Mel will not leave me alone
until I have a date and she
can finalize her crazy
but sweet
plans for the night.

it’s still a month away but
she is determined
to get a signed-in-blood
commitment from me.

the easy choice would be TJ.
He’s nice enough, and cute enough
and his breath doesn’t smell
and he is already part of the group.
But it’s only easy for me
because I know that he likes me
a lot more than I like him
and I can’t bear to give him
the wrong idea
and I can’t give him
the right idea
without pointing out
what he obviously does not want to admit.

the harder choice is Ben.
I haven’t even admitted his existence
to my friends though
at this point I’m not sure why
but it would be kind of
weird
a little bizarre
and totally awkward
to invite him to
such a high school thing
He’s beyond all that, so
why would he ever want to return?
Even if he said yes,
I think I would die of humiliation
from having him join the group
and the questions that would
come later.

I’m now screening my calls from Mel.