Both the Hanson family and my family went out to eat that night. Hey, it was Valentine's Day! Who could resist celebrating. The holiday wasn't the only thing to be happy about. We were also celebrating Ike, Tay, and Zac's (in my word's) totally awsome concert!
We deicided that The Olive Garden was the best place to go, since we all loved italian food! It was rare that we ever got a chance to eat at a fancy restraunt like that because my parents considered it a "special treat."
As soon as Ike, Tay, and I had arrived home, my little brother had jumped up and down in my face giving us the good news. Then we were told by the adults to get dressed up in something nicer than what we were wearing. I still can't figure out what's wrong with wide-leg jeans and a comfortable t-shirt?!
Have you ever noticed that at restraunts like The Olive Garden, hours and hours go by before they actually seat you? Then they take even longer to bring you your meal? I really hate that sometimes!
I sat, bored, on a stupid waiting bench. We had only been waiting for fifteen minutes and I was already bored out of my mind! Taylor sat on one side of me and Mackenzie Hanson was on my other side. He had brought along a few of his action figures and sat contently playing good guys vs. bad guys. At least he was having fun.
The stupid dress I was wearing was not comfortable at all! My mom had insisted that I wear it! I just couldn't wait to eat and run. I had to get out of the annoying dress! Oh God, I need something to do! Piss break! I thought and headed towards the little girl's room.
"How's the love junk coming?" I heard someone snicker before I could open the door.
"Hey there Isaac," I muttered dryly and turned around.
"Well...?"
"Well what?"
"You know, how's everything coming along with Taylor?"
"I don't know, fine, I guess."
"So, got anything going on?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Have either of you asked any big questions yet?"
"I hope you're not meaning the big marriage question..."
"No, no, no. Smaller than that," he looked at me questionably. When I didn't answer, he decided to make things a bit clearer. "Look, are you two going steady now or what?"
Now he tells me! "No. At least not yet. I'd sorta like it because I really like Taylor and all..." I stopped. Why did I need to tell Ike any of this anyway?
"You should ask him. He's probably too chicken to ask you."
"Well, gee. Thanks for the advice. I'll take that in mind," I said blankly and turned to open the restroom door.
Just my luck! I thought to myself when I discovered that both families had already been seated without me after I came out of hiding. I roamed around the restraunt until I found the extra-large table they were waiting at.
"I saved you a seat," Tay said and motioned for me to sit next to him. "Thanks superman. Glad you thought of me."
Tay blushed. "What's with this superman thing?"
"Consider it your new nickname," I told him and opened a menue.
I ordered ravioli with meatballs, same as Tay. Of course, we had to wait at least another hour just to get the food! Meanwhile, we all talked about what's new and what's next, the weather, and junk like that. It bored me out like crazy.
Eventually, our meals came and we devoured them fast too! I swear, these restraunts are trying to starve you so you'll eat tones of their food when it finally comes! Through most of the meal I was quiet. I kept asking myself the same question over and over in my mind the whole time. Should I ask Tay out now?
Every once and a while, I'd glance over at him and catch him staring at me. He'd smile of course, and then I'd smile back. He wasn't giving me any signs to what his answer would be. Zac sat on my other side during dinner. Once, he poked me in the side and whispered something to me.
"So, when are you gonna ask him?" Silly mind reader! Zac had been reading my thoughts the whole time! Either that or he was a good guesser. I looked out across the table. I must be very lucky sometimes because Isaac was sitting directly across from me. I frowned at him and he gave me a smirk.
That was it! I couldn't stand any of this any longer! Once I made sure Taylor was done eating, I tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Um, Tay. Could I, like, see you outside for a sec?" I asked him nervously.
"Sure." We got up from the table and left the restraunt. Once outside, I wandered over to a bench and sat down. Tay, of course, did the same. "What's up?" he asked me.
"Tay, um, how should I say this... I really, really like you a lot and I hope you do too, but, I was just wondering if... well, since I like you so much... would you like... would you go out with me?" I held my breath for a second and waited for his answer. He was looking in another direction when I looked up.
"Um, Tay? Were you even listening to me?"
He turned to me puzzled, "Huh? what? Sorry, Jen. I don't think I heard a word you just said. What was it you wanted?"
I sighed. Great, now I've got to say that whole thing again because he wasn't even paying any attention! I groaned.
"Okay, what I was trying to say was... will you-"
"Hey guys! Come on, we're leaving now!" my dad yelled at us from the entrance of the Olive Garden. Everyone was heading towards the parking lot.
I was having a very bad day. "Just a second dad," I yelled back at him. I was desperate to get an answer from Tay first. "All right, Tay, what I was trying to tell you before we were rudely interupted was-"
"Um, Jen, I think they're leaving now. I guess you'll just have to tell me at home. We've got to go before they get mad," then he got up and left. I slumped in my seat. Why was this so hard!? Why couldn't I just spit it out? What was I afraid of? I was almost positive that he would say "yes" anyway!
"Come on!" Tay called to me from the van. "You can ride with me if you want." I smiled. He was just so nice. I jumped up and ran to catch up with him. He smiled at me as I crawled into the middle seat next to him.