Afterglow (BWWM)

Chapter 6

Today was the day.

My first lesson. Anxiety bubbled in my gut. I had no idea what to expect. Knowing Drew, anything could happen. He'd texted me the details earlier that day. It was pretty vague, but at least I had a time and location. Downtown Mall food court at four.

I expected to meet somewhere more private, but I was trying to embrace a new me and keep an open mind. Even still, the doubt crept in. What if I was making a huge mistake?  What did I really know about Drew anyway? I could be walking into a setup. He probably told the whole team about what we were doing and they sitting around cracking jokes at my expense right now. And, yet, nothing would stop me from showing up.

I leaned against my closet door. This whole mess was crazy. Or was it stupid? I think I lost my ability to tell the difference. I was willing to give Drew the benefit of the doubt because I sensed that deep down, underneath that cocky, entitled, jock exterior, was a good heart. Regardless of how it all turned out, after today, everything was going change.

With renewed interest, I turned and peered into my closet. I scratched my head. I had no idea what to wear. Should I attempt to dress up? I rifled through the hangers, most of which were empty. Everyday was laundry day at my place. I basically had a choice between a maxi dress or a shirt with jeans. Seeing how it was the middle of November, the dress was out of the question. Shirt and jeans it is.

I put the clothes on and threw on a vest that buttoned in the front just to add a little something. I decided to take my hair down from its everyday bun and wear it out for a curly, carefree look. I attempted to tame the poofy mess but it would not cooperate. I was running out of time so I decided to change gears, slapped on some gel to slick down the front and did a side braid. I threw on my glasses and checked myself in the mirror. At least I looked like I made an effort. My alarm beeped. Time to go. I grabbed my coat and ran out the door and hoped I didn't miss the bus.

The public Metro system wasn't exactly a reliable mode of transportation but it was all I had. I entered the crowded, noisy food court five minutes late. The scent of all manner or deep fried food assaulted my senses and my stomach growled in response.

I scanned the area searching for Drew. All of a sudden, I heard someone making bird-calls from across the room. Everyone in the food court turned around. I shouldn't have been shocked to see the noises were coming from Drew. Unlike me, he had no problem drawing attention to himself. He just continued to wave his hands back and forth at me from his seat in front of Chinatown Express. I ducked my head down and walked toward him.

He gave me a huge smile when I came close. "Hey, nerd. Nice hair."

The compliment threw me off. He'd never commented on my appearance before. I ran my hand over the last minute style. "Err, thanks."

I, too, found myself paying more attention to the way he looked. His short, dark hair gleamed and his dark, laughing eyes looked bright under the fluorescent lights. His clear, milky skin was peppered with 5 o'clock shadow. He'd been letting that happen a lot lately. He was handsome whether he shaved or not but the hint of beard accentuated his perfectly pink, traitorous, kiss-stealing mouth. Images from that disaster of a night with the kiss I was powerless to forget bombarded my mind. Half the girls in our school were probably jealous of how well-acquainted I was with Drew's mouth. My gaze lowered to his body. He wore a gray military style jacket over a navy blue fitted sweater and jeans. He looked like he walked right off an Express ad. I'd never cared to notice before but I realized now that I liked the way he dressed.

"You hungry?" he asked.

I sat in the seat across from him. "Not really."

He raised his hand, holding some bills between his index and middle fingers. "You sure? I'm buying."