Chapter 2

 

 

Reed scanned the parking garage, his surprise flickering to anger. His car was a pile of junk that just happened to have an engine, requiring nearly as much oil as gas to stay mobile. Why would someone steal his wreck?

A flutter of white drew his eye to the concrete wall. He frowned and advanced to find a note taped to the concrete by a piece of tape. When he spotted his name on the card he pulled it off the wall and read the note.

On my first bad date, his car was impounded and we had to wait two hours for a tow truck.

Reed grinned as he realized the note was from Kate, and that she’d taken his car. After all their talk of bad dates he’d thought their next date would be filled with stories, but apparently Kate had decided to plan an actual bad date. He pulled out his phone but his own car rolled into view and Kate poked her head out the window.

“I’ll only make you wait two minutes,” she said with a smile.

Dressed in grungy clothes, her hair in disarray, and dirt on her face, she looked terrible except for the wide smile on her face. He shook his head and strode to her, and she climbed out to kiss him. Then she grinned and pointed to the passenger seat.

“Your bad date starts now,” she said. “If you’re up for it.”

“What, now?” he asked. “You’re two days early.”

“One of my dates thought spontaneity was the hallmark of a good boyfriend,” she said.

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“In the middle of a movie he started a popcorn fight and got us kicked out.”

Reed laughed. “I once had a girl eat the gum she found under the table.”

Kate grimaced. “That’s disgusting.”

“That’s what I said.”

She grinned and pointed to the passenger seat. “Get in. It’s going to be a fun night of terribleness.”

“When you put it that way, how can I refuse?” He circled the car and climbed into the passenger seat, excited at the prospect of a spontaneous date. “I assume tonight is going to be a bad date?”

“We’ve had so many great nights I figured it was time for a bad one,” she said.

“And the clothes?” he asked, pointing to the rips in her jeans.

“I had a guy arrive dressed like this,” she said. “Right down to the dirt on his face. I found out the next day he had lice.” She shuddered. “I was really glad I didn’t hold his hand.”

“How old were you?” he asked.

“Fifteen,” she said. “Francis was the fifth guy to ask me out and I didn’t know I could say no.”

“You can certainly say no,” he said. “And why are we taking my car?”

“I got your spare key from Jackson,” she said. “And I couldn’t very well take my car, it’s too nice. I once had a date show up on a bike.”

“Really?” he asked.

“His car was in the shop but he didn’t cancel.”

Reed was laughing. “What did he expect, for you to ride on the back?”

“Actually, yes.”

“You’ve dated some real winners.”

Kate grinned and reached for a small towel which she used to wipe her face. Then she pulled her hair into a ponytail while they waited at a light. Checking herself in the mirror, she made a few finishing touches and then caught Reed watching.

“I couldn’t very well go on a date looking like that.”

“I thought it was rather cute,” he said.

She pursed her lips and then returned her attention to the road as the light changed. “Don’t tell me you like the grunge look.”

“Maybe not all the time,” he said. “But a girl who isn’t afraid to get dirty is very attractive.”

“Don’t get attached,” she said. “And get ready for our game.”

“I assume we’re telling stories of our bad dates?”

“Of course,” she said. “We’ve talked about it before but never got around to doing it. Now I’m excited at the chance to beat you soundly.”

“Is that how tonight is going to go?” he asked. “I once had a date yell at me for ten minutes because I opened her door.”

“Really?”

“She thought a woman was quite capable of opening her own door.”

“I guess every girl has her hot buttons.”

“So what are yours?” he asked, glancing her way.

“You just want me to say them?”

“Why not?” he asked.

She shrugged and cast him a challenging look. “You first.”

Reed cocked his head to the side to consider the question, and then said, “I hate it when someone leaves a wet towel on the floor.”

“Does Jackson do that?”

“He used to,” Reed said.

“I hate it when guys send me their nudes.”

Reed grimaced. “Does that happen often?”

“More often than you’d think,” she said. “There are some girls that might want it, but in my experience, most find it really irritating.”

He grinned and she pulled into traffic, threading her way around campus toward the main road. The spontaneity marked a shift from past dates and he kept glancing her way, excited at discovering a new side to his girlfriend.

“I hate watching professional sports,” she said. “College sports are fine, but I can’t stand pro football.”

