After the date ended, I felt like something changed in me. Something was louder, more demanding, and I couldn't quite explain the nagging of my heart. We talked on the phone the day after, Giana and I, and the night after that, I went to visit Jackie. I missed her bugging questions about romance, and I realised I wanted her comfort in the face of it all.
In her driveway was a car. I stared at it. It was sleek and black like a metallic panther posed on the paving; a fancy Mercedes model. It wasn't the kind of car you'd see driving around our town, it was far too robust for around here. It looked as if it would shatter under my clumsy touch so I ignored it, walking up to the front door and knocking gently as I would. With the car in the drive, I wondered whether I'd meet the mysterious Mr. Reed, the man married to Mio, the man who was Jackie's father.
The door opened and I was faced with the man himself. Something clenched in dread within me at the sight of him. He was tall, the top of his head an inch or two away from brushing the door frame, and extremely handsome - Americanly handsome. He had the classically sharp-jawed look with a greying, stubbly chin and rough cheeks. His eyes were almond-shaped, the hue of them tan like honey. He was undeniably a handsome older man.
"Hello?" He said, smiling and looking exactly like Jackie as he did.
"Hello, I'm here to see Jackie." I told him, standing straight and polite.
"Are you... Nicole?" He guessed.
"Norah, sir."
"Sir! How polite, Norah. Come in, Jack is upstairs." He stepped aside and I nodded, walking past him.
He didn't have the same warm feel to him that Mio had. He didn't seem very suited to her either, but it wasn't any of my business to say so. Perhaps in secret he was extremely romantic and kind; I hadn't seen much of him. To be judgy wasn't like me.
As I walked through, I glanced over at the couch (where I assumed he'd been sat by the switched on television) and noticed Mio wasn't sat downstairs. I listened and heard no commotion in the kitchen, only quiet in the lower half of the house. Mr. Reed patted my shoulder politely as he moved around me to get to the living room area. He sat down on the couch with a groan, as adults did when they sat, and looked back over her shoulder at me.
"Are you alright?" He asked, eyeing how I was stood still in the walkway.
I told him I was fine and made a move for the stairs, after taking off my shoes. I would've come with Jackie straight from school but I decided on later due to my urge to shower. All day I'd felt icky in my uniform like I'd bathed in something foul. I couldn't tell whether it was all in my head. At the top of the stairs, I saw most of the doors were closed except for the second after the bathroom. So, nosily, I took a look in as I went to pass. My heart rose up into my throat, swelling like a balloon as I peered through the crack.
Mio was lay on the bed, on her side, reading. But she was completely in casual clothing, something I'd rarely seen on her. Her legs were covered by loose grey sweatpants that highlighted her motherly hips and on her torso she was wearing a fitting black t-shirt that had ridden up against her stomach, exposing the curve of it and her bellybutton. Her dark hair was tied back away from her heart-shaped face as she read, lips parted as to sometimes mouth the words silently. The sight of her so casual had shocked me so, even though she was in her own home. It even flustered me a little.
Her eyelashes flitted as she looked towards the door and I could stand there silently no longer. I popped my head in and smiled,
"Hey."
"Norah, hi. Are you alright?"
I nodded awkwardly. "Are you?"
"I'm fine. Oh!" She exclaimed, "you went on that date the other day, didn't you?"
"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."
"Don't be, the advice is great. Just embarrassing to hear still." I grinned, standing from the bed and stretching my back.
She studied me for a minute, hand reaching for her book, smiling at me like she did often. I didn't understand that smile. I wanted to ask about it.
"Go on, go see Jackie. See if her advice is better than mine." Mio said, gazing at me with one eyebrow raised in a teasing manner. The look made my stomach tighten.
I shook my head and laughed as I left the room, waving back over my shoulder. My body felt quite loud after leaving, like all my organs were on high alert, working noisily. I walked a little further down the wide hallway and pushed into Jackie's room with my shoulder. She was lying on her back on the bed, arms up above her face as she read from a magazine, black hair tousled around her head like a frame. Her top had rose and stretched against her body, exposing her flat, tan stomach and the dip into the V of her pelvis where her pants were loose. She looked away from her magazine to see me, and smiled broadly when she did, tossing the mag down to the carpet. Her arms opened for me. As if my legs were exhausted, I stumbled towards her and fell into her embrace, sighing loudly.
"Missed me, huh?" She massaged my head with her thin fingers.
I grumbled into her chest. "Y'wish. Hey, Jacks, are you closer with your mom or your dad?"
"Random, but probably my dad. Love my mom to bits, but me and my dad are chattier I suppose." She answered.
I hummed in reply, hugging her body closer.
"Did you come to tell me about your date or sleep on me?" She asked, speaking into my crown.
After speaking with Mio about it all, I didn't feel like talking about it anymore. But I figured I'd give Jackie the fun details instead of the more serious side. I thought she'd appreciate it more anyway.
"Can't I do both?" I mumbled.
"One after the other, darling, one after the other. And I want the details." She continued to rub her fingers into my hair, and I felt my eyes droop. I held her waist in a hug as she soothed me.
"Okay, okay." And I told her all - the surface details, and a little about the phone call we had the next night; which I forgot to mention to Mio. Jackie reacted more like a teenager, with teasing and jokes, rather than advice and easy smiles. I like the way they both spoke to me really - but it was different; my best friend and then her mother.
