One of the Boys

I woke up the next morning to the phone ringing. I got out of bed and walked into the living room where the phone was. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was 8:00.

“Hello?” I said, answering the phone.

“Hey, Alex, it’s Joe, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today,” he said simply. He woke me up at 8:00 on a Sunday morning to ask me if I wanted to hang out?

“I don’t know,” I said reluctantly.

“Come on, the whole family is going to Lawry’s The Prime Rib for breakfast,” he said enthusiastically.

“Well…I don’t know,” I said. I’ve heard of that place. It was really fancy, and expensive. I’ve seen people walk into there wearing ball gowns and elegant dresses, and it was in Beverly Hills.

“Come on,” Joe begged.

“Do I have to dress up?” I asked. If he said yes, then forget it. I hated wearing skirts or dresses. The only time I ever wore a skirt was to my Aunt wedding when I was 15, and even then my mom had to threaten me to wear one. She said jeans were not ‘acceptable’ to wear to a wedding.

“No, wear whatever you want,” Joe said.

“Ok,” I said, giving in.

“Great, I’ll pick you up in 10 minutes, or do you need longer to get dressed?” he asked.

“I only need 5 minutes to get dressed,” I said. All I needed to do was throw on a t-shirt, a pair of jeans a pair of converse, and run a brush through my hair.

“Wow, most girls take forever to get ready,” he said. I laughed.

“Well, one thing you’ll learn about me is I’m not like most girls,” I said.



I was waiting outside when Joe pulled up in my driveway. I noticed nobody else was in the car. Joe got out of the car and opened my door. I walked to his car and got in. Joe started at me when I got in. He walked around to his side and got in. I noticed he was wearing a suit and tie.

“I thought you said I didn’t have to dress up,” I said.

“I said you didn’t have to dress up, and you don’t, but my parents made me dress up nice,” he said.

“By the way, you look nice,” he said as he started the car.

“I’m wearing a t-shirt and jeans,” I said while laughing.

“I know,” he said. I blushed.

“Where is everybody else? I thought you said your family was coming,” I said.

“We’re meeting them at the restaurant,” he said as we pulled out of my driveway.

“So, do you like music?” Joe asked me, trying to start a conversation.

“Yes, I love it,” I answered.

“Cool, what kind of music?” he asked.

“A little bit of every kind, but mostly pop,” I said.

“Who’s your favorite band?” he asked. I knew what he wanted to hear.

“Do you want me to answer truthfully or tell you what you want to hear?” I asked.

“What do you mean ‘what I want to hear’?” he asked, playing dumb.

“You want me to say the Jonas Brothers are my favorite band,” I said.

“Do you like our band?” he asked.

“I like your band, but you’re not my favorite,” I explained.

“Well, who is?” he asked.

“Paramore,” I answered. Joe smiled.

“They are a great band,” he admitted. “I have their CD, wanna listen to it?”

“Yeah,” I said. He handed me their CD and I put it in. I turned it to That’s What You Get. I loved this song, probably because I can relate to it so much.

“You like this song?” he asked, almost as if he read my mind.

“Yeah, I can relate to it a lot,” I confessed.

“Really? Why?” he asked. I could tell he was concerned, because, well, this song wasn’t really a happy song.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” I said.

“Ok, well if you ever want to, I’m here,” he said. I was surprised he wasn’t prying like most people did. Maybe I should tell him.

“I really liked this guy in 10th, but he already had a girlfriend, the head cheerleader. One day she broke up with him. He started talking to me and hanging out with me. Then one day he just stopped talking to me and ignoring me. I asked him why and he said he was only using me to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and that they were dating again. I always knew he was a jerk, but I always pushed that thought to the back of my head. I drowned out all my sense with the sound of my heats beating,” I said, quoting the song, and telling him the whole story. Joe pulled up to a parking space at Lawry’s The Prime Rib and parked the car.

“Do you need a hug?” he asked. I laughed.

“It’s ok, I’m over it,” I lied. It still hurt a little when I thought about it, which is why I didn’t like talking about it. Joe leaned over and hugged me.

“Everyone needs a hug every once and a while,” he whispered in my ear. I was really starting to like Joe. He was understanding, nice, and just plain awesome. He let me go after a few seconds and we got out.