True Love and Magic Tricks (10 page)

“
Royalty? I had no
idea.”

“
Oh yes. He comes from a
long line of gerbil kings and queens. I’ll have to check his
schedule, but for you…” She glances up at me, her green eyes so big
and bright. “I’m sure he’ll make time.”

“
What are you guys doing
Saturday night?” Lexie asks, and I want to tackle her in a bear hug
because I know she’s helping me set up the do-over.

Kaylee twists one of her braids around
her finger. “I don’t have plans yet.”

“
You do now,” Ryan says,
tossing his arm over Kaylee’s other shoulder.

“
Anything specific?” Kaylee
asks. “You know, so I know what to wear.”

“
A little bit of this. A
little bit of that. A ball gown will do,” Ryan says.

Lexie smacks Ryan upside the head.
“Dress in whatever you’re comfortable in. We’ll swing by and pick
you up at seven.”

“
That is if Mr. Pippi is
free?” I say, wanting so bad to meet this creature that fills her
with so much joy.

“
Like I said before, he’ll
make time for you.”

***

Deep breath. Deep breath.
You can do this. Just be yourself.

I stand outside Kaylee’s house, my
hand hovering mere centimeters from her door. I just have to knock,
but after our last date and the way I made a total fool of myself,
I can’t seem to tap my knuckles against the wood.

“
Knock already!” Lexie
calls from the front seat of Ryan’s Lincoln. Ryan’s hand wraps
around her mouth and pulls her back into the car.

I can do this. Parents
love me. Not that I ever fist-bumped any of them.

Before my thoughts talk me
off her steps, I fling my knuckles against the grain and wait. The
door opens as if her dad was just waiting for me to knock. His arms
are crossed against his large chest, and I swear it makes his
biceps larger than my head.
He’s going to
kill me.

“
H-Hi sir,” I manage to get
out.

He nods toward the foyer and shuts the
door behind me.

“
I see you found a shirt
that fits,” Mr. Sperling says. I’m never going to live that damn
shirt down. Thank god no one took pictures. At least I don’t think
they did. Note to self: Check Lexie and Ryan’s phones.

I need to fix what I did. Need to undo
every memory he has of me up until this point. I decide to just say
exactly what I feel.

“
Mr. Sperling.” I hold my
hand out. “I wanted to introduce myself.”

He doesn’t take my hand, instead
crosses his arms again, making his biceps bulge.“If I remember
correctly, you already did. Quite memorably actually.”

“
That’s the thing sir. That
wasn’t me. I mean. It was me, but it wasn’t me.” He looks at me
like I’m crazy, and I don’t blame him. This is not coming out right
at all. “The thing is, I really like your daughter, and I wanted to
impress her, but instead of impressing her, I made a total fool of
myself. I tried to be someone who I’m not because I thought that’s
what Kaylee wanted. I was wrong. She doesn’t deserve someone who
pretends to be someone they’re not. She deserves a guy who will be
a hundred percent real with her. Who will never for a single second
take her for granted. You need to know. I’ll never
ever
take her for
granted.”

The tension in Mr. Sperling’s biceps
eases as he lets his arms fall to his side. “That was quite a
speech young man.”

“
I was never one for
subtlety.”

“
Don’t change that,” he
says and holds out his hand. I instantly take it and try not to
wince when he shakes a little too hard. He pulls me toward him and
leans down. “You hurt my daughter, and I’ll break your
legs.”

“
Sir, if I hurt your
daughter, I’ll help you break my legs.”

“
Hey sweetie,” Mr. Sperling
says over my shoulder.

I turn and can’t keep the smile off my
face. Kaylee walks down the last step in a tight pair of skinny
jeans and a hot pink t-shirt. Her lips are glossed and her braids
bounce with her steps. Perfect combination of casual and dressed
up. She’s perfect. Beautiful.

“
How much did you hear?” I
ask, heat filling my cheeks.

She slips her small hand into mine and
gives it a squeeze before turning and staring into my eyes.
“Enough. And thank you.”

“
Where exactly are you
taking my daughter tonight?” Mr. Sperling asks.

I smile. “On the first date I should
have taken her on the last time.”

Kaylee glances at me, curiosity
putting cute wrinkles above her nose.

“
Tonight, we’re having a
do-over. Same plans, as if that first date never
happened.”

“
I like this Nate much
better,” Mr. Sperling says.

Kaylee nods. “Me too.”

“
Have a good time sweetie.”
Mr. Sperling kisses Kaylee on the head. “It was nice meeting you,
Nate.” He holds out his hand and did he just smile? I must have a
rabbit foot in my pocket because it’s my lucky day. I shake his
hand before he changes his mind and tucks it under those massive
biceps.

“
It’s been a pleasure,
sir.”

He pats my back and walks into the
living room.

“
So,” I say, turning to
Kaylee. “Is Mr. Pippi ready for visitors?”

Kaylee grabs a sweater out of the
closet and smiles. “Not tonight.”

“
Why not?” I ask, scared
that I’m no longer worthy of Mr. Pippi’s time.

“
Because he wasn’t free
last Saturday night and since this is a do-over...” She shrugs then
laughs the cutest of laughs.

I take her sweater and hold it for her
as she slips her arms in. When it’s in place, I take her hand and
place a kiss on her knuckles. “Ready for our first date?” I
ask.

She jumps up, planting a kiss right
smack on my lips. “I’ve been ready since the first day I laid eyes
on you.”

