“Do you think I can keep some of this?” he asked the hairdresser as he pointed to the floor.
“What’re you gonna do with it? Glue it to your chest?” Trey laughed.
“No. But my mom will probably like to have a memento.”
“Please don’t tell me you have mommy issues on top of everything else?” I said.
“What? She just keeps things for when I grow up. You know, to show my kids.”
Geez, I’d hate to see what else she had. His first teeth. His first diaper. Maybe toilet paper from his first butt-wipe? So didn’t need to picture any of that.
When we finished with the hair department, the guys decided to head over to the snack bar, leaving me alone to stare in the storefront window where my future prom dress hung in all its glory. Although, I suppose it seemed kind of weird, since I was still dressed like a guy.
“Don’t worry. Only a few more sessions of this and you’ll be mine.” And after today’s foray at the mall, I deserved this dress—or rather earned it. With a smile, I walked across the corridor where I saw a cute retro T-shirt hanging in the window. It made me think of Trey. The faded gray material had his favorite band logo on it. Cool, yet nerdy at the same time. Without a second thought, I went in and bought it. I’d give it to him when the rest of the guys weren’t around. A kind of gift to celebrate the new him. Except, why exactly was I celebrating the new him? I had a boyfriend. A very hot boyfriend. Who I lied to in order to help the Nerd Herd. But Trey’s a friend. It’s not an issue. Or at least I hoped it wasn’t.
Chapter 7
After we got back to our house, Drake rushed inside to get changed for his date with Chloe. I sent the Nerd Herd down to the family room so I could put my stuff away, strip out of my boy clothes, and grab some notebooks for them.
When I got downstairs, they were sprawled out in front of the television watching some sci-fi flick, which although it looked awesome, would be a huge distraction.
“TV off,” I said.
They spun to face me, eyes wide, like I’d just told them to down a gallon of gasoline.
“Um—hello, this is Space Radicals III.” C.C. waved at the screen.
“I know. And this is called your first lesson for The Romeo Club.” I tossed him a notebook then handed the other two theirs. With a sigh, I grabbed the TV remote and switched off the movie.
Trey grinned as he stared at the front covers of the notebooks, which had TRC in big letters, with looping hearts below. “Isn’t this kind of girly?”
I glared. “These notebooks are gonna be your lifelines. I put start up conversations in them for you, not to mention, I wrote down different events which are coming up at school. You know, things you can invite girls to. And I also wrote our schedules in them, great date movies, along with date appropriate outfit ideas.”
C.C. flipped through his. “Track meet? Really? Who wants to take a date to a track meet?”
“Hey, I’m just listing school events that some girls hang out at. If you didn’t want my help then you shouldn’t have asked. Besides, the only person in this room who’s ever been on a date is me.”
“She’s got a point,” Kevin said.
I grabbed three pens from the coffee table drawer and handed them out. The guys groaned, but moved to sit on the overstuffed couch and chairs.
“The first thing I’m gonna teach you is how to approach girls and talk to them. You can’t just throw yourself at them.” My gaze flickered to C.C.
“Why did you look at me when you said that?”
Trey snickered. “Dude, you seriously have to ask?”
My lips twitched. “Here’s the thing. You need to start small. You know, offer them a piece of gum in class. See if they’re reading a book and get them to talk about it. Comment on a new hairstyle. Something that lets them know you’ve taken notice of what they’re doing or interested in.” I twirled a piece of hair around my finger. “Heck, if you don’t know what to say, you can even ask if they have notes for class you can borrow. That’ll lead to at least two potential conversations.”
The boys stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
“Guys, this is the part you should be writing down.”
They opened their notebooks and jotted down a few things. But I wondered how much they’d actually take away from this or if it was a waste of time.
“So I’m gonna pretend to be the girl you like. Each of you will have the chance to approach me and start a conversation,” I said.
Trey’s cheeks reddened. “We have to do this in front of each other?”
“Yes. More than likely you’re not going to be alone the first time the two of you talk. So it’ll be good practice to have others around. Kevin, why don’t you go first?”
He set his notebook down, wiped his hands on his jeans and moved across from me.
“Pretend I’m working at the ice cream shop and we’re in between customers,” I said.
He stared at the floor, scuffing his shoe on the carpet. He slid his hands into his pockets. “Hey, Me-Melanie. I, um, I like your hair. Di-did you color it?” His voice cracked.
“Kevin. Look at me.” I tapped his arm. “Don’t be nervous. You have to own the conversation. And try to maintain some kind of eye contact. You’re not having a conversation with the carpet.”
He nodded, cleared his throat, then glanced at me. “Hey, Mel. Like the new hairdo.”
I clapped my hands. “Yay. See? You got this. Just go with it. More than likely she’ll make a comment about just getting it done, or thank you. But you’re starting off with a compliment, which will let her know you noticed the change.”
He smiled then took his spot in the recliner, where he wrote a few notes down.
“Okay, C.C. you’re next.”
He sauntered across the room, while I acted like I was opening my locker. He leaned against the wall, waggled his eyebrows up and down then said, “Liza, your bra-strap is showing.”
My gaze drifted to my shoulder, where one of my light blue straps was visible. I fixed my shirt then rolled my eyes. “Are you trying to get slapped? Seriously, don’t go up to a girl and talk about her bra. You sound like a creeper.”
“Well, it was showing. Would you rather I let her walk around looking like a hooker?” He crossed his arms at his chest.
Trey busted up laughing. “Dude, I want to take bets now on how long it’ll take him to get his butt kicked by someone.”
C.C. held up his middle finger. “Really, douchebag? Let’s see how you do.”
Trey pushed his tall frame up from the couch, adjusted his square-framed glasses and walked toward me.
In true Portia fashion, I batted my eyelashes, then tossed my hair over my shoulder. I sat down and pretended I was at my school desk. When he stood over me, I glanced up.
“Hey, Delyla—er, Portia. Have you seen that new romantic comedy Roses for Blue yet?”
“No. I had a beauty pageant last weekend and haven’t gotten to go yet.”
Trey’s lip twitched and I knew he bit back a smile. “Dang—I’ve been wanting to go, but wasn’t sure if it was any good. If you know anyone who’s seen it, let me know. Or maybe if you’re not doing anything Saturday, you’d like to go?”
Blue eyes met mine and I stared at him. My pulse thundered in my ears. I smiled. “I’d love to go.”
“So, it’s a date?”
“Yes.”
C.C. and Kevin clapped. Trey’s ears turned pink as he glanced at them then back at me. “How did I do?”
“Perfect. You kept eye contact, and you didn’t stumble when I told you I hadn’t seen it. You kept the conversation going.” Maybe Trey didn’t need as much help as he thought he did. He had me believing he wanted to take me to see a movie, and I was just the stand-in Portia.