Plié and Clout

Chapter 21: Don't Tell Jilly

hehe double update

-rabid

***

AUGUST

Steph rings the doorbell, which is pretty cute even though it's etiquette. I sit up off the couch and in a rather giddy state, get the chills for a moment. He's leaning over so he can look through the side panel window. It's contorting his face in the textured glass and I honestly have to giggle a little.

"You're early."

He checks his watch. "Like five minutes, but-"

"Shoo shoo, stand out there for five minutes."

"But it's really cold out here and I want in." he looks past me.

"Four minutes."

"New boyfriend's toes are cold." He wiggles his eyebrows at me. For all the time we spend texting, none of it prepares me for talking to him in person.

"Fine, but I haven't picked a movie yet." I shrug over to my living room. He shrugs back.

"That's alright, I can help," He pauses. "I probably won't help, but."

"You know, because," I scratch the back of my head, nervous. "I feel like we can't start a series, like-"

"Eh, why not," He shrugs. "I know a guy, Gage, he met a girl and they started Game of Thrones on their first date."

"What?" I laugh.

Steph grins. "He's a goalie, goalies are weird like that."

"So they seem to be," I reach out for his hand in a second of nothing but stupid courage and he takes it. Boyfriend, I guess.

I take him into the living room area and sit down, pointing up at my Netflix account, movies all over.

"So, what do you want to watch?"

"Pick a number under seven," Steph picks up the remote. I frown a little. "It could also be a negative one, but that's what Jilly and I do when we're really bored."

"Alright, five." He scrolls down five categories. "Clever."

He winks at me. "Number one to fifteen."

"Three." I look up at him and he raises an eyebrow.

"Fifty-three, huh," He gets a little smile at that number.

I poke him. "What's the deal with fifty-three?" He opens the movie and loads it up, then leans back on the couch.

"Nothing, that's just my number."

"What?"

"That's my jersey number, always has been."

"Why?" I lean back next to him, handing him one half of the only blanket I have over here. "Like, what's special about it?"

"It was my grandpa's number," He shrugs. "That's what number he played as back when he played hockey, so, I went with it."

"Cute," my arm is up against his and it's making me short of breath. Steph makes me really nervous. I look over at him. "So what does negative one do?"

"Huh?"

"Negative one, what happens when you choose a negative one?"

"Oh," He smiles and it lights up the whole room, the lights are off except the TV and a lamp in the corner, but that smile is dazzling, but in a way, restrained. "Well, then you go to search, choose another number, count that many letters in, and type only one letter. Pick the first movie that shows up."