I Hate You, I Love You

Chapter 7: The Pickup

Thursday evening I sat drawing in my sketchbook and sipping tea. The week had gone by rather uneventfully after I left Dinah's. The day after I had a meeting with a representative of an art gallery that wanted to show my work. It was like all my dreams coming true, but now I had no idea if that's what I wanted. I needed time to think about it.

Putting my notebook down, I stood to stretch and walked into my bedroom. The moon was full and high in the sky casting a dreamlike glow over the town.

My phone rang from the other room. Turning, I ran into the living room and slid on my socks the last few feet. Grabbing my phone, I answered. "Hello?"

"Do you remember the night we met?"

Dinah. Of course. You were annoying, how could I forget? "Sure."

"Do you remember the next day?"

Our almost kiss? The stuffed dog? "Yes."

"Do you remember what I told you?"

"Dinah?" Where the hell is she going with this?

She laughed softly. "I want to take you on that date. Tomorrow night."

Even though Dinah and I had already shared so much with each other, the fact that she wanted to take me on a date made me nervous and what was more unnerving was that I didn't know why. We kissed, we made out, I held her as she cried for her grandmother, hell, we even slept together. And a date was making me nervous.

"Lauren?" she said when I didn't respond. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Sorry," I chuckled nervously, fixing my hair. "Yes, I'm free."

"Great," I imagined her smiling. "I'll pick you up at six."

Not long after the phone call, I lay in bed looking out the window at the night sky. Planes passed by, their anti-collision lights flashing. When I was younger I used to think they were dancing stars, but as I got older and the unknown became known, my imagination no longer allowed me to think about them that way. That's how it is with most things, I suppose. One day you believe in Santa Clause, the next you see your parents stuffing presents under the tree, eating the cookies you left, drinking the milk. As a child it was easy to believe in things like that. Things like Santa Clause, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, the monsters under the bed and in the closet. As an adult I see things differently. My parents slipping money under my pillow as they thought I slept, telling me about the monsters to keep me in bed at night. I let out a long sigh.

Rolling over, I spotted the stuffed dog Dinah had got me on the nightstand. As corny as the thought of her winning that for me was it made me smile. Dinah confused me. Her friendship with Ally and her forwardness when we first met annoyed the hell out of me and all I wanted to do was get as far away from her as I could. At some point the tables turned and I wasn't sure when or how that happened. Now, I was more annoyed by the pull she had on me. I found myself doing things and agreeing to things I normally wouldn't do or agree to. With a frustrated sigh, I reached over and knocked the stuffed animal to the floor. Immediately feeling guilty I quickly picked it up and held it close.

The next morning I met Ally at a nail salon near my apartment. "Lauren," she waved when I walked in. She was sitting on the edge of the bench along the wall with her feet emerged in the foot spa.

"I'd hug you but I wouldn't want you falling in," I canted my head and smiled sweetly, sitting next to her as a nail technician prepared my foot bath.

"Hey," she smacked me on the arm and laughed. "I'm glad you suggested this. I haven't had my nails done in weeks. Oh," she said. Digging around in her purse, she pulled out a clear gift bag tied closed with multicolored ribbon. "I brought you some baked goods."

"Oh. My. God." I snatched the bag out of her hand and gave her a big hug. "You're the best, Als. I'm going to have some," I paused, maybe I should save my appetite for tonight? "Later. I'll have some later."

Ally gave me a curious look. "Why not have some now?"

The nail technician signaled for me to put my feet in the water. "I'd rather save them for after dinner."

"Lauren," Ally said seriously. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I'm not hungry?"

With a nod, Ally focused on the woman filing her feet. "You don't want to tell me."

"Okay, I have a date tonight," I said quickly. "So how's work been?" Ally smacked me again. "Hey!"

"Why didn't you tell me? Who are you going out with? Where are you going?"

I put my hands up. "Whoa, slow down."

"Lauren," she looked and sounded hurt, "why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to tell you," I said, rubbing her shoulder. I felt terrible. Ally has been my best friend for years and as much as I wanted to tell her, I couldn't. "But I'm not sure how I feel about this person yet."

Ally sat there quietly, giving me odd looks every now and then. It was starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

"Ally, stop looking at me like that."

She grinned, covering her mouth with her hands like she was going to burst. "It's Dinah, isn't it?" she said excitedly, scaring the woman working on her feet. "Sorry," she laughed, patting the girl on the shoulder.

Not knowing what to say, I sat there silently. Hearing her name made me want to smile, but I held back. I couldn't give anything anyway.

"It's got to be her," Ally continued. "It's no secret that Dinah likes you. Tell me it's her."

Taking a deep breath and needing to talk about this with someone, I decided to open up to Ally. "It is."

"What was that?"

"I have a date with Dinah." Saying those words made me smile like an idiot. I ducked my head, embarrassed.

Ally pulled me into a hug. "You're so cute. Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you."

Leaving the salon, I was feeling better about my impending date. Having told Ally about what was going on took a weight off my shoulders I didn't know was there and I was looking forward to seeing where things with Dinah would go.

Once I was home I showered, making sure to take special care while shaving. My outfit for the night was a sheer black dress and not much else. After putting a few curls in my hair and applying a bit of makeup, the doorbell rang. I checked myself out in the mirror before going to the open the door. With my hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath and pulled it open.

Dinah stood there looking downright dangerous in a pair of frayed stonewashed denim jeans, a white satin top and leather shoulder jacket. She took me in slowly from head to toe, a sexy smile forming. "Ready?"