Worth Fighting For

To say I was surprised, was a complete and total understatement. I thought after Danny found out that I was only seventeen, he would never want to speak to me again, or worse, he would hate me. But instead he asked for my number.
That really surprised me. I didn’t even think I was his type. He could do so much better than me. I mean he’s tall, handsome, strong, and so much more. He probably has girls falling for him at his feet. But never the less, he wanted my number. For what I don’t know. Maybe to just talk. Maybe to get to know me. I have absolutely no clue. I’m really interested to find out.
When I woke up the next morning, I had a text from Danny asking me if I wanted to meet him after hockey practice for lunch. It definitely put a smile on my face, so I texted him back saying I’d love to. We decided that I would meet him at the hockey rink and then we would walk to this small restaurant/bar where his brother works.
Since his hockey practice ended at two, I decided to get up and take a shower. After I got cleaned up, I did my hair and make-up. My hair was in loose waves and my make-up was light, as always. For my outfit I decided on nice jeans, a cute blouse with a black jacket, and black heels. I knew even with my three-inch heels, I would still be shorter than him. Normally I would wear taller heels, but since it was just lunch, I decided against it.
By the time I was ready to go, it was about noon. Since I had time to kill, I decided I would make my grandmother lunch. It was the least I could do. I had been living with her for about two years. Now, my whole life story is a bit confusing. You see I was adopted, and I’ve always known that. Well my adoptive parents died when I was fifteen. First, my adoptive father killed himself and then my mother died of alcohol poisoning.
Despite what you may think, my family wasn’t a complete mess. We had our problems, but we still loved each other. But after my dad came back from a tour in Iraq, he suffered from PTSD, like my mom he turned to drinking. The only fighting in our house was about wanting him to get help for him. But it was just too much for him. My mom was the one who found him hanging in their bedroom.
After that, against her own advice, she turned to drinking. One night she went out, got really wasted, and the next morning I’m waking up to the sound of knocking on my door. The police officer told me she had died of alcohol poisoning. She passed out and just never woke up.
I suppose that’s where my drinking comes from. But it’s not like theirs. I can control myself. Or at least I think I can.
My birth parents could never be tracked down, so I went to live with Cherie Hayes, who was like a grandmother to me for years. Officially, she’s my mother now. I’m used to calling her mom, or ma. She is my rock. She’s the one who keeps me sane. I love her to death. She is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. She’s in her eighties now, but she’s more alive than ever.
Although she’s retired, our financial situation is way better then seventy five percent of retired people. Let’s just say she made a lot of money as a young adult, and in her later years. I don’t even have to work. But I like to keep myself busy, since I’m out of school.
“Hey ma, I made you lunch.” I smiled walking out into the back yard where she was gardening.
“Aww that’s so sweet of you. You didn’t have to do that.” She gushed and kissed my cheek.
“It’s not a big deal, really.” I said.
“Well, thank you dear. Do you have any plans for today?” She asked sitting at the outside table. I took a seat next to her and handed her a glass of tea.
“Yeah, I’m going to go meet this guy for lunch.” I smiled.
“Oh really? Is he cute?” She asked.
“Very.” I laughed.
“Oh! What’s his name?” She asked.
“Danny Wheeler.” I said.
“Wheeler? I think I know his mother. Bonnie Wheeler. Weird woman.” She said shaking her head.
“Well then let’s hope he’s nothing like her.” I joked.
“Do you know if you’ll be home for dinner?” she asked.
“I should.” I said.
“Oh, good. Let’s go out for dinner tonight, and then you can tell me all about how things went.” She said excitedly.
“It’s a date ma. I better get going. I love you.” I said and kissed her.
“I love you too! Have fun! And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Which I suppose isn’t much.” She said as I walked away. I laughed as I went because she’s told me so many stories about when she was a teenager. She was very crazy and very wild. More so than me, and that’s saying something.
I quickly walked to the address Danny gave me, and waited for him in the stands. I looked at my watch and realized I was a bit early. When I looked up, I saw Danny out on the ice waving to me. I waved back with a smile on my face.
“I’ll be there in ten!” he shouted. I nodded my head yes and he went off. As I sat there, I pulled at my clothes to make sure everything was good, and put some chap stick on. A few minutes later, he emerged from the locker room smelling amazing.
“Hey Sophie!” he said and hugged me.
“Hey, how was practice?” I asked.
“Great, let’s get going.” He said.
“So I hear you know my brother?” He asked as we walked.
“Yeah, he was my big brother for a program when I went to school. He’s nice.” I noted.
“Well, I live with him and his best friend, Tucker.” He said.
“Oh, that’s cool.” I said
“And by the way, he kinda figured out that we slept together.” He said.
“I guess it was bound to happen eventually. Is he ok with it?” I asked.
“He’ll be fine.” He said. I truly hoped he was right.
“We’re here.” He said and opened the door for me. He was such a gentleman. I thanked him and walked inside. We chose a small table big enough for two.
“See anything good?” He asked as we looked at the menus.
“The Classic Sandwich looks good.” I said.
“Just don’t get the crab cakes. They’re terrible.” He warned me.
“I’ll remember that.” I laughed. Luckily, Ben wasn’t working today, so we had a different waiter.
“So do you plan on going to college?” He asked.
“Yeah, I’m starting in the fall. I’m actually still supposed to be in school, but I was able to graduate a couple months early.” I said.
