Page 7 of Batty About You
I smooth down my skirt and pick up my phone with sweating palms.Is it too needy if I text him again? He’s driving. I told him to meet me a little before eight...
It’s six. He’ll still be on the road.
The October sky is darkening outside the bedroom window of the off-campus apartment. Orange and purple ribbons of sky are reflected in the hint of river I can see that separates the campus from the rest of Pine Ridge.
Pacing. Sweating.
It’d be nice to go out for a walk, feel that little nip in the air, and enjoy the sunset.
But not in these heels. And if I don’t wear heels, my dress will trip me. Why did I get such a freaking long dress??
Oh, right. Mom and Daddy pushed this onebecauseit was long, and all the other girls at the prom had dresses cut up to their—
Never mind.
“Why did I get dressed so early?” I ask the empty air. “Dios mio...”
It’s no good. I need to talk to someone—and lately that’s been Bogdan. Boggie. Sometimes I even call him Bogey, like Humphrey Bogart, just to hear him talk like Bogart, and the conversation dissolves into him saying things like “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” and“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.”
I dial.
Boggie answers just before it goes to voicemail (And yes, I do know how many rings it takes before it starts playing Mozart’sOboe Quartet and then tells me to leave a message.) God, how can I be so crazy co-dependent on a man I’ve never even seen face-to-face?
“Kelly! Hi!” He sounds breathless.
I smile so hard. Good. He must be as nervous but hyped as I am.
“Hi! I... I’m so nervous, I’m sweating through my dress. Not that it has sleeves. It has no sleeves,” I blurt out.
“Nervous? Do you want me not to come?” he asks.
“No. No, no. I’m just... I can’t tell anyone else how nervous I am. You’re the only one who will get that this is such a good nervous. Like I’ve been waiting for this for so long, and it’s about to happen.” I dab my eyes and realize that if I cry, I’ll probably have to redo my mascara.
“I’m nervous, too. So nervous. But... I’m trusting you. Trusting in us.”
“That’s exactly it! We’ve been through so much together long-distance. I can’t wait to start beingtogethertogether.” I blush suddenly. I’m picturing a certain special kind of togetherness, and a new sort of heat zips through me.
For years, when I've fantasized in the shower or alone at night, he’s always been the blurry figure I imagine making love to me. I know we’re both inexperienced, but in my head, it doesn’t matter. In my head, it doesn’t matter that the first time might be messy or awkward, because with him, it’ll only get better every time.
“I can’t wait for that, either. If tonight goes well, maybe—maybe we can start getting together more? I mean...” Bogdan gulps so hard I can hear it, “I think our parents would be okay with it, don’t you? If everything I’m hoping happens, happens?”
He means if he proposes, and I say yes. Does he have a ring? Will he go down on one knee?
Do I care?
Nope.
“I think so, too.”
“Kelly, should I have called your dad? Is he going to rip my wings off—I mean,legsoff! Is he going to rip my legs off for not asking for his blessing?” Bogdan shouts.
There’s a lot of wind mixed with his breathless voice now, and I feel bad that he’s driving through some storm to get to me. “I think it’ll be fine. Is the weather bad?”
“Huh? Oh, just a little windy. But I’ll be there soon. I’m nervous, too, Kelly. I just want you to remember that I... That I love you with all my heart. I would never hurt you or be mean to you. I might not look like much, but there’s a good heart in here.”
“I know that! Why do you think I’m so in love with you,novio?” I practically purr, warm, wet heat suddenly seeping through me in an unexpected rush. Just his voice sends me into that private fantasy realm where we’re locked together, bodies pressed together, him inside of me, my tight little walls shuddering around him like I’ve shuddered around my fingers for the past two nights.
“Soin love?”
