My Kind of Woman

6. Hips

"I did, yeah."

"Come here, sit by me and tell me." She said as she sat up, patting the space on the bed beside her.

My legs wobbled a little as I entered, quickly taking the room in with my eyes. It was fairly tidy and quite boring as you'd expect your friend's parents' room to be; cream walls and wood furniture, a large king-size bed in the centre. I sat beside Mio, but slightly away from her. My eyes dragged over her again - she'd fixed her sliding top and re-done her ponytail.

"So, what did you do?" She asked, smiling.

I inhaled. "Well, we got on the bus and left town for the day. But, we went to the art gallery."

"You don't sound happy about that. Don't you like art?"

I tilted my head, "I do, I think, I just found it a little dull for such a long period of time."

She smiled in amusement. "I'd probably be the same."

"Where would you go on a date if you could choose?" I asked, leaning back on my hands.

She looked down at the duvet as she thought, eyelashes pointed downward. Then she said, "I like the outside, so maybe the beach or a cafe in the deep country."

"I like that idea. That sounds pretty ideal actually." I said, grinning.

"Did you kiss?" She was looking right into me then.

"Uh, no, we didn't—do that: kiss." I felt a tad flustered under her stare.

Her body seemed to relax, probably not in relation to my answer but it did, and she lay back down in her original position, head newly propped on her palm. She'd placed her book open on the bed beside her head. Her legs had shuffled back to allow me to sit comfortably as I was, but the half-moon of her ass was a little unignorable from my sitting place. Casual clothes suited her curvy body so well; she made me feel like a stick with my thin, swimming-worked body. There was no definition to me, but to her, she was shaped like a bikini model, only with the motherly curves as addition.

"Well," she said, "it was only the first date. So, maybe next time. How do you feel now, after it all?"

Her questions made me feel as if she was really interested in how my life was going, and weirdly for my friend's mom, she was incredibly easy to talk to. I actually enjoyed talking to Mio, a lot. Like a weirdo.

"Feel? Normal, I suppose. Happy that I went on a date? I dunno." I shrugged, exhaling through my nose.

"But, about the girl? When you think about her, has anything changed?"

"I don't know." I said truthfully. "Everything's still... confusing."

She tapped my lower back with her bare foot, as to give a reassuring pat while her hands couldn't reach me. "Don't rush all that stuff. It might mean that the right time or person hasn't come along yet, because usually, you know."

I looked over at her. "Even if you've never known anything about it before?"

"Yes, even then. Just because you don't know now, doesn't mean you'll never know. Love will find you, don't worry." She smiled at me, and everything in me pulsed.

"How embarrassing." I sighed, shaking my head with a smile.

She laughed genuinely. "What's embarrassing? Me?"

"Talking about this - with you." I said, and cringed at my wording.

Her foot tapped my back again playfully. "With me! I'm offended, Norah. I'm trying to give you friendly advice."