He let me go, pul ed me aside, opened the door and helped me in.
It took me some time to pul myself together as we drove the streets of Denver.
Final y, I said, “Sorry to say this but I should be home early. Slick’s out there and Mom and Trixie are al by themselves.”
“I pul ed in a favor. A squad car is going to do a regular round of drive-bys,” Eddie replied.
Something about Eddie doing that made me feel pleasantly strange. It wasn’t a feeling I’d ever had before, but it was nice.
“How wil they know if something’s wrong?” I asked.
“They’re gonna make an excuse and buzz up,” Eddie answered.
“They won’t say…” I started to worry.
“Relax, Jet. I told them to be cool.”
I didn’t know what to say. So I settled on simple, “Thank you.”
He didn’t respond.
The next thing I knew, we were pul ing into his al ey.
Eddie hit the button on a garage door opener that was attached to his sun visor and we pul ed into the garage at the back of his house.
“Did you forget something?” I asked.
“Nope,” Eddie answered, setting the brake and turning off the truck.
I sat perfectly stil in my seat.
“What are we doing here?” I asked.
“We’re havin’ dinner,” he said, angling out of the truck.
I watched him walk around the front and come to my side.
Having dinner?
At Eddie’s house?
I didn’t know how to process this. Dates usual y didn’t take place at someone’s house. well , not first dates. I’d known Eddie awhile and he’d been in a fight for me, spent the night at my house, we’d made out a couple of times and I’d slept in his bed, but this was stil a first date.
I threw open my door and jumped down.
When I cleared it, Eddie pushed my door shut, grabbed my hand and tugged me along behind him.
“Are you going to make dinner for me?” I asked his back.
“No.”
“Are we ordering pizza?”
He opened the backdoor and we went into the kitchen.
“My Mom cooked for you,” he said.
I stood just inside the door and stared at him.