"Please . . . don't cry. You had to have known I'd do this at some point."
***
Parker Sims is the class clown but that doesn't mean he's easy to fool. And that's just what Nola B. is good at - fooling people. She's got the whole school believing th...
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***
Chapter Thirty-One:
Silence consumed Parker and Nola for a long minute. They both felt like something - anything - should be said. But, embarrassment came over them and neither knew the right words.
Parker examed Nola to see that she was trying to hide the fact that she was blushing, by allowing her hair to fall in front of her face. "I'm sorry, once again," Parker found himself saying in a rushed manner. He realized then that his question was premature. "I shouldn't have asked you that, now." Parker took an inhale, as he looked over at the shelf to his right. He couldn't believe that he'd asked her out like that. "Especially with all that you're going through. I didn't mean to be forward like that and - uhhh - ... Baby steps," Parker muttered the last part to himself. "How about an easier question? Are you still down for hanging out with my friends tonight?"
Nola was instantly relieved that Parker dropped the subject of prom. With a small smile, she lifted her head, which made her hair move off her face and allowed her to make eye contact with Parker. "Yeah, I'd like to go." She stated and then quickly glanced away from him.
She wondered what his friends were like. At first, a fear crawled within Nola. She was scared about meeting new people, but she told herself that they were friends of Parker. She knew that he wouldn't have bad people as friends - not like Mitch.
An icy cold feeling washed over Nola.
No, Parker's friends are nice. Nola kept reminding herself as dark memories of the past with Mitch tried to consume her thoughts.
Nola began to think of random things to try and distract herself. It took a moment but she quickly got back to reality.
"How does that sound?" Parker asked.
Nola raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry." A woman must always listen to a man. "I-I wasn't listenin-g."
"Oh, that's okay. I was saying that Claudine, a friend of mine, wants to go out to dinner and - if you're comfortable with my friends - we were gonna all go hang out at her house for a while."
Nodding, Nola didn't find a problem in the plan - or at least any she felt she should voice. "Okay."
"Great, I'll pick you up at seven."
***
"You look happier than when you left this morning," Suzanna remarked when her niece walked into the living room, after coming home from school. "It's almost as if someone - like, I don't know, Parker - stopped by your school this morning and apologized."
Nola had a sudden urge to roll her eyes in happiness (that Parker went to such great lengths to find her and say he was "sorry"). She was puzzled and shocked by the feeling, though, because it wasn't something she'd felt like, genuinely, doing in a while.
