Chapter 4 – Stella
STELLA
Beau
Check out this guy. And there’s this girl I think you might like too. She’s on now.
I’ll admit, it took everything in me not to send a second text.
I stand firmly in the belief that if a guy can’t find five seconds to text back, he’s just not that into you.
However, Holly suggested I send one more text.
A little nudge. She said, “If he doesn’t reply within the hour, then delete his contact and move on. ”
In the end, I couldn’t do it. But then Beau texted seconds later. What kind of crazy coincidence is that?
“Now what do I say?” I ask, panic and excitement coursing through me.
My sister sets her book down and comes over from her side of the room to sit on the bed in front of me. “Thank him and then ask him what he’s up to.”
Me
Thank you!
“You left off the other part. He doesn’t have anything to respond back to.” Holly’s brows adorably scrunch together.
“Wait for it.” I stare at the screen, hoping I’m not wrong.
Beau
How’s your week going?
Holly’s lips part and she stares at me in disbelief. “Clearly, you don’t need me. You’ve got this. In fact, I need a little of your dating skills.”
“We’re not dating. I just met him.”
“You’re in the pre-dating stage.”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Then what’s the point?”
“A little flirty texting. You should try it. You do have Teddy’s number, don’t you?”
Pink dots her cheeks.
“I bet Teddy would loooove some flirty texts. Want me to help you draft something?”
“Just stick to your own flirty texts.”
“Suit yourself.”
Me
Good. Yours? Plans for Thanksgiving break?
Beau
Week’s been good. Nothing exciting planned for break. What about you?
Me
No meets this weekend, but I’m staying in Valley. My brother plays football, did I tell you that? He has a game and my parents are coming to watch.
This time it takes him longer to respond.
Beau
You didn’t tell me that. That’s cool.
And a second later, another.
Beau
Did you check out the link I sent you? That girl is pretty badass.
Holly gets up and goes back to her own bed and picks up her abandoned paperback. It’s not even Thanksgiving and my twin already has Christmas lights strung along the wall above her bed. I don’t know anyone that loves the holidays more than her.
“You’re smiling so big.”
She’s not wrong. I’m downright giddy. I love this stage of meeting a guy. All the fun, get-to-know-you back and forth. It’s the weeks or months later when that excitement wears off that I find myself noticing all the red flags and annoying habits that I can’t look past.
Me
Are you watching right now?
Beau
Yep. And studying. Or I was studying.
Me
Test tomorrow?
Beau
Yeah.
Me
What year are you?
Beau
Sophomore. You?
Me
Freshman.
We didn’t share a lot of personal information at the airport, so we get the basics out of the way. I learn that Beau is majoring in history, that he isn’t exactly sure what he wants to do with said degree, and that he just celebrated his birthday in September.
Me
Are you dating anyone?
Beau
No.
Me
Why not?
Beau
What do you mean, why not?
Me
Don’t make me say it.
Beau
***
Me
You’re an attractive guy. So either you aren’t interested in dating or you’re an asshole?
Beau
You’re sure those are the only possible reasons?
Me
Pretty sure. So which is it?
Beau
Neither. I just don’t have a lot of time for dating right now.
Me
That’s weak.
Beau
It’s true. I have a lot going on.
Me
Do you have a job?
I’m lying on my stomach in bed, where I can see the TV set up in the middle of the room, but my eyes are glued to the small screen in my hand. The dots start and stop twice before the message appears.
Beau
Yeah. I have a campus job.
Me
I still think if you really wanted to date, you could. We’ve been texting for… almost thirty minutes. That’s enough time to grab a coffee or slip into a dark corner of the library for some under-the-shirt action.
Beau
Damn, you’re right. Gotta go. I have chicks to caffeinate and feel up.
Me
I sense you’re mocking me, but I should probably encourage it for the sake of the girls at your school.
Beau
I don’t follow.
Me
You’re hot.
Beau
Earlier I was just ‘attractive.’
Me
I didn’t want it to go to your head.
Beau
Too late. I’m screaming it down the hall of my dorm.
I laugh softly and Holly looks over with a grin. “I’m going to sleep. Do you need the light on?”
“No, I’m good.”
“That looks like the beginning of more than a little flirty texting,” she says as she turns off the TV and then all the lights, except the ones casting the room in a festive vibe.
The next afternoon, I text Beau as I’m grabbing lunch.
Me
How was your test?
Beau
I passed, I think. Did you sleep past your first class?
