“And?” I tried to pry more out of her, hoping there was more to pry.
“I want to see you again, Jack. Does there need to be more than that?”
“No. You can’t blame a guy for trying to see if there was though.”
I let the line fall into silence as I heard rustling coming from the other end and then a loud sigh.
“You good over there?” I got up, heading to my room to get ready for bed. I knew I had to be up early in the morning but I wanted to talk to Melanie for as long as she would keep the line open.
“Yeah, just getting ready for bed.”
“I’m doing the same.”
“I bet you have to be up early in the morning. My brother can be punctual with work.”
“You have no idea but I can squeeze in some more time with you.”
“Okay.”
Melanie’s voice was soft again and I wondered what was running through her head right now. She was always so outspoken but it’s when her mind was racing that she silenced herself and started overthinking. I’d learned that in the short period I’d known her but she didn’t try to hide it either.
“What’s going on in your head over there?”
More silence followed until Melanie tried to speak up.
“What kind of-”
“I couldn’t hear the last part of that.”
“What kind of pajamas do you wear?”
She spoke up this time, being intentional with her question. I looked down to the grey sweatpants and Dragon Ball Z shirt I had on, trying to decide if I should be honest in answering her question or try to make myself seem cooler than I actually was.
“Did you hear me?”
“I did but I’m just trying to figure out if I should answer honestly or not.” I let out a little laugh and so did she.
“Just tell me.”
“Grey sweats and a shirt.” It wasn’t a lie but just not the whole truth.
“That’s not bad. Why were you worried?”
“Because it’s not just a plain shirt.”
“Oh jeez. Is it a dirty shirt?”
“Not exactly. It’s a Dragon Ball Z shirt.”
“He’s a nerd ladies and gentlemen!”
Melanie’s cackles could be heard not just through the phone but probably from across my street. It filled me with joy to hear the sound coming from her. I wanted to show her that I wasn’t just a nerd but instead, Jack, nerd extraordinaire.
“Don’t laugh at my fandom choices! I didn’t laugh at yours!”
“Fine. Fine. I’ll let you have that one.”
“You better.”
