"Know what?" Cassie said to Nick.

"What?"

"I have a date tonight."

"Really? That's great Cass. It's about time you took some time out to date."

"Yeah. You talked me into it."

"Who are you going out with?"

"Reuben McKnight. I just got off the phone with him. He called me."

"Cool. I hope you have a good time."

"Thanks."

"Where are the two of you going?" Nick asked.

"To some party he was invited to."

"Cool."

"Are you and Melissa doing anything tonight?"

"I doubt it. She's usually busy on Saturday nights. We never plan anything cause she knows I always plan something with you."

Suddenly, Cassie remembered that she was supposed to play basketball with Nick that night. "Oh, Nick! I'm so sorry. I forgot that we were playing tonight."

"That's okay. I'll probably just go up there and shoot some by myself."

"I am so sorry, Nick."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're going out. It's good for you. But, I'll still miss you."

"We'll make up for it one day later this week."

"Okay. You better go get ready."

"Alright. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you how things went."

"Good. I'll be waiting to hear from you."

"Catch ya later Nick. Bye."

"Bye, Cass."

Cassie went up to her room to get ready, but she felt really bad about missing basketball with Nick. She picked out a short khaki skirt with a pale blue polyester top. Her off-white heels set off the outfit perfectly. The doorbell rang and she knew it was him.

Cassie answered the door. "Reuben! Hey."

"Hey, Cassie. You look great."

"Thanks."

"Shall we?" Reuben said as he held out his arm.

Cassie linked her arm with his and they walked out to his car.

In his car, he asked, "Would you like to get something to eat before the party?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter much to me."

"Okay, we'll just drive around until we decide." Reuben started up the car.

"Reuben, wait," Cassie said.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't go tonight."

"Why not? Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Of course not. I just have something else that I really gotta take care of. How about a rain check?"

"Okay," he said. Cassie started to get out of the car. "May I ask what it is you have to do?"

"Play basketball. Thanks for everything, Reuben." With that, Cassie shut the car door and ran back into her house. Upstairs she went to change into shorts, a t-shirt, and some tennis shoes. She pulled back her hair and ran downstairs. Cassie locked her door, got in her own car, and started the drive to the basketball courts.