Jake was whistling as he came downstairs for breakfast the following morning. It was Monday so Sarah, Sandy and Lindsey were already in class. Janet had long since left for work and it was just Jessica and him in the house.
Jessica watched him as he made himself a bowl of cereal. "What are you so happy about?" She asked.
"I get the guitar of my dreams and you ask me why I'm in a good mood?" Jake asked. "I thought you were smart."
Jessica smiled. "Oh, right."
"In fact I'm going to ask Michelle Branton out today." Jake said.
Jessica's eyes widened. "Oh really? Who's she?"
Jake laughed. "Only the hottest girl in school. She broke up with Derek last week so I'm going to see if I can get her to go out with me before someone else gets her."
"Well I hope she says yes." Jessica said. "Do you want a ride?"
Jake shook his head. "Nope. I'm gonna walk." He finished his cereal and put the dishes away, then headed upstairs to get his backpack.
He felt pretty good on the walk to school. It was a clear day with a light breeze coming from the west. Jake was full of confidence about asking Michelle out, he could do it.
Then he spotted her sitting on the edge of the fountain in the school's main courtyard. She was talking to some of her friends. For a moment a breath of wind moved through Michelle's chestnut brown hair, making her seem almost heavenly.
He faltered for only a moment before forcing himself up to her and her friends.
"Hey, Michelle." He said.
He and Michelle had three classes together and had often been partners in more than a few science projects. They spoke on a mere professional level, so to speak, but all conversation had been friendly and pleasant.
Yet her friends were just shy of hateful toward him, even now they looked at him like a maggot that needed to be burned.
Michelle looked up at him and gave a warm smiled. She reminded him of Shannon Elizabeth almost, but not quite. Her smiled warmed him to his toes but he would never say anything if she said no to him today.
"Hey Jake, how's it going?" Michelle asked.
Her friends shifted in their seats and looked like they were waiting to for Michelle to just shut him down and send him packing.
Jake fumbled with the straps on his backpack while he searched for the right way to go about asking her out.
"Well I was wondering if you would be interested in getting together this weekend." He said carefully.
Michelle's best friend Tammy choked back a laugh. Tammy was a blonde that may have been cute, very cute in fact, but couldn't do the simplest math, unless it had to do with the sales tax on a pair of shoes.
Michelle however did not possess a cruel heart and she said. "Oh, Jake I'm sorry, I'd really love to but I can't. I just broke up with Derek and I'm not ready to start going out yet."
Jake felt that painful jump of disappointment in his gut but he nodded slowly. "Okay, yeah I understand."
Tammy sneered. "Get lost, she's not interested."
Michelle snapped at her as Jake walked away, his confidence effectively destroyed.
Shortly after e had left the girls they returned to their normal conversation as if they had never been disturbed. They didn't even notice the attractive woman walking toward them.
"Excuse me, Michelle?" The woman said.
Michelle eyed the woman up and down. "Yeah? Can I help you?"
The woman took of her sunglasses and smiled. "Let's take a little walk."
Jake felt dreary most of the day after his rejection form Michelle. He performed his class assignments with minimal focus and effort.
He had been so confident from his encounters with his sisters that the possibility of rejection from Michelle never crossed his mind. It was a big reality check for him. A few times through the event over the pass few days and he felt better.
After all, he had four gorgeous sisters at home, three of which he could get hid dick into at the drop of a hat. Why should he feel upset about Michelle?
Still it could have been nice to have a girlfriend that wasn't related to him.
He glanced at the clock and saw that the final school bell was about to ring. He had started to pack up his stuff when the bell actually rang and the class began to empty out.
Halfway down the hall he heard someone call his name. He turned and looked for the source of the voice, but there was no one noticeable in the crowd of students.
When he turned back he had to stagger to a stop as Michelle blocked his path. She was smiling, no more of a grin than a smile, and clutching her books to her chest.
"Hi, Jake." She purred.
This is where the alarms in his head should have started going off but Michelle Branton was talking to him, and he didn't even have to start the conversation.
He blinked and faltered over his words for a moment. "Uh, hey Michelle." He said slowly.
She was grinning wider now, like a girl about to get a big surprise. Imagine that.
"I've been thinking about it and I really don't need any more time to get over my loser ex. You've always been more than nice to me, and if your offer is still available, I'd love to go out with you." She was biting her lower lip as if nervous about talking to him.
Jake knew he needed to play this extra cool and just right. He shrugged, "Well I don't know. I mean I was kind of hurt this morning I may need to think about it."
Michelle looked disappointed and she nodded slowly. "I under..."
"Ok I thought about it." Jake interrupted. "Where and when?"
Michelle chuckled in relief. "How about my place tonight at seven?"
Jake nodded. "Great. See you tonight."
Michelle smiled again, this time it was a smile that would make your blood boil. "I can't wait." She turned and started to head off to wherever it was she was going.
"Michelle?" Jake said.
