The Roots of Our Past

Chapter Fifteen

"You okay?" I ask with an accidental laugh as I just can't help it. The sweat on his forehead, the look of relief in his eyes... he looks like he just escaped a battlefield or something.

"Yeah," a sheepish look now crosses his face as he wipes at the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "Your dad is scary, Farmgirl."

I roll my eyes, using a nice tux to wipe up sweat. Guys, I swear. I take a quick moment to check my makeup in the mirror. I kept it simple and natural, and Mama helped me. We left my hair down but curled it into loose, long waves. My braces finally came off last week, and it gave me a burst of confidence. I feel pretty, and it's a good feeling.

I have a baby blue dress on, with a heart-shaped satin sleeveless top, and a fitted bodice. My boobs finally decided to grow some since Mama sewed this dress this past summer. So now I fill it well with a bit of cleavage that spills out over the top. The skirt part is flowy and falls to my midthigh, with many lacy overlays.

I saw one like it in a magazine one random summer day. Mama and I decided it'd be my homecoming dress and replicated it. I picked blue at the time for Hunter's eyes... and I feel a twinge of sadness that it's not him beside me.

Stop that, I scold myself. Gabe is nice, cute, funny, and fun to be around. Every girl in our class is jealous of me. He walks with me in the hallways, sits with me at lunch, and drives me home.

I'll admit, though, the way Gabe asked me to the dance wasn't exactly what I expected. We were sitting at lunch, and he said, "You don't have a date to the dance yet, do you?" I said no, and he said, "Cool, should we go together?" It was so surprising, so I just said, ok, and then he said, "Great, I'll pick you up early for food, and we'll call it an official date."

It was so... casual. I thought the first time I got asked out, it would be more romantic. The whole thing was only one minute.

When Olly came over to ask me if I was okay with him taking Brandi to the dance, we talked a lot longer than that. I bet it took Olly more than a minute to ask her. I wonder if he was all sweet.

Hunter would be if he asked anyone, I bet.

Forget about Hunter; I scold myself for the millionth time. I was, no, I am, excited to go to homecoming with Gabe. Even if he's not Hunter or Olly...

Or Olly!? Where did that come from?

"Kinz, are you okay? Do you think I messed things up with your dad or something?"

Crap, my running brain must be obvious.

"I'm good, just a little nervous about the dance," I say hastily.

"If it sucks, we can leave," Gabe offers.

"Thanks," I smile at him, and he flashes his dimpled grin back at me.

Gabe is finally relaxing as he pulls off the dirt road to the paved one, heading towards the main street. Most everyone else is going to that steak place just outside of town, and we figured we could eat a lot faster if we went to the diner.

He parks outside the diner and gets out, and I sit there waiting while he feeds the toll meter. Then he starts walking towards the door. What? Did he forget to open the door for his date? As he's at the door and turns, looking confused, he sees I'm still in the car. Frowning, I open the door myself and get out, and he smiles and waves.

"Come on, Farmgirl!" He says, like I'm being silly. "Let's go get some food."

Okay, so Gabe Rodriguez is not a romantic.... I can live with this, I guess. With a shrug, I follow him inside.