Page 13 of Electric Blue Love
Me: How often do you travel to CT?
I clutched the phone in my hands, eager for his response. The three dots indicating he was typing appeared.
Court: About once a month. What shoes are you wearing?
I snapped a quick photo of the three shoe options I’d laid out. My sparkly flats, a brown sandal, and a pair of death trap five-inch platform heels that Tasha convinced me to buy last year telling me and I quote “those shoes are every man’s wet dream”.
Court: Wear the sparkly flats.
Me: Seriously?
Court: Seriously. The brown shoes are boring and the only place those other shoes belong are around a guy’s shoulders.
I blushed. Hard.
Court: Besides, you want to be comfortable and I have a feeling those shoes are your happy place.
Me: They’re my favorite.
Court: They suit you.
I liked that he thought so. It gave me a false confidence that maybe he somehow got who I really was and was going to help me without trying to make me into someone I wasn’t. I was perfectly happy with who I was inside, I just wanted Todd to give me a chance to show him that person in some flashy new clothing.
Iwas restlessthroughout the flight. An hour with no communication to Bianca, and I was antsy. Irritated. Nervous. I’d helped her get all done up to impress and instead of feeling good about what I’d done, I was a half-hoping Todd was too much of a prick to see what was right in front of him.
He’d invited her there for a reason though. A reason I was sure had everything to do with getting her naked.
My irritation sent an unsettling cloud over me so when I made it back to New York I kept my phone off and grabbed dinner before heading to my apartment.
When I finally dropped my overnight bag in the entryway of my apartment, I allowed myself to turn on my cell. It was quarter past nine and for as little as I’d learned about Bianca, I knew she was already at Todd’s. She was a girl that arrived on time. Probably five minutes early with a gift for the host. Fucking Todd didn’t deserve her.
Or maybe I was projecting. I didn’t deserve someone like her and that made my chest constrict with emotions I hadn’t tapped into for years.
I opened our text message conversation and flipped back to the pictures she’d sent. I’d chosen her outfit based on what I knew about Todd, but it wasn’t the one that I went back to.
No, I wanted Bianca just as she’d been the day I met her. Fun. Carefree. A beautiful mess. I stared at her unsmiling face. She’d taken the photo with her phone using a full-length mirror in what appeared to be her bedroom. She looked down at the camera in her hand, but the image that reflected back in the mirror was a casual Bianca in worn jeans and an off the shoulder shirt.
Her easy beauty was hard to turn away from. I liked that she was more comfortable this way as much as I hated that she was trying to win over someone that needed to see her another way in order to get his attention. And I was helping.
My jealousy gave way to a genius idea and I typed out a quick text to Bianca with a smug grin. She was gonna be pissed as hell. I’d gotten a glimpse of her fiery side the night Todd had dropped her for another girl and I figured my instructions were going to go over about as well.
When she didn’t immediately reply, I typed out another text to Leika to see if she could meet up for a drink. She responded immediately, and I hurried out of my apartment to meet her.
Leika and I had spent four years in the same foster home and she was as close to family as I had. She understood me. Understood who I was then and who I am now. She’d been one of the few from our circle, besides me, to go on to college and hold on to a full-time job. We were the lucky ones. The kids who had been blessed with enough grit and determination to not let our shitty past determine the rest of our lives. At least not in a way that was obvious.
My phone pinged, and I smiled before I even read the message.
Bianca: LEAVE? Why? I just got here.
