Chapter Five-La Bergerwhat?

     I heard the doorbell ring, and I literally jumped.

     “Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! He’s here!” I yelped, running around my room like a chicken with its head cut off.

     “Do you want me to slap you?“ Amanda asked, and I shook my head no. “Take a deep breath in and out, Sara. This date is going to be great, don‘t worry so much.” Amanda advised, grabbing me by the shoulders.

     I took a deep breath and I checked my reflection again, my eyes searching anxiously for any flaws in my appearance. “Do I look okay?”

     “No you don’t look fine. You look bangin’!” Amanda reassured me.

     “Okay.. Thanks so much Amanda,” I said, grabbing my purse from my dresser.

     “No probs Sara. Now remember don’t stay out too late, don’t do any drugs, and don’t forget to use protection,“ Amanda said playfully.

     “Er…I’ll be sure to do that,” I said laughing, racing to the front door.

     I tumbled down the stairs and opened the door, anxiety building up inside. I felt like I was going to throw-up.

     As soon as I opened the door, I was literally speechless. He looked so…hot. He was so unimaginably attractive I thought I was going to faint. His eyes were so blue, the ocean couldn’t even compare. It looked like he put no time or thought into this outfit, like he just put on whatever he happened to see. But yet he looked so…delicious.

     He also smelled good. Not the same cheesy Axe or Tag lotion that he other guys wear, but like, a natural scent of earth and wood and…good smellingness.

     I am speechless.

~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

     I am speechless.

     I don’t want to admit that Sara looks good, but I can’t help but think it.

     I mean, I’ve seen prettier, way prettier, girls with better clothes. I mean all she’s wearing is a red top and jeans. Nothing extraordinary. But yet…she looks so down to earth. She doesn’t seem as high-maintenance as those other girls at school. It looks like she just threw on some clothes, not even going all out on a date with me, which is pretty weird. I mean, usually when I ask a girl on a date, they take hours preparing what they’re going to wear, and they usually have a short skirt and a low cut tank top, like they have no respect for themselves…but Sara…

     Wait.

     I’m not supposed to be thinking this. I’m not supposed to like her because she’s not cool. She’s a loser. A nerd. She’s not blonde. Or a cheerleader. And she has braces for Christ’s sake. I’m not supposed to be digging on a girl who looks like that. Especially when I look so extraordinarily hot.

     I suddenly remembered where I was and what I was doing, so I looked down into her big brown eyes. Wow she has the sweetest brown eyes I have ever seen…woah snap out of it, Timberlake.

     “Hey…you look nice tonight,” I said, sheepishly, and to my surprise, meaning every word of it.

     She beamed. “You really think so?”

     I nodded my head vigorously, “Yeah.”

     We stood there for awhile in silence, but it didn’t feel awkward or anything. It was like we were observing each other, taking in every detail and movement we made.

     “Well…uh…I guess we should be going, huh?” I asked after a few seconds.

     I grabbed her hand, and I felt her tense up. Aw…it’s like I’m the first person that ever held her hand. I couldn’t help but chuckle in the inside; it was so sweet. I actually liked the fact that I made her nervous, for some reason.

     We climbed into my blue mustang, and my radio turned on as soon as I started the car, and to my horror, Michael Jackson’s P.Y.T. came on.

     I turned it off quickly, embarrassed. “Uh..sorry for that.”

     Shit. She’s gonna think I’m some weirdo nerd who’s trap in the 80’s, when I should be listening to Linken Park or whatever the popular kids listen to.

     She laughed, pushing my hand away from the radio dial. “Wait…I love that song.”

     I looked at her, bemused. “You like Michael Jackson?”

     “Like him? God I love him!” She replied, her brown eyes twinkling, like they were dancing to the song, “Well…his music at least.”

     “Really? That’s pretty cool. Whenever I tell somebody I like Michael Jackson, they’re like “Ew.” But they just make assumption that he's a freak, so his music must suck.  They just don’t know how great his music was,” I acknowledged.

