Chapter 9

It was a week from hell for Ryan... without his car everything became a colossal hassle. He had to have his car towed-which he didn't have the money for-and he had to borrow his Mom's car. Besides all this, he had gone to the doctor about his wrist and had an MRI that revealed that he had damaged a ligament. The doctor put a brace on his wrist and told him to keep it on until he came back to see him in two months. There would be no more gymnastics practice this summer. Hopefully he hadn't permanently damaged it or his chances for a scholarship were gone.

It was another rainy morning as Ryan headed for AquaSpa Pools. He found the always upbeat Benny working behind the counter.

"Hi squirt... how's it hanging," Benny snickered when he saw Ryan walk into the store.

"Hi Benny. Okay I guess," he answered sullenly.

Benny could immediately see that something was troubling Ryan. However, he knew that at Ryan's age, it didn't have to be anything big. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Everything," he lamented.

"It can't be that bad. Did one of your ladies throw you out?" Benny said in an attempt to lighten his mood.

"Naw, that part's been great. My car is kaput and I almost broke my wrist."

"Who'd you punch out?" Benny laughed.

"No one. I hit it on the steering wheel when my car broke down."

Benny looked at him and shook his head like an exasperated father.

"I know... stupid. If I have to have it operated on a scholarship is out. Besides that, now I'm driving my mom's car. I have to take her to work and pick her up."

"You are having a bad day kid," Benny said sincerely and paused for a moment. "Listen, I can't do much about your wrist but if you want, you can borrow my van until your car gets fixed."

"Really?" Ryan knew that Benny had a conversion van that was his pride and joy. He was surprised that he would loan it out.

"Sure, I've been driving the Corvette all the time and since I'm working in the office now, I don't need a van anyway. Well, except that it's great for dates... if you know what I mean," he said and winked. Then he thought for a moment and said, "But then again, the women love the Corvette too."

Ryan's face broke into a wide smile. "Wow man, you just made my day."

"No problem. But do me a favor. If you pick up any chicks, clean it up afterward," Benny joked.

"I don't know any chicks that would go out with me. My 'ladies' as you call them are older and most likely wouldn't go for a tumble in the back of a van."

"Don't be so sure," Benny laughed with a knowing smile. "Hey, speaking of dates, what about Cindy over there," Benny said, nodding his head toward a pretty blond sitting at a desk in the accounting area.

Ryan looked over and saw the girl working at a terminal. She had shoulder length blond hair and was wearing a red sweater. She was very pretty. "Yeah, like she would go out with me."

"You don't know until you ask," Benny said, adding, "You miss too many opportunities by being shy kid." Then Benny dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "I've gone out with her a few times and you won't be disappointed," he said with another wink. "I'll introduce you to her if you want."

"Uh... I don't know Benny," Ryan answered, looking over at the attractive girl.

"Come on kid... haven't I taught you anything?"

Ryan knew that he was no longer the inexperienced kid he was a few weeks ago. However, he wasn't exactly a ladies man either. He looked at Benny and then at the girl again. "All right, I'll try."

"Don't try kid. Women like guys that are confident. Come with me."

Benny came from behind the counter and walked over with Ryan to the girl at the desk. "Hi Cindy," he said.

The pretty girl looked up and smiled, her blue eyes twinkling.

"I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Ryan Crawford. Ryan, this is Cindy Williams."

"Hi," they both said at the same time.

"My friend Ryan here has a couple of tickets to the Civic Center for the "Alabama" farewell tour Saturday night. Unfortunately he doesn't have a date. You interested."

Ryan looked at Benny with surprise. First of all, he was supposed to ask her out and second, he didn't have tickets to any concert. When he opened his mouth to protest, Benny pulled two tickets from his pocket.

"I almost forgot to give you the tickets," he said and handed them to Ryan. "You interested Cindy?"

She smiled brightly, looking at Ryan and said, "Absolutely. I love Alabama."

Benny looked over and saw a customer standing at the counter. "Listen, I have a customer. You guys can take it from here."

