Billie tossed her body into her satin sheets, her hair splattering behind her head like the hot blue sparks of a freshly stricken match. The past week had been a tough one, taking a toll on not only her body, but also her studies. Admittedly, Billie hated college; in fact, she detested it. She saw no point in accruing a life's worth of debt, just to spend the next ten years paying it all off. Much to her reluctance, however, she went anyway, only because of a promise.
Billie knew that pursuing a college education meant more to her family than it ever would to her. If she accomplished this obstacle, she would be the first woman in her family to obtain a bachelor's degree - in Dermatology, nonetheless.
Despite her core classes being tedious to her, she passed them all with flying colors; Billie had a brain no one could deny. Still, despite days like this one, Billie stayed positive, even when she felt her legs were giving out from under her.
"Ugh," she groaned, kicking her shoes off at the foot of her bed. She stared up at her speckled ceiling, her mind reeling with the craziness of the coffee shop that day. Tandy had been out sick, leaving Billie and some knob-kneed new girl that barely knew the difference between milk and creamer to run the busy shop. All day, Billie had bustled about, picking up the slack for what the girl had yet to learn. And while she loved her job with a passion, sometimes, Billie wondered what it would be like to just be held. To be cradled and taken care of without a care in the world. To be the center of someone else's life, so that for once she didn't have to focus on serving others.
A life of dependence.
An unattainable, unrealistic goal in Billie's world.
Though every muscle in her body begged her not to, Billie removed herself from the comfort of her bed, pulling her body upright. Begrudgingly, she raised her sore arms above her head, beginning to finger-comb her ice-blue hair into a messy bun that knotted just at the crown of her skull. She then reached down beside her bed and grabbed her backpack, bringing it into her lap and unzipping it. Her mind was set on the homework she'd procrastinated on getting done, and though it wasn't due until the very end of the next day, Billie wanted to make sure that she could spend her entire next morning worry-free. So, she opted to sacrifice what was left of her energy, in hopes for an even exchange of a better night's sleep.
------
Half an hour into her assignment, Billie sat cross-legged on her bed, frazzled at the physics equation that lied in her lap.
"Come on, Blue," she mumbled to herself, tapping her pen to her chin. "Come on, you know this."
She did not know this.
Billie had no idea how this worked, and truly, she was distracting herself from tempting her pride. James was a physics genius; he'd taken the class over again just for fun once. She knew she'd have to call him up for help; she was certain that was what it would come to. And as much as Billie day-dreamed of relying on needing others, she absolutely hated when she physically had to.
She pondered the equation over and over, digging through her Physics book for helpful hints, scanning over her notes until she'd memorized them verbatim. She knew she'd have to cave.
And finally, she did.
Her phone somehow now heavy in her hand, Billie rolled her eyes as the line trilled, her pride pouring out of her like waves.
"What subject?" He answered the phone, skipping over the hellos. He knew why she was calling. It was why she ever called.
"Physics," she sighed. "Flaherty's class."
"Ooh," James sucked in air through his teeth, sarcastically. "Flaherty's gonna cost ya."
"Let me guess," Billie said flatly, her eyes rolling a record amount of times. "You want a date?"
"Actually, I wanted a nickel."
"James." She couldn't help but smile, though she'd never let him know that. "Please, just help me."
"Just go out with me."
"I'm not gonna whore myself out for the answer to a homework problem."
James laughed. "Blue, I didn't ask you to get in bed with me. I asked for a date with you."
She scoffed. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"Not in my book."
Billie thought about hanging up on him. She thought about searching Google for the PDF of a teacher's manual for this particular class. She even thought about dropping out of school and becoming a stripper, making six figures a month, and buying out that college specifically to have Flaherty fired, thus sparing the rest of that university from the monstrosities he assigned, that ultimately forced innocent blue-haired girls out on dates with hot prospective doctors.
Hmm.
That last plan didn't seem so bad.
"Can I ask you something?" Billie said, her mind coming back to the fact that James had been waiting on the line throughout her transcendent thinking.
"Go ahead," he affirmed. Billie shut her textbook, pressing her cell phone to her ear and laying back onto her bed.
"Why do you want to go out with me so badly? I mean . . . what do I have to offer that anyone else on campus can't give you?"
James's response was quick; as if he'd waited for this question his whole life.
"You are the very opposite of anything my mother would expect me to bring home," he smiled, certain. "You're edgy, you do what you want, you don't need anyone, and you don't care what anyone thinks. Am I wrong?"
Billie caught herself grinning.
"No . . . ," she admitted slowly.
"I know," James laughed. "And I also know, that a girl like you could use a guy like me."
At this, Billie furrowed her eyebrows in doubt. She pursed her lips to keep herself from laughing.
"And what makes you think that?" She challenged. James's gun was locked and loaded with a response.
And boy, did he fire with perfect aim.
"Because I can take care of you."
Awe-stricken, Billie's bottom lip dropped slightly, her mind boggling with questions as to how he could have possibly known one of her deepest desires.
"Isn't that what you want?" He tested, stunning her even more. She was sincerely at a loss for words, and yet somehow, for the first time since high school, Billie felt compelled to say yes to him. Something about how he knew that - something about the way he watched her, wanted her, knew her - tightened that lasso and pulled her in.
