The Night I Fell In Love

Chapter 10

Jeffrey

This was a nightmare, I thought as I ran a hand through my hair, not caring anymore if it was a mess, which it probably was by now. This was definitely not happening. Tell me this wasn't the infamous Hurricane Josephine standing by my car, nearly breaking my wheels. Pouring soda down my head was one thing, but attacking poor defenseless Hannah was another. This meant war!

I glared at her as I ran to my car, "you can punch me out, kill me, skin me alive, but leave my car out of this!" I checked to see if there was any damage. Fortunately, there was none. I turned to her again, "what's going on anyway? I thought you've already made your point this afternoon with a can of soda on me, literally."

Josephine Brendan, for once in her life, seemed at a loss for words. She was dressed in something that resembled Jell-O and she was all dolled up for a date. I felt a slight pang of jealousy for the lucky guy who was taking her out.

"I'm sorry for everything," she finally said in a quiet solemn voice. "The car, the soda, the blouse. Everything. I'm sorry."

I gazed down at her, taken aback by her unexpected apology. She looked so forlorn and lonely that I wanted to hold her in my arms. Softening, I said, "it's no big deal. No harm done anyway. What are you doing here? Kennedy's not in the game."

"I was supposed to meet someone after the game but I guess he had other plans like shaving his legs," Josephine made a face and I laughed. She was so cute. "What about you? Came to watch the game?"

"Actually, yes, but I also had a date supposedly..." I frowned. I'd been waiting forever for Krystin to emerge from the showers but Carly passed by and I asked her what was taking the queen bee so long. I was still in hiding from Cooper and he could come by any minute. Carly then told me that she had gone with Alan Kingsley, the guy who scored the winning touchdown for Talbot High. She really was beginning to look worse and worse in my opinion.

Josephine smiled sadly, "guess we're on the same boat."

"I guess so," I leaned on my fender, hands in my pockets. "So where are you going now?"

"Home, I suppose. I can just get a cab or walk alone. It's not that dark yet."

Suddenly, I had an idea. "Hey, how about you and I going to the Blue Diner for dinner? That's where I was supposed to take my date, but since she obviously had other plans, it seems a shame to waste the reservations I made by not showing up. Maybe you'd like to come with me."

She looked at me with those big blue eyes for a long moment. I was beginning to feel foolish for asking. Maybe she was in love with this guy who stood her up. Then she said, "are you sure? I mean, we do have a record for not getting along well with each other. You sure you want to risk it? Spending a lot of time in my company could be hazardous to your health."

I laughed, "I'll take the risk. So how about it?" I was eagerly hoping she'd agree.

Josephine smiled slightly, "well, I suppose there's no harm in it. But you're sure you're okay with this sudden change of arrangements?"

"I'm very, very sure," I said, and meant it. Taking her hand, I felt a jolt of electricity travel up my arm as I helped her into my car. I was certain that standing me up was the best thing that Krystin Jones could have ever done for me.

"So are you in the habit of kicking every car you see when you're frustrated?" I asked her teasingly as we drove off.

She laughed this nice silvery laugh that was music to my ears, "sorry you had to get the brunt of my anger. I'm just having a series of bad days since Momday. You had to keep popping up in my line of fire."