Chapter 11

“EEEEEEEWWWWW!” I shriek, pulling my
hand from under the bed. Something gooey slides between my fingers,
and I choke back the giant Slurpee I had for after-school snack.
“Gross, gross, gross.” I chuck the week old half-eaten orange in
the Hefty. Mr. Pippi squeaks from his cage, and I lean back on my
knees, frowning at my now diseased hand.

“
Okay, I’m
sorry
,” I tell him. “But
in my defense, the stench usually is
your
fault.”

A large sigh vibrates my
lips, and I make my way to the bathroom to scrub. I send out mental
apologies to my mom who constantly hounded me to clean my room when
she was here. I would’ve grabbed Nate by those suspenders and
hoisted him directly to Mr. Pippi’s cage if it weren’t for the
disaster of my bedroom—which could probably be featured in the very
first episode of
Hoarders: Teenage Girl
Edition
.

Our date was
perfection
though. I’m
still floating from the goodnight kiss he gave me.

I blow out another sigh when I get
back to my room. Doesn’t even look like I’ve made a dent in it. But
the clock on my nightstand says I have 4.25 hours till Nate gets
here. So I tighten up my braids and slap on the rubber
gloves.

“
Let’s do this,” I tell Mr.
Pippi. His response is to pee all over the magazine in his cage. A
grumble rips from my throat, and I throw the window
open.

Yeah… definitely missing Mom’s
hounding right about now.

***

The clock keeps ticking down, down,
down to when Nate’s supposed to be here. And I’m standing buck
naked in the center of my now clean room—minus the ten million
outfits I’ve strewn on my bed. At least it smells like strawberry
air freshener now and not rotting fruit.

“
Ugh!” I growl, throwing
myself in the thicket of V-necks and capris. I’m so totally
hopeless. Mom helped me with this stuff before. I’d model outfits,
she’d do my hair, tone down my makeup… I looked
killer
on my dates, even if they
were few and far between.

Something trickles down the side of my
cheek, and I use one of my skirts to wipe it away. I need a friend.
And I know I’m loud and nosey and a bit bossy, and she already has
a best friend that in no way can be replaced, but I reach over to
my phone resting on a pair of jeans and flick to Lexie’s
number.

After three rings a guy answers.
“Hello?”

“
Um… Lexie?” I joke, but it
comes out croaky because I’m still crying into my
t-shirts.

“
Hey, Kaylee. She’s trying
to put her mom to bed right now. You want me to have her call you
back?”

I raise my head to look at the clock.
It’s only 7:30, but I’ve heard the rumors about Lexie’s mom going
around school so I don’t ask about it.

“
She doesn’t have to call,”
I say, scooting from the bed. “I’m just going to send a bunch of
pictures and if at least one of you will help me decide what to
wear then that’ll save my night.”

He chuckles. “It’s for Nate, right?
You know he’ll probably be fine with what you have on.”

I look down at myself. “I’m
naked.”

It’s quiet for a full three seconds
before he chokes out, “Then he’ll definitely be okay with
it.”

“
Ryan!”

Something scuffles on his side of the
phone, and I hear him lightly explaining my situation to
Lexie.

“
Hey, she says to send her
the pics,” he says when he gets back on.

“
Thank you!”

I hang up and lay out a bunch of tops
and bottoms across my floor. Then snap, snap, snap and wait to hear
Lexie’s thoughts.

Lexie: Third top with
fourth bottom. *cute!*

Me: How should I do my
hair?

Lexie: Braids. Nate talks
about them a lot.

Me: For
real????

Lexie: Yes. And your
lip-gloss. (According to Ry…)

Me: Thanks, Bestie! You
guys are awesome!

Lexie: np. And you don’t
have to call me that you know…

Me: Yes I do.

I set my phone down and pull on the
suggested outfit, then take a selfie with a blown kiss. After I
send it to her, I skip to the bathroom and do my hair and makeup,
feeling ten times better than I did twenty minutes ago.

***

Nate rings the doorbell at 7:49. I
trip my way down the stairs and swing it open full force, too
excited to see him to care that I totally forget to put on
mascara.

“
Sorry, I’m a little
earl—”

I barrel into his lips, not even sorry
about it. He’s wearing the fedora and the suspenders. How can he
not expect me to pounce?

“
Hey, um… your dad…” he
mumbles around my mouth. I smile and drop from my
tiptoes.

“
Is working very late
tonight.”

The cutest blush washes his cheeks.
“Oh. Yeah. Cool.”

I laugh. “You want to meet Mr.
Pippi?”

“
If his schedule has opened
up.”

Now that my room is clean, his
calendar is too. I knock the front door shut with my hip, then drag
him by his forefinger up the stairs.

I take an obvious sniff of my room
before opening the door all the way. Smells good, thank heavens.
And Nate’s nose doesn’t crinkle when he steps in, so high-five for
me on the speed-cleaning thing.

His eyes drift over the posters on my
walls, an amused grin on his face when he sees the giant one of
Tyler Hoechlin with his shirt open and water drizzling down his
sweet, precious abs. Then an even more amused grin when he notices
my entire wardrobe still strewn over my bed since I didn’t have
time to put it away. I shrug when he gestures to it, and then head
to Mr. Pippi’s cage.

“
Okay, you gotta be nice to
him,” I say, coaxing the white fur-ball into my hands.

“
I will,” Nate says, and I
smile over my shoulder.