goodness she smiled.
âHey,â I said. So much for a brilliant opening line.
âHey.â
âI didnât know youâd be here tonight,â I said.
âMe neither . . . I mean, I didnât know you were going to be here, but I knew I was going to be here . . . at least, I didnât know right away but later on . . . you know what I mean.â
I nodded. Somehow her being nervous made me feel less nervous.
âDo you want another beer?â I asked.
âI donât think there are any left.â
âYou have to know where to look. Come on and Iâll show you.â
She said something to her friend, who giggled, and then she got up. She followed me as I circled back around the fire. Now I wasnât imagining itâeverybody
was
looking at us as we walked. I stopped at the top of the path leading away.
âItâs this way,â I said, and started down the path. She followed.
âItâs dark,â she said. âI canât really see where Iâm going.â
âHere.â Without thinking I reached back and took her hand . . . wow, that was smooth. Maybe that was the secret: donât think. That would explain why Timmy did so well . . . he never thought about anything.
âI know where Iâm going,â I said.
âIs it far?â Candice asked.
âNot far.â
The path got narrower and I had to walk in front. I still held on to her hand, pulling her along behind me. Was my hand getting sweaty? Maybe sheâd think it was her hand.
I stopped in front of the little creek. It wasnât very bigâ a few little drops that accumulated as it trickled through the forest before plunging down to the river below.
âWhy donât you have a seat?â I said, gesturing to a rock. Candice sat down while I knelt and began fishing around in the water. It was cold . . . refreshing. Timmy
had
put the bottles in here, hadnât he? He wouldnât have been just screwing around with my head . . . that would be so embarrassing. My hand knocked against one of the bottlesâright where it should beâand then a second one.
âHere we go, Candice,â I said as I stood up, brandishing the bottles. I put one down by my feet, twisted the top off the secondâa gentleman always took the cap offâand handed it to Candice.
âThanks,â she said. âBut you can call me Candy if you want . . . all my friends do.â
âSure . . . okay . . . Candy.â That sounded good. I had a sweet tooth and liked Candy.
I grabbed the second, twisted off the cap, and sat down beside her. The rock wasnât very big so I was pressed rightup against her. I took a swig of beer to lubricate my throat so I could talk. Cold beer certainly was better than warm.
âI went by your place on the way here,â I said.
âYou didnât call on me, did you?â she asked anxiously.
âNah,â I said, shaking my head. âI figured youâd probably be gone by the time I got there. Besides, I didnât think your father would be that happy to see me.â
âYouâve got that right, but donât take it personally. He doesnât like any boys calling on me. He says all boys are jerks.â
âAnd most men,â I added. âBut donât worry about it. Itâs no big deal.â
âItâs funny, though,â she said. âHe
really
doesnât like you.â
My stomach did a flip. âI guess you heard what happened.â
âI
saw
what happened.â
Whatever chance I had of getting with her was now gone. Maybe it would be better to just get up and leave.
âI told him that I thought you were a nice guy,â Candice said.
âI
am
a nice guy,â I agreed, suddenly feeling better. âItâs just that he really doesnât know me.â
âBut he does know your father.