Song: Make A Switch
Artiste: Joel
Also, the picture above is Quincy Fouse 😁
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***_***_***_***
Dontae returned from the bathroom a few minutes later.
I replied to my dad's text, not glancing up once.
I just knew that Dontae was still wearing a towel. And after what just happened not too long ago, I didn't want to look at him.
There is a squeak of a door and some shuffling sounds that make me glance upwards.
Dontae had disappeared into his closet.
I heaved a heavy sigh when he was out of sight.
My shoulders drop like they were hung on a clothes rack.
I didn't even realize how tense I was until now.
Ok Vannessa.
Forget everything that just happened and just tell him.
I breathed in and out.
You've got this.
I placed my phone on the sofa. Rubbing my palms on my knees, I tried to get rid of sweat that was invading my skin.
A few minutes pass and Dontae finally emerges from the walk-in closet. Fully dressed in a soldier printed shorts and a black shirt.
I released a relieved sigh.
Finally he has on clothes!
Dontae sat on the bed and put on a pair of white shoes. I watched him from the corner of my eyes.
I tried to form words but nothing audible left my mouth.
He grabbed his phone and stood up.
Yes, this is my chance to talk to him.
He is focused on his phone, swiping up and down on the screen with his index finger. He didn't look at me once this whole time. His attention was kept on the phone.
An awkward silence lingered in the atmosphere.
He walked to his dresser and grabbed what I think is his earpods. He then walked towards the door.
"I'm going for a jog," he said.
What?!
"Now?!" I exclaimed, my eyes tore away from my phone and I turned my full attention to him.
"But what about th-"
"I'll be back in thirty minutes."
And he left before I could voice my thoughts. Closing the door behind him.
I was left dumbfounded with my mouth hanging open.
Seriously?
What now?
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***_***_***_***
It's a little over half an hour now and the frustration of waiting for Dontae to come back so I could talk to him was slowly eating away at my body.
While waiting for Dontae to return, I tried different methods to calm my mind and stable my emotions.
I tapped my fingers against the white, leather sofa.
That didn't calm me.
The incessant tapping made me even more frustrated.
I tried laying down for a while but that didn't help either. So I sat back upwards.
I glance at my lockscreen for the one hundredth time.
Where is he? He should be back by now.
This felt unhealthy.
I was slowly deteriorating.
I thought about Sean.
I was really hoping that I could talk to Dontae before three o' clock today. I was trying not to freak out since Sean said he's picking me up at five and I'm going to need enough time to get ready.
I sighed heavily.
I just want this day to be over with, so I can put these anxieties behind me with a good night's sleep.
My thoughts mocked me as I sat alone in the room. The house was really quiet, except for the birds chirping and the breeze whistling every once in a while.
A violent tremble through my legs and palms up to my arms made me jump. I held my chest and sighed in relief when I realized that my phone was the cause of the disturbance.
I picked it up to see an unknown caller ID.
Who's this?
My eyebrows scrunched together as I studied the number.
I don't usually answer unknown numbers mostly because my anxiety doesn't allow me to. But also because I don't have many friends. And many people don't have my number. Not that they're interested to hang with me anyways.
I wasn't going to answer but then curiosity got the best of me.
Maybe it's Dontae calling from a different number.
Yes.
Maybe that's it.
With urgent hands, I answered the call.
"Hello?"
I am the first person to speak.
There's no reply.
"Dontae? Is that you?"
There's still no reply.
I sigh with frustration.
This is part of the reason why I don't answer strange numbers.
What if it's a scammer?
At that sudden thought, my hands itched to end the call.
I guess whoever is on the other end of the call isn't Dontae.
"Vannessa?"
My body freezes and my finger stops in mid-air.
"Vannessa, can you hear me?"
I covered my mouth with my palm.
What is my life turning into?
"Hello?" I heard the voice query.
"Um... Hello." I mumbled after calming from my initial shocked state.
"How do you know my name?"
He answered immediately.
"It's Quincy."
"Quincy Fouse from the gala."
He paused.
"We danced together."
I took a moment to think.
"I don't know any Quincy Fouse. I think you have the wrong number."
He didn't believe me.
"Are you sure you don't remember me?" He persisted.
"Beautiful, thick curly black hair, incredible facial structure, tall, dark skinned and handsome?"
What a charmer.
My eyes roll in dismay.
I was about to say something snarky when he said, "you told me you wanted to see me play a Disney princess turned evil."
I bursted out laughing and blushed in embarrassment.
Why did he have to remember that?
On the night of the Gala, I was so nervous that I wasn't listening to what came out of my mouth. But when I did listen, it was too late to take back what I said.
This is what I mean when I say I hate starting conversations. I never know what nonsense may spew from my mouth.
I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes.
"Why did you have to remember that?!"
He chuckled.
"I knew that you remembered me!" Quincy exclaimed happily. "Because who could ever forget this rare piece of art?"
I laughed at his overconfidence.
But he was right though. I couldn't forget him even if I tried. He's that one person in a group that just... stands out.
"Oh please, you're not all that Quincy."
"Whatever you say, Vannessa."
We talked for a bit to pass time until I heard the door click open.
My sentence was cut short when a sweat drenched Dontae stepped into the room.
