27 Dates_The Fireworks Date Read online

  27 Dates

  Volume 11: The Fireworks Date

  By B. N. Hale

  Text Copyright © 2018 B.N. Hale

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Excerpt from Volume 12

  Author Bio

  Chapter 1

  “What is Reed waiting for?” Marta asked. “He should have asked you out for your next date by now.”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said.

  Kate looked down and realized she’d been fidgeting with her napkin so much that it had torn. With an effort she put it back on the table and leaned back in the bench, causing the vinyl to creak.

  “Your date is tomorrow,” Ember said, demolishing a roll. “What’s taking him so long?”

  Kate and the blondes were sitting at dinner at Marta’s restaurant. It was the third of July, just one day before they were supposed to go on a date, but Reed had yet to extend an invitation. She reflexively pulled out her phone and looked at it, but there hadn’t been an answer since they’d talked earlier that day.

  Brittney frowned. “Have you asked him what he’s waiting for?”

  “She can’t do that,” Ember protested. “It will show how nervous she is.”

  “I’m not nervous,” Kate said.

  “Liar,” Marta said, pointing at Kate’s fork.

  Kate looked down and realized she was now tapping her fork against her knife. She grimaced and put the fork down, annoyed that her hands continued to betray her nervousness. Then she leaned forward and lowered her voice.

  “We talk every day, now,” she said. “And I see him almost as often.”

  Despite her concern, Kate smiled. Over the last two weeks they’d been together almost constantly. They weren’t dates, at least not in the context of the challenge, but they went out for lunch or breakfast whenever the opportunity allowed. Sometimes they just sat together watching a movie with Jackson and Shelby or the blondes.

  But the tension was past the breaking point, and every time they were together she wanted to grab his neck and yank him into a kiss. She swallowed and forced the image from her mind, sipping her water in an effort to cool the heat in her belly.

  “You saw him yesterday,” she said. “When he came over for Brittney’s dinner night.”

  “He hasn’t mentioned your date at all?” Brittney asked.

  Kate shook her head. “He hasn’t said a word about tomorrow night.”

  “He didn’t forget,” Brittney said. “Did he?” She glanced at Ember.

  Ember folded her arms, her expression like a grizzled detective. “No. He’s up to something.”

  Kate frowned, her eyebrows pulling together as she glared at her roommates with suspicious eyes. “Are you hiding something? You did invite me to dinner.”

  Brittney shook her head. “I don’t know anything.”

  Ember scowled. “I wish I could say I knew, but I haven’t heard anything.”

  They all looked to Marta, who shrugged. “I don’t know anything, either. And I didn’t invite you to dinner. My mom said we should come and eat . . .”

  They all stared at her, the truth settling in. In that moment Marta’s mother bustled up to the table and placed four rolls of silverware on the table. Then she pulled out a pad and paper and looked to them.

  “You ready to order, girls . . .?” Her voice faded when all eyes settled on her

  “Mother?” Marta asked. “Did Reed enlist you to get us here?”

  “Of course not, dear.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll come back when you know what you want.”

  “Mother.”

  She tried to protest but Marta stood, trapping her mother between the tables. The woman’s eyes flicked between Marta, Ember, and Brittney, and then settled on Kate, who raised an eyebrow. She grunted and waved her pen at them like a sword.

  “I only know that he wanted you here tonight,” she said.

  “That’s all you know?” Ember demanded.

  Kate hid a smile. Seeing the indomitable Ember lock eyes with the indomitable mother was amusing, and she wondered who would blink first. But it was Marta’s mother that scowled and jerked her head.

  “He said he needed an hour to set up,” she replied.

  “That’s why you took so long to get our bread,” Marta accused.

  “You’re not going to leave, are you?” Maria asked anxiously. “He insisted I keep you here.”

  “We’re going to leave,” Ember said, rising to her feet.

  “No,” Kate said. “We’re not.” She smiled as they looked to her. “He wanted an hour? We’ll give him an hour. But not a minute more.”

  “You don’t want to go spy on him?” Ember asked.

  Kate jerked her head. “I want to see the invitation when it’s ready. If he waited this long, it had better be good. Let’s not spoil it, shall we?”

  Marta nodded reluctantly and took a seat. Brittney seemed relieved. Ember grunted in irritation and sank onto the bench. Shaking her head, Kate picked up the menu and rattled off her order. Marta’s mother, clearly pleased, wrote their requests down and then departed. The moment she was gone Kate pulled out her phone.

  “What are you doing?” Brittney asked.

  “I said we’re not going to see him,” Kate said, a sly smile spreading on her features. “Doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun.”

  They laughed and leaned in, helping her craft the first message.

  Any chance you can talk? I’m out with my roommates and they won’t stop talking about another guy they want to set me up with. I think I might go out with him tomorrow night. I mean, I don’t have any plans yet…

  The response was slow in coming, and they speculated as to the cause until their food came. Kate left her phone on the table so all could see when he replied. Just as they began to eat, the phone buzzed and she picked it up.

  Oh? Is he cute?

  Marta giggled. “He’s on the lacrosse team.”