     “I know. The 80’s were like the best era of music. The artists like Bow wow wow or whatever don’t come close,” Sara said, bobbing her head to the music.

     “You telling me,” I agreed, turning the radio up.

     “I want to love you! P.Y.T! Pretty Young thing! You need some lovin! T.L.C! Tender lovin’ care! And I’ll take you there!” we both sang at the top of our lungs.

     I opened the windows and we started to sing even louder. The other drivers were honking at us, probably thinking we were some stupid teenagers, but you know what? I could care less. For once, I didn’t care about my image, and it felt pretty damn good.

     It was nice hanging around with a girl I could act goofy with. You know, hanging around with someone who wouldn’t judge me. I was actually having a killer time…

     Oh, god. Snap out of it Timberlake. This isn’t supposed to happen. Remember Timberlake, this is strictly business. Just a stupid bet that you need to win to prove Chris that he is a certified asshole.

     But I couldn’t help but enjoy myself.

     As the song came to a close, we collapsed into laughter.

     “So where are we going ?” she asked, after her laughter had subsided.

     “Oh you’re going to love it. We’re going to La Bergerie,” I said, smiling.

     She looked confused. “La Bergerwhat?”

     “La Bergerie…you know…that French Restaurant on Fifth Street,” I added, hoping it would ring a bell.

     Sara looked at me blankly. “Nope…never heard of it.”

     “Really?” I asked, with a hint of surprise.

     She shook her head. “Nope.”

     La Bergerie is one of those restaurants where every girl wants their boyfriend to take them. It’s an exclusive restaurant and it’s harder to get into than any other restaurant in town. I was so taken aback that she had never heard of it. I mean Blair practically begged me to take her every time we went out.

     “Well…you’ll like it. I promise. It has the best French food in the whole state,” I reassured her, as I pulled into a small parking lot.

     Le Bergerie, to say the least, was beautiful. Lights adorned the outside, vines were creeping up the wall, and roses were sprinkled on the floor. Sara stared at it in awe, and who could blame her? If I were her, I would’ve totally pissed my pants.

     We walked hand in hand (and to my delight it seemed to make her blush again) as we sauntered up to the hostess scantily dressed in all black.

     “Timberlake, reservation for two,” I said to the hostess, trying to sound all fancy and stuff.

     Sara, meanwhile, seemed to be taking in every meticulous detail of the place. It’s like she couldn’t believe she was in a restaurant this beautiful, or maybe it was the fact she couldn’t believe she was here with me.

     The hostess led us through the dim restaurant lighted only by candles, to a table overlooking a beautiful rose garden below.

     “It’s gorgeous,” she gasped.

     “I know,” I grinned cockily.

     We picked up the menu and she squinted her eyes. She obviously didn’t know how to speak French, which makes it kinda hard for her since the whole menu was written in French.

     “So..what’s good here?” she asked, unsure of what to get.

     “I’ll order for you, don’t worry,” I reassured her.

     “Okay..but nothing to expensive,” she warned.

     “Honey, no amount of money is too much for you,” I replied, making her blush.

     The waiter came and I gave him our order. “Peux j'avoir deux Escargots au Beurre, Tomate, Ail, Persil et Noisette s'il vous plaît et une bouteille de vin rouge.”

     The waiter walked away and Sara looked at me in awe. “I didn’t know you could speak French.”

     I chuckled. “It’s one of my hidden talents I guess.”

      Well, not really. I kinda just remembered word for word what I was going to order, because chicks always dig a guy who speaks another language. A little white lie will never hurt anybody.

     “Well that’s cool. It’s kinda sad, though. I’ve taken five years of French, but yet, I had no idea what you just said.” she said, shaking her head.

     “Well, don’t worry, it’s gonna be delicious,” I comforted her, reaching my hand onto her thigh.

