Chapter 23

Friday morning slipped past quickly. With no real gossip to occupy the tongue waggers, the school was abuzz with curiosity of a simpler kind. Who would be asking who to Sadie Hawkins? Which couples would implode and which would explode onto the scene?

I wasn't surprised when Cathy Kramer cornered me. I turned her down as gently as I could. I let Cathy assume that Liv had already asked me. There were another half dozen offers before lunch.

"Trouble in paradise, Robinson?" Bobby asked as he and Betty Lou sat down across from me.

"Not that I know of, Bobby. Why?"

"Well..." Betty Lou started, and then she leaned forward, concern on her face. "You didn't ride in with Liv, John. After the entrances you guys make, that is something people notice and talk about. And according to that talk, the two of you haven't even been within twenty feet of one another all morning. Yet here you sit, calm as can be. Something's up."

"You, my friend, have a vivid imagination," I said calmly.

"Right, I'm the one with the — "

Betty Lou's mouth snapped shut and her eyes widened as a soft hand descended on my shoulder. "John," Liv said softly. "I need to talk to you."

Betty Lou and Bobby started to get up.

"No," Liv said. "You both can stay. You might as well hear it from me." She sat down beside me and took a deep breath. "John, as much as I have enjoyed these last four weeks, I, oh, damn, I really hoped this was going to be easier than this." She wiped at a tear on her cheek and then took a breath. "I asked Wally to Sadie Hawkins, John. I will never forget you or the past four weeks, but we both know that you and I would never work long term. It still was a wonderful month, though. Thank you." With that she leaned over and kissed me, softly, but with just a bit of the heat I knew so well.

I wiped a tear from her cheek as we broke apart. "Oh, no, Liv, it's me who should be thanking you," I replied gently. "I treasure the time I spent with you, Liv... Even if we are no longer lovers, we are still friends, so don't be a stranger. Now, go, show Wally just how much he means to you." I swatted her lightly on the ass and she shot me a smile filled with gratitude and a hint of love. I watched her swaying ass almost all the way to Wally. I saw his face light up when she tucked herself under his arm and pulled him out of the cafeteria.

"So, we have vivid imaginations, huh, John?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby! For heaven's sake, show some tact!" Betty Lou snapped. She turned to me. "Are you okay, John?" she asked, as the rest of the gang descended on the table, crowding around me.

"Absolutely," I said firmly, addressing all my friends. "I'm going to miss Liv, but as she said, we both knew we weren't going to work out long term. We were more of a shelter from life for each other, a place to rest or heal."

"Well, when she wandered over to Wally, your excuse for turning down invitations to the dance walked too, John," Mary Jo said. She'd seen me gently turning down a couple of girls earlier.

"No, it didn't," I replied. "I do have a date for Sadie Hawkins." The gang stared at me, shock and curiosity warring for control, so I added, "I have had a date since yesterday afternoon. Everyone assumed it was Liv who asked, but I never said it was."

"Oooh boy, the vultures are going to be circling, John. And some of them are not going to be happy," Mary Jo nodded toward Cathy Kramer who was steaming toward us.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Cathy sputtered. Before she could get off another sound, Missy nudged past her and sat down.

"I've got our tickets, John," Missy said, giving me a smile and a kiss. Things were so quiet that you could have heard a feather drop after she said that.

I looked past her to see a huge smile on Mary Jo's face.

"But, but, you dumped him!" Cathy sputtered some more.

"Not that it's any of your business," Missy said turning toward Cathy. "But I never dumped him. We agreed to put things on hold for a while at my mother's request. I asked John last night if we could get back together."

Cathy turned on her heel and stalked away.

The table erupted as the gang started peppering Missy and me with questions and began making plans for the dance. Jesse tapped me on the arm and leaned in close. "You knew about this when you asked me about Wally."

I shrugged.

"Well, I can tell you that Wally had a big smile on his face in Math today. He wouldn't tell me what was up, but I'll bet he will now," Jesse opined.

"I love it when a plan comes together. Seriously, though, thanks for the encouragement about Wally. It was all Liv needed to go for him. And from the looks of things, Wally's gonna have an even bigger smile tomorrow."

Jesse just shook his head and clapped me on the shoulder with a smile. "I have no idea how you managed to salvage Olivia's rep, pull Wally out of his funk, and get Missy back, John, and I think I'll just leave it that way." We both turned back to the table and joined in the chatter.

"John, I need help tomorrow night," Tracey said urgently as I walked in the door from school.

"No problem, Trace. I've got nothing going."