The Taming by Teresa Toten, Eric Walters

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