"I can take her," Danny says.
"Meet you there?" Kendrick says to Eve.
"Yeah. Wait—I forgot my keys." She races back inside.
I follow her in there. "You're going to dinner with Kendrick?"
"It's not a date," she snaps, grabbing her keys from the counter. "I only agreed to it because he said I could pick the place. And because he's paying."
"Yeah, okay," I say, smiling at her.
She storms up to me. "Don't give me crap about this. It is NOT a date." She points to her shirt, which is dirty from cleaning. "Would I wear this on a date?"
"I don't think Kendrick would care. He just wants to take you out."
"He's a football player," she says, giving me a deadpan stare.
"Yeah? So?"
"I don't date football players. And they don't date me."
"C'mon, Eve. You don't like him even a little?"
"He's hot, but that doesn't mean I'd date him."
"Maybe you could just be friends with him. You seemed to get along okay working together."
"I guess, but that doesn't make us friends. Tomorrow at school we'll be back to hating each other."
"You guys don't hate each other. You just pretend to, like Dean and I did when we first met. And look how that turned out."
"Goodbye, Brook," she says, rolling her eyes as she leaves.
I laugh. She likes him. She just won't admit it.
Going back outside, I wait for Danny to lock up. He drives me home, and when I walk in the apartment, I find my mom waiting for me.
"Where have you been?" she asks, following me to my room.
"I was at Dean's house. I told you we were cleaning it today."
"I didn't think you'd be gone all day. I had the afternoon off. I thought we were going to do something together."
"Mom, you knew I was busy today."
She stands at my door, her hands on her hips. "Your father told me about the call you had with him today."
"Yeah? What about it?" I grab some clean clothes from my dresser. I feel gross. I need to shower.
"He said you're willing to give up college for Dean, along with all your father's financial support."
"I'm not giving up college. I'll just pay for it myself." I go past her to the bathroom but she grabs the door before I can close it.
"Brook, this is serious. Dean is just some high school boyfriend. It's not going to last. You need to think longterm and do what's best for your future."
"Chad was just a high school boyfriend and you and Dad were already planning the wedding."
"Because Chad is a very mature young man. He knows what he wants. He has his future planned out. You're the same way. It's why you two are such a good match."
