Chapter 20: Back to School

The following week things were pretty normal at school. Leslie and I didn't have too much time alone together during the day, but we did have our computer class together and saw each other around the halls several times a day.

I finally did get my friend Caroline to meet my friend Steve at lunch one day that week and they seemed to get along pretty well. I figured that they would if I could ever get them together. I introduced them to each other at lunch and it was up to them from there to see if they were interested in each other. They both had told me at different times that they really wanted to meet someone and they met each other's description of what they were looking for pretty well.

I really wanted all of my friends to have dates that they would have fun with at Homecoming. It would be great time if we could all hang out at the dance and still want to spend some time alone with our dates. In the past I noticed that people that went without dates or with someone who was, "just a friend" didn't have as good a time as the people who were there with real dates. The one person that I really wanted to go to the dance and be happy, but hadn't found a date yet, was my friend Larry.

Larry was the type of guy that really didn't approach too many women even though they seemed to like him once they got to know him. I think he was a little intimidated by girls if they were "popular", but at the same time those were the type of woman that he was attracted to. That combination doesn't usually add up to getting a lot of dates. I had an idea for a date for him, but it would take a bit of convincing on the part of the girl I had in mind for him.

As I was thinking about this dilemma, I ran right into the person that I had in mind for Larry. Literally. I was daydreaming a bit and wasn't really paying attention to where I was going when I ran right into Natalie Davis.

"Nice to see you too, Jeff!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Natalie. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I bumped right into you."

"You were just trying to get my attention. I know how you work," she teased.

"All right, you got me. I just ran into you on purpose because that was the only way to get a beautiful girl like you to talk to me." I played up the lost-puppy-dog angle and gave her that little-boy pout.

"Awe. You poor thing. Do you need Natalie to make you feel better?" She loved these games and went right into the act without a second's thought.

"Yeah," I sniffed, "I do. You see, I'm new here and I really need someone to show me where the lunch room is."

"Are you lost, little boy?"

"Yeah, and I'm afraid to be alone. Can you take me to the cafeteria and stay with me?" I was laying it on thick. I figured if she wanted to play along I could have some fun with it.

"Hmm. I guess I could help you. What are you going to do for me?"

"Well, I don't know. What do you want?"

"If you are hungry enough I know a place where you can eat as much as you want. I'll provide everything you need for some really good eating."

Instant hard-on. I would have loved to take her up on that, but I didn't think Leslie would be too happy about it.

"Sounds delicious, but you know I can't have that much to eat. I'm cutting back to one woman a day."

"Oh, I forgot. You are eating at the same place a lot now, huh?"

"Yeah, I found a great place to go that I really love."

"That's too bad. I liked when we ate out together."

"Sorry. I just can't do that right now."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "One can only hope for the best."

"Speaking of the best, I have a favor to ask of you."

"You turn me down, then you ask me for a favor? Boy, you've got some nerve." She was laughing as she said that so I knew she was only kidding.

"I know I have some nerve and I'm working on it. About that favor, though. Are you going to Homecoming with anyone?"

"Not yet. A few guys have asked me, but the guys I want to go with never ask me out. They are always too shy."

"Have you met my friend Larry Adelson?"

"I don't think so. I think I know who he is, but we have never talked before."

"Larry's like my best friend and I really want him to go to Homecoming and have a good time. I was thinking you guys could go together. He's a great guy, but he is probably one of those guys that wouldn't have the nerve to ask you out."

"I don't know. I mean, what if I don't like him? We've never even met."

"Okay. Good point. Are you heading to lunch now?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you eat with us? He won't even know that you are there to meet him specifically. Just come and sit at our table and you will get to see what he is like with no pressure."

"That I can do. Do I get to sit next to you?"

"Only if you promise me that you won't try any funny stuff."

"Oh, pooh. I just wanted to have a little fun."

"Sorry. No can do. I think you might be pleasantly surprised about Larry's skills in that area, though. His last girlfriend couldn't get enough of him and she taught him everything she wanted him to know."

"How do you know?"

"Let's just say that she and I talked a lot when they were going out and she was pretty straightforward when it came to talking about that kind of thing."

"Hmm. That's always good to know, but that's not the only reason that I go out with a guy. You do know that, right? I hope you don't think I'm just some skanky slut because of what has happened between us."

"No. Not at all. Look, Natalie. The only reason I assumed that you would care about that is because you are such a sexy girl. It's just impossible for me to not be an idiot when it comes to you. You just have that effect on me."

"I don't think you are giving yourself enough credit. You seem pretty restrained to me. You have turned down multiple offers from me. No one else has ever done that." She actually didn't seem too happy about that when she said it. I wasn't sure if she didn't like the fact that guys never turned her down, or that I did.

"I'm not trying to break any records here. You know darn well that I haven't turned you down because of you. I just have a girlfriend now that would never talk to me again if I cheat on her."