“Wow, beauty and brains, that’s hard to come by these days. Do you know what you want to study?” He asked. the first comment made me blush.
“I’m thinking about photography. So how long have you been playing hockey for?” I asked.
“Since I was a kid.” He said.
“So then you must really love it.” I said.
“I do. Do you play any sports?” he asked.
“No, not unless you count walking in six inch heels a sport.” I joked.
“Close enough.” He laughed. Finally, our food came and we dug in.
“So tell me about yourself.” He said.
“Well I live with my grandmother, I don’t have any siblings, my favorite color is teal, I love to read and shop. I also love to go camping. And my favorite food is spaghetti.” I said.
“Seriously? Mine too. And my favorite color is blue.” He said.
“What kind of music do you like?” I asked.
“Rock, alternative and indie, mostly. What about you?” He asked.
“I love indie rock and country. And I usually like any song as long as it’s acoustic.” I said. I was so happy we had almost the same music taste.
“My mom loves country.” He said.
“I grew up listening to it and I just recently got into indie rock.” I said.
“Really what’s your favorite indie rock band?” he asked.
“Well right now, it’s Walk The Moon.” I said.
“They’re really good. My favorite is Imagine Dragons.” He said, “Have you gone to any concerts lately?” He asked.
“Yeah, last week I went to a Coldplay concert. They were amazing.” I gushed.
“I’m just glad to hear you’re not some Justin Bieber fan girl. I don’t think I could take another one.” he laughed.
“Justin Bieber is definitely not on my playlist.” I assured him. When the check came, I reached out to grab it but Danny snatched it away.
“I got it.” He smiled.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Absolutely.” He said. Once he paid, he walked me home and we stopped at the door.
“Thank you, for lunch, I had a lot of fun.” I said.
“So did I. Maybe we can go on a real date sometime.” He suggested.
“I would love to.” I smiled.
“How’s Friday night?” He asked.
“Perfect.” I said.
“I’ll pick you up at seven then.” He said.
“Sounds good.” I said. I looked up at him, and for the first time I saw how blue his eyes were. They were so gorgeous.
“Night.” He said softly. To my surprise he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.
“Night.” I said. I watched as he walked off and then went inside.
“Mom! I’m home!” I shouted.
“In here!” I heard her shout. I followed her voice and found her study.
“So how did it go?” She asked eagerly as she set down some paperwork.
“He’s amazing! He took me out for lunch and we talked. And we like the same music.” I said.
“Well isn’t that splendid!” she said.
“And the eyes on that boy! They make me want to melt!” I gushed.
“Well are you going to see him again?” she asked.
“Yes, he asked me out for Friday night.” I said excitedly.
“Well then you need a new outfit!” She shouted and stood up.
“Mom! It’s ok! I can wear something I have!” I laughed.
“Non-sense! We’re going shopping right now!” she shouted. I watched as she got her purse and then led me out to her car. We went to this boutique down the street. They weren’t expensive, but they weren’t cheap either. The one thing I loved about this store is they only had one item of each clothing article in one size, so no one would ever have the same thing.
“Try these on!” she said and handed me a bunch of dresses. After countless dresses, we finally found one we agreed on.
“Oh that’s just absolutely beautiful! We need to find you some shoes and jewelry now too!” she said.
“Are you sure I need all that?” I laughed.
“Well you like him a lot don’t you?” She asked.
“Yes.” I said.
“Then what better occasion to go on a shopping spree?” She laughed. I loved this woman so much. Once we found shoes, and jewelry we went out to dinner and a seafood restaurant.
“So how old is this boy?” she asked and I looked down at my food.
“Is he older?” she asked. I nodded my head.
“Well by how much?” She asked.
“Five years.” I muttered.
“Five years? That’s it?” she asked.
“Yeah, isn’t that a lot?” I asked surprised she wasn’t freaking out.
“Oh honey! Frank was eleven years older than me!” she said.
“Seriously?” I laughed.
“Well yes, why do you think he was the first one to go?” She laughed. This is what I loved about her. She could turn something so sad into something funny and lift your spirits. Actually, she took his death extremely well. And she stills talks about him all the time.
“I don’t know. I just think it’s not the best idea. Especially since I’m only seventeen.” I said.
“You’re going to be eighteen in just a couple months! So what? Personally I think it’s a blessing!” she said.
“Really? How?” I asked.
“You’re young and beautiful, you should be able to go out and have a good time! You know, have those crazy nights that you can’t remember! But at the same time you’ll still get to have that handsome more mature boyfriend! It’s the best of both worlds!” She said. She did have a point.
“I know. I’m just worried about what people will think.” I said.
“Who cares what people think? Just tell them to keep their dang noses out of your business. And honestly honey, if you two really like each other, age won’t matter.” She said.
“You’re right mom.” I said.
“Aren’t I always?” she laughed.
“Yes, yes you are.” I said.
“Oh this just brings back so many memories from when I was your age. You know I once hitch hiked to meet a boy at a party once?” She asked.
“Why?” I laughed.
“Well he was tall, dark, and handsome for one. Oh the arms on that boy!” She said, “And anyway, it was the summer of my eighteenth birthday and I had just gotten my car privileges taken away.”
“Why? What did you do?” I asked. And that launched one of her many stories. But luckily I felt so much better about this whole thing with Danny. And I was even more excited about our date.