     A blush crept across her face, and she slapped my hand.

     I looked at her a little perplexed, and decided to shake it off. Who says no to Justin Timberlake?

     Before I could even approach the subject, the waiter came and brought us our food. Damn this service is good.

     She scrunched her nose as she looked at what was on the place. “What is this?”

     “Escargot,” I replied.

     She looked at me blankly and I added, “Snails.”

     She scrunched her nose again, but she refrained from saying anything. She was trying to be polite, I could tell. She was playing with her food, obviously, pushing it back and forth across her plate.

     I furrowed my brow. This wasn’t going exactly how I planned. She was supposed to like this food. She was supposed to be raving about how awesome this food was, how she was so happy I brought her here.

     “Hey…is everything okay?” I asked, gesturing to her uneaten plate.

     “Well…it’s just…” she sighed. “I’ve never really eaten any snails before..and well…”

     I stopped her, “Hey it’s okay if you don’t like it. What was I thinking? I should’ve asked you what you wanted to eat instead of assuming you liked snails. What was I thinking?”

     She giggled. “Don’t get me wrong, this place is beautiful. I just..don’t find snails that…er…appetizing. I’m more of a hamburger and French fry kind of girl.”

     Wow this was unexpected. I never knew a girl who admitted they liked to eat hamburgers. Most other girls, especially Blair, hated to eat anything fattening. Or…they just hated eating all together.

     I thought for a moment, before grabbing her hand and heading for the door.. “Let’s roll out. I know this great diner down the street, and they serve the biggest baddest burgers ever.”

     Her eyes brightened, and she grabbed her purse. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get outta here!"

~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

      But this delicious, juicy burger is making me feel less and less guilty with every bite.

     Justin was right. This definitely was the best burger joint ever. And that’s a compliment coming from a girl like me.

     “So how do you like this place?” Justin asked, watching me anxiously for my response. It’s weird; it’s like this whole entire night he’s been trying so hard to make everything perfect…which I guess was kinda cute. But kinda weird in a perfectionist type of way. Like…he just needs to relax. I was supposed to be the nervous one, not him.

     “Like it? I love it!” I responded, taking a big bite of my burger as proof.

     “Perfect.” he said, smiling his flawless white smile.

     “So tell me a little about yourself, Sara, what do you like to do?” Justin said, watching me intently.

     “Well…” I thought for a moment. Shit. I don’t know… I don’t do anything interesting.

     “I like to write. Call it nerdy, but I like to write stories and stuff like that.” I said, blushing at the nerdy response. I guess it was better than nothing.

     He grinned and his eyes lit up. “That’s not nerdy at all. I actually-” he stopped, as if he realized he was going to say something wrong.

     I cocked my head to the side. “What?”

     He shook his head. “Ah nothing.”

     I usually am the type of person that likes to pry, but tonight I’ll make an exception. He just looks so embarrassed but cute, and I don’t want him to think I’m some overly obsessed girl who wants to know every secret about his life. I like my privacy, too.

     “So…” he said, clearly trying to start another conversation. “Who was your last boyfriend?”

     Oh crap.

     I don’t want him to think I’m a loser by not having a boyfriend. I mean what girl at 17 has never had a boyfriend? He’s gonna think I’m a freak of nature. Oh god what to do…what to do?

     I avoided his glance and quickly grabbed the desert menu.

     “Hey! You know what we should do? We should order sundaes. Like I order one flavor and you order another and then we can switch when we’re half-way done,” I suggested nervously, hoping to God he will forget what we were talking about.

     Luckily, his mouth curled into a smile. “Sounds great. You know I’ve never met a girl who has such a healthy appetite.”

     Oh god. He thinks I’m a pig.

     I must’ve been frowning or something because he quickly corrected himself. “I mean…not like you’re fat or anything. Like…the girls at our school are so skinny and don’t seem to even know what food is.”

