I can't even remember the last time I skated like that," Billie said, her voice high-pitched with laughter. Just after her phenomenal performance on that expensive board, Billie was rushing with so much adrenaline that she'd caught an endorphin high. The second she was done skating, she met eyes with James, gave him a look that he immediately understood, and instantly the two of them began booking it back to the car. The dust kicked up beneath their feet as they ran, full-fledged speed, for no reason at all other than the fact that she just felt like it.
That was something that James really admired about Billie; she just straight up did whatever she wanted and didn't give a damn.
Panting once they'd met the driver's side of the car, at the same time, the two of them hopped in and James peeled off of the gravel terrain.
Billie laughed, turning around in her seat and tucking the boards in the back. Once settling back in her chair, she fastened her seatbelt, yanked up the recline handle and lied all the way back.
"Wow," she sighed, a large smile on her face. "That was so much fun."
"Did you see those kids' faces?" James remarked, and at this Billie giggled. "They were fucking mind-blown."
"Damn straight," Billie replied. Then, she turned to James, pointing at him. "And expect nothing less from Blue."
He grinned, glancing at her.
"I always knew," he said simply. "I just wanted to see if that girl I knew from high school was still in there."
Billie closed her eyes, feeling her heart rate begin to settle.
"Where else would she have gone?" She asked, matter-of-factly.
As James watched the road extend for miles ahead of him, all he could think about was the girl beside him. This was strange, given that she was right there, but he hadn't a moment to pause since he'd picked her up. James was ecstatic, not to mention appreciative. He'd finally scored a date with the girl of his dreams, and there she was, lying in the car beside him, smiling, having the time of her life.
Because of him.
He knew he had to be overthinking this; Blue was just being herself. But James had been in love with this girl since they were kids, and finally, for once, his imagination wasn't just his imagination.
And he was proud of himself.
"Blue," he said, and at the sound of her name, she opened her eyes.
"Yeah?"
"When was the last time you went for a swim?"
As James raised his eyebrow, Billie sat up, responding only with a grin.
----------
The grandiose gate of James's back yard lifted slowly, allowing him to park his Jeep in the rear of his home - which was just as stunning as the rest of his property. His driveway wrapped around his house, providing a path directly to the ominously lit turquoise swimming pool.
As James went to put the vehicle in park, Billie, who was the ill-impressed, prideful girl that she was, forced herself to pretend that she wasn't at all phased. In truth, she'd never seen James's new home before, and she was pleasantly surprised.
"When did you move here?" She asked. "What happened to your place out by The Meadows?"
James chuckled, turning off the car's headlights.
"The Meadows," he mocked, smirking. "What, you thought I'd stay in a group home forever?"
Billie furrowed her eyebrows.
"Wait . . . a group home?" James nodded casually, but Billie was baffled. "James, I didn't know that . . . that you-,"
"I know," he reminded her. "It's not something that I wanted anyone to know."
As he moved to remove the keys from the ignition, Billie stopped him, reaching out and placing her hand on his arm.
"Why?" She asked.
James's eyes fell down to her hand, but only briefly- as he was worried she'd pull away. He held Billie's touch as if it were a butterfly landing on his hand by accident; an event so startling he could not call attention to it without risking its loss.
Cooly, he expelled a breath.
"Whenever you're in a situation that you can't particularly control . . . , you do your best not to wear it on your forehead." He then smiled handsomely. "The group home didn't define me then, and it shouldn't now."
For the first time since her knowing him, Billie felt a real emotional connection for James, right in that moment. She decided right then, that it wasn't because of his sad backstory, or even because of his nice car, or house, or anything else. No, Billie felt connected to James because of his honesty.
His sincerity that she didn't even have to ask for to receive. He just gave it to her; trusted her right away with a secret he'd held his entire life.
And because of that, something within her heart ignited.
Slowly, she smiled, holding his stare.
"Let's take a dip," she dared. Then, hurriedly, Billie rushed out of that vehicle, shutting the door behind her only to gain a head start toward that crystal pool. James laughed, stepping out and circling the Jeep, his eyes following Billie, who was now far ahead of him. Still, he watched her in amazement; unsure of why, right then-- when she was far away, a shadow in the dark, nothing but blue hair to be seen-- she had appeared more beautiful to him than he'd ever seen her.
