Callie twirls around to find me cleaning the mirrors above the hand weights. Our gazes meet in the reflection of the mirror. “I thought we had our thing,” she says through gritted teeth. “You know, ourthing.”
I turn around and shrug. “It’s Easter Sunday weekend, so we’re skipping this weekend. Plus Hannah says Courtney is demanding a Saturday date night.”
“Sure, let me just plan my life around Hannah’s girlfriend,” she mumbles.
I smile and shrug.
She whirls around and throws her hands up a little but quickly lets them drop to her sides. “Okay then,” she says to Mitch. “I’m still grounded, so I’ll have to check with my mom, but maybe Saturday.”
Mitch’s rosy cheeks flare. “Maybe Saturday.”
Callie nods. “Maybe. But probably not. You should know I am definitely a glass-half-empty kind of person.”
Mitch thinks on that for a minute. “So it’s a glass-half-empty maybe then?” He holds his hand out awkwardly, like he means to shake Callie’s hand, but then just fist bumps her before leaving.
I wait for the door to shut entirely before I loudly say, “Is that a date?”
When Callie turns around, I expect to find her normally grumpy something-smells-bad expression, but it’s clear she’s brimming with excitement despite how hard she’s trying to keep a lid on it. “Maybe,” she says. “It’s a maybe date. Glass half empty, maybe.”
I rush to her and she meets me halfway, our hands clasped, as we squeal at approximately the same level of sound as a dog whistle.
After work and dropping off Callie, I sit in the driveway at home for a minute to check my text messages.
MALIK: Did you send your application in?
MILLIE: I did! Your directorial debut!
MALIK: Well, that calls for a celebration. Friday night?
MILLIE: It’s a date.
A tidal wave of excitement hits my stomach. A date! Not only does Callie have a date this weekend, but now so do I. What can I say? Love is in the air.
Inside, I find both my parents getting ready for dinner.Now, I think. This is the perfect time to tell them. With Dad here to ease the blow.
My mom spins around the kitchen island just as my dad plants a big, wet kiss on her cheek. “Your father brought home brisket, mac and cheese, green beans, dinner rolls, and peach cobbler from Melba B’s Barbecue, so I guess it’s cheat night for everyone.” She hums “Go Tell It on the Mountain” to herself as she runs back to the kitchen for a few serving spoons.
Melba B’s is my mother’s favorite—food so good she hums!—and if it’s up to her, it would undoubtedly be her last meal, but she so rarely eats it and my dad is usually the only person who can convince her otherwise.
A low sigh slips from me.
I can’t tell her I’m not going back to Daisy Ranch. Not right now. I won’t ruin this perfect night for her.
On Friday night, Malik picks me up for our date. Well, if you ask my parents, it’s a study date, and Malik is picking me up so we can go to Amanda’s, but that’s because I’m not sure what their opinion on dating is. If I had to guess, they’d prefer I just didn’t.
After much deliberation, I settled on a mint-greencotton dress with little daisy buttons sewn all around the collar—my own personal touch, obviously—and a pair of yellow flats.
When I get into his car, Malik hands me a fresh pair of socks. “You’ll need these,” he tells me.
“What are these for?” I ask. “Are we going bowling?”
His lips twitch for a second, like he’s second-guessing himself. “Would it be a problem if we were?”
I shake my head. “Only if you don’t mind getting beat by a girl.”
“Oh, so you’re a smack talker?” he asks. “Well—” His ringtone interrupts him. He glances down at his phone, resting in the cup holder. “I better get this,” he says as he pulls over to the side of a residential street.
“Hello?” asks Malik into the receiver.