They pulled into a Chick-Fil-A and she turned into the drive-through. He realized that fast food was going to be their dinner and raised an eyebrow to Kate. She turned to him with an expectant smile.

“Guy took you to McDonalds for dinner?” he guessed.

“More than one guy did that,” she said. “Drive-through fast food when you’re dressed up is a real mood killer.”

“I assume this was in high school?”

“And college,” she said. “I figured we’d replace McDonalds with Chick-Fil-A today. It’s still fast food, but it’s a significant upgrade.”

“Amen to that,” he said, ordering the spicy chicken deluxe. His choice caused Kate to raise her eyebrow.

“What?” he said defensively. “I like a little bit of spice.”

“I didn’t realize you liked spicy foods,” she said.

“To a point,” he said. “But no jalapeños.”

She ordered her own meal and she found a parking spot where they could eat. They’d arrived prior to the dinner rush and the line quickly grew around the restaurant. Reed savored his sandwich and sipped his lemonade.

“This is wonderful,” he said, the words muffled through the food.

“Our bad date is wonderful?” she asked.

“Fast food or fine dining,” he said. “With you, everything is an adventure.”

She laughed and picked up a fry. “Your turn to share a bad date. And make it a good one.”

“A dance in high school,” he said. “It was girl’s choice and she arrived dressed in a 1930s wedding dress with a lace heart over her chest.”

Kate snorted into her drink, spilling lemonade down her chin. “Really?”

“Yep,” he said. “I thought she was a little strange but she seemed fun so I agreed to go. But that’s not the best part. During the date she kept tripping over the dress because it was too long, so she borrowed some scissors and cut the bottom six inches off the dress.”

“No,” Kate breathed. “She just sliced it off?”

“And stuffed the unwanted part into the garbage can.”

Kate laughed and pointed a fry at him. “Could have been worse.”

“How could it have been worse?”

“She could have cut herself and you would have had to take her to the hospital.”

He inclined his head in agreement and gestured to her. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and then said, “I went on a date with a guy that seemed normal. We went to a movie but he didn’t want any popcorn.”

“That’s not uncommon.”

“I found out why at dinner,” she said. “When he got to the restaurant he said he only ate meat.”

“It’s a lifestyle choice,” he said with a smile.

“He ate a bloody steak while I had pasta and salad. I kept wondering if he would turn into a werewolf and decide the steak wasn’t rare enough. And he kept talking with juice on his chin. I couldn’t get over it and declined the next time he asked me out.”

“I had a girl give me stitches,” he said.

“Really?”

He pointed to his face, where a faint scar creased into his eyebrow. “We went ice skating and she panicked when someone bumped her. She threw me down instead and my face hit the ice. Got nine stitches.”

“Sounds painful.”

“She told me in the hospital that she wanted to date my friend.”

She winced. “Sounds more painful.”

He laughed and took a bite of his sandwich, gesturing to her to indicate it was her turn to share. Instead, she finished the last bite of her sandwich and then put the car into gear. A moment later she drove out of the lot. Turning onto the road, she pointed to the theatre around the corner.

“We need to hurry or we’re going to miss the movie.”

“Fast food and a movie?” he asked. “How romantic.”

She smiled wryly. “I’ve gone on plenty of movie dates so I’ve got a lot of material.”

“I don’t think I’m winning this game,” he said wryly.

“No,” she replied. “You’re not. But you’ve won the award for best dates. The least I can do is win the award for the worst.”

“So you admit I won our dating challenge.”

“I’m not going to admit that,” she said, “but on Ember’s blog, you’re the clear favorite.”

“At least you took second place.”

She burst into a laugh and playfully hit his arm. “It doesn’t count when there are just two of us.”

“Maybe,” he reasoned. “But it’s still doing well. You should be proud.”

She shook her head in chagrin. “It doesn’t help that my mother is voting for you on Ember’s blog. She’s gotten all her friends involved.”

“Most parents do like me,” he said.

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she pulled into the lot and parked. Then she pulled out a tablet. “I hope so.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“One of my worst movie dates included the guy’s mom, who insisted on sitting between us. She kept making snide comments about me wanting her boy, who kept leering at me.” She turned on the tablet and navigated to Skype. “We can’t have my mom here, but I thought it only fitting that she make an appearance.”

Kate’s mom answered on the second ring and smiled at Reed. “Hello, Reed, it’s nice to finally meet you . . .”