chapter 3
As Joe and Amanda sat back down , Joe couldn't stop thinking of how STUPID he felt about chickening out from asking out Amanda . He KNEW this girl had potential in his life , he WANTED to give her a shot , but he just got scared as soon as he looked in her eyes .
There was conversation going on for about 20 minutes , but Joe didn't join in . It was bugging him too much that he didn't do what he needed to do . Finally , when he couldn't take it anymore , he stood up again .
"Amanda, uhm , sorry , but could I talk to you again outside ?" Joe asked her again , this time more confidently .
"Sure ." said Amanda , with no hesitation .
Nick and Lauren were confused about why Joe kept on asking Amanda outside . He never said anything to them .
As they sat on the bench on the porch again , Joe apologized .
"Sorry about randomly stopping the convo before ... I had a lot on my mind ." Joe said .
"It's fine . But what WERE you going to say to me ?" Amanda asked him curiously .
"Well ..." Joe said , KNOWING this time , this was it . No turning back . "I'm just gonna come out and say it ."
Amanda looked at him funny . Oh my GOSH . "Come out and SAY it ?!" she thought . Coming OUT means he's GAY ?!?!?!?!
Then she finally blurted out "YOU'RE NOT GAY ARE YOU ?!" loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear .
Joe looked at her with a 'what was that for ?!' face . "NO ! NEVER !" he replied back , oddly staring at her . "If you don't wanna heare what I have to say then --" he started .
"NO !" she interrupted . "Tell me . Sorry about that . I always jump to conclusions ."
"Ok ..." Joe started again . This was it . There was an awkward moment of silence for about a minute .
Suddenly, Joe looked around him and he looked at the living room window and saw Nick and Lauren's heads pressed against the window , spying on him .
"WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE TWO DOING ?" Joe said sternly . Amanda looked up at the window with him .
"It doesn't matter ! What were you saying ?!" Amanda said impatiently .
"............. Do you mind being my girlfriend ?" Joe asked , now getting nervous . He could feel his palms sweating , getting hotter , feelin like the world was caving in .
Amanda just looked at him , confused almost , but sure of herself .
"Wow ..." she said . That's all she said . Joe felt like running inside and hiding under the bed now . He felt as if he said the wrong thing ...
"If you DO mind , then I'll just go back inside and --" Joe said, heading for the door .
Amanda interrupted again . "NO !"
Joe felt his heart skip a beat . " 'No' as in you won't go out with me ? I understand ."
"NO ! Not that ! 'No' as in don't go inside ! I mean 'Yes !'" she replied .
"So you WANT me to go inside ?!" Joe questioned , confused .
"NO ! I mean 'yes i WILL go out with you !'" she replied , confused herself by this point .
"Ohhhhhhhh ......" Joe said relieved .
"Gosh , that was confusing !" Amanda said excitedly .
He started to walk back to the bench . He sat down next to her and looked her straight in the eyes . "You really mean 'yes'?" Joe asked her .
"OF COURSE ! I wouldn't say yes if I didn't mean it !" Amanda said , comforting him . She leaned toward him to give him a hug -- a TIGHT hug .
Still there , Nick and Lauren looked at each other , stumped .
"Do you think that means they like each other now ?" Nick asked .
"I guess . My sister won't stop talking about him ..." Lauren answered .
"Well .........." Nick said hesitantly .
"Let's finish the movie I guess ?" Lauren said finally .
***************************
After what seemed like forever to Nick and Lauren , Joe FINALLY came back inside after spending about an hour outside .
"Where's Amanda ?!" Lauren said , panicked .
"She's about to leave ... she told me to get you ." Joe replied .
"Oh ..." Lauren said , getting up and heading for the door . She gave Joe a hug and whispered in his ear "Hurt my sister and I'll hurt you ! I've got the legs of a cheerleader and I know where to put them ! If you know what I mean ..."