Me
No, but I wanted to. I still can’t believe we texted until 3!
Beau
Me neither. I’m on my second energy drink of the day. How many do you think is too many?
Me
1 is too many. Those things are awful for you.
Beau
Awful, but currently keeping my eyes open.
Me
I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun texting.
Beau
Same. I’m getting ready for work. Text ya later?
Me
Looking forward to it.
And the next day, we’re still texting.
Beau
Favorite food?
Me
Cheeseburger. You?
Beau
Cheeseburger is pretty hard to beat. Add bacon and some jalapenos…
Me
Do you need a moment alone with your spicy, bacon cheeseburger to show her a good time?
Beau
I need a whole afternoon. Maybe part of the evening, too.
I’m grinning like a fool as Holly and I walk to our afternoon English class.
“You two have been texting nonstop.” She elbows me and gives me a look as if to say, ‘I told you so.’
“He’s funny.” I hand over my phone to let her read the last few texts.
She huffs a small laugh. “Sounds like he’s an early finisher or maybe he’s suffering from performance anxiety.”
“That’s hilarious,” I say as she passes it back.
I quickly tap out my sister’s response and send it to him as we enter the classroom.
Holly loves English and insists on sitting in the front row, so I slide my phone into my backpack, grab a notebook and pen, and lean back in my chair as the professor begins.
Reading and writing are Holly’s thing. When we were younger, she would pick out books from the library, devour them, and then pass them on to me.
I would slog through, some of them I even really enjoyed, so we could talk about the characters and story lines.
We shared everything. If one of us liked something, the other did too.
Holly wanted to read every single book in the school library, so I flipped through all of them too.
I wanted to do softball, so Holly signed up and stood way out in right field, praying for the ball not to come to her.
Sometime around middle school, we stopped trying to be the same person and found our own interests. I joined more sports, and she signed up for student council. Through it all, we’ve remained each other’s biggest cheerleader and best friend.
And sometimes best friends have to sit in the front row of the class they’d like to sleep through.
Except today, I am wide awake. Sleepy, yes, but even if I laid my head down on my pillow, I know sleep wouldn’t come.
My skin buzzes and my mind reels. I have the ridiculous urge to doodle hearts on my paper and I find myself smiling as the professor talks about “The Yellow Wallpaper” (and that is not a happy, smiley story).
I’m lost in daydreams and time ticks by faster than usual. When the class is over, Holly looks over at me with a grin. “That was fun.”
Nodding, I slide my notebook and pen into my backpack and then retrieve my phone to see Beau’s response to my earlier text.
Beau
No, I’d just want to be very, very thorough.
My cheeks are warm and another giddy smile pulls at my lips.
“Stell?”
I glance up to find my sister staring at me, brows raised. “Sorry, what?”
She chuckles softly. “I asked if you wanted to go out tonight. The girls across the hall invited us to The Hideout for dinner and then I thought we could stop by Felix’s house.”
Felix is always having people over and we usually stop by. It’s nice to have him at the same school and his teammates and friends are a good group of guys—most of them anyway.
“Swim practice will probably go late. Go to dinner with them and I’ll text when I’m done and maybe meet up.”
“All right.” She takes a step away from me. Our next class isn’t together. “Have a good afternoon.”
“You too.” I loop my backpack around one shoulder and head off in the other direction.
I have two more classes and no time to text Beau during either. In my fitness and sports class, we go to the campus driving range to hit golf balls, and then I have an art class, where I struggle to draw a stack of books.
Holly has already decided to major in English with an emphasis on creative writing. I’m still undecided. I was considering interior design, but I may pull my hair out if every art pre-requisite (and there are a lot) is this painful.
As I walk to the aquatic center for practice, I still have that buzzing, giddy feeling. I swipe my student athlete ID to get into our training area.
I’m staring down at my phone, rereading Beau’s texts, when a quiet whistling catches my attention. At first, I think it’s Eric, but when I look up, I spot one of the assistant coaches. He nods and smiles as he passes.
Me
Can you whistle?
Beau
Sure. Can’t everyone.
Me
I can’t. At least not very well. Do you whistle?
Beau
Not on the regular, but occasionally. Why? Deciding we can’t be friends now?
Me
It is a hard limit for me. I’m going to have to start asking guys on the first date.
Beau
Eh. All else fails, you can kiss him to shut him up. I hear that works.
And just like that I’m thinking about kissing Beau.