  “And studying to be a doctor,” Brittney said. “We all love doctors.” Then her smiled faded. “I’m sorry, Kate, I forgot that’s what Jason is studying . . .”

  Kate grinned and shook her head. “Jason is long gone,” she said, marveling that she meant it. When Brittney had said doctor she hadn’t even thought of Jason. It felt good to be truly over him.

  “And say his dad is rich,” Ember said.

  “Why?” Kate asked, pausing in typing.

  “Because we all want to date a guy with money,” Ember reasoned. “We may not admit it, but money is attractive.”

  Kate shrugged and did as requested, filling in the details for the mythical date. Then she took a bite of bread and waited. This time the response came much faster, but Ember snatched her phone off the table. She read it and scowled.

  “What?” Kate asked, taking it back.

  Maria caved. Didn’t she.

  Ember swore under her breath. “How did he realize it so fast?”

  “We tried to make him think Kate would go out with another guy,” Brittney said. “We pushed it too far.”

  Ember swore again, but Marta laughed. “At least we know he’s asking Kate tonight. Now we can relax and wait.”

  Kate grinned, her heart fluttering with anticipation. Reed was at her house, most likely setting up an invitation to ask her on a date. She’d wondered almost continuously since their last date if he would push their relationship to the next level, and the waiting had left her nervous and excited, the emotions rising to a fever pitch.

  “Let’s sneak out,” she said.

  “Really?�
� Ember asked.

  Kate nodded. “I don’t want to wait anymore. I want to see what he’s up to.”

  “Kate,” Brittney protested. “I’m hungry.”

  “You can eat after,” Marta said, eyeing her mother. “We’re going to have to run. I wouldn’t put it past her to bar the door.”

  “Tell us when your mother isn’t looking,” Kate said.

  She grinned, her heart rate accelerating as she leaned towards Brittney, trying to keep her readiness subtle. Then Marta nodded and they piled out of the booth. They threaded through the tables and sprinted to the door, escaping just as Marta’s mother rotated and called out to them.

  “Sorry,” Marta cast over her shoulder.

  They tumbled through the door into the parking lot but came to a collective halt. On the lawn in front of the restaurant a large sign had been erected. Hastily dug into the ground, the posts supported a large sheet of plywood. Fireworks had been fastened to the plywood in a strange pattern, and reflected an odd assortment of spinners, screamers, and sparklers. Mortars were mounted on the top, the fuses threaded down to connect with the other fuses. Then Kate realized all the fuses were threaded together, weaving into a single point sticking out the bottom corner. The door opened behind them and they turned to find Marta’s mother, her expression smug.

  “You did know more,” Marta accused.

  “Half of parenting is manipulation,” she said with a smile.

  “Did you even need an hour?”

  “He said he needed ten minutes,” she replied. “I promised twenty.”

  Kate pulled out her phone and realized they’d been inside the restaurant for exactly twenty-one minutes, long enough to sink the posts and mount the board of fireworks. As usual, Reed had planned every detail.

  “Are you going to light it?” Marta’s mother asked.

  “I don’t have a . . .”

  Maria offered a lighter and Kate accepted it with a grateful nod. As Kate walked to the board, her roommates whipped out their phones and began to film. She stepped to the large arrow that pointed to the fuse, the lettering above indicating it needed to be lit. The sun had almost set and the night was dark, the timing obviously intentional.

  She flicked the lighter and ignited the fuse, the fire licking upward and igniting a sparkler. It then caught and sparked its way onto the board, where it lit four sparklers, then six, and then she lost count. She retreated to her friends and held her breath.

  Chapter 2

  A spinner ignited and spun in a swirl of green sparks. Then the fuse lit a red one, followed by a yellow spinner. With nails through their center, they buzzed, sending sparks raining down on other fireworks igniting below.

  Firecrackers went off like gunfire, crackling and exploding. A mortar detonated, sending a ball into the sky that erupted into a sphere of blue. Then a tank went off, firing screaming lights from the end of a wire.

  A box of fireworks set on a shelf went off, showering the sign in sparks and light. Another mortar went off and then they all ignited in quick succession, filling the sky with bursts of light. More light erupted, the fireworks detonating in a sequence that flooded the lawn and street in light.

  Cars slowed and drivers gawked from their windows, one narrowly avoided being struck by the car behind. People appeared in nearby buildings and stared at the blinding display of light and sound, the placement allowing those in the street a full view of the letters inscribed in lights.

  “It’s a message!” Marta cried, her voice barely audible over the shrieking fireworks.

  More explosions appeared on the barrier, the lights gradually shaping into words. Every firework had been intentionally placed so as to contribute to the message, collectively forming an invitation in sparks and fire.

  BE MY DATE 4 THE 4TH?

  The question mark appeared in sparklers that ignited several mortars at once. They ignited together, bursting and exploding in a vivid tapestry of colors against the velvet backdrop of the night sky. Cars had stopped completely, their drivers and passengers audibly praising the unexpected celebration. Someone began to clap and it spread, until drivers, passengers, individuals in the store across the street, and patrons from Marta’s restaurant were all outside, applauding the invite.