     I giggled. “That’s true. All the girls at our school wear size 00 I bet.”

     “They make jeans in 00?” he asked, amazed.

     I nodded my head. “Yup.”

     “Damn. It’s like they don’t even exist. 00? What the hell?” he shook his head.

     Our humongous sundaes arrived before our faces, complete with sprinkles, whip cream, and a cherry on the top,

     “Damn these are huge,” I muttered, amazed that a human being could actually eat this colossal treat of sugar and milk.

     “You telling me,” Justin smirked. “So you never told me about your ex.”

      I groaned. “I was hoping you would forget about that topic.”

     “I kinda figured that when you all of a sudden grabbed the menu and insisted we get ice cream.” he grinned.

     “Insisted? You make it sound like I made you get ice-cream. But you know what would be good..some..uh fries” I said, grabbing another menu.

     He wagged his long finger. “Nah uh. Don’t go changing the subject again. What’s wrong? Was your ex a jerk or something?”

     I shook my head, and I could already feel my face turn crimson. “No…not exactly.”

     He stared at me , waiting for me to go on.

     “Well…” I started. “It’s just that…I never…well…I never had a boyfriend.” I blurted out.

     His mouth dropped. “Really? No way!”

     I suddenly felt defensive for some reason. He has no right to judge me like everybody else. “Well..I mean some people don’t have it easy. I mean it’s not like I’m a part of the fab fiv-” I stopped, realizing what I was saying.

     He chuckled. “Did you just say the Fab Five? What the hell is that?”

     I bet I was as red as that ketchup bottle sitting on our table. “Well…it’s just a silly nickname me an my friend made up for you and your friends.”

     “My friends?” he asked, his eyebrows raising.

     “Yeah you know. Joey, Chris, JC, and Lance.” I replied earnestly.

     “Uh huh. And how did we earn this nickname?” he asked.

      “Well I don’t know. It just sort of happened. Like all of you guys are like are like fabulous in your own special way..” I was blabbering now, I didn’t know what the heck I was saying. “You know..Chris is the class clown, Joey is the self-proclaimed bully, Lance is the smart one, and JC is the athletic one.”

     “And me?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

     “Well…you’re the cute one,” I stated quickly. “Hey let’s switch sundaes.”

     We switched sundaes, but Justin looked a little angry and frustrated. “The cute one? That’s it?”

“Well..yeah.” Did I say something wrong?

     He sighed. “That’s all I’ll ever be known as. The cute one.”

     “What?” I asked, wondering why he looked so down after I complimented him.

     He shook his head. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

     We sat there in awkward silence, before Justin got out of the seat.

     “We should get goin’, huh?”

     I looked at my watch. Damn it was getting late. “Yeah.”

     We drove home, listening to Michael Jackson and Prince, singing again on the top of our lungs, until my house came into view.

~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

      I pulled into her driveway and walked her to her house. We walked hand-in-hand again until we reached her porch.

     “Thanks for the best night ever,” she said earnestly.

     “No, thank you.” I smiled, looking into her eyes.

     We stood there in silence, and it was time.

     I leaned in, and attempted to kiss her but the strangest thing happened.

     She turned away, and all I got was a patch of brown hair.

     I looked at her confused.

     Who says no to Timberlake?

     She looked a little embarrassed, but said, “Sorry, I was taught not to kiss on first dates."

     I was dumbfounded.

     Who says no to Timberlake?

     But I had couldn’t scare her off. I had to respect her wishes. I’ll get her later.

     “Okay, but can I have at least have a hug?” I pouted.

     “Of course.” she smiled.

     I hugged her, and she whispered in my ear. “You know, Justin, I would kill to be the pretty one in a group.”

     I was taken aback, but in a good way. As cheesy as it sounds, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy in the inside.

    I looked at her in her eyes and smiled. “But you are the pretty one to me Sara. Anyone who can’t see that is blind.”

     And the scary thing is, is that I meant every single word.