chapter fourI was so excited after they left, that I ran all the way home. And when I got there, I ran all the way to my room. When I got to my room, I stopped dead. I had been so excited, I had forgotten that now I would have to find something to wear. I scoured my wardrobe, without luck. Nothing. Or, at least, nothing I deemed suitable for a date with Taylor Hanson. I sat down on my bed, and thought. How was I supposed to act? I guessed I’d just have to act like me, and if he didn’t like that, then he wasn’t worth it. Or at least, that’s what all the advice columns and talkback programs said. I decided not to worry about it. If he didn’t like me, then I could come home, and maybe cry a bit, but I would get over it. If he did like me, then…….
I had an hour left until I was due to meet him, so I decided to make the most of it. I took a shower, and finally decided on a pair of jeans and a baby-t, having decided that casual would be the way to go. I pulled my hair up into a half-pony. I checked myself in the mirror, grabbed my purse again, and headed down the stair."Mom, I’m going out. I’m not sure when I’ll be back." I called as I passed the kitchen.
"wait a minute, young lady. Where are you going?"
"Umm, just out. I don’t know, maybe to a movie or something"
Mom appeared in the doorway, frowning. "Who with?"
I didn’t want to tell her the truth, but I didn’t want to lie, either. I decided on the lesser of the two evils. "Umm, with Katie" I said hesitantly. Mom frowned harder.
"I thought she was on holiday"
Damn! "Uh, she came back early….bad weather, or something. Look, I gotta go, or I’ll be late. See ya"
"Bye honey. Don’t be too late home." Mom called after me. She still sounded hesitant, but I left before she could ask more questions. I knew she probably wouldn’t mind me going, anyway, but I didn’t want her to know, just in case it didn’t work out, or he didn’t show up, or something like that.When I reached the mall, I was ten minutes early, so I wandered over to the bookstore and started skimming through more magazines. I was just losing the nerve, and thinking maybe I should leave, when a voice behind me said, "You sure do like those magazines, don’t you?" I turned around to face Taylor.
"Well, they do get a bit boring the second time you read them." I said, grinning. He grinned back. He was wearing a pair of jeans, too, and a black Adidas top.
"So, what do you want to do? I thought we could go to a video arcade, or maybe a movie, and then get something to eat. What do you think?"
"An arcade sounds good."
He grinned. I hoped you’d say that. There’s a really good one about two blocks away….have you been to it?"
"No, I didn’t know there was one."
Tay nodded. "well, it has some awesome games. Do you wanna try it?"
I nodded back.
"Cool," he said, and led the way out of the store. On the way to the arcade, we talked about heaps of different things. I was surprised at how much we had in common. We both loved computers, and games, reading, English, sports. I was disappointed when we reached the arcade and had to stop talking. We tried a couple of things, like a basketball game, and a ski-simulator. After that, we found ourselves in front of the laser-tag entrance. "Do you want to try?" Tay asked.
"Sure. I’ve never played before. What about you?"
"Yeah, I’ve played a couple of times. It’s quite good."
We got our gear and entered the room. It was, in fact, more fun than I’d thought it would be. Taylor was quite good at it, and beat me very easily. But I still enjoyed it.
When we left the arcade, we decided to go back to the mall, and get something to eat. Sitting at a table, I started to notice the people staring at us. "Don’t you ever get sick of people coming up to you all the time, and watching you?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Sometimes. But, generally, people don’t bother you, and if they do it’s just for an autograph or something. I don’t really mind. Luckily, most people respect our privacy, so we don’t get people following us home or anything like that. I think it probably helps that we live in Tulsa, and not Hollywood or somewhere like that."
I nodded, and in between bites of food, said, "I don’t think I could handle it. I’d probably go mad."
He laughed. "Well, you just have to look at Zac to see people do go crazy," he said.
"Yeah, I heard he was a bit like that."
"A bit?!?"
After we ate, it was almost ten, and the mall was getting ready to close, so we decided to leave. We walked along the street for a while, and then he asked where I lived. I gave him my address, and we realised there was a bus stop near it, so he said he’d walk me home, and then get a bus to his house, and we started walking.
We talked about school, his music, other people’s music, computers, tv, the Internet, movies, sports, anything really. We reached my house far too fast for my liking.
"I’d like to see you again," he said. "Do you want to go out another time?"
I nodded enthusiastically, and then caught myself. "yeah, I would."
He smiled. "Can I call you then?"
I gave him my number, and then we stood for a little while, looking at each other.
He smiled again. "I’ll see ya then," He put his hand on my cheek, and drew my face towards his. He pressed his lips against mine and held them there for a few seconds before pulling away. His hair brushed against my cheek, and I could feel his breath on my face. We watched each other for a few seconds, and then he said, "Bye, Rhian."
"Bye", I said, almost inaudibly.