Billie whirled around, noticing that James wasn't right behind her. Smiling widely when she saw he was still standing beside the Jeep, she tugged off her lace-up t-shirt and beanie, tossing them on the ground.
"Come on!" She yelled, walking backward slowly in hopes that he'd catch up.
Cocking a grin, James headed straight for her, making sure to tug off his shoes and shirt along the way. Barefooted, he jogged right up to her, wearing that perfectly straight smile of his. Billie pulled her ice-blue hair up high into a long ponytail.
"What took you so long?" She pursed her lips, teasingly. "Don't tell me doctors can't swim. Is that, like, a thing?"
James rolled his eyes, unbuttoning his jeans.
"Prospective doctor. And you think I'd own a pool I can't swim in?"
His pants sank to his ankles and within moments he kicked them off. Then, giving Billie one last raise of an eyebrow, he ran right past her, springing high into the air and front flipping right into the middle of the pool. Giddily, she laughed, taking a seat at the pool's edge as she went to unlace her high tops.
James popped back up from the water, shaking his head quickly.
"Woo!" He exclaimed.
Billie raised her eyebrows as she pulled off a shoe.
"Is it cold?"
"Come see for yourself," he prompted, wading over to her side of the pool. Billie started on her other shoe, loosening the laces. She held her focus almost too tightly on her task as if she were avoiding looking at him. James, of course, caught wind of this and raised his chin at her. "What?"
Billie grinned, staring at her shoe.
"What do you mean, 'what'?" She mocked. James watched her closely.
"You're making that face."
She choked down a laugh. "I'm not making any face."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," James dismissed, and Billie pulled off her other shoe, alongside her socks. "Last time you made that face, you wouldn't tell me why. I'm not letting it go this time."
The last time Billie had made that face was five years ago when she and James had somehow caught the first thirty seconds of a Magic Mike ad while watching a video online.
Billie stood, her smile growing wider.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Of course she knew what he was talking about. But obviously, she would never admit to anything that could possibly flatter James prematurely. Truly, that face was Billie's blush. A blush triggered by seeing him for the first time without a shirt on. A blush triggered by the fact that this would be the first time he'd ever seen her without a shirt on. Or pants, for that matter.
A blush triggered by the fact that she was undoubtedly happier than she'd ever planned on being, or had ever been in a long time.
"Don't watch me!" Billie shooed at James, making him turn away as she shimmied out of her skinny jeans. James chuckled.
"I'm gonna see you anyway!"
"Don't be a perv," she rolled her eyes playfully.
Finally down to her bra and underwear, Billie jumped right in, without even warning James that she was going to. Completely surprising him, she cannonballed right in front of him; a close call as she'd just barely missed clipping his shoulder.
James was immediately saturated in water all over again; the repercussions of Billie's massive splash. When she popped back up, she faked an innocent smile.
"Whoops," she shrugged, laughing in his face.
James raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, you don't think you'll pay for that?" He threatened, and slowly he began to move closer to her.
But Billie was not at all worried.
She crossed her arms and smirked.
"You take one more step and I'll scream at the top of my lungs."
James froze, defeated.
"Apology accepted," he replied. Then, he watched her face, and how it slowly began to change. "You're doing it again-,"
"Doing what?!"
"That face!" He laughed. "What is that about?"
"You're fucking delusional."
Billie moved to the edge of the pool again, perching herself back up on its edge. She dangled her legs in the water, watching closely as each movement made little ripples.
Hesitantly, James approached her front, placing his palms on the concrete on either side of her body. Truthfully, he'd never been this close to her, and he wasn't sure for how long she'd allow it.
"We've been friends a long time," Billie said, somewhat randomly. "Practically since we were kids."
"That's true," James nodded. Billie kept her eyes on the water.
"Were we ever . . . you know, close?"
"No," James shook his head adamantly. "We definitely had separate lives."
Finally, Billie looked at him, and only then did she realize just how near he was.
And something about that stole her breath.
"So . . . so am I a bad friend . . . for never knowing?" She gasped quickly. "About the group home?"
James was watching her body language closely, and quickly wondered what got her so flustered.
