Chapter 10

Kat and I had our first official date on Sunday afternoon. It was weird since she had spent most of the previous day with me down in Asheville, for the second of the shows Willie had set up. She helped us set up, worked the merch table while we were on stage, and was basically with me for almost ten hours. And yet today, because our date was official, she was acting all nervous and weird.

It got worse the closer it got to lunchtime when we planned to go out. I wasn’t that much better. Both of us kept catching the other stealing glances, only to look away when we were caught. We’d brush past each other, but instead of the little touches we’d been giving each other all week since getting back from Indianapolis, we both got flustered, trying to get out of the other’s way.

Mrs. Philips was there but wasn’t saying anything. She just pretended to read the newspaper or do dishes or something, not even bothering to hide her smile at our antics. When it was time for us to head to lunch, we both disappeared into our rooms to change and then met by the front door, like I had just shown up at her house to pick her up, even though we had walked down the stairs together.

“So, this is weird, right?” I said.

“Totally weird,” she agreed.

We laughed as we headed out to the car. The nervousness was still there, but at least we had both acknowledged it. We even held hands for the short walk around the side of the house to my car.

“Since we don’t have time to go down to Asheville to somewhere nice, I was thinking we could go to the Backyard Grill and get some burgers. I promise I’ll plan a better date when we have more time, though.”

“We could go to Art of the Wok,” Kat suggested, a slight smile on her face.

I knew what Kat was doing. I liked Chinese food, but Art of the Wok was my least favorite of the eating places in Wellsville. Except for the Blue Ridge, everything was fast food, catering to people driving up and down the freeway, and of the fast food in town, I thought it was the worst. Considering Chef would always have something Asian on the menu, I’d rather have that any day over the greasy fried rice and under-seasoned vegetables you could get at Art of the Wok. But we spent almost all of our time outside of the house at the Blue Ridge, and we had both agreed that our first date being there, with our friends watching us, would be weird.

Kat, for whatever reason, really liked that place. She was always trying to convince me to go there to eat, and I was always finding ways to say no. I guess she figured now that we were on a date, and I was trying to impress her, I couldn’t very well say no.

“All right,” I said, shaking my head ruefully, “we can go there.”

Kat bounced up and down in her seat, clapping. I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics. I wasn’t super pleased with where we’d be eating, but I was enjoying seeing her in such a good mood.

We were still a little awkward and nervous as we drove to Weaver Square, making small talk and trying to find a way to act on our date that wasn’t weird. It was strange, I’d spent so much time with Kat over the last few years, but now I was having trouble talking to her, just because we were on a date and not hanging out.

We ordered our food at the counter and found a seat in the back corner, the conversation dying off into awkward silence. Kat fiddled with her napkin, glancing at me tentatively. I reached across the table and took her hand, hoping to break the tension.

“This doesn’t have to be weird, you know,” I said. “Just because it’s a date doesn’t mean we have to act differently.”

“I wasn’t trying to be nervous,” Kat said, looking down shyly. “I just want this to go well.”

“Hey, I’m nervous too,” I admitted. “It’s not every day I take out the prettiest girl in town.”

“Terrible line,” she said, laughing and rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, well,” I said with a little shrug. “This will all get easier. We just need to try to act normal, like we always do.”

“I’ll try,” Kat said, but it was obvious that wasn’t going to work.

I switched tactics, saying, “You know, if you’re nervous about maybe kissing me later, I could just get it over with now.”

“You’re such a dork,” she said, rolling her eyes again.

I laughed and shrugged again as she relaxed a little, letting some of the tension out of her shoulders. Teasing her was the way to go, since it’s what I’d normally be doing. She wasn’t one to be outdone though.

Giving an almost puppy dog look and slightly biting her lip, she said more softly, “I wouldn’t say no to one, though.”

She was putting on the full show, and I couldn’t help but laugh again as I leaned across, bracing my hands on the table, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

As we broke apart from the kiss, I saw Kat’s eyes go wide as she looked over my shoulder. I turned to see what had startled her and was met with the sight of Rhonda and a few of her friends standing outside the restaurant, staring at us through the window.

Rhonda said something to her friends that made them erupt in giggles before sauntering into the restaurant and over to our table.

“Well isn’t this cute,” she said, placing a hand on her hip. “All that moralizing about how I should be careful who I got together with, and here you are with the school slut.”

I clenched my jaw, anger rising in me immediately. I’d bent over backward trying to give Rhonda the benefit of the doubt, but she seemed incapable of just being a good person.

“Don’t call her that,” I said, trying to remain calm.

