Katy poked her head in the summer kitchen door. “Mom, Jeremy wants to go get some Blue Bell ice-cream at The Parlor. Is that okay?”
Her mom gave her a tired smile. “Sure, sweetie. That’s fine. Will you be back in time for dinner?” Her gaze flitted to Jeremy, eyebrows raised in question.
“Dinner? Yeah, I think so. Need us to pick anything up while we’re in town?”
The ladies looked at each other for a moment. “I can’t think of anything. Can you,” Jeremy’s mom asked.
“I do need a few things from the store. Katy can you check the fridge and see how much milk is left. And see how much bread we have, too. I know I need some bacon and eggs. That should be all. Do you mind stopping by the store, Jeremy?”
“Not at all.”
“Oh! If you’d like soda with supper, pick up what you want.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Thank you. Supper’s at six.”
“We’ll be here.” Jeremy ducked out the door.
Shyness enveloped Katy. “Bye.” She glanced at her mom who nodded and winked. She understood her trepidation and that gave her courage to move past her shyness and venture out with Jeremy. This time of day, there would be a lot of teens hanging out at The Parlor. What would they think of seeing them together? She hated the thought of being an embarrassment to him.
Well, he’s the one who invited me. If he’s not worried about it why should I? Still. She hoped there wouldn’t be a scene.
A couple miles down the road, he glanced over at her. “You’re awfully quiet.”
She scrunched her brows and looked at him. “I’m always quiet.”
She loved the way he struggled to keep from smiling. He was always secretly laughing at her, but she didn’t mind. Maybe it was the tender light in his eyes that accompanied the laughter.
“Yes, but you’re even quieter than your normal quiet. You’re not embarrassed at the thought of being seen with me, are you?”
Her eyes went wide and her cheeks warmed. “What? Why would I be embarrassed to been seen with you? It’s you who should be embarrassed to be seen with me.”
“Oooh. So that’s the deal. You’re worried the guys will heckle me.”
She turned to look unseeing out the window and shrugged. He didn’t understand what it was like to always be on the outside looking in. He was the basketball team captain and starting point guard. All the cheerleaders wanted a piece of him as well as every other girl in the school. So, why would he single her out?
“You are, aren’t you?”
“Of course. I mean, come on! It’s like Matthew McConaughey going out with the local librarian.”
He let out a belly laugh and she giggled as he reached over and took her hand. “Well, I’m not McConaughey, but if you’re the local librarian, you’re the cutest and sweetest librarian I’ve ever seen.”
Heat flooded her face all the way to the roots of her hair. He chuckled again. Oh, how she hated being a ginger! He squeezed her hand and she looked up at him.
“I may get some ribbing from the guys, but that’s just what guys do. Don’t take it personally, okay?”
She took a deep breath and blinked back tears that sprung to the corners or her eyes. He pulled her hand to his lips and surprised her with a kiss on the back of it. Her eyes went wide again and she couldn’t take them off his face. With his gaze turned back to the road, she studied his features, memorizing every nuance that made him Jeremy.
He glanced over and caught her staring. “Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll try not to.”
He squeezed her hand again and then released it to turn into The Parlor parking lot. He got out and came around to help her out. Such a gentleman!
She smiled at him. “Thank you.” Her voice was soft, meant for his ears only.
He gave her a single nod and an intimate smile. He took her hand and led her inside. It didn’t take long for the clamoring teens to go quiet as everyone turned to look at them. Jeremy smiled and nodded to one friend after another as he led her to the line at the counter. He acted as if walking hand in hand with her was an everyday occurrence.
Her nerves hummed, but she refused to let anybody see how much they intimidated her. She kept a serene smile on her face and clung to Jeremy’s hand. When they reached the counter, he pulled her close and tucked his arm around her waist.
She crossed her arms, hugging herself and leaned into him. Somehow his hand found hers and their fingers linked at her waist. His thoughtfulness touched her and gave her added strength.
“What would you like?”
Hmm… What did she want? Something liquid she could drink without threat of making a mess or her favorite caramel sundae?
“Anything you want. It’s my treat.”
She looked up into his pale blue eyes. The tenderness pouring from them took her breath away. She stiffened her legs. She refused to let her knees buckle! That would be too humiliating.
“Th-thanks.” Her voice came out just above a whisper. She cleared her throat. “I think I’ll take a caramel sundae with peanuts and whipped cream.”
He grinned and squeezed her hand. “No chocolate malt today, huh?”
She returned his smile and could feel her eyes sparkling. “Not this time.”
He raised his brows. “Not this time?” He bent toward her ear and whispered. “I like the sound of that.”
Heat flooded her face and she ducked her head. He chuckled and hugged her against his side before they stepped up to the counter. By this time the noise level had raised some with fewer eyes burning a path their way. Jeremy gave the order and let go of her to pull money out of his wallet.
Guilt nipped at her. She should pay for her own. She wasn’t used to having a friend pay. She shoved the thoughts away. Jeremy wanted to do this for her. He’d made that clear, so who was she to insist otherwise?
They stepped to the end of the counter to pick up their order and then turned to find a seat. “This way.” He walked right past several of his buddies, nodding, saying ‘hey,’ and throwing comments back and forth when someone finally braved expressing their thoughts.
“So, Moore. Got yourself a hot little date, I see.”
Everyone laughed as though he’d just told the funniest joke of the year.
Jeremy winked and grinned from ear to ear. “You better believe it. And I plan to have her all to myself.” He led her to a table for two in the corner by the window front as cat calls and whistles flooded The Parlor.
Katy kept her head bent enough her hair hid her red face as she followed him. At least she hoped no one could see her embarrassment.
Jeremy set their treats on the table and pulled out a chair for her – the one facing away from the crowd. How thoughtful of him! He sat across from her and smiled. She kept waiting for his eyes to rove around the room, but they never left their table. It was as if he enjoyed being with her. A thrill shot through her and she relaxed for the first time since he suggested the outing.
Before long they were finishing their treats and ready to head for the grocery store.
“So. Dragging Miss Goody-goody to town with you, I see. What? Did your mom dump her on you again?” Charity Knight, the head cheerleader, was known to have a crush on Jeremy. She was also known to be anything but charitable.
Her words squeezed Katy’s chest until she could barely breathe.
Jeremy stiffened. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I asked her mom’s permission to take her out.” He looked at Katy and grinned. “Our first date.”
Air whooshed from her lungs and then caught again. Was it really their first date? Her eyes locked with his. Sincerity and admiration emanated from his gaze. She almost forgot Charity was there. Almost.
Charity snorted. “Yeah. Right. Well, whatever. I’ll see you later.” She turned and flounced off, swinging her hips in a way that caught every male eye in the place. Everyone’s except Jeremy’s, that is.
“Ready to head to the story?”
“Ready.”
He guided her out of the Parlor with his hand tucked around her waist. She pushed the dainty glasses up on her nose. What on earth did he see in her? She couldn’t imagine.
