My dad used to be in charge of Parks and Recreation for our town. He’d always arranged to rent one of the pavilions to act as a place for everyone to gather. This year, my grandmother had claimed all the pavilions for the fund-raising event they had planned. They were going after funds for the city, the school, and the Booster Club, all at the same time. They’d organized a festival to be held at the park and had arranged to have a band and fireworks after the game.
I was in the kitchen, making a five-gallon container of Gatorade while Cassidy cut up oranges for the team.
“Do you think we should date?” Cassidy asked.
A thousand words jumbled into my throat, catching just short of my lips.
“I thought you wanted to wait,” I said to deflect.
“We could call it a practice run before we do it for real.”
“Well, I’d sort of decided I didn’t want a girlfriend right now.”
“I’m not talking about being your girlfriend. I’m just tired of not going out and, um … other things,” she said and blushed.
“What about your dad?” I asked.
“It’s none of his business who I date.”
Oh, Lord! I could just see little Carol at Cassidy’s age, trying that with me. Cassidy read my doubt.
“If you asked him, he would be okay with it.”
“You want me to go talk to your dad about us going out on dates … and other stuff?” I asked as I hid my smile.
“You might leave out the ‘other stuff,’” Cassidy suggested.
She had a point.
“Plus, I need a Prom date,” Cassidy said, flooring me.
I hadn’t really thought about Prom yet.
“What about Pam?” I asked, since I’d assumed that she would go with me as a friend.
“She’s really not my type. Besides, she can find her own date. I asked first.”
“Do I get a say in this?”
What was I thinking? Cassidy gave me a menacing look.
“Oops, my bad,” I backtracked. “I would love to go to Prom with you.”
“Good,” Cassidy said, perking up. “Now, all you have to do is tell Daddy.”
“Before I do that, why don’t you lay out what you mean by dating?” I asked.
“Just that. You take me out on Friday or Saturday night so I’m not stuck at home watching your J-drama with my dad.”
“You don’t like my TV show?” I asked, acting hurt.
“Not the point, ‘stupid boy.’ It’s the sitting at home part.”
“But you know me …”
“That you’ll hook up with random girls?” Cassidy asked.
I kept a neutral look on my face, unsure if I should admit to asking that. Cassidy let me off the hook.
“This is why I said this would be a practice run. You’re not ready to commit, and I suspect that Pam, Lexi, or some other random girl will lead you astray. I’m not clingy like Brook,” Cassidy said, throwing her best friend under the bus.
“Wow.”
“I love Brook like a sister, but she wasn’t confident about how you felt about her. Well, that’s not really true; more like she wasn’t confident that you might not get your head turned if someone better came along.
“I know for a fact that you love me. Maybe not in the ‘let’s get married’ kind of love, but you wouldn’t dump me over a random hookup. Besides, you know I would hurt you if you didn’t take me to Prom,” Cassidy explained patiently, as if the last part made all the sense in the world.
“All I have to do is talk to your dad, get his permission, take you on a date once a week, and be your arm candy at Prom?” I asked.
“And anything else I think up along the way,” Cassidy said to explain how this would work.
This was the weirdest way I’d ever decided to go out with someone.
“Deal,” I said, holding out my hand for Cassidy to shake it.
She had other ideas as she jumped into my arms and kissed me. Just as quick as it happened, she let me go and returned to cutting up oranges. What had I just agreed to?
◊◊◊
Our first game was at the park. We were the number one seed, so we were facing the weakest team in the tournament, which happened to be Eastside. In football, they were probably our biggest rival. Baseball, not so much, because most of their football players played seven-on-seven during the spring to prepare for next year’s football season.
There were sixteen teams here today, so we had to start our game at nine in the morning. When Cassidy and I arrived at the park, all the vendors and attractions were busy getting ready. The public had been told the event would kick off at noon and be open until ten tonight.
It was too early in the season for county fairs, so my grandmother had found a local man who did the summer circuit to set up for the weekend. That meant we would have rides and the rest of the typical fair attractions, including the food. I planned to take advantage and had corn dogs and deep-fried Snickers bars on my list for later today.
I put all that out of my mind to get ready for the game. Cassidy killed me sometimes. As she handed out orange slices to the guys, I noticed her taking credit for bringing them.
Jeff Delahey, my favorite reporter, flagged me down before our game started.
“No camera crew?” I teased.
“The paper didn’t see the benefit of sending one.”
“I can’t say that I’m disappointed.”
