Aaron Carter sat boredly in the smoke filled karaoke lounge. His friend Teagan Ambrose had dragged him out with her. When he said he wanted to hang out with her, karaoke wasn�t what came to his mind. Teagan stood on the mini-stage singing �Love Shack� by the B-52�s.
�The Love Shack is a little old place where we can get to-gether. Love shack baabyyyy.� She sang
Aaron groaned. Teagan was pretty but she was no Christina Aguilera. In fact, she was quite far from it. When the song was over, she bounced over to where he was sitting.
�So, how was I?� she asked
�Have you been practicing in the shower?� he asked
�Yes I have as a matter of fact.� She said
�Maybe you should keep trying cause you still suck.� He said
She pinched him and he shrieked. He rubbed the spot on his arm.
�Ow! That hurt.� He whined
�Quit your whining pretty boy.� She said
�You�re so mean.� He said
�Hey, you�re the one who wanted to tag along tonight.� She said
�Correction. I wanted to hang out with you tonight. You�re the one who dragged me here.� He said
�That�s because I had already made plans with Gina and Rob.� She said
�So you drag me on this bizarre date with your older sister and her boyfriend.� He pouted
�Honey, let�s get one thing straight. I would never date you.� She said
�And why not?� he asked
�You�re too young.� She said
�Whatever.� He replied
Teagan was twenty and Aaron was seventeen. In reality, it was still against the law for them to date. And Teagan was a law abiding citizen. Plus, Aaron wasn�t her type. He was just her older sister�s best friend�s little brother. They had lived next door to each other when they were younger and Teagan had always kept in touch with the family. She was good friends with Aaron�s sister Leslie, who was only two years younger than her. But Aaron was always just the tag along until the year before when he had turned sixteen. Then he was actually invited to do the same stuff as the �big kids.� Teagan and Aaron had gotten closer during that time and that led to them hanging out together without everyone else. Aaron began to develop a crush on Teagan. Teagan just looked at him like he was her little brother. She had known him since he was in diapers.
Aaron hated the fact that Teagan viewed him as a little kid. He had grown up a lot in the past year and he was hoping she would notice and treat him as more than her older sister�s best friend�s little brother. He had a crush on Teagan since he was sixteen. To him, age was nothing but a number. To Teagan, those numbers were everything. Aaron didn�t see the big deal. He had dated girls who were older than Teagan. No one ever made a big deal about him dating an older girl. His last girlfriend Tasha had been the same age as Teagan. No one cared. Teagan was best friends with her and she would give her crap about dating him all the time. Yet, he still liked her, no matter how much he knew they would never be together. The only way he would be able to get Teagan to go out with him would be to somehow prove to her that he wasn�t a little kid anymore. But he didn�t know how to do it yet.
�So, what time do I have to have you home kid?� she asked
�Whenever. Like one, two o�clock is fine.� He said
�Well, isn�t that past your bedtime?� she teased
�Ha ha. That�s not funny.� He said
�Oh, did I hit a nerve?� she asked
�Why do you hang out with me if you think I�m such a little kid?� he snapped
�Whoa, I didn�t mean to hit a sore spot. I�m sorry Aaron. You�re not a little kid.� She said
�Thank you.� He replied
�Why do you get so touchy? I�m just teasing.� She said
�Well your teasing isn�t very funny. I�m sick of everyone treating me like a little kid.� He said
�No one treats you like a little kid. Well, except for me. Tasha obviously didn�t think you were a little kid.� She said
�Yeah, well Tasha was different.� He said
�How so?� she asked
�Tasha liked me. And I liked her. It was just different.� He said
�If you say so. Why don�t you sing something since you�re here? It would be fun.� She suggested
�Nope, that�s okay. I do enough singing when I�m not going out with my friends. What are we doing after this?� he asked
�Let�s go to the Dakota. I�m hungry.� She said
�Okay.� He agreed
They sat around for a little while longer before they were ready to leave. They said goodbye to Gina and Rob and got into Teagan�s car. She drove to the Dakota which was a small neighborhood restaurant. They hung out there a lot so the wait staff knew them. They sat at their usual table and looked over the menus quickly before ordering.
�So, what�s been going on? I haven�t seen you in awhile.� Teagan said
�Yeah, I�ve been recording some new stuff so I�ve been spending a lot of time in the studio.� He said
�Cool. You�ll have to let me hear your new stuff. It has to be better than the old stuff.� She joked
�It is. Trust me.� He said
�Of course I do. I know how much you want your music to mature.� She said
�Yeah, I can�t sing for ten year olds for the rest of my life.� He said
�Ten year olds don�t even like you now.� She said
�Gee, thanks Tea.� He said
�What? I�m being honest. Tasha�s niece told us you weren�t cool anymore.� She said
�What does Tasha�s niece know?� he asked
�Apparently she knows what�s cool among the ten year olds.� She replied
�Blah, blah, blah.� He said
�Don�t do that.� She ordered
�Why not?� he asked
�Tasha does that and it drives me crazy.� She said
�Oh.� He replied
They talked about a bunch of other things like Teagan�s college classes and her dance class. After they finished eating, Teagan offered to pay the bill.
�You realize that by paying for food that you�re taking me on a date right?� he asked
�Whatever. This was not a date.� She replied
Teagan dropped Aaron off at his house. When he got in and got settled, he picked up the phone and called Tasha. She picked up on the first ring.
