Page 173 of Sophie and the Bad Teacher

“But I already replaced the ceiling.”

Crap, had he? He’d done a good job. I hadn’t even noticed.

“Trust me. It’s going to be perfect.” He put his arm around my shoulders. “Now tell me everything about this boy. When did he stop being annoying?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Recently.”

***

Adonis met us at the restaurant. And unlike anyone else I’d ever dated, he didn’t seem intimidated by my dad. He must have had time to shake off being flustered. But in his defense, he had been talking about tasting me when my dad walked up.

But he plopped down in the booth beside me and put his arm around me just like he did in the cafeteria.

My dad smiled. “I hope you like Italian. It’s one of the only restaurants we’re allowed in.”

Adonis laughed. “Why? Are you prone to bar fights?”

“Yes, but that has nothing to do with it. Wait, have you guys been out to dinner before?”

“Nope,” Adonis said.

“Well you’re in for quite the surprise. I hope you really like my daughter, because this is enough to scare away any sane person.”

“Stop it,” I said.

My dad smiled.

“What is he talking about?” Adonis asked.

“Just wait for it,” RJ said, as if he wasn’t as bad as me.

But my dad was right. Adonis had never seen me order before. Not really. He’d been behind me in the lunch line at school before, but the women in the cafeteria knew my likes and dislikes. I rarely had to ask for something special because they already served me something special.

The waitress walked over. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked Adonis.

We’d already all gotten ours.

“Just water would be great,” he said.