.”

“What do you have in mind for me to do?” I ask.

“Well,” she begins, “several things, actually, I’ve looked over your resume and see that you’ve done a little computer programming–databases in particular. What database system did you learn?”

“Access,” I reply, “with a little VBA to make custom forms and functions. It was pretty minor stuff, really.”

“Do you think you could create a database application that we can use to track the documents in our research library?” she asks. “It would need to be able to generate reports about the frequency of use of the various documents, who’s using them, the documents that particular individuals use, what is currently checked out and stuff like that. Oh, and it would need to be accessible across our intranet. We need to get a handle of what is important to who in order to keep our resources current.”

“I can do most of that,” I tell her, “but I’m not sure about the intranet access part, but I imagine that I can learn that if I can get the time.”

“Oh, we can get you some help with that,” she says with a smile, “we only have–arguably–one of the largest computing sites in the world with some of the best programmers around. I’m sure one of those hotshot programmers would be more than happy to answer questions from a bright girl like you. They might even let you play on one of the supercomputers.”

“You know,” I tell her, “you can probably buy a commercial library management system which will do more than I can produce. Heck, one of those hotshot programmers can probably set up the database in an afternoon.”

“We know that,” she smiles at me, “but I think it would be good for both you and for us if you did it. Would you like to try?”

Would I like to try, she asks. It sure beats the stuffing out of making coffee and answering telephones all day. Not only that, but it will make me more useful to Andy–not to mention it will help with the programming class I have scheduled in the fall. Maybe–if I do it right–I might be able to use it in the investigation to monitor document flow to see if there are any strange usage patterns.

“You bet,” I tell her with a grin. “Sign me up.”

“Great,” she says. “We still need you to continue with your current tasks, but you’ll be sharing the office duties with another temp who we’ve requested. Also, we need you to provide some support for our planning committee which is working on our annual summer departmental picnic in August. They need some help putting together fliers, getting people to sign up for various activities and such. You’ll have to spend some time going around the facility doing recruiting for the picnic and coercing people into bringing food and games to the party.”

Ah… I think to myself, a great way to look around for things that will help with the investigation.  I readily agree to her proposal.

---<>---

At lunch I catch up with Laurie, Aunt Jen, Mrs. Quinn, and Tiff (Tiff’s boy is off on some assignment) in the cafeteria. I’m the last to join the group and I find Tiff filling in the others of her progress with her co-worker.  Apparently he’s asked her out to the dinner and a dance at the local country club this weekend–probably the same one that Jim was desperate to find a date for. Apparently his parents live in town and belong to the club. Tiff’s pretty excited and the ladies are all giving her encouragement and advice. An expedition is planned to find a new dress for the occasion.

Eventually, the conversation gets around to me.

“Hey, Tina,” Tiff asks, “what’s this I hear about you landing a boyfriend?”

Dang! There goes that blush again.

“Ugh, well,” I hedge. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t think that we’re an item at this point. We agreed Saturday that we’d just be friends. I haven’t heard much from him since Monday.”

“Yeah,” Laurie pipes in, “I think he’s attracted to her too but the attraction seemed to scare him. I’m starting to think that he’s scared of her.”

“Has he ever had a girlfriend?” Mom asks.

“I don’t think so,” I reply. “He mentioned that before they moved here a couple of years ago he had lots of girls who were friends but I don’t think they were any more than friends.”

“How about dating?” Aunt Jen asks. “Has he done any dating?”

“I don’t think so,” I reply. “He seems to be content to be a loner.”

“I bet he doesn’t know how to deal with a real girl,” Tiff offers. “I bet he’s just scared of girls and doesn’t know what to do or say around one. It looks like you’ll just have to train him.”

“Oh,” Laurie informs the group. “The two of them got along just fine until THE MOMENT.”

I find that I have to relate to the group–more for Tiff’s benefit as the others got the story the other night–the whole tree climbing incident, including how I got lost in his eyes and went all gooey.  It’s embarrassing but they hang on every word with intense interest. Laurie fills in a few gaps from her perspective. In the end, they all agree that poor Andy is dealing with new feelings and opportunities which must be causing him great confusion.

“So,” Tiff asks, “are you planning on pursuing this relationship?”

“I don’t know where this is going,” I reply. “I really am attracted to him and hope that at the very least we can be friends and spend some time together. Other than that, I guess we’ll just have to see where this goes as it happens. There’s not much sense in making it very serious as I have to leave at the end of the summer.”

With this comment, the assembled ladies launch into a discussion on how I should proceed with developing my relationship with Andy. They have–apparently–spent much more time on this sort of topic than the average guy. I’m pretty amazed at the thoroughness and depth of the thoughts that are expressed. When I tell them I’m looking for a low key way to tell him that I’m interested in him they all strongly recommend that I don’t say anything directly–just send little hints indirectly. In the end, the experts convince me to just keep acting like a friend and to keep sending emails about our mutual computer and photography projects.  He has to reply sometime.  In the mean time, Laurie will try to catch up with him at the art store right after work and see if she can learn anything.

Before we know it, it’s time to head back to our respective jobs. It occurs to me on the way back to the office that I failed to tell them about my new job responsibilities. I guess that romantic relationships are more interesting than promotions.

---<>---

After lunch I ‘accidentally’ leave my cell phone in the break room again.  This time I try to leave it behind some canisters sitting on the counter so that no one will find and return it to me before it has a chance to do its job. Sure enough, about an hour after lunch, I see a couple of scientists that are friends of my Dad’s head into to break room for quick cup of coffee and a snack.  They are in there for almost 20 minutes before leaving.  Half an hour later, I drop in to pick up the cell phone and transmit the recording on to whoever monitors this stuff.

