Tomboys Don't Wear Pink: How To Date A Tomboy Read online

  And just like that she was sliding out of my life again and jogging to her father’s car.

  I sat there stunned, staring at the empty space where Casey had just been sitting. I’d been so close to telling her how I felt, only to let her slip away again.

  A sudden urgency took hold as I watched her disappear into her father’s car. A surge of rebellious emotions overtook me.

  Screw bad timing. It was time to take my destiny into my own hands.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Casey

  My phone rang as my dad drove out of the school lot. I looked at the screen and nearly dropped it when I saw Lucas’s name on the caller ID.

  Just seeing his name made me breathless. I calmed myself and answered. “Hello?”

  “Casey! I was thinking about what you said and you’re right. I do know what I want, and I need to start asking for it.”

  “Oh. That’s good.”

  I could hear him taking a deep breath on his end. “I want to take you out.”

  My heart leapt. “Like on a date?”

  “Yes.”

  My dad swerved. “What?”

  I ignored him. “Okay! When?”

  “How’s tomorrow?”

  I held in my squeal. “Tomorrow’s great!”

  “Okay. Tomorrow,” he answered. “Bye.”

  “Bye!”

  I hung up the phone and covered my giant grin with my hand.

  Lucas Hargrove just asked me out!

  I was starting a softball team and going on a date with my dream guy. Everything finally felt right. I was so light I might have floated away if weren’t for the seatbelt anchoring me to the earth.

  “Who was that?” my dad demanded, pulling me from my reverie.

  “What?”

  “On the phone. Who just asked you on a date?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who’s asking? My dad or my coach?”

  “Casey . . .”

  “If it’s my dad asking, I’ll tell you, but if you’re being my coach right now, it’s none of your business.”

  I knew I was testing his limits, but I couldn’t help it. I was still mad at him for implying my softball team was good enough for me, but not Alex.

  “I’m only your coach at school.”

  “True but we’re in the car and the car takes me to school soo . . .”

  I watched my dad clench his jaw and take a calming breath. “Let’s call the car neutral territory. Who just asked you out?”

  “Fine. It was Lucas Hargrove.”

  “Lucas?!”

  I crossed my arms and pinned him with a sarcastic glare. “Yes. Do you have a problem with Lucas?”

  “It’s not Lucas I don’t like, it’s his intentions.”

  “How do you know what his intentions are?”

  “He’s a seventeen-year-old boy. All their intentions are the same and none of them are good.”

  “Dad! You’re not seriously going to tell me I can’t go out with him, are you? We’ve been hanging out since we grade school.”

  “Hanging out is different than dating.”

  “Omigod, we’re not dating. We’re going on one date.”

  “Which leads to dating,” he argued.

  “Well, I’m sixteen, Dad! That’s old enough to start dating.”

  “Don’t I know it,” he muttered.

  He pulled into our driveway and put the car in park. I started to get out, but he called my name. Something about the weariness in his voice made me sit back down and close the door again. For a solid minute he just stared at the steering wheel. After a deep breath he said, “I was sixteen when I met your mother.”

  “Really?” My dad rarely mentioned my mother, so I held my breath hoping for more.

  “She was a lot like you, ya know?”

  Goose bumps raced over my skin. “She was?”

  A sad smile spread across his face, softening his features. “Yeah. Always ready to rush into things, giving me a heart attack along the way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We met when we were sixteen, married right after graduation, and had you by eighteen. When I look back, I wonder why we rushed.”

  My heart faltered. “Do you regret it?”

  My dad took my face in his large weathered hands. “Never. Not one second of it. I just wished it lasted longer.”

  I blinked my tears back.

  “Your mother was the love of my life. And I want that for you, Pip, I really do. It’s just . . . I’m not sure I’m ready to lose you yet.”

  “Dad,” I whispered. “You’ll never lose me.”

  He hugged me tight and for a long while we just sat like that, holding each other, both feeling the absence of my mother as we clung to what was left of her—each other.

  My dad finally pulled away, gruffly wiping his eyes. “Your curfew is ten o’clock. A minute later and you can tell Lucas that I’m locking you in your room until you’re twenty.”

  I grinned up at my dad and hugged him one more time. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you too, kiddo.”

  As soon as I got to my room, I opened a video chat and called Alex.

  She picked up after two rings. “Hey!”

  “You’re never going to believe who just asked me out!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lucas

  “That’s great, man,” Grant said as we walked into the locker rooms to get ready for practice the next day. “I told you things would work out with Casey.”

  “Ballsy move, bro,” Tyler said, butting into our conversation. “The coach’s daughter? Who knew Bat Girl would get so hot?”

  The image of the two of them from the Tattler flashed in my mind, and I found myself wanting to hit something. As much as I’d like to use Tyler’s face as a punching bag, I wasn’t one for repeating past mistakes. Plus, I wasn’t going to do anything to screw up my chances with Casey.

  Ignoring Tyler, I took off my shirt and dressed for the weight room. Our baseball season didn’t start until next semester, but Coach didn’t let us slack on conditioning even during the off-season.

  As I was switching shirts Tyler snatched my phone.