Rhonda didn’t seem to notice, or care. “Why not? It’s true, isn’t it? Little Kat has worked her way through half the football team at this point.”

Kat’s cheeks flushed as she stared down at the table. I could see shame and embarrassment in the slump of her shoulders. She’d made so much progress and Rhonda could mess all that up. She knew exactly what strings to pull to get a hit on Kat’s deepest insecurities.

“You don’t know anything about her or what she’s been through,” I said.

“Don’t,” she said softly. “She’s not worth it.”

I slowly sat back down, though my hands were still balled into fists.

Rhonda smirked. “Man, you get a little and become instantly whipped.”

Before I could respond, Kat was suddenly on her feet, inches from Rhonda’s face.

“Shut your vile mouth, you hateful bitch,” she spat at Rhonda, who looked stunned.

“Excuse me?” Rhonda said incredulously.

“You heard me,” Kat said. “I am so sick of you and your little pick-me’s, thinking the only way anyone will like you is by tearing other people down. You think you can say whatever you want just because you’re popular? Well, news flash, being popular in high school doesn’t mean shit. I’m glad I’m done with all that childish bullshit.”

Rhonda scoffed, but Kat cut her off.

“You can call me a slut and a tramp all you want, but we both know you’re just a sad, insecure little girl who’ll peak in high school. In ten years, you’ll be married to some deadbeat because he happened to be popular here or at whatever college has low enough standards to take you, while the rest of us go on to actually make something of ourselves. The only thing you’ll have to say to me then is to ask if I want fries with my burger.”

Rhonda’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly. She was usually good at rebuffing when people stood up to her, always finding a way to come out on top. It’s how she got to be the head of her group of friends. What she wasn’t prepared for was Kat, who’d always been too afraid to fight back, to get into her face.

“So take your attitude and your little friends and get the hell out of my sight before I decide you’re worth it after all, and beat the ever-loving shit out of you,” Kat said, jabbing a finger into Rhonda’s shoulder hard enough to cause her to stumble back a step.

It was at that moment I think it occurred to Rhonda that, while she may be the tough girl in school, she wasn’t actually tough. She was a cheerleader, but we didn’t exactly field an athletic team that competed in cheer competitions. Kat, on the other hand, was an actual athlete and significantly stronger.

Rhonda glanced around, realizing people were starting to stare. With as much dignity as she could summon, she spun on her heel and hurried out of the restaurant, her posse scrambling after her.

Kat watched her go before sinking back down into the booth, starting to shake like a leaf. I’d been as shocked as Rhonda to see such fire from Kat, so much so that I hadn’t been able to say anything as it happened. Now that Rhonda was gone, though, all of the fight drained out of Kat. She actually looked terrified, although if that was terror from the confrontation finally hitting her, or fear over what she’d just morphed into, I couldn’t tell.

“Wow,” I said in awe. “That was ... amazing. Are you okay?”

Kat let out a long breath and said, “Yeah ... yeah, I think so. I don’t know what came over me. I just couldn’t take her garbage anymore, and I’m so tired of being a doormat for people like her.”

I reached across the table and took her hand. “You were unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rhonda speechless before.”

She just shrugged, but I could see she actually felt bad about what happened. I think maybe she’d even scared herself a little bit. Kat had a lot of fear and insecurity from her years of abuse, but after feeling my own anger from what happened with Dad, I’d started to wonder why she didn’t have more rage over what had been done to her. I guess I’d been wrong, and she did.

I didn’t think it was helpful for her to dwell on it, so I tried to break the tension.

“Man, I’ve got to remember never to make you mad,” I said, giving her a smile to show her I was kidding. “You’ll kick my ass.”

“Shut up,” she said, punching me in my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Kat,” I said in a fake begging voice. “I’m so sorry I angered you. Please don’t beat me again.”

“Keep your voice down,” she said, turning beet red.

She was smiling though, which is what I really wanted.

I was up before the sun on Wednesday morning, getting ready for the six-hour drive to Richmond. Today was the day for the meeting with Coastal Records about a new distribution deal for Country Roads, and I’d been tossing and turning all night. After everything we’d gone through lately, with the canceled shows and difficulty getting venues to call us back, this was a real chance to get things started again.

I’d packed some stuff in my backpack the night before, although I planned on making a very long day trip out of the day since I didn’t want to drop money on hotels if I didn’t have to. I had my keys in hand and was about to walk out the door when my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I was a little surprised someone would call this early, at least until I saw Warren’s name on the caller ID. He knew what time I was leaving and probably just wanted to make sure I was on the road early enough to make it to the meeting on time.