“Maybe he went to the bathroom,” she says.
“Or maybe it was too much!” I shriek. “I am not built for this, Julia. This is why I don’t date.”
“There’s no way that was too much,” Julia says with a scoff. “That was tame compared to most flirting.”
My phone buzzes, falling over from where it was resting on my water bottle.
Thomas
We can’t wait to—hopefully—see you tomorrow.
My breath catches in my throat when a picture of him and Arson comes through with the text. His blonde hair is tousled over his forehead, a few pieces hanging in his eyes, and his blue eyes are bright with excitement. My favorite part of the photo though, is the goofy grin he’s wearing, showing me two of my favorite features of his, his dimples and the gap in his teeth.
He’s so hot and so adorable all at the same time that I have to take a few seconds to compose myself.
“Han? You’re blushing. Like, way more than normal. You good?” Julia rambles in the background as I stare at the photo. “Oh my god, did he send a dick pic? Is that what you’re staring at? I will kill him.”
“What?” I shriek. “No, he didn’t send a dick pic! It was a picture of him and Arson, and it’s… Julia, he’s so cute,” I groan, flopping onto my couch.
“Have you replied?” she asks, her voice at a much calmer level now.
“No, what do I say?”
“That he looks cute, exactly what you told me.”
“I can’t say that!” My heart rate climbs again.
“Yes, you can! Get your flirt on, girl!”
I groan, throwing my arm over my eyes. “I feel sick.”
“You’re dramatic.”
“Yeah, well so are you,” I retort.
“Where do you think you got it from?” she teases. I flick off the camera, and grab the phone again. I swipe out of the photo, giving it one more stare as it gets smaller in the text thread.
I take a deep breath, and type.
Me
Fingers crossed. I can’t decide who’s cuter, though, you, or Arson.
I hit send before I can think twice about it, and swallow the bile rising in my throat. This shouldn’t be this hard. It’s a good thing I’m seeing my therapist soon.
Like before, his reply is quick.
Thomas
Arson, definitely.
After talking with Julia for a few minutes, and a few more messages with Thomas, I decide I can take it from here. We hang up, and Thomas and I spend the next hour texting back and forth about nonsensical things. It gets easier with each message that I send, and I start to think that maybe I can do this. Maybe I can go to the street dance and dance with him.
10
HANNAH
In the week since Thomas sent me the photo of him and Arson and I tried my hand at flirting, we’ve been texting every day. It’s mostly been casual, some flirting here and there, but nothing too crazy. Somehow, we haven’t seen each other in person since then either.
