Free Mickey & Me by Dan Gutman Page B

didn’t mind putting on lipstick and putting up with a few silly rules to keep playing.
    It was 9:30, according to the clock on the wall. Time for me to go. My cousin was home all by herself, and my father was in the hospital. I had to get back to Louisville, back to my own time.
    Even though I’d had to put on a skirt, I’d had a good time. I’d stolen three bases to win the game. I’d seen a bunch of girls naked. And who was I kidding? Nothing was going to happen between me and Merle. I was just a kid. She was a grown woman.
    â€œI’d better be going,” I said as I wiped the lipstick off my mouth with my sleeve.
    â€œDon’t go!” Merle, Connie, and Mickey begged.
    â€œYou’re our good luck charm,” Ziggy reminded me. “Stick around.”
    â€œWhatsamatter?” Tiby asked. “Got to go home to mommy?”
    â€œIs it past your bedtime?” Teeny smirked.
    â€œNo,” I said defensively. “I have to baby-sit for my little cousin.”
    â€œHow old is your cousin?” Connie asked.
    â€œShe’s nine.”
    â€œNine!” exclaimed Mickey. “When I was nine, my parents put me to work on the farm.”
    â€œYour cousin probably put herself to bed by now,” Ziggy said. “What’s the rush?”
    Merle sidled over to me and put an arm around my shoulder. Her curly blond hair brushed against my face.
    â€œWon’t you please stay, sweetie pie?” she said, batting her eyelashes at me. “Come on, don’t be a fuddy-duddy. At least let me take you out for dinner to show our appreciation for helping us win the game. I’ve got my own car. Pleeeease?”
    â€œStop corrupting the boy, Merle!” Mickey said as she handed me my clothes from her locker.
    Merle was asking me out to dinner! The Blond Bombshell wanted to be alone with me! She had a car! This would be my first official date with a girl!
    â€œOkay, I’ll stay,” I agreed. My cousin could wait.
    â€œGreat!” Merle said, giving me a hug. “I’ve got to shower and change clothes. I’ll meet you at the frontgate in fifteen minutes.”
    â€œWhere do I change my clothes?”
    Merle took me down the hall to a big closet where mops, sponges, and cleaning supplies were stored.
    â€œI’ll see you in fifteen minutes,” she said, giving my hand a squeeze.
    She gave my hand a squeeze! All my life has been leading up to this night, I said to myself as I slipped the dress down my legs. I had waited and waited and waited for puberty to arrive. First, my voice had changed. Then, hair started growing under my arms and my sweat started to stink. And now, I had a real date with a girl! An older woman, no less! Merle was probably twenty!
    With all respect to Lou Gehrig, today I was the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
    I washed my armpits in the sink in the storage room and dried myself off with paper towels. I put on my clothes and did my best to smooth them out. I wanted to make myself look as good as I could. There was no mirror, so I checked my reflection in a large glass jug. I wished I had a comb. Some toothpaste. Deodorant. Nicer pants.
    Oh, forget about it. If Merle didn’t like the way I looked, she wouldn’t have asked me out on a date. Whistling to myself, I made my way to the front gate of Borchert Field.
    Nobody was there when I found it, but a few minutes later I heard the sound of a car horn andMerle shouting “Yoo-hoo! Stoshie!”
    My heart shifted from fourth gear to fifth. My date had arrived. I turned around to see Merle behind the wheel of another one of those PT Cruiser clones.
    And Connie Wisniewski next to her. And Tiby in the backseat with Ziggy. My heart downshifted into reverse.
    â€œHop in, honey pie!” Merle hollered. “Let’s hit the road. We’re starved!”
    Nobody had told me it was going to be a group! I tried not to let my disappointment show as I