"I know that, Jeff, and I'm not mad at you. It's that I only just realized that the fact that you have some self-control and didn't let me talk you into something you obviously shouldn't do. The more I think about it, the more disappointed that other guys haven't wanted more from me than just sex."

"Natalie, someone out there will be the one that cares about you for something other than sex, but you have to realize that you are an incredibly sexy girl and men don't just say no to sex with someone as sexy as you. You're very persuasive."

"You said no."

"Not until I had a girlfriend, and even then I should have stopped you in the bathroom at the football game. I didn't have the willpower to do it then. Remember the first time we met? You teased me mercilessly in the library."

"Yes, I did, didn't I?" She giggled.

"Yeah, you did and by the second time you tried to tease me I couldn't take it anymore. I just had to touch you. Luckily for me you had yourself as turned on as you had me or I would have been kicked in the nuts for doing what I did to you."

"That's true. You would have. Teasing you really turned me on."

"Yeah, well if you tease any guy it's going to turn him on unless he's dead."

"Aw, that's sweet Jeff."

"I'm serious. Any guy would die to have you, but you know what? Any guy would die to have you even if you didn't look as good as you do. You are a very sweet and kind girl underneath that sexy exterior and you are a good friend. Your personality makes you as sexy as your body does. What more could any guy want in a woman?"

"You see, Jeff? How am I supposed to leave you alone when you say things like that?"

"You have to find another guy that will treat you the way you deserve to be treated and love you for who you are, not just because you're beautiful. Believe me, there is someone out there for you. You just have to give guys a chance. They are almost always going to be intimidated by you because of the way you look. The guys that are "cool" will hit on you because they think they are God's gift to women. That is not who you should probably be going with."

"You're right," she said with a sigh. "I just need to find the right guy."

"Try getting to know some guys before you have anything to do with them sexually and blow off the guys that you think are only being nice to you because they want sex."

"Every guy wants sex!"

"True, but that won't be all that the right guy wants from you. The right guy will want to be with you because of everything about you, not just your body."

"Okay. Now I just have to find one."

"Good, lets get in line and get some of this crappy school food them."

"Okay."

Natalie did eat with us that day and after a few minutes of drooling the guys all went back to an almost normal conversation at the lunch table. Some of the guys were doing the whole "guy" thing trying to act all macho and cool while Natalie was there, but I could tell that she was seeing through all of that stuff. It is actually pretty funny to watch if you are on the outside looking in.

Luckily for Larry, he acted pretty normal and I think she thought he was nice. I told her after lunch to come back and eat with us for a few more days so that she could get to know him better. She actually did that and sure enough they got to know each other just a little bit over the next few days. I needed to call Larry and talk to him in private about the whole situation. He wouldn't ask her to Homecoming without a nudge from me because I'm sure that he expected her to already have a date.

After a few days of her eating with us it started to get around school and people were looking at us differently. That was an unexpected side effect that I would have to think about later. In the meantime though, Leslie found out about it before I got to tell her what I was doing.

"So, I hear that Natalie Davis has been eating with you this week," Leslie said to me on the phone that Wednesday night.

"Yeah, she has. I meant to tell you about that."

"Really?" Leslie replied trying not to sound jealous and failing only a little.

"Yeah. I ran into her in the hallway on Monday and after talking to her for a minute I discovered that she didn't have a date for Homecoming yet. I thought that maybe she would go with Larry, but she didn't know him at all, so she didn't want to commit to it. I understood that, but the only way to get them to know each other is to put them together. I think it's working, too."

"Oh, aren't you just the matchmaker lately?"

"I know, but I can't help but want my friends to be happy and I want all of the guys to have a nice girl to take to Homecoming this year. Most of these guys are graduating after this year, so it's our last chance to all go together."

"Do you think Larry will ask her? She's kind of out of his league."

"I'll give him a little nudge. I'm willing to bet that not only do they end up going to the dance together, but end up going out as well. They actually have a lot in common and I think they will be good together."

"Just don't push them. Let them decide for themselves."

"I can't really do much about it, anyway. All I can do is nudge Larry to ask her to the dance. Other than that they are on their own."

"It will be interesting to see if this works out the way you are hoping it will."

"You just want Natalie to have a boyfriend so that she won't be interested in me anymore," I said jokingly.

"Actually I hadn't thought of that but that does sound good."

"Ha! You're a terrible liar. I can see you coming from a mile away."

There was a bit of silence on the other end and I started to wonder if she was mad at me for saying that.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here, Jeff."

"I was just kidding, you know. You do know that Natalie and I are just friends, right?"

"Yeah, I know that and I do trust you, but I just can't help but wonder what went on with you guys before we started going out."

"Come over this weekend. My parents are going to be out of the house for most of the day on Saturday and I'll tell you the whole story." I didn't know how she would react to it, but I figured I should tell her the real deal about Natalie and me.