The Field. Tracy Richardson

come tomorrow. One of his graduate assistants can’t be there, so I’m helping my dad.”

      “OK, I’ll talk to Will. That would be great.”

      We turn a corner and are right down the street from Bub’s.

      “Do you mind if we join the others at Bub’s now? This American boy is starving and I could use a burger!” I pat my hand on my stomach, which, thankfully, is flat.

      “Of course. Didn’t you say something about ice cream?”

      “They’ve got the best in town.”

      The restaurant is crowded with families and teens out on the town. I see Will, Bonnie, and Cole sitting in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Will and Bonnie are on one side, and Will has his arm draped across the back of the booth behind her. Renee slides into the seat next to Cole on the other side of the booth, and I sit next to her so she’s sandwiched between us.

      “It’s about time you guys got here,” Will says. “We’re already done.”

      “I can see that.” Their plates, with the remains of their burgers, fries, and milkshakes, cover the table. “We took the long way. We’re going to order something now if you want to hang out a while longer.”

      “No problem,” Cole says. He’s leaning on his elbow looking at Renee. “So, Renee, did Eric tell you about the survey we’re doing for psych class?” The waitress comes and we order our food.

      “No, he didn’t mention it.”

      “It’s called ‘Hot or Not.’”

      “Hmm. Interesting.” She’s smiling warily at him, not sure where this is going.

      “We’re asking students whether they think different articles of clothing or characteristics are ‘hot or not’ and then graphing the results. It’s very scientific.”

      Bonnie snorts and laughs, making her blond curls bounce. “Ha! They’re really just using it to find out what girls think is hot.”

      “Well, of course. We also want to communicate what guys think is not hot.”

      “Like what?” asks Renee.

      “The survey results show that the number one in the Not Hot category for us are Ugg boots.” Cole says.

      “Also, too much make-up. That is definitely not hot,” says Will.

      “What about what girls think is not hot?” says Bonnie. She’s leaning forward. “How about BO and ratty clothes? Not attractive.”

      “We can add those to the list,” Cole says. “All right, let’s switch gears to what is hot. Renee, what about you? Anything that you find particularly attractive?” he asks with a deceptively nonchalant air. I was waiting for this. I figured he’d been leading up to something like this all along.

      “Well, I think someone who has good manners and is confident is attractive,” she says, skirting the question.

      “Ah, those are good traits, and I believe that your date, Mr. Horton here, possesses them, but what about appearance? Hair, for instance. What do you think of Eric’s long soccer hair?” He reaches behind her to ruffle my hair, and I bat his hand away.

      I feel like I should step in to deflect Cole’s question, but I also want to know what she thinks, so I don’t say anything right away. Renee turns to look directly at me, smiles and says, “Hot. Definitely hot.” Without missing a beat. I smile back and think, Ha! She’s not shy. Will lets out a low whistle. Then I feel the heat start to rise in my face and I’m afraid I’m going to blush, so I say, “OK, let’s move off of that topic.”

      Fortunately, the waitress brings my burger and fries and Renee’s milkshake right then. Will says, “I heard there’s a party tonight at Todd Sloan’s. Do you guys want to go?”

      “That’s kind of a party crowd, isn’t it?” says Bonnie, a crease forming between her blue eyes.

      “Maybe,” says Will, stealing a fry off my plate, “but come on, it’ll be fun and we don’t have to partake. Anyway, one beer never hurt anyone. Hey, we won tonight! I want to enjoy the moment.”

      I turn to Renee. “Do you want to go? It’ll be crowded and noisy.”

      “I don’t mind either way, really.”

      “Well, if you don’t mind, I’d rather skip it. I’m beat and it’ll just be a bunch of people standing around drinking.” To Will, I say, “Renee says that Dr. Auberge is doing the remote viewing study tomorrow and we can go. We have to be there by nine.”

      “That’s cool. Don’t worry, I’ll be by to pick you up at 8:30.”

      After we finish our food, Will, Cole, and Bonnie leave to go to the party, and Renee and I walk back through the neighborhood to the high school and my car. It’s nice just to be with her and talk. I feel really comfortable around her. A party isn’t a good place to get to know someone, and I really am tired. When I pull up to her driveway to drop her off, I’m trying to decide if I should kiss her goodnight, and what kind of a kiss it should be. As I put the car in park and turn toward her, she lays her hand on my chest and leans into me. She stops with her lips just inches from mine. She can probably feel my heart pounding in my chest. I look into her eyes a moment, then reach my hand to the side of her head and close the distance between our lips. It’s a soft kiss, just a momentary touching of our lips, but it’s unreal. I don’t want to rush things, so I lift my head and then lean my forehead against hers and whisper, “Goodnight, Renee. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

      “Good night,” she says. “I had a great time.”