The top of his shirt around his neck down to his navel area was drenched with liquid. A dark, prominent colour was left to represent sweat. He removed his shirt and headed to the bathroom.
My eyes enlarged as I stared after his impressive body structure.
He didn't even say two words to me since coming back.
Is this how all boys are?
I think I said it already, but I'm going to say it again anyway.
Maybe he's on his period.
"Hel-lo..."
My reverie was broken when Quincy's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Um, Quincy? I'll talk to you later."
I was about to hang up when he shouted, "wait!"
"I thought you were done ranting about how good-looking you are. Do I really need to listen to you talk about your appearance for another couple of minutes?"
He scoffed. "Of course. I'm that important."
I didn't even bother to argue. I never win arguments with him.
"Anyways, I just wanted to invite you on a day out with me and some friends tomorrow. It would be more fun if you came along with us. And don't worry, it won't just be males. And before you ask, yes, girls will be there too. So are you interested?"
I thought for a few seconds.
He doesn't seem like a sketchy guy...
But looks are deceiving.
But then again, I do need to step out of my comfort zone.
But people are people.
So after a quick internal debate, I did the unthinkable.
"Ok fine. Yeah, just text me the details."
"Alright, sure. Talk to you later."
We ended the call and I couldn't help smiling.
A celebrity just called me.
I wanted to scream in delight.
Just then, Dontae came strolling out of the bathroom after changing again and I suddenly remembered my current situation.
The smile left my lips and I tried to gather my nerves. He sat down beside me on the sofa with his books, pens, etc. spread out on the table before us. Obviously read to study.
I briefly wondered how we didn't hit our bodies on the table earlier when we fell since it wasn't too far away from the sofa. But pushed that embarrassing memory aside when Dontae flipped the books open.
He wasn't saying anything about it so I won't say anything either.
Whatever happened was just an accident.
After the first few study sessions with Dontae, I learned to just let him study whenever he's in the mood to. We never speak about anything else other than schoolwork until he's almost done studying or if he's finished.
Two hours passed by and I was itching to talk to him about Sean. But each time I tried, I failed. He either started to smile with excitement upon completing an algebraic question or he was trying to focus on the question being asked.
I felt like I was disturbing him if I changed the topic.
I am such a coward.
Get a grip Vannessa!
I cleared my throat softly.
Beautiful muddy puddles with a glint of sunlight stared up at me.
"What's wrong?" Dontae asked. "Am I doing it wrong?"
He huffed in frustration and motioned to erase the equation when I stopped him abruptly with the grab of his wrist.
"No! No! You're fine."
I pulled a few strands of hair behind my ear nervously. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."
He straightened up in his seat. His face contorted with worry.
"Ok... What's wrong?"
I knitted my fingers together while I gathered my words.
"I..."
"What's wrong?" He asked, grabbing my hand and squeezing delicately. My emotions went haywire.
"It's fine, you can tell me whatever it is."
My nerves, anxieties and my mind that once raced with a hundred different thoughts, stilled. My worries left as fast as they came.
He was calming me down somehow. And I didn't know how or why.
There was no tension. No awkwardness.
It was just us.
I felt his fingers as they ran over my palms soothingly. My body shivered and I got comfortable.
Why is he so relaxing?
Then the words tumbled out of my mouth without warning.
"Sean."
His fingers stop moving.
"I'm going on a date with Sean this evening."
It was swift.
The way he released my hands and put distance between us to focus on a Maths textbook, was swift. I couldn't help but notice how his lips twitched. It was slight. But it was still visible, and I had caught it on time.
"What time?" He asked flipping through the large book.
"At five. A few hours from now."
"Oh. Ok then."
That's it? That's all he has to say?
I was almost giving myself a heart attack all night and all day long for 'oh. Ok then?'
Unbelievable.
I cleared my throat and pressed further. "So what do you think?"
Dontae put the textbook on the small table a few feets before us. He wrote something in his notebook.
"What should I think?" He asked.
There was a hint of something deep within his tone. But I couldn't dissect it.
"You're the one who wants to get with Sean. It's the whole reason why we're doing this scheme so who am I to say you can't go on a date with him." He paused to grab his eraser.
"In fact, just go now. Go and get ready for your 'date'. I hope you'll have fun."
I was so happy I could fall on the floor and roll over.
But in my happiness, I missed the subtle emphasis on 'date'. I was too caught up in the moment to even regard his words as important. Other than the fact that he agreed.
He agreed. He really agreed. And I was soaring.
I can't believe this.
I couldn't hold back the squeal as I packed up my stuff. And in the midst of it all, I hugged Dontae and put a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're the best."
Then I rushed out of his room. I ran through his extravagant foyer and spun the houseworker from earlier in a circle. She was startled but smiled and went with it anyway, laughing uncontrollably.
I sprinted over to my house.
I was on cloud nine. Laying on a few fluffy pillows disguised as clouds.
It was when I reached my gate and inside my house that I realized what I had done.
Oh cheesy nuggets.
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Thanks for reading everyone, hope you enjoyed and vote and comment if you liked this chapter. Or just choose to do one. If you didn't like this chapter or my story in general but you still read it, thanks for passing through my story anyways. You're still valued.
Your amateur author,
Fetish_For_Melody ♥️