The Dating Deal (14 page)

But then Trent started to play his guitar and a wave of reality washed over me: I was up here to sing!  I looked over at him, pleading for this to be a nightmare I could wake from.  I even pinched myself.  Really hard.  But the nightmare didn’t go away.

Trent simply smiled encouragingly and kept playing, the rest of his band joining in.  And when it was time for me to sing, I did.  It didn’t take any thought.  None at all.  It was my song, just with a little rock to it, and when my voice heard the music it wanted to sing, needed to sing.  And I was up on stage, with lights shining on me, so what else could I do?  I got into it, dancing without even consciously realizing I was doing it.  And it was fun.

When the song was over, everyone cheered and cheered.  Did I say those other nights were the best nights of my life?  I was wrong.  Totally wrong.  Because this was!

After Baggage finished their performance, Trent followed me out to my car.  I gave him sheet music and a tape with the accompaniment to the song we would be singing for the competition, called “Going the Extra Mile.”  It was a medley of a bunch of different show-tunes.

I smiled when he stared at the sheet music as though it were a skunk.  “You aren’t going to chicken out, are you?” I asked. 

I was sort of afraid he would.  I couldn’t imagine him up on a stage singing this kind of song any more than he could.  And there were the dance steps I’d coaxed Brian into doing and the suspenders and hat.  But I wasn’t going to mention any of that to Trent, at least not tonight.

Trent grimaced.  “No.  I’m not chickening out.  We have a deal.”

Relief.  Happiness.  “Okay so look over the music and tomorrow—”

“You were really great tonight,” Trent interrupted.

His earnest voice made me glad it was so dark out.  Maybe he couldn’t see that I was suddenly blushing crimson red.  “It was fun,” I murmured.

“I knew you would like it.”

Just then Ed, the owner of Flips, stuck his head out the back entrance.  “Trent are you out here?”

“Yeah,” Trent called, looking back.  “I’ll be right there.”  He turned back to me, looking reluctant.  “Well, I have to go.”

But he didn’t go.  Instead, he tugged playfully on a lock of my hair and it seemed as though he was going to kiss me.  My knees went wobbly with anticipation.  I sort of
leaned in
with anticipation.  But then, drat it, he didn’t do it.  Instead he backed away.  “Well, see ya,” he said.

Watching him go, I gave out a huge sigh.  Of relief?  Frustration?  I wasn’t sure. 
Look
, I told myself impatiently,
we’ve already had this conversation.  A hundred times!!!  He’s not right for you.  Get over him
.

Right
, I told myself, calling out to Trent, “We’ll practice right after school.”

“Right,” he said as he went into Flips.

I sighed again, sad our deal was over.  If it wasn’t for my desperate need to have a duet partner, Trent probably would have never talked to me again.  Knowing that weighed me down.  But then I couldn’t help looking on the bright side, Trent Ryan was going to do the duet with me!

*  *  *  *  *

Trent met me in the music room right after school.  I’d been playing the piano, waiting.  But, no joke, when I saw him walk into the room, I got goose bumps.  True, honest-to-goodness goose bumps!

“Are you ready?” I asked with an enthusiastic smile.

Trent’s smile wasn’t as enthusiastic.  But, hey, at least he smiled.  Or maybe he grimaced.   Whatever.  “I guess.”

I turned on the tape with the accompaniment, and only moments later, I was thrilled beyond words.  It was obvious Trent had practiced.  He had his part dead on, perfect.  He made the funny parts funny, and the sad parts heart-wrenching.  He put poor Brian to shame.  And what was more important, we were good together, awesome.

It was as though Brian’s moving away had been an answer to a prayer.

“This is fun, huh?”  I coaxed Trent with a smile, after we’d been practicing for a while, tweaking perfection.

Trent grinned.  “As long as no one from school sees us.”

“Don’t worry,” I laughed.  “No one comes to our performances.  Only parents and old people.  So,” I couldn’t go on with my request, though I really, truly wanted to.  But I couldn’t.  It was too much to ask.

Trent looked at me quizzically.  “
So
… what?”

“Well,” I sighed, “You don’t have to do it.  We’re super great, as is.  Only, Brian and I, we sort of …
danced
a little while we sang.”

Trent ran his hands through his hair, looking as though I’d just asked him to sing naked on stage.  “You want me to do a dance?”

“Well, you don’t
have
to,” I told him. 

Actually, I’d
made
Brian.  But Brian and I needed the dance steps to add something to the song.  Trent and I already had something, chemistry.  As I said, we were awesome. 

Still, I went on, despite Trent’s horrified expression.  “But they’re really simple steps.  Super easy.  And they add so much.”

I was excited.  If I could possibly, possibly talk Trent into doing the steps we would not only win, we would go down in the books as the best duet in the history of Jefferson’s honor choir.

Trent stared into my face as though begging me not to ask this of him.  “You want me to sing this song—
and
do a dance?”

I laughed, as he made it sound as though the idea was inconceivable.  “It would be really terrific and fun.  Really.”

“Okay,” he said after a tormented moment.  “I’m going to do it.  Dance and sing.  But you have to do me a favor in return.”

I tilted my head.  “A favor?”  I would love to do him a favor!  “What?!”

“Sing again at Flips,” he said.  “This Friday.  We’ll advertise it and everything.”

“Oh.” 

I would’ve loved to do him a favor, anything, practically, only … not that.  Sure, it had been fun last night.  But last night it had been on a whim.  Doing it this way, planned out and advertised, no way!  I would think about it too much, and get sick from worry. 

