***
"Oops, my bad. Sorry," said an apologetic voice from behind me. I turned around to see who had just run into me when I spotted a beautiful dark haired girl. Five foot six. Stunning green eyes.
"That's alright," I assured, smiling. "My fault."
"No, no, no. That was entirely me. I'm so clumsy sometimes," she laughed nervously, readjusting her grip on the box in her hands.
"Do you need help with that?" I asked as she moved past me.
"Hm? Oh, no. I'm alright."
She awkwardly waddled her way up two steps before rethinking her answer.
"I mean, that would be great."
I smiled and took the large box from her hands.
"I'm Jade by the way," she introduced.
"Drew. Did you just move in?"
"Yeah. Finally trying to make it on my own."
"Ah. I'm just visiting my sister."
"Oh," she said, sounding almost disappointed. "So I guess you aren't around here all the time, are you?" She laughed it off, but I could tell she really wanted to know.
"Not usually," I confessed. "But something tells me I'll be stopping by a lot more often from now on."
Her cheeks tried a shade of pink as she giggled and avoided my gaze. "I'll just assume it's for your own personal reasons and that I had nothing to influence that decision."
I grinned. "Assume what you'd like. It doesn't change the truth."
She bit her lip and showed me the way to her apartment. I placed the box where she had directed and glanced around at the small space.
"Nice," I commented. "You're here all by yourself?"
"That's the idea."
"I would just imagine it getting lonely."
"I'm used to it," she shrugged.
"Well that's no way to look at life," I told her. She smiled and rolled her eyes. "How about this? Whenever you're lonely, give me a call."
She laughed. "You're pretty cheeky around some girl you just met."
"Trust me. I'm this way with all the ladies," I joked, making her laugh more.
"Is that so?"
"Certainly."
"Well, then I'm sure you have plenty of others to keep company rather than me. In all honesty, I prefer to be alone," she flaunted. I smirked and took a step closer.
"If you prefer to be alone, then you must not know what it's like to have company."
She seemed almost speechless by my words, and that's when I knew I had won.
"How about you give me a call," I repeated, taking the cell phone from her left hand. "And we can be alone together."
She cracked a shy smile as I typed my number into her contact list and handed the device back to her.
"Maybe," she finally agreed.
"Maybe?"
"Maybe," she repeated.
I smiled with a hint of accomplishment tugging at the back of my mind as I exited her apartment. I was overflowing with confidence that I would hear from her soon. And in all honesty, I couldn't wait to see her again. She wasn't like other girls I had flirted with before. She was different.
She was Jade.