"Blue," he said, and she caught his gaze, holding it right then and there. "Nate and I, we've been foster kids our whole lives. If we wanted to, we could have told everyone we knew. But we didn't. And we had our reasons for that." James shifted a half an inch closer to her. "One of those reasons was to keep our friends from pitying us."
Billie scrunched up her face.
"Is that what I'm doing?"
James chuckled.
"Kind of."
She sighed.
"I just wish I would have known."
"And what would that have done?" James asked sincerely. Billie paused, surprised by this question. It was one of those simple things that people get to say; those things that only seem like an easy answer to the person that's doing the asking.
Slowly, Billie shrugged her shoulders.
"I guess . . . nothing."
James blinked, thinking through his portrayal of himself.
"Look, I . . . I don't mean to be an ass. And I'm sorry if that's what keeping this from you makes me."
Slowly, Billie eased herself back into the water and suddenly found herself chest to chest with him. His arms still on the cement of the pool's edge, she was unintentionally boxed into a corner with barely an inch of water separating their skin.
"So," Billie breathed, lifting her deep blue eyes up to his sharp hazel. "Nothing has to change between us?"
James caught himself smirking at this question; he saw right away that it could be translated multiple ways.
And yet, he knew exactly how to answer it.
"When it comes to my past? No." Carefully, he moved his hand to Billie's hair, hooking a loose lock behind her ear. "When it comes to this date?" He smiled. "Well, I guess that's up to you."
Billie felt her cheeks becoming a hot red, as suddenly she realized that she'd fallen right into his trap.
"You're making that face again," he teased. Finally, she caved.
"So what if I am? It doesn't mean anything."
"You can't fool me," he said simply.
Billie watched him, catching a shimmer of hope in that gaze.
"You're not gonna try to kiss me, are you?" She said plainly. James chuckled, not at all phased by a question like that out of a girl like Blue.
"No," he replied, completely honest.
Billie grinned then, reaching back and hoisting herself back up onto the cement.
"What a shame," she stood, gathering her clothes and walking back to the Jeep, yelling over her shoulder. "Because right then, I totally would have let you."
--
The night was pitch black as James walked Billie from the Jeep to her front door. The only light was that pesky porch light, triggered by motion sensors that scared Billie senseless almost every time. As she whipped out her house key, she turned to unlock the door, only placing the key back in her pocket once she was done.
"Well," she said, turning back to him. "Unless there are any other adventures on my doorstep, I'd say the night is over."
"I'd say you're correct," James nodded.
"Surprisingly, I had a pretty nice time."
James faked a shocked look.
"'Surprisingly'? 'Pretty nice'?" He scoffed, chuckling. "Wow, you're really making me work for an actual compliment, huh?"
Timidly, Billie bit her lip, finally deciding to humble herself.
"Tonight was perfect," she tried again. "And I'm glad I came out."
For some reason, James was surprised by her humility. It suddenly made him nervous, as if he were picking her up all over again. Awkwardly he cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his front pockets.
"We should, uh . . . . , we should do this again."
Billie smiled.
"Yeah . . . yeah, we should." Turning back around slowly, Billie opened her front door, stepping over the threshold and into her home. As she faced him again, she sighed. "Goodnight, James."
"Goodnight," he said. But as she went to shut the door, James's curiosity got the better of him, overpowering the nerves he thought he had. "Blue? Wait."
"Yeah?" She asked, pulling the door open again.
Stepping nearer to her, he kept his eyes on hers.
"I have to know. What . . . what made you say yes? Tonight, of all nights?" He squinted, humorously. "It wasn't just the homework problem, was it?"
Graciously, Billie smiled down at the ground.
"I said yes . . . because you were right."
Puzzled, James furrowed his eyebrows.
"Right about what?"
Billie thought back to something that James had said to her earlier that night on the phone; something that she didn't realize would resonate so profoundly until right then.
"A girl like me could definitely use a guy like you." Gently, she rose to her toes and placed a kiss on the left side of James's cheek, just beside his lips. "Goodnight, James," she whispered, right there into his ear, just before she pulled away.
"Goodnight," he replied.
And their eyes only left each other's when the door created the divide.