So she didn't fight it this time.
"Okay," she muttered, barely a whisper.
"Okay?" James echoed.
"I'll go out with you."
James certainly wasn't expecting her to agree this time; in fact, he'd nearly fallen out of his seat at her response. His adrenaline began to rush, as suddenly what seemed impossible was finally just the opposite.
"Really?" He tried again, squinting his eyes in disbelief. Billie smiled, blinking slowly.
"Yes. Really. I'll go out with you."
"Well . . . alright," James said, still taking it in.
"Alright," Billie laughed. "Pick me up in an hour?"
It was humorous to her how, through all of the years of James's confidence in asking and asking repeatedly, the instant he got his 'yes', he was so dumbfounded. Still, Billie figured it was the initial shock of her agreement - she couldn't quite understand what had compelled her to say yes in the first place - but she was intrigued.
And oddly enough,
She was excited.
"An hour, it is," James agreed. "No need to dress up."
"I wasn't planning on it," she rebutted. Then, she smiled. "Bye."
"See you soon."
-----
James was frozen.
As many times as he had ever asked, she finally said yes, and he had less than an hour to process it. After ending the phone call, he stood from his seat, his mind reeling as he stared at the black phone screen in his hand.
"Nate," he mumbled to his brother on the couch. "Holy hell, Nate."
"Dude, what?" Nathan rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock as his vision cleared. James met his stare.
"Blue said yes."
There was a pause. A pause in which Nate felt he had to clean his ears and hear it again. A pause in which James wasn't even sure he had heard himself correctly.
Then, as the realization set in, Nate's eyes widened.
"Shut up," he said, sitting upright. James was still processing; he didn't know what to do.
"I uh... she wants to... tonight-,"
"Tonight?!"
"Yeah," he breathed. Nate stood, coming over to James and patting him on the back.
"Get a grip, man. Before that dime piece changes her mind?"
James looked over at Nate, nodding in agreement.
"You're right," he blinked, gathering his thoughts. "You're right. I've gotta go get ready."
"Yeah, you do that!" Nate called out as James headed back into his room.
------
Meanwhile, Billie was more than exhausted, but something about that phone call had given her a second wind. She was excited in a strange way, though she knew she would never admit it.
Maybe it was the delirium of her exhaustion that made her feel all of these new things for the same old guy. Maybe it was his direct assurance that he could provide her even a taste of the life she only saw in her dreams; the life where the only time she'd have to lift a finger was when she was receiving a second coat of nail polish. Billie knew that it was quite the reach, and that dreams were just that: dreams. But . . . something was different. Something in the air felt different.
And though she dragged her feet through it all, she went with it. First showering; washing her bright blue strands with a lavender scented shampoo. Once out, she blow-dried and styled, before finally getting frustrated enough to just toss on her red beanie. Her makeup routine was the same; Billie's favorite look of dark eyes and bare freckles.
Keeping her word, she did not dress up, changing out of her sweat pants and into her favorite ripped pair of blue jeans. Maintaining her signature image, she tossed on an AC/DC t-shirt that she'd customized into a plunging v-neck that laced up. Then, after tying her paint-splattered converse, she checked the time and found that James would be arriving at any given moment.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang, causing Billie to jump slightly in surprise. She tucked her phone into her back pocket, staring at the front door for a moment.
What am I doing? She thought, feeling her heart begin to race. But there was no turning back now; no time to come to her senses. Some part of her wanted this; a part of her she hadn't met yet. It was demanding, refusing to let her mind win over. There was something there that pushed her toward that door.
But it was fully her decision to pull it open.
"Hey," James said at the sight of her, the corners of his lips pulled up tight. In his right hand, he held a single red rose, lit up brightly by the refraction of light that spilled from the porch light onto his wristwatch. He looked quite nice; his beard well groomed, his hair finely combed and gelled. He wore dark denim jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, finished nicely with what appeared to be brand new Timberland boots.
And if he hadn't been analyzing her attire as well, he might have caught her staring.
"Wow," were Billie's first words to him, her eyebrows lifting. "A rose? How classy."
James chuckled.
"I'm a classic man," he responded. Then, he presented it to her. "You look beautiful."
Billie stared at the rose, allowing it to linger in the air, just as he had with her backpack a few days before. She turned her eyes up to him then, watching him nervously swallow before giving her his smile.
And she smiled right back.
"You're not so bad, yourself." She took the rose as she stepped over the threshold, shutting her front door. "And thank you."
James jutted out his elbow for Billie to loop her arm through.
"Ready to go?"
Billie felt highly inclined to say no, turn around and get back into her bed, leaving James to seek after her for many, many more days to come.
But as she stared at him, elbow extended, hope in his eyes, nerves crawling all over his body through his every breath - she found him somewhat . . . charming. And in a way, kind of cute.
So she hoped for the best and ignored her gut.
"Yeah, I'm ready," she grinned. As she threaded her arm through his, James let out his quietest sigh of relief, his nerves only growing stronger as he led her to the car.