  “Give it back,” I growled.

  He laughed and jumped to the next bank of lockers, keeping a bench between us. “Sharing is caring,” he sneered. “Let’s see if Bat Girl’s been sexting you anything for the spank bank.”

  “Tyler!” I lunged for my phone, but he was ready, ducking out of reach.

  “Oh no way! You called her?”

  I could see my call log on the screen, so I didn’t find the need to answer his invasive question.

  Tyler laughed. “Who are you? Ben Franklin? It’s not 1990! No one calls chicks anymore.”

  I snatched my phone back. “The telephone was actually invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, but so close, Ty.”

  Tyler pretended to cough as he yelled, “Nerd!”

  I put my phone in my locker and slammed it shut, securing the lock. Tyler could call me anything he wanted. I had a date with Casey, and he didn’t.

  Honestly, nothing else mattered.

  Casey

  Lucas showed up at my house at six o’clock sharp. He was wearing a gray button-down and jeans. I was used to seeing him dressed up since my dad made the baseball team wear shirts and ties on game days, but there was something different about seeing him dressed up for me.

  It made me nervous.

  It also made me grateful Alex’s mom had lent me a few dresses to try on for my date. I only owned three. A white one that used to be my mother’s, a yellow one from middle school that was too small, and the pale pink one I’d worn in my infamous viral video.

  But tonight, I was wearing something new. A flirty gray skater dress Mrs. Prince had lent me, paired with black leggings.

  I wasn’t sure where we were going on our date so I wanted to wear something versatile—and flash proof.

  “You look nice,” Lucas said.

  “Tha
nks. So do you.”

  “So how do you feel about movies?”

  I laughed. “As good as one can feel about movies.”

  He laughed, too. “Is dinner and a movie too cliché?”

  “Sounds like a good time to me,” my dad said walking into the room. “Maybe I’ll join ya.”

  Lucas looked at me in confusion and took a step back.

  “Dad!” I hissed. “You promised!”

  He gave me a wink. “Lucas, her curfew is ten. Not a moment later, understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good.”

  I quickly grabbed Lucas’s hand and pulled him from the house. “I’m sorry about that. My dad thinks he’s hilarious.”

  “Does hilarious mean scary in your family?” he teased.

  I gave him a playful shove and he helped me into his truck.

  “So, what are we going to see?” I asked. “That new movie Fists of Justice looks really good.”

  Lucas gave me a nervous look. “Oh, I was actually thinking of the drive-in?”

  “Oh, yeah. I love that place. What’s playing?”

  His ears turned pink. “It’s a surprise. But you have to promise to close your eyes when we drive past the marquee, so you don’t spoil it.”

  I grinned. “Okay, I see how you’re playing it.”

  “You’re not one of those girls who hates surprises, are you?” he teased. “Cause I’m full of them.”

  I laughed. “Says the boy I’ve known since, I don’t know . . . birth?”

  He winked. “That was Regular Lucas, this is Date Lucas. You haven’t met him yet.” He leaned in. “Date Lucas is going to sweep you off your feet.”

  My stomach erupted with butterflies as he reached over and buckled my seatbelt.

  “You ready?”

  I nodded eagerly, unable to hide my excitement.

  It was strange, this new confident side of Lucas. Strange but good. I’d known him forever. We’d grown up going to the same school and even playing on the same co-ed sports teams when we were younger. Sometimes it felt odd to be crossing that barrier of friendship, but every time his eyes met mine or our fingers brushed, I felt a spark of something more.

  On my end, the crush had always been there. But I had no idea how Lucas felt, and that worried me.

  What had I done to finally catch his attention after all of this time? And how could I ensure I wouldn’t lose it?

  * * *

  The first part of the ride to the drive-in was charged with nerves, but after a while, our conversation started to flow. I was grateful for our familiarity. It calmed my first-date nerves and before I knew it, we were joking like the old friends we were.

  The drive-in movie complex was at the local fairgrounds. It wasn’t open year-round thanks to the harsh Pennsylvania winters, but in the fall, it was hard to beat. The food carts sold comfort food while local venders had tents showcasing everything from local honey to carnival games. It felt nostalgic to be back.

  I’d come to many a sports carnival there with my dad and the baseball team. Just last year Lucas and I had worked a booth together. If I had to pick a moment where I first thought my crush might not be one-sided, it was that night. The fact that Lucas picked the same location for our first date made me wonder if that night had been special to him, too.

  As if he was reading my mind Lucas brought up the carnival. “So, I know you’re gonna be a big softball star this year, but do you think you might want to share a tent with me at the carnival again?”

  “I’d love to,” I replied. “Assuming the softball team can get a spot at the carnival.”

  “Did someone say otherwise?’

  “Lexy seems to think my ‘little softball team’ is just a cry for attention and that no one in Northwood actually cares about girls’ sports.”

  Lucas’s mouth hung open. “She did not say that to you!”

  “Only Lexy could come up with a zinger like that.”

  Lucas nodded. “True. That girl is pure crazy. I have no idea what Archer sees in her.”

  “You mean besides her perfect Barbie looks?”