"So, how did she talk over the phone? Was it sexy talk? Flirting, teasing, what was it?" Jackie pressed, shaking my shoulders as I neared sleep against her slight chest.
I chuckled. "No, it wasn't sexy talk. We just talked normally, only a little bit about the date, but she seemed happy."
"Course she was happy. She's smitten with you." Jackie giggled.
"Have you ever been smitten with someone?" I asked tiredly, speaking into her shirt, curling my arms securely around her frame.
She didn't speak for a few moments, and I thought that maybe she'd had a dodgy breakup in the past and I'd picked at the wound. I didn't say anything either though, since I didn't want to push her anymore But she spoke again,
"I guess I might be - have been, I mean. Yes... maybe." She said cryptically.
"Have you got some secret boyfriend I don't know about?"
"Of course not."
"Really?"
"Yes, really, Norah. If I had a boyfriend, you would know about it." Jackie laughed. "You might as well be my boyfriend with the amount of time we spend together."
I hummed against her. "I'll be the boyfriend then."
I was on the verge of sleep, my lips parted in relaxation. The last thing I remembered hearing before sleep was: "handsome Norah, huh?"
I had a dream that night. One of no sense, and hopefully no hidden meaning. I was up in Newton Heights, the area closest to the lake and it was dark. I had a feeling of creeping dread within me; it made me want to run. So I did. Behind me, the sound of furious feet; fast and inhumanly loud. I was being chased.
I must've dreamt myself as a track star because somehow I continued to manage to outrun my chaser. They always sounded right at my heel though, the puff of their rapid breath on my nape. My legs pumped like wild, wobbling and faltering in fear. I didn't want to look back. But I wanted to know how close they were, I wanted to know whether I stood a chance.
So, still sprinting, I turned my head slowly to see them. Close. A face inches from mine; features shrouded in darkness, the whites of two eyes bright and wide. Then a mouth came. A wide, gaping one, with long and crooked teeth. I could've screamed, but any sound from my mouth was lost to the silent air. I continued to run, and that time, faster than ever, pushing on with everything I had. The town was so dark, but a little further over, I could see a glowing light. Somewhere safe, perhaps.
The deathly breath on my neck reminded me I had to be fast or I may not even make it alive. I wouldn't turn and look again. I didn't need to, knowing that the thing behind me was terrifying and after me.
The area of light was the lakeside! Safety in water! No longer feeling breath on me but still afraid, I began to strip off my clothes frantically, pulling at my top and throwing it over my head. I struggled out of my shorts, hopping and tripping onto my heels. I was running in my underwear then. The light grew and grew until I moved through some type of field - and suddenly it was day. Panting, I slowed to look around me. The sun was high in the sky, the surface of the lake glittered and shone and it was warmer.
Ahead of me was the lake, and a woman. She was facing out towards the earth's end, barefoot.
"Hello?" I called.
The woman spun to face me and her jaw slacked as if she was more surprised to see me than I was to see her. The shock was genuine, as was mine. It was Mio, standing in the same outfit I'd seen her wearing earlier that evening. Her eyes passed over my body, eyebrows furrowed and lips parted.
"Norah..." She spoke, still gazing down at my body.
"Mio!" I exclaimed, my voice projecting more than I wanted it to. "Why's my voice so loud?"
"Why have you got no clothes on?" She asked in a slightly flustered voice, gripping the hem of her shirt.
"I was... being chased, and I, uh, thought I would swim..." I spluttered, watching her top tighten against her body.
"Chased?" She looked past my head.
I turned to follow her gaze. But there was no one behind me anymore and
I felt a little embarrassed that I was only in my underwear with my clothes stranded somewhere far behind me.
"Clearly not anymore, I guess." I mumbled, crossing my arms over my breasts and pressing my knees together. "I'm dreaming so this doesn't matter."
"Right, we're dreaming so - here." She suddenly began to pull at the hem of her top and I watched it slide up over her olive stomach with wide eyes.
"Stop!" I said, face burning up. "What are you doing?"
"Giving you my top. You look embarrassed." She said it as if it were the most normal solution. But my body felt as if it was about to combust.
"No, no, it's a dream... I'm not embarrassed." I shook my hands up in front of my face.
She pulled her top back down and stared at me for a moment, chewing her lower lip in thought. "Of course. It's a dream." She took a couple of steps closer to me, with her hand pointed slightly by her hip. I watched that hand; it rose hesitantly and came to rest on my arm.
My mouth opened and closed, cheeks still hot despite the cool wind. "Mio..."
Her hand stroked and rubbed my skin, never moving higher or lower - it just touched me and felt me. My heart was spluttering in my chest; beating so hard I thought she might feel it through my skin. Dreaming, I was dreaming, so lucidly I thought. Her hand is warm and my body is loud! The sound of the lake waves ebbing and growing towards the shore was soothing, but as was Mio's touch. Her face was so close, so real! She was real! I went to touch her back, the urge to do so moving my limbs without me.
But before my hands could reach her face, I was staring up at the ceiling of Jackie's bedroom.
My breath was harsh in my throat, my palms were clammy. The dream was still fresh in my mind then, taunting me with its confusing contents. Jackie was lying beside me, breathing softly. So, I rolled over and hugged her close.