But Trent was gazing at me with his sweet, puppy dog eyes.  And he was going to wear a straw hat, and dance, and sing
show tunes
for me.  How could I tell him no?  “I—uh, guess.”

I would have groaned about it for an hour, only we were going to practice the dance.  He was actually going to do it!  So, I grasped the opportunity while I could.

I taught him the steps, and as I said, they were super easy.  But with him, they were kind of romantic, as they involved a lot of hugging and cuddling.  I hadn’t really noticed that with Brian.  No wonder he had gotten the wrong idea about my intentions. 

So, Trent and I danced and sang and it was super fun and a little romantic, and totally terrific.  I could tell Trent was pleased, too.  He even added some new steps.  “This is kind of fun,” he said.  “You swear no one will see us?”

“No one will see us,” I assured him.  “But what if they did?  Would that be so bad?  We’re really great, don’t you think?”

He smiled, sort of rueful like, “Yeah.  We’re great.”

*  *  *  *  *

Wednesday when I got to school, Nina ran up to me, smiling wide.  “Looky,” she said excitedly, shoving a flyer in my face.

Bewildered, I grabbed it.  Then groaned, “No!”

It was a flyer for Flips, advertising me singing with Baggage this Friday.  “Where did you
get
this?”

She grinned.  “They’re all over school.”

“No!” I groaned again.

But they were.  They were everywhere.  And all day long people came up to me asking questions.  When did I join the band?  Would I be singing that song from Monday’s performance?  I would have enjoyed all of the attention.  Really.  If it hadn’t made me so sick.

After school, when I met Trent in the music room, he blew off my nervous ranting with a smile.  “You’ll do great,” he said.  Then he eyed the outfit I held out for him, the one he’d be wearing for our duet.  He raised his eyebrows.  “If anyone should be nervous, it’s me.”

I smiled.  “You’ll do great.”

Trent put on the straw hat, propping it on the side of his head.  “Do I get a cane?”

I laughed.  “Why?  You want to hit me over the head with it?”

He grinned.  “How’d you know?”  Then he sobered, changing the subject.  “How are you and Conner doing?”

I looked down, knowing he must have seen that Laura and Conner were back together.  Big shock there.  “Let’s practice,” I said.

I knew I shouldn’t be sad about Conner and Laura reuniting.  I shouldn’t care one way or the other.  Unfortunately, my heart didn’t care what it
should
do.  It hurt.  And I could tell that Trent felt sorry for me.  That hurt too.

I wanted to ask about him and Caitlin.  They sort of seemed back together, but sort of not.  I couldn’t bring it up, though.  I was afraid I’d start bawling.

After practicing with Trent, I had to go to work.  And when I got home, the house was empty.  There was a note on the fridge from Mom, informing me she had gone home teaching with Dad.  I looked through the fridge for a while, and then shut it without getting anything out.  I was tired.  Beat. 

I had plans to fling myself across my bed.  But when I got up to my room, there was a wrapped gift in the middle of it.  What’s this? I wondered excitedly, forgetting all about my exhaustion.  Who could it be from?  Trent?!  Or maybe its an apology from Conner?

I quickly read the card.  “For Megan,” was all it said.

Hmmm. 

With lightening speed, I ripped open the gift.  Then I sat, staring.  Inside the box was a can of dog food.

“It was just Aspen,” Nina assured me Thursday at school.  “
She’s
the one that needs dog food.  The snake.”

Though Aspen made it no secret that she hated me, I couldn’t believe she would do this.  Just thinking about it made me cringe.  “She would’ve had to gone up to my room.”

“Well, so would anyone else,” Nina pointed out.  “And who else could it be?”

I shrugged.  Unfortunately, there
were
other choices.  Even though Brian had moved away, Raven was still giving me dirty looks.  And Caitlin wasn’t exactly my biggest fan.  Face it, I had a lot of enemies these days.

 “Maybe it was Parker,” I said, only thinking of him now because I saw him at his locker, scratching his armpit.  “He’s been belligerent ever since ‘the car incident.’”

Nina smirked at the idea.  “Yeah.  He’s waited around a whole
year
plotting his revenge, waiting until you least expected it.”

I used to work with Parker at Limousine Pizza.  For a while he and Nina dated, but then she had to dump him, as he was sort of a slime-ball.  Parker didn’t like that, being dumped.  He started spreading filthy rumors about Nina.  So one night, while he was in the store getting his next round of pizzas to deliver, I moved his car.  I just parked it a few spaces down.  Seriously, no big deal, but he came back in, screaming that it had been stolen.  The whole store laughed, as they all knew what I’d done.

But Parker didn’t take it well.  He cursed me out until he was blue in the face.  Everyone gave me high-fives.  But I felt sort of bad.  I could tell Parker was majorly embarrassed.  And although I’d
thought
I wanted to get him back, punish him for Nina, I found I didn’t feel good about it.  In fact, I felt guilty.  Like I’d let someone down.  Someone I was going to have to face tonight when I prayed.

So, even though it hurt (really, really bad), because I hated what he was doing to Nina, I apologized to Parker.  But it was weird.  He didn’t take
that
well either.  He seemed to think I was mocking him or something.  I’m not sure.  But he started swearing at me all over again.  I just stood there in shock, with my jaw hanging open.  He went on and on and on, ending his torrent with the threat, “I’ll get you back, dog.”