  He snorted and looped his arm over my shoulders as we walked around the fairgrounds checking out what the food stalls had to offer before the movie started. We’d already bought cotton candy and corndogs and were now looking for dessert.

  “What? You don’t think she’s pretty?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Fake isn’t really my style.”

  My heart swelled. “Good to know.”

  Lucas stopped walking and turned to face me. “In case it wasn’t already obvious, you’re my type.”

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Lots of reasons. But it’s mainly your love of corndogs and cotton candy that sold me.”

  I shoved him playfully.

  “For real though. I don’t know a lot of girls who would consider this dinner.”

  I laughed. “Then you’ve been hanging out with the wrong girls.”

  “Cheers to that.” Lucas tapped his corndog against mine before taking a big bite.

  I did the same and he grinned. “You’ve got a little ketchup . . .” He leaned in to wipe the ketchup off my chin and then kissed me.

  “Okay, Date Lucas, I have to admit, you are pretty smooth.”

  He gave me a heart-stopping grin. “This is just the start of it, baby.”

  The conversation I’d had with my dad popped into my mind. What if this was it? What if this date with Lucas was like my dad’s first date with my mom? Was I ready for that? For forever?

  When Lucas threaded his fingers through mine and squeezed, my heart answered with a resounding, yes!

  “It’s almost movie time. You ready?”

  “Ready,” I replied, grinning like a fool.

  Because I was ready. I felt like I’d been waiting for this moment my entire life. The moment where I found someone who truly got me. And with my hand firmly in Lucas’s, I couldn’t help thinking this was the beginning of something beautiful.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lucas

  I checked my watch and prayed I’d given Grant and Alex enough time to pull off my next surprise. Running out the clock certainly hadn’t been a chore. Time flew by when I was with Casey. I could’ve done a hundred more laps around the fairgrounds just talking and holding her hand. But as much as I enjoyed how amazing that part of our date was, I couldn’t wait to see her face if I pulled off the next part.

  That is of course if my instincts were right. If not, my gamble might fail miserably and label me as a total stalkery nerd. But Casey had alluded to a love of Hepburn movies and when I’d seen what was showing at the drive-in, I knew this was where we had to have our first date.

  Besides, we had history here. Not only had we spent the last few sports carnivals here, but it’s where I fallen for her.

  Last year at the carnival, it was like someone smacked me over the head and when the cartoon stars disappeared, I could see Casey clearly for the first time. I think that’s what gave me the courage to let her see me so plainly right now—even the stalkery nerdy sides of me.

  I knew the exact moment Casey saw my truck. It was the exact moment I knew my hunch had been right.

  Casey gasped when she saw the blankets, pillows and helium balloons I’d asked Grant and Alex to set up in the bed of my truck. And the first words out of Casey’s mouth told me I’d made the right choice.

  “Balloons? Omigod! Did you take me to see Funny Face?”

  “You said you liked Hepburn movies, so when I saw this was playing . . .”

  Casey practically bowled me over when she leapt into my arms. I scooped her up and spun her around before helping her up into the bed of my truck. “Come on, my little firecracker. Let’s get comfortable.”

  She grinned at me. “How did you know that I love this movie?”

  “I had a hunch you were a pretty big Hepburn fan when you knew I was quoting Breakfast at Tiffany’s the other day.”

 
“Which, by the way, is kinda weird,” she said suspiciously.

  I shrugged. “My mom made me watch it. She’s sort of obsessed with these movies. You guys will get along great.”

  Casey’s eyes filled with worry. “You think?”

  “Yeah.”

  I watched her brown eyes blink with uncertainty. “I don’t know. Your parents are kind of intimidating.”

  I laughed. “Tell me about it.”

  “Wait, you can’t be intimidated by your own parents. There’s like a rule about that or something, right?”

  “I have a feeling growing up with Coach Beeler as your father has sort of made you immune to parental fear.”

  “Please! He’s not that scary. Once you’ve seen someone fall asleep with a chicken pot pie on their lap, they lose all authority.”

  I snorted.

  “But definitely don’t tell him I told you about the chicken pot pie. He’ll make you run laps.”

  My eyes bulged and she gave me a wink.

  “Kidding. But for real, your parents are intimidating. They’re so . . .”

  “Perfect?” I offered.

  “Exactly!”

  I sighed, exhaustedly. “And they expect me to be, too.”

  Casey narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing my words. “Is that why you’re going to Harvard?”

  Again with the directness! “Is it that obvious?”

  “To me it is. I’ve watched you play baseball since you were what, six? I always thought that was your future. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you happier than when you’re on the field.”

  “Except for maybe right now,” I said pulling her against me.

  Casey snuggled into my chest. “Is baseball what you want?”

  “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I love it and you’re right, it does make me happy. But I don’t know if it’s my only love, ya know?”

  She nodded.

  “I feel like there’s a lot of things I want to do.”

  “Well, Harvard seems like a great place to explore your possibilities.”

  I frowned. “Except the only two options my parents are giving me is following in their footsteps—law or medicine. And the other thing that sucks about Harvard . . . it’s three hundred miles away from you,” I added, tightening my arms around her as I leaned in for a kiss.