My final track meet was postponed so this was my first free weekend. I didn’t hesitate. I found Parker in between classes.

“Are you cheering this weekend? Do you have any plans?”

Parker leaned against her locker and held her chemistry book against her chest. “Nope. Nothing.” She lowered her gaze and then looked up at me. She bit her bottom lip and right then I knew for sure she was into me. I always suspected, but she had been spending a lot of time with Harrison, one of our offensive linemen. But even in our group, she always gravitated toward me.

“Would you like to go out with me Saturday night?”

Parker looked around to see if anyone overheard. “Sure. What did you have in mind?”

My heartbeat was so loud that I barely heard her question. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Working up the nerve to even ask her was the only thing on my mind. “Uh, I’ll come up with something.” Thankfully, the first bell rang. “Talk to you later.” I shoved off her locker and scrambled to my next class with my heart full of excitement and possibility.

I wanted to do more than just take Parker out for burgers and a movie, but I was severely limited financially and creatively. I’d never been on a date before, nor tasked with the responsibility of planning one. I decided on a picnic at the lake and asked my dad to whip up some of his chicken salad with grapes and walnuts. Just in case she had food allergies, I packed fruit and cut up some vegetables. By the time I was ready to go, the basket weighed a solid ten pounds.

“Are you secretly moving out and not telling me?” Dad asked.

I wanted to scowl at him, but I was too excited to play the disgruntled teenager and smiled at him instead. “Nope. Just trying to make a good first impression.”

He slung the dishtowel over his shoulder and leaned against the counter. The ribbing had only just begun. “So, this is the girl who’s been occupying your head for the last several months. What’s her name again? Patty?”

I gave him the obligatory eye roll. “Parker, Dad. And you’ve met her a thousand times. She’s a cheerleader and new to the school.” He gave me a blank stare.

“I’ve seen all the cheerleaders and they’re all blondes. Which one is she?”

I pushed his shoulder playfully because he knew a lot of the students in the high school. “They’re not all blond.”

“Is she?”

I looked at him. “Yes, with really pretty blue eyes and red lips.”

He shook his head. “Still doesn’t ring a bell.”