Much Ado About a Boy by Jeanette Lewis

Author:Jeanette Lewis [Lewis, Jeanette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

On Friday night, I was ready and waiting for Bentley at six o’clock, though a part of me kept telling myself I was stupid for falling for this again. Not that I thought he’d stand me up, but it was like making a wish on a shooting star. Even though there are other shooting stars, you can never get that exact one back. That exact moment, or feeling, is lost forever. We’d go to dinner or something, but it still wouldn’t be like homecoming.

The doorbell rang, and my heart jumped to my throat. “I got it.” I jumped up and hurried to the door.

Bentley stood outside, wearing a suit and a … blindfold? “Bailey?” he asked.

“Um, yeah. It’s me,” I said in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“You have to do the big reveal,” he insisted.

“What?”

“You know, where I come in and make nervous conversation with your dad for a few minutes. I try to impress him with how wholesome I am, and he tries to convince me he has a shovel and an alibi. Then there’s a commotion at the doorway and you enter grandly and I stand there with my mouth hanging open because you look gorgeous, as always.”

I giggled. “We don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, we do,” he insisted, making a shooing motion with his hands. “Now go back inside and have someone else answer the door.”

My chest felt fizzy—like I’d drunk too much soda. “Okay, give me a minute.” I picked up my swooshy blue skirt and shut the door, unable to stop the tiny squeal that burst from my lips. From the other side of the door, I heard Bentley chuckle.

I ran to find my dad and told him Bentley was on the front porch, blindfolded and waiting for me to make a grand entrance. “You have to come give him a hard time,” I urged. “Like he’s for real my boyfriend and you’re worried about what we’ll do together.”

Dad’s eyebrows flew up. “Well, now I am worried,” he said.

“Stop it,” I said. “We’re just friends.” But my cheeks were warm and the fizzy excitement of going out with Bentley was back, times one hundred.

The doorbell rang, and I raced out of sight while Dad went to answer it.

I stood at the top of the stairs, just around the corner so Bentley wouldn’t see me as he came inside. Was it my imagination, or could I smell his cologne from way up here?

“Hello, sir,” Bentley said, very formally. “Thank you for letting me take your daughter out tonight. We’re going to have a great time.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” my dad grumbled.

“She’s a beautiful girl and I am looking forward to our date,” Bentley said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, but his words sounded completely sincere. I pressed my fingertips to my fluttering heart.

I couldn’t wait any longer. I took a deep breath and then rounded the corner and made my way grandly, I hoped, down the stairs. The chiffon on my skirt whispered as I moved and rippled down the stairs behind me.

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