  Kate stood in the midst, her heart bursting like the fireworks in the heavens. She realized his invitation had come late because of the effort required to make the board and link the fuses so they would go off in order. He’d planned it all. For her.

  Although he’d planned with such detail before, she sensed an intention that had been absent on prior dates, as if he wanted her to know she mattered to him. He wanted to make tomorrow night special. Her assumption was mirrored by her roommates.

  “It’s about time,” Ember breathed.

  “You think he’s ready?” Kate breathed, watching the fireworks gradually sputter into darkness and silence, their message delivered in their brief life.

  “If he did this,” Brittney said, “he’s ready.”

  “Are you?” Marta asked.

  Kate’s smile almost broke her cheeks, causing her roommates to laugh and nod, all agreeing that Reed was finally ready to move forward. Reed, ever the romantic showman, was bringing their game to a brilliant, explosive close.

  The last spinner died on the sign and the crowd reluctantly moved on, the drivers answering the honks from those who hadn’t witnessed the display. They drove away, casting lingering looks back as if hoping to see more. Kate watched the final firework sputter and darken, her smile as bright as the invitation.

  Three individuals appeared and stripped the fireworks from the sign, dropping them into buckets of water. All wore masks that covered their faces but Kate recognized one as Jackson. She thought one was Reed but she couldn’t be sure. In remarkably short order they’d disposed of the spent fireworks and removed the sign.

  Kate remained in place until the sign had been loaded onto Jackson’s truck and driven away. Then her roommates finally dragged her back into the restaurant to eat, the meal dominated by speculation as to what Reed had planned.

  Throughout the conversation Kate struggled to keep her anticipation from spilling into movement, and she fidgeted constantly. Her relationship with Reed felt old and seasoned, yet they had never once held hands or kissed. Despite the lack of intimacy she recalled every accidental touch, the brushing of his hand against hers, the lightning sparking in her body . . .

  “I can’t believe you haven’t slept with him,” Ember said.

  Kate focused on Ember. “That’s not our relationship.”

  “He hasn’t even kissed you?” Marta’s mother asked, returning with a dessert.

  “I hope to remedy that tomorrow night,” Kate said, and flushed like a teenage girl.

  Her comment drew a round of teasing, and then Marta asked, “Do you think he’ll want more than a kiss?”

  Kate shook her head. “One wall at a time.”

  “A romantic man is a passionate man,” Marta’s mother said, drawing a gasp from Marta.

  “Mother!”

  She shrugged. “It’s worth the wait.” Then she turned to care for a couple that had just walked in.

  Mortified, Marta shook her head. “This whole thing has drawn out a side of my mother I never knew.”

  “She’s letting you date who you want, now,” Brittney pointed out.

  “True,” Marta said. “But I’ve learned things about my parent’s relationship that I can’t un-know.” She shuddered, eliciting a round of laughter.

  “We should go,” Ember said. “We need to start picking out Kate’s outfit for tomorrow night.”

  “No jeans and a shirt?” Kate asked.

  Ember cast her a scathing look. “The bigger the date, the more important the outfit. Honestly, how have you made it this far without us?”

  Kate smiled, too excited to argue. “I couldn’t have.”

  Ember pulled out her wallet. Although Marta’s mother insisted no check, they always left a generous
tip. Kate added cash to the pile and they departed, each pausing to embrace the large woman.

  “Take care of the man you love,” Marta’s mother said.

  “I don’t love him,” Kate said nervously.

  Maria winked. “And my enchiladas are not the best in the city.”

  “They are the best in the city,” Brittney said.

  “Exactly,” the woman said.

  Uncertain how to respond, Kate said, “Thank you for dinner.”

  “I look forward to hearing about your date,” Maria said over her shoulder, already heading to refill drinks for a table of seven.

  They walked out into the parking lot and piled into Ember’s jeep. As they drove home, Kate wondered if Marta’s mother was right. Did she love him? They hadn’t even kissed, so how could she love him?

  She swallowed and nervously pushed the thought aside, unwilling to explore it until she knew Reed’s intentions. They entered their house like an invading army, intent on vanquishing their closets. In minutes clothes were scattered across the living room and hanging over chairs, the remains of outfits deemed unworthy.

  Kate dressed and undressed, trading clothes so they could be inspected, admired, and criticized by the blondes. The task would have been tedious, but she floated through the whirlwind of cloth on a cloud of euphoria.

  Ultimately an outfit was selected and she stood before the full mirror in Ember’s room, admiring the view. The jeans were Ember’s, discarded and returned a dozen times until paired with Kate’s own green top. The short sleeves had artistic cutouts that revealed a hint of her shoulders while the outfit hugged her torso and tied at her waist. It was a touch revealing yet reserved, a tease that enticed.

  Marta had contributed a tasseled band that wrapped around her waist and accentuated her hips. Brittney, loathe to go without donating something to the ensemble, had contributed the earrings, small emerald studs that glittered in the light, a perfect pairing with her shirt and eyes.

  “You look stunning,” Ember said.

  The other girls crowed with delight and Kate stared at herself, delighted with the results and grateful they had not tried to change her choice in shoes. They had insisted on her dark sneakers, the coloring allowing the focus to be on the green.