"I went to the game," I say.
"Janelle said you went to the party."
"I did, but she wasn't there. How'd she know I went?"
"Her boyfriend told her. I can't believe you went. Those things get out of control. Did the cops show up?"
"Not when I was there. I didn't stay long. I went with JT and then Tate showed up and I hung out with him for like an hour and then he took me home. I like Tate. He's funny. How wasyournight?"
"Horrible. I had to listen to my mom talk about how much she hates men, then get a lecture on how I should never date or get married because it'll ruin my life."
"Guess she won't be dating again."
"She will. She always does this after a breakup. A month from now she'll be back online, looking for someone new."
"I hopemymom doesn't do online dating, or any kind of dating. I'm not sure I can handle seeing her with someone who isn't my dad."
"You just have to get used to it. I hated my mom's first boyfriend after the divorce. There was nothing wrong with the guy and he was really nice to my mom. I just didn't like him being with her. Evan didn't either. We were so mean to the guy he told my mom he couldn't take it and broke up with her."
"What'd you do to him?"
"I don't remember. It doesn't matter. I'm just saying that you'll probably hate the first guy she gets serious with, and maybe even the second."
"Okay, let's not talk about this. I'm not ready to think about my mom dating. I'm still trying to get used to my dad being married to a woman half his age."
"You never talk about your dad. What's his story?"
"I'll tell you some other time. So far, I'm having a good day and don't want to ruin it."
"Tell me about the party."
"It was okay. I think I dressed up too much. I'm used to dressing up for parties but that's not how it is here."
"What'd you wear?"
"A black cocktail dress with heels."
She bursts out laughing. "Did people say anything?”
"No, but I got a lot of strange looks. There were other girls wearing dresses but they were the type of dress you'd wear to a club."
"And you were dressed for a funeral," she kids.
"It wasn't that bad. It wasn't formal. It was a date dress. It's strapless and comes to just above the knee. I usually wear something over it but it was warm last night so I didn't."
"You could've gone home and changed."
"I could've, but I decided to just go with it."
I don't want to tell Eve this but the reason I wore that dress was because I was hoping to see Dean. It was a football party so I assumed he'd be there, but if he was, I couldn't find him. I don't know what I was expecting to happen if I saw him. I guess I just thought wearing that dress would get his attention. He's been ignoring me for days and I'm tired of it. I'm ashamed of myself for using my body to get his attention but I'm desperate to find out what's wrong. That night at his house was so great that I haven't been able to forget it. I've never opened up to anyone like that, not even Chad. I want to be able to talk to Dean again and connect with him like we did that night.
"Did you get hit on by any hot guys?" Eve asks.
"No. I have a boyfriend."
"Do you?" she asks, and for a moment I think I must've told her what happened with Chad. But I haven't told anyone. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with him, and with us. I was thinking I'd call Jane later and get her opinion.
"Just because we're apart doesn't mean we're not dating," I say. "It's the first week of school and things are crazy right now. Once things settle down, Chad and I will find time to see each other."