�Hello?�
�Tasha?� he asked
�Aaron? It�s one o�clock in the morning. What do you want?� she replied
�You weren�t asleep were you?� he asked
�No Aaron, I wasn�t asleep.� She said
�Are you sure?� he asked
�Aaron, have you ever known me to go to bed this early on a non school night?� she asked
�No.� he said
�Then you didn�t wake me up. What�s up buddy?� she asked
�I need to ask you something.� He said
�Shoot.� She replied
�How do I get Teagan to go out with me?� he asked
�That�s simple. Magically become three years older.� She said laughing.
�Tasha! I�m serious!� he exclaimed
�Aaron! So am I!� she replied
�You really don�t think she�d go out with me?� he asked
�Honestly? I doubt it.� She said
�Why not?� he asked
�Because Teagan doesn�t like you like that.� She said
�So?� he replied
�So, she wouldn�t go out with you.� She said
�Whatever.� He said
�Do you have a crush on her?� she asked
�No.� he replied
�You are so lying; I can hear it in your voice. You have a crush on Teagan!� she squealed
�Gee, Tasha, why don�t you tell the world?� he asked
�Because it�s no fun. But to stay on topic, the only way to get Tea to go out with you is to make it not seem like a date.� She said
�You think that would work?� he asked
�It�s worth a try isn�t it?� she replied
�Yeah.� He said
�So try it.� She said
�I will.� He said
�Remind me again why I broke up with you.� She said
�Where did that come from?� he asked
�I don�t know, it just popped into my mind.� She said
�Well, I don�t really know why you broke up with me.� He said
�Hey, if things don�t work out with Teagan, give me a call.� She said
�I will.� He said laughing.
�Now be gone! I�m getting sleepy.� She said
�Okay. Thanks for everything Tash.� He said
�Of course. Knock �em dead kiddo.� She said
�Tashaaaaa.� He whined
�What?� she asked
�You called me kiddo!� he reminded
�Aaron, I can�t help it. You are still younger than me.� She said
�You don�t have to treat me like it.� He pouted
�Oh stop acting like a baby. Goodnight Aaron.� She said
�Night Tasha.� He replied
They hung up and Aaron sighed. How was he going to take Teagan out on a date and not make it seem like a date? He figured that he would get some sleep and try to approach it fresh the next morning. He got up the next day with a full idea planned out. He would ask Teagan to hang out with him but they would go to a nice restaurant. It seemed like it could work. He called Teagan and asked her out for the next night. She agreed. Aaron smiled. Maybe things would work out for him.
The next night, Aaron got ready in a rush. He wore jeans and gelled his hair to perfection. He looked casual but nice. He was taking Teagan to her favorite Italian restaurant. He also convinced her to let him drive. He went to pick her up and she got into the car smiling. He smiled as well.
�What are you so happy about?� he asked
�Dinner at my favorite restaurant. It�s always something to smile about.� She said
�Oh.� He said
�And of course I�m in good company so this should be an enjoyable evening. You look cute by the way.� She said
�Thanks. So do you.� He replied
She did too. She wore a knee length floral skirt, a tank top and a denim jacket. She always dressed up to go out someplace nice. Aaron smiled. This date was going to turn out well, even if Teagan didn�t know it was a date. They got into the restaurant and were seated immediately.
�This is so nice.� Teagan said
�Well, I figured you haven�t been here in awhile so I thought we could come here.� He said
�Thanks for being so thoughtful.� She said
�No problem. It�s what good friends do.� He said
�If I didn�t know any better I would think this was a date.� She said
�Why would you think that?� he asked
�You bring me to my favorite restaurant, get dressed all nice, offer to pay for dinner�� she replied
�What? I can�t do something nice for you?� he asked
�Not without an ulterior motive.� She said
�I resent that comment.� He said
�It has an element of truth to it no?� she asked
�Maybe.� He said
�Aaron, how many times do I have to tell you that us dating will not work?� she asked
�You have to give me a better reason than I�m too young.� He said
�But that is the main reason. You�re a nice guy and all but we�re at two different places in our lives. You�re about having a good time and your career. I�m about my job and school.� She said
�But we can learn to make it work.� He said
�It can�t work if only one person is into it. I�m sorry.� She said
�Yeah, me too.� He said
�And besides, you�re in love with Tasha.� She said
�I am not.� He replied
�You are, trust me. You two are good together.� She said
�Thanks Tea.� He said
�Anytime kid.� She replied
Despite what had been said, they had an enjoyable dinner. After they ate, they drove around and hung out for awhile before Aaron dropped Teagan off. When he got home, he picked up the phone to call Tasha again.
�Hello?�
�Tash? It�s Aaron.� He said
�Hey! How�d the date go?� she asked
�It didn�t work. She�s just not interested.� He said
�Aw, I�m sorry.� She said
�It�s okay. Tea said the weirdest thing to me though.� He said
�What?� she asked
�She said that I�m in love with you.� He said
�Teagan is weird.� She said
�Yeah, no kidding. Hey, do you want to go out with me Friday night?� he asked
�Sure.� She replied
So maybe things didn�t work out the way Aaron wanted them to, but who was to say he didn�t have a good thing waiting for him?