The Taming (10 page)

A
s I rounded the corner to our street, a car sped up, and then stopped on a dime. An Audi. My heart cranked up its volume. A silver Audi. There could only be one person behind that darkly tinted glass. He hit his hazard lights, opened the door and got out.
Thump, thump, thump
. Evan Campbell in all his glorious glory.

“Well, fancy meeting you here, Katie,” Evan said as he leaned against his car. It was hard to tell which was prettier. “Can I give you a lift? It would be an honour.” He gave a little bow.

I could barely hear myself think above my thumping heart. Who was cranking up the volume? “No thanks, thank you. I’m, uh, practically there.”

The passenger-side window glided down. Someone else was in the car. It was my supposedly beloved, Josh.

“Hey, Katie!” He stuck his head out the window. “Great rehearsal. Again. Could you be just a little less, you know, good? I’d really appreciate it.”

“He’s kidding.” Evan smiled. “He knows that no one will notice Petruchio, Petruchio won’t even exist as long as you’re on stage.”

“Great, if
that
doesn’t make me feel better I don’t know what will,” Josh muttered back.

“Well …” Evan smiled right at me. Strange, that smile. How did he do that? “You are
that
good.”
Thumpa, thumpa
 … His eyes were actually green, not blue as I’d originally thought. And his hair was a bit darker than your standard Palm Beach blond. I’d never had an excuse to stare right at him for this long. So I did. Evan had really dark eyelashes and eyebrows, which was unusual for golden girls and boys. And he was tall, almost as tall as Josh. I’d got that part right.

“So, Katie, I’m not much of a movie guy, but there’s this really good documentary playing.”

Why was he telling me this? Had I missed something?

“Yeah, so, the word is that it’s a killer documentary about this ghetto school in Mumbai. What do you say? Friday night? It’s playing at the Carlton.”

What did I say about what? Friday night? What Friday night? What movie? Dear sweet holy … “Wait, wait! Are you asking me out? Like, on a date? You and me?” Oh God, I’d said that part out loud, and with all the practised aplomb of a girl who has never in her entire life been on a date.

Big luscious smile. “Uh huh,” he nodded.

Words, I had to pay attention to the words. Pull yourself together, Katie, you’re an actress! You are a good actress! Brilliant, I was referring to myself in the third person.
Oh, that way madness lies
. Quoting
King Lear
? It was official, I was certifiable.

“Since you are my betrothed, he sought out my approval, my dear Katherina,” Josh said.

I bent down to face Josh. What was he blathering on about, and why was he always better off the stage than on it?

“And I gave him my permission, grudgingly,” he added.

I turned back to Evan. “So you’re asking
me
out, really?”

“That would be the idea,” he said. Again with that killer smile. Evan Campbell was a walking Colgate ad.

“Yeah, sure, okay, great. So, uh, seven? Wait, you didn’t say the time. I shouldn’t say the time. You should say the time. What time?” I stuttered.

What was I doing? Was this really happening? Evan smiled again. At me. That boy was definitely smiling
at me
. That fact alone made being visible worth it, and worth anything that might come from the fallout.

“Seven is good,” he agreed. “Where do you live?” He glanced uncomfortably at the mangy crop of high-rises that made up my block.

“No, don’t bother! I’ll be downtown anyway,” I lied. “How about we meet at the theatre?”

“Whatever suits you best.” He stepped towards me to … to what? We never found out, because Josh tooted the horn. I jumped back fifty feet.

“Hey, guys, I’m all for young love, but could this happen a little faster?” Josh yelled out.

Evan winked at me. “See you at rehearsal tomorrow.”

“No!” Okay, that came out way too loud. I startled both of us. “No rehearsal tomorrow, remember, and just a script review on Friday, so I’ll see you at the theatre, the
movie
theatre, I mean.”

Evan looked a bit uncertain. “You’d better give me your cell number.”

“Don’t have one.” That shut him down. I could see him struggle not to look surprised. “But don’t worry, I’ll be there for sure, absolutely. And if you aren’t, I’ll still go in. Like you said, it sounds like a great story. Bye.” I turned and walked away before I could say another mind-numbing, idiot, brain-rot, stupid thing.

I heard the car door shut. He gunned the Audi and I watched it recede into the distance.

Okay, sit-com dialogue aside, did Evan Campbell just ask me out? Was I being punk’d? Were we back to the Stephen King thing? Was I having a heart attack?

See me?

There would be no avoiding me. I was putting out ear-splitting heart thumps that could be heard from a block away. It was a toss-up which was going to make me more visible, starring in the school play or going out on a date with Evan Campbell. My money was on Evan, that’s how big his star power was.

I tore off for home. There were only two days to prepare. There was so, so much to do. I knew that. Now, if only I’d had a clue as to what, exactly.

Chapter Seventeen

O
h. My. God! Too much, too fast, too good! At least for me. We, I, maybe we, had a great time. If I never had a date again in my entire life—and I figured I probably wouldn’t—at least I’d had a brilliant first and last date!

Lisa and Travis had gone into overdrive on the prep, although, come to think of it, I don’t remember either of them boasting about their dating histories before this. Pinned against a wall, Lisa just kept saying that she’d had a whole rich tapestry of experiences before she’d met the two of us. I, for one, believed her. Not to be outdone, Travis hinted darkly about dark love in dark places. None of us much bought into that, including Travis, I think.

I kept reminding myself that I’d been watching my mom prep my whole life. But then again, that was for old guys, different ball game. Besides, I didn’t own anything that skanky.

Lisa lent me a cobalt-blue cashmere sweater to go with a fifteen-dollar pair of black skinny jeans that I bought on sale at Old Navy. Travis mascaraed and lip-glossed me endlessly until he was finally satisfied with the combination of dark and shiny. And for two days we rehearsed first-date small talk and witty repartee.