I spend the rest of the afternoon acting as a receptionist while simultaneously working on a draft structure for my new database project. Working on the programming project really makes the time fly.

---<>----

Sure enough, Caitlin is missing interval training tonight so Laurie drops me at the school on the way to get more art supplies. Coach Arnold adds some bleacher work to tonight’s torture session. We are running up and down the bleachers for half the workout. He tries to make it more interesting by appealing to our pride by making a competition out of it.  The idea works better on the boys than the girls. Testosterone seems to bring out the competitive nature in the boys. A couple of months ago I would have led the charge. Tonight, I find myself more interested in encouraging and helping my less able team mates to do their best. Don’t get me wrong, I still attack the challenges with some gusto, but my approach and motivation are now different.

I’m pretty wiped out by the time we finish.  Laurie is already back and watching us from the sidelines.

“I still don’t see the appeal in trying to commit suicide by over exertion,” she comments as we walk to the car.

“You just have to take the long view,” I tell her. “In the long view, it feels great to be in good shape, the health benefits are too numerous to list, you can excel in something difficult, and–best of all–it’s fun to watch other people try to figure you out.”

“Whatever,” she says dismissively. “About Andy, I managed to talk to him at the art store.”

“And–?” Eagerly I encourage her to continue.

“I think you’ll hear from him tonight,” she says with a knowing look.

“What,” I demand, “do you mean? What’s he going to say?”

“You’ll see,” she says, obviously keeping something back. It can’t be all bad from the silly grin on her face.

Further attempts to extract information from her are fruitless.  All I get from her is the same silly grin and “You’ll see.”

---<>---

As I exit the bathroom after a long hot shower I find a note on my bed from Aunt Jen. Apparently Andy called while I was in the shower and wants me to call him back. It occurs to me that I’ve not given him my cell number so he must have called on the house phone. Another quick plea to Laurie for what to expect results in another stone wall.  I just stick my tongue out at her and retreat to my own room, closing the door behind me.

On the second ring, Mrs. Lang picks up.

“Hello, Mrs. Lang,” I say, “this is Tina. I’m returning a call from Andy.”

“Oh, Tina,” she almost gushes, “it is so good to hear your voice. Let me go get Andy for you.”

After a minute I can vaguely hear the sounds of their voices in the background. It sounds as if she is giving him some advice but I can’t really make out what is being said. Eventually he comes to the phone.

“Uh, Tina,” he nervously asks, “how are you?”

“I’m fine, Andy,” I reply. “You called?” Why are butterflies having a pitched battle in my stomach?

“Uh, yeah,” he waffles.  In the background I hear a door closing. I imagine he’s taken the phone into his room. “I liked some of your ideas that you mentioned in your last email. We’ll have to try them out.”

“Yeah,” I reply in some confusion–we could probably have had this conversation via email. We spend a few minutes chatting about my ideas but hiding in the background of the conversation is another topic that Andy seems reluctant to bring up. Eventually the conversation about programming winds down.

“Do you want to get together to work on this?” I ask.

“That’d be cool,” he replies getting suddenly tongue tied.  There is an awkward silence.

“So, like, when?” I ask. Some more silence on the other end of the line. “Andy,” I ask, “are you still there? Are you alright?”

“Umm, I—I’m still here,” he stammers in reply.

“Is something wrong?” I ask with concern.

“Well, uh,” he manages to get out, “I need to ask you something, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

More silence.

“Yes?” I ask wondering what could be so bad. This is getting to be like pulling teeth.

“Well, you know,” he stammers again, “you remember how we agreed last weekend to be just friends?”

“Yes,” I reply, “I remember. I still want to be friends. I’m hoping you do to.”

“I do,” he said, “but I have a problem.”

“What is it?” I ask. “Maybe I can help.”

“Well,” he begins, “My parents belong to this country club in town. They are making me go to the club’s dinner dance Saturday night, and, like, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but, like, would you be interested in going with us? I mean, like I said, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, these things can be boring, but I think it’ll be better with a friend, and my mom thinks that since you’re a girl and all that you’d really like it and everything…”

“Whoa, boy,” I break in, “are you asking me out on a date?” Somehow, I wasn’t expecting this. Now I see why my sweet cousin was being such a pain. She knew and wanted me to be caught flat footed. Sure I’d love to spend the evening with him–but a DATE?  I don’t know anything about being a girl on a DATE. This date will be very public. Not to mention that I don’t know how to dance as girl. Heck, I don’t really know how to dance as a guy either. I really suck at dancing as a guy. What will I wear?

“Well, uh, yes, I guess so,” he continues to stammer, “Like, you know, you don’t have to, or anything like that, but I’d like you to, you know. I know we agreed to be just friends, but friends can go out on a date, you know. That’s what I’ve heard anyway–”

“Yes,” I inject into the rambling. In fact, I have to say it twice before he gets the message. When he finally gets it, there is a long pause.

“Did you just say yes?” he asks finally.

“I did, Andy,” I respond. “I’d love to go to the dinner dance with you. If you want, we can just be two friends at a dance.”

“You’ll go with me?” he asks as if he didn’t hear me.

“Yes, Andy,” I say again, “I’ll go to the dinner dance with you.”

---<>---

Thanks, once again, to Gabi for helping make this better