She's Such A Nerd

6: How Sweet

6: How Sweet

I'm sitting in my room, singing along with my music when my phone goes off. I look at it. Jake's calling me. What does he want? I decide to pick up. Cause, you know, it's the nice thing to do.

"Hello. You've reached Emaline's voicemail. Please leave a message."

"Funny, Emaline. Just hilarious," I hear Jake reply. I can just imagine him smiling.

"I already know I'm funny. Tell me something I don't know."

"Alright. I'll probably come over tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What for?"

"In case you've forgotten, we need to pick a topic by Monday."

"I was already aware of this. In fact, we just need to pick one from the list."

"Alright. So it's settled, I'm coming over tomorrow."

I sigh. "I guess so. But don't come over til at least one-ish."

"Got it, cutie. See you tonight." And with that, he hangs up. Tonight. I look at my clock and see that it's already almost 4:30. Guess I should get ready. I pick out a white dress that hits the middle of my thigh and has a pattern that looks like vines with flowers growing from them. It's really pretty and probably one of my favorite dresses. Pairing it with black flats, I walk into my bathroom to curl my hair.

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Just before six o' clock, I head downstairs to find Maria heading towards the back door, carrying plates, cups, and silverware. I run over and open the door for her. She smiles at me. "Thank you, dear." We step outside and a cool breeze washes over me. As I help set the table on the patio, Maria starts up conversation. "It's nice out tonight."

I smile. "Yeah, it is."

"Are you excited for your parents to meet your boyfriend," she asks. My smile falters. I'm about to come clean and tell her the truth when I hear the doorbell ring. Guess that'll just have to wait. I head back inside and stand beside my mother as my father opens the door and greets Jake. To my surprise, Jake is dressed nicely, like I told him to. He actually listened to me. He steps inside and hands my mother a small bouquet of flowers. She plasters on a smile and thanks him before handing them off to Maria to put them in water. Jake then turns to me and hands me a rose. How sweet. I smile and take it from him. My parents head out before us. Jake offers his arm and I take it. As we're walking towards the back door, I give the rose to Maria and ask her to put it in a separate vase.

Dinner is quiet and there's less talking than I imagined. Odd. I look up several and catch my mother looking at Jake several times throughout dinner. I can tell she's judging him by the way she's looking at him. He may think she's just getting used to him, but I know for a fact she's judging him. Posture, manners, the way he eats, the way he speaks. I should know. She used to do it to me all the time. I guess you could say I just got used to it and act like the perfect daughter around her.

The rest of dinner goes smoothly, or at least I think so. I offer to walk Jake out. We step out onto the front porch and I sigh. "Well, that's over and done with."

Jake laughs. "Yeah."

I smile. "I'm sorry you dragged yourself into this."

He shrugs. "I don't mind it."

I look up at him. "You don't mind what exactly?"

He smiles. "Pretending to be your boyfriend." He pauses, seeming to think about something. "Although, I think I'd like it better I was actually your boyfriend." He smiles and looks at me, almost like he's watching my reaction.

Shocked, my voice comes out in almost a whisper. "What?"

He smiles more. "I'm asking you to be my girlfriend, Emaline."