As Benny started to walk away, Ryan caught his eye and mouthed, "Thanks man."

"Hey, treat my lady nice now," he answered, smiling at Cindy.

Ryan turned back to Cindy, suddenly very nervous. "Uh... would you like to maybe get a bite to eat prior to the concert?"

"That would be nice."

"Uh... let's see," Ryan said looking at the tickets, "The concert starts at 8 P.M. so what if I pick you up at 6?"

Cindy smiled at Ryan knowingly. It was obvious that Benny was setting them up. It didn't matter to her, Ryan was cute she thought. "Six is great."

"Can you give me your address?"

"Sure," she answered and wrote down her street and telephone number.

"See you Saturday."

Cindy smiled sweetly and said, "See you Saturday."

Ryan stopped by to see Benny but he was still with the customer. "Thanks again man," he said and Benny gave him a thumbs up sign.

Ryan was dressed in Dockers pants and a Polo shirt when he came down the stairs on Saturday evening. His mother was sitting in the living room reading a magazine when he entered.

"Hi Mom."

"My, don't you look nice," she said.

"Thanks... got a date," he smiled.

"Wonderful!" his mother said with a bright smile. Then her face changed and she added, "Not with one of your customers I hope?"

"Not tonight. This is a girl more my own age. Benny introduced us."

His mother's face brightened. "Great! That Benny is a good friend... lending you his van and then setting you up on a date."

"I know. I'm not sure why he likes me."

"Cause you're sweet," his mother said.

"Mommmm," Ryan said and smiled with a little blush. He leaned over and kissed his mother.

"Be careful and don't be too late."

"Yeah, yeah... gotta go now," he said before he hurried out the door and to the van.

Benny's van was a dream to drive compared to Ryan's old car. It was 1999 Chevy conversion van with seats in the back that converted into a large bed. Benny had equipped it with a bar and a powerful stereo system. It even had mood lights that could be controlled from a remote device in the back. It was like a motel on wheels. Ryan wondered how many women Benny had had in the back of the van. Probably too many to count he concluded.

Ryan knew the area where Cindy lived and he had no problem finding her house. It was a nice upper class neighborhood... not quite as nice as his customers but much nicer then his area. As he pulled up in front and parked along the tree lined street he began to have doubts. The old shyness began to come back. He figured that Cindy was the kind of girl that he would never ask out. She was pretty, undoubtedly popular and her parents obviously had some money. Even if she would have gone out with him, once her parents found out where he lived, they would go ballistic. Still, he remembered her pretty and friendly smile when he had asked her out and worked up his courage.

As he started to get out of the van he saw her come out of the house and wave to him. He jumped out and walked around the van to greet her. She was wearing a white tee shirt with Alabama written across the front and a pair of tight jeans and tennis shoes. He could tell that she had a lacy bra on underneath her top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked like a fresh-faced all-American girl. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she answered.

"You obviously like Alabama," Ryan said as he opened the door for her.

"I love them and this is their last concert. I tried to get tickets as soon as they went on sale but they were sold out. How did you get them?" There was a smile on her face as she asked the question.

"I'll tell you," Ryan answered. He closed the door, walked around the van and got in on the driver's side. "Listen Cindy, I want to be honest with you, this whole date thing was set up by Benny. He had the tickets. In fact, I didn't even know it until he pulled them out of his pocket. I don't want to start the date out with a deception. I was having a bad day and Benny was trying to cheer me up. If you don't want to go out with me, I'll understand."

"Did it cheer you up?"

"Huh?"

"Did the thought of going out with me cheer you up?"

"Absolutely!"

Cindy smiled and reached over and grasped Ryan's hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad you were honest with me. I knew from the moment Benny pulled the tickets from his pocket that he was setting us up. In fact, I think he was going to ask me to go. That's okay thought. You're cute." She squeezed his hand and added, "I'm glad you didn't lie to me. You seem like a sweet guy... one I could get to like."