Joe's eyes opened WIDE and looked at her funny .
"BYE !" she said again in a chirpy voice . She closed the door behind her .
When she left , Nick decided to play 20 Questions with his brother .
"SO ... What were you doing outside ?" he asked .
"Well ... you know ... stuff ..." Joe said .
"What kind of .... stuff ?" Nick questioned suspiciously .
".... Just .... stuff ..." Joe said , nervously . "Well ... later ..." He ran upstairs and slammed the door behind him .
"Something is DEFINITELY up with that boy ..." Nick said to himself . "No problem . If he doesn't wanna tell me , I'll just read his myspace !"
**************************
Later that night , as Nick guessed , Joe commented EVERYONE on his top friends that he was going out with Amanda [except for his brother] . Luckily , Nick knew about everyone on Joe's top and read their comments to see what was up with Joe . When he came across a friend of his and Joe's , he found out .
"GEEZ ! The curse is broken !" Nick said in shock that Joe was dating again .
***************************
The next day , Saturday , Amanda decided that now she's dating again , she should let Joe meet her parents . They loved every boy Amanda brought to them [except for her last boyfriend] and she was SURE they would love Joe . Of course , Joe agreed .
***************************
He arrived at her house later that day , at about 2:00 PM and knocked on her door . He was SURE her parents would love him . He was sweet , funny , charming , polite , and a gentleman . What else could they want ? Amanda answered the door and Joe had two flowers in his hand ; one for Amanda and one for her mom . He hugged Amanda and she received her flower - a white rose .
"Awe ! That's SO sweet ! Thanks so much !" Amanda said , blushing . Right behind her was her mom , Carrie . She had brownish/red hair , a tall woman , and looked about 25 years old . On the couch was her husband , Robert . He was tall , buff and had looked like he had just ran 40 miles . He was a brunette with blue-green eyes and looked at Joe foreignly .
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs . Brooks ." Joe said politely , giving Amanda's mom the rose .
"Awe , I like you already !" Carrie said sweetly . "Thank you so much ! Robert , get off your butt and come say hi !"
He approached Joe . They were almost the same height , Mr. Brooks being about 3 inches taller than Joe . "Hello sir ." Joe said nervously , now gawking at his muscles , afraid he would just grab his neck and ring it out like a wash cloth .
"Hey , kid ." he said , reaching out his hand for a handshake . "Robert ." Mr. Brooks introduced himself .
"Joe ." he said replying back . There was an awkward silence between the two , but luckily Amanda broke it .
"Uhm , he was the guy I was talking about forever ." she said to her dad , putting her arm around Joe .
"OK . Well , why don't you sit down , Joe ?" Mr. Brooks asked with suspicion .
As they walked over to their couch , Joe could feel hostility from Mr. Brooks , but Carrie was welcoming him with open arms .
"So ..." started Robert , "What are your goals in life ?"
"I do have goals and I would like to be a musician or a photographer someday ." he replied .
"Interesting !" Mrs. Brooks answered him , trying to make him feel comfortable .
"Where do you plan on going to college ?" he asked again .
"UGA , sir ." Joe answered nervously .
"Good . My daughter's going there too . Make sure you take care of her or I'll come and find ya ."
Joe was SO regreting that he asked Amanda to date him . What did he get himself into ?
"Brothers or sisters ?" he questioned him one more time .
"Just brothers . 2 little ones and a big one ." Joe said to him .
"Go to church ?"
"Yes I do sir ."
"Resist temptation well ?" he asked him unexpectedly . Mrs . Brooks elbowed her husband . "I need to know this , Carrie !" he whispered back .
Joe's eyes opened wide , as if he never expected that question , but he was ready with his answer .
"Yes sir . I have a purity ring I got from my parents a while back ."
"And you DO know the MEANING of this purity ring , right ?" he asked him rhetorically .
"Yes sir ." Joe replied . This is going to be a LONGGGG day ...
