He grabbed the number and blurted out his answer angrily. “You want it so bad, Keith? Fine, I’ll text her. But I’ll tell you now, if this doesn’t work then we’re done.”
I was shocked by his words and I was going to say something in my defense. That was my trait. I was the one who had an answer for everything. Grant pulled out his phone and started to tap the numbers into it. I walked away, with pride. I knew that this could bring us back together. It just had to. I couldn’t be wrong. I had a little faith that this could give us that miracle we needed, and that was all I had to go on. The thought of us going back to the way we've been over the last year was unbearable.
Chapter Seven
Celia
A message popped up on my phone’s screen as I dug through the boxes around me.
What are you wearing?
I thought about Mom’s words about having fun. I thought about Rachel being out and having fun and decided that I wouldn’t ignore the message. Now, I just had to think of how to reply.
Sure, it was a stranger, I didn’t even know how they’d got my number, but it was only a little fun, right?
Not really. Maybe for someone like Rachel, who made friends easily and had boys following her all over campus, that would be easy, but for me, it was just… hmm.
My only interaction with the males of our species had been with my male cousins, uncles, and my male teachers. I had never had a boyfriend and I didn’t know how to talk sexy. The only thing I knew came from movies and television.
What should I reply, I wondered with my lip between my teeth and my brows furrowed.
I didn’t have a clue.
So, I looked up and down at what I was wearing, wondering whether to lie or not and replied.
Blue jeans, light blue blouse.
My heart raced as I pressed the send button. I laid down on my bed as I waited for someone to reply, this mystery person who had my number. I realized that maybe it was the wrong thing to send and I wished that I could turn back time to send another message instead. I’d claim that I only had my T-shirt and my panties on just like the song. Or maybe I should send another one back asking what they’re wearing.
Damn! Just say that it’s the wrong number. I had no idea who it was on the other end of the line. For all I knew, I could be talking to a girl. There were too many questions and not enough answers here. I held the phone in my hand, my eyes closed, and waited for a reply.
The next thing I knew, the sun was up, and Rachel was awake. When exactly had she come in, I wondered? “You got some love interest that I don’t know about?”
Rachel laughed and I squinted my eyes open a little and tried to focus.
Holy crap. What time was it?
I looked at my phone and saw that it was nearly nine and my screen said I had a ton of messages. I looked at the time again and screwed my eyes shut. That couldn’t be right.
Six am? Why? It was the weekend.
Dang, she woke up early for someone that crawled in during the middle of the night. I must have fallen asleep somewhere around midnight and she wasn’t even back in the dorm yet.
“So, come on, tell me who it was that texted you so much? Is it a guy?” The sparkle of amusement in her eyes made her cute, but I wasn’t ready for cute yet. I needed coffee.
“No,” I mumbled, my head fuzzy like it was that time that I’d drunk too many shots of tequila. I’d only had it that one time and I vowed never to have it again.
She went to the coffee maker and turned it on. “It’s just that when I came in, your phone didn’t stop going off and the way you were holding it in your hand was cute. It was kinda sweet, really.”
I nodded, remembering that I’d cleared out all the boxes and put away all the things my family sent me. I hate getting up to a mess, so, I organized myself. I’d called Nana, my aunts, and my uncle to thank them for all the stuff they sent. Then I did a mini fashion show with my new clothes and make-up. Usually, on the rare occasion when I did wear makeup, I only used a little bit of eyeliner and some shadow, but now I had a whole makeup bag full of it.
And then I washed it all off, put the clothes away, and brushed my teeth. I’d used the Wi-Fi for a bit just searching the Net. That’s when I’d got the text and replied. Then, I must have fallen asleep. I felt my cheeks burn as I rolled out of bed. Dang, how stupid of me!
“Well, whoever was texting you last night was after some attention.”
I stood up and stretched out, “You mean the early hours of the morning. Because I went to bed around midnight and you weren’t back then.”
“Wow! Are you my mom?” From the look I sent her, I knew she’d snarked that a little too hard. “Sorry, I meant that as a joke. Anyway, some of us are going to get in some more exploring today. Do you want to join us?”
“No, thanks. I need coffee and some breakfast before I go out anywhere.”
“Well, I don’t want to nag, but coffee and a pack of chocolate donuts isn’t the breakfast of champions, honey.” I could see from the way she looked at me that she didn’t mean it harshly, but it still stung. If nothing else, I knew that Rachel would be honest with me, even if it wasn’t what I always wanted to hear.
I shook my head and I tried to think of something to say, some excuse not to go out with her. It was the weekend, after all, and we should be out exploring the campus together, so we could figure out where to go for classes. And those tight jeans and the nearly invisible sweater that she had on screamed of going to a club, not searching the campus for buildings.
“Why don’t you come with us and we can get breakfast?” she asked as she put the brush down and checked her makeup. She was beautiful. And she was definitely on a mission to lose her virginity this week for sure. No waiting for our girl, no thank you.