Double Date Read Online Free Page B

shadows to the back of the dance floor, where Bree waited for him.
    â€œHow was it?” he shouted. He grabbed a used napkin from a table and mopped the sweat off his forehead.
    â€œWhat?” Bree shouted.
    He leaned closer and shouted over the music, “How was it?”
    She smiled. “Great!” Her tiny voice barely rose over the vibrating bass, the steady thud of synthesized drums.
    â€œIt’s too loud to talk!” Bobby shouted into her ear. “Let’s just dance.”
    They danced for a few songs. Bree, he saw, was too self-conscious to be a good dancer. She can’t let go and just dance, he realized. He could see the concentration on her face as she struggled to keep the beat.
    â€œCould we go somewhere and get some fresh air?” she pleaded as the second dance number led into the third. She pushed her dark hair off her shoulders, then grabbed his hand in both of hers and tugged him away. Her hands were hot and wet.
    Near the exit they ran into Paul. He had his keyboard under his arm and was heading out.
    â€œWe were great! We were awesome! Rock ‘n’ roll!” Bobby cried, slapping him on the back.
    Paul smiled halfheartedly. “We were doing okay, Bobby, until you pulled your amp cord out. Why did you decide to start strutting and dancing around like that?”
    â€œShow biz, man!” Bobby cried. “Show biz. You’ve got to put on a show for them! Rock ‘n’ roll, man! They loved us! Did you see their faces? They loved us!”
    Paul shook his head. “But you were taking away from us, man! We looked like your backup group.”
    â€œThey loved us!” Bobby repeated. “They ate it up!”
    â€œLater,” Paul said. He smiled at Bree, then pushed open the door and disappeared.
    Bobby realized he was still holding Bree’s hand. It felt tiny and soft inside his. He leaned close to her so he could smell her hair. It smelled like coconut.
    She’s really great looking, he told himself. A lot of guys are staring at me. They’re jealous because I’m with her and they’re not. Too bad she can’t dance. And too bad she’s so shy. She barely said two words when we drove to the club.
    Bobby glanced back at the dance floor, flooded in swirling red lights. Arnie was dancing with Melanie. Bobby gave Arnie a wave and a shout, but Arnie couldn’t see him.
    Melanie looks really chubby in those shorts, Bobby thought nastily. Hope she doesn’t split them open. Actually, I hope she does!
    When he had entered the club earlier, Melanie had greeted Bree warmly and deliberately snubbed Bobby.
    As if I care, he thought.
    Why did I ever date her? he asked himself.
    Oh, well, I’ve learned my lesson. No more charity cases.
    â€œLet’s get out of here,” he told Bree. “We’ll get that fresh air you wanted.”
    He led the way out to the parking lot.
    It was a clear night, cold for April, more like winter than spring. The stars shimmered in the purple night sky.
    Bree shivered as she lowered herself into the passenger seat of his red Bonneville. “I should’ve brought a sweater or something,” she murmured.
    He shut the door. I’ll bet I could warm you up real fast, he said to himself.
    They cruised around Shadyside for a while. He slipped a CD into the player and turned it up. Classical guitar music. That always impressed girls, he knew.
    He had to do most of the talking. He talked about the band, about his classes, about the summer vacation in Hawaii his family was planning to take when he got home from working as a camp counselor in Massachusetts.
    He wished she weren’t so shy and quiet. And he wished she wouldn’t cling to the passenger door as if she might jump out at any moment.
    â€œYou’re the one with the monkeys, right?” she said as they drove by Shadyside High, now dark and empty. “I mean, your science project?”
    â€œWayne and Garth?