By the time I hit the subway, my anxiety about what I looked like had been replaced by my anxiety about whether Evan would even show up or not. Was this all just a big goof, a prank, like the
Carrie
movie? Had I imagined the whole thing?

To make matters worse, I was twelve minutes early. That was an extra seven hundred and twenty seconds to panic. But he was there! Unbelievably, Evan Campbell was already there, waiting for me right by the movie poster. I was laughably grateful to him and we hadn’t even said hello.

“Hi.” He smiled. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to wait. You look terrific, Katie.”

Evan fanned the tickets in front of me to show he’d already got them. “I really hope your parents don’t mind that I didn’t come over to meet them.”

Wow, what century was he from? I knew less than nothing about dating, but even I knew that no one came over to get checked out by dear old dad these days.

“No,” I said. “It’s just my mom, and she’s already gone to the cabin with her boyfriend.”

It was true. Mom, who always said that fresh air made her puke, had somehow convinced Joey that she shared his obsession with rocks, scrub maples and the great outdoors.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I mess up a great weekend away for you?”

“No.” And I left it at that. They’d been going almost all spring, summer and now autumn, whenever Joey could get a weekend away. I’d never been invited. Mom told Joey that I was allergic to leaf mould or something to explain why I
couldn’t
come along. What she told me was, “Not a chance! There’s no way I’m going to have your whiny butt getting in the way of a good thing. Not this time, sugar plum!”

Whiny? I was whiny? I wasn’t whiny. I didn’t mean to be whiny. Then I noticed Evan taking me in.

“You look really pretty in that shade of blue, Katie. I don’t think I’ve seen you in it before. Cobalt, you should wear it all the time.”

“Thank you, Evan, you look very handsome as well.”

Aaaaarrrgh!
Very handsome as well
? Travis and Lisa had been coaching date conversation for two full days, and I came up with
very handsome as well?

He smirked. No, not a smirk, it was a chuckle, definitely an indulgent chuckle. “So, movie first, then how about a bite at Mexicali Rosa’s?”

I must have nodded. Movie
and
dinner, dear God. What should I pay for? What was I
supposed
to pay for? And did I have enough money to pay for it? Lisa had said that since Evan did the asking, the first date was generally on the guy.
Generally
. But this was two things, a two-parter, so now what? I wasn’t even hungry. We’d had pizza at Lisa’s pre–lip gloss, an hour ago. My mind went in propeller mode, circling and circling. The movie wouldn’t be over until after nine. Who ate after nine? How expensive was Mexican food? Mexican didn’t sound expensive. Maybe I could just have tacos and a Coke. I could afford that if he didn’t go to town on some big Mexican number. Was Mexican food expensive?

I’m sure the movie was brilliant, and I certainly told him it was, but I could have been at a car wash for all that I was paying attention. Instead of focusing on the film, I worried about whether I was sitting correctly, whether my lip gloss was still on, would he kiss me, and what happens to lip gloss when you kiss? And more than anything, I worried about not having enough money for the dinner part.

Everything changed the minute we walked into the restaurant. It seemed like every single person in the place knew Evan! The guy that sits you down, the waiters and even the cook or the chef or whatever you call him came out to shake his hand. That calmed me down. Surely, the girl wouldn’t be expected to pay in a place where they all hovered around the guy. I relaxed for the first time since I’d got on the subway.

Evan ordered for me and then showed me how to layer and properly fold a sizzling fajita. I felt so sophisticated. The fajita was delicious and perfect and I ate it all, plus the fried banana thingies for dessert. I had never tasted anything that good, ever. And rather than making me feel stupid about not having done this kind of thing before, dating and dining I mean, Evan really seemed to enjoy showing me.

And it wasn’t just about fajitas. Evan seemed to know everything about everything. He had lived around the world and done things that I could never even have dreamed about doing. Evan knew how to eat an artichoke and what to do if an avalanche is coming. He also knew where the best bargains were in the Lower East Side in New York, and how to play cricket, or was that croquet? I always get the two mixed up. He wasn’t being all show-offy about any of it or rubbing it in my face. We were just talking. And you’d have thought a guy like him would just want to talk about himself, but no! Here he was so amazing and all, and he wanted to know about me.

“So your father is …”

“Gone.” I shrugged. “He took off before I was three. I don’t know where he is now. My mom says he hated being a dad.” Okay, could that have sounded more pathetic? I’d have to make up something stupendously cheerful if he asked me any more about my home life. Instead we talked a bit about his other schools, and then he wanted to know about my friends. Thank God I had some to talk about.

“So Travis, our ever so talented director and all-round good Goth guy?”

“Emo,” I corrected. “I guess they didn’t allow either at your other schools.” And we were off, just like that, chatting, smiling and laughing like any other normal couple on a date. I’d even started breathing by the time coffee was served.

“Your mom never remarried?”

Not for lack of trying, I thought. “No, she’s really, really gorgeous, but, you know, she’s got baggage—me.”

I tried smiling to minimize the damage as soon as I realized what had just slid out of my mouth. Evan seemed to be examining me, weighing something, then he reached across the table and put his hand over mine.

“Don’t do that.”

What? Was he angry?

“Don’t
ever
say or think that about yourself. You are a star, Katie Rosario, in every single way.” I think I shook my head because he continued. “You have got to see you the way I see you. You’re amazing.”

He made me feel all floaty and fine.

“And the whole school will see just how good you are on opening night. Years from now I’ll be telling
People
magazine that I was the one who showed you how to layer a fajita.”

I almost believed him. Enough so that I had a medium-sized panic about my clothes. I was going to need a better wardrobe if I was going to be this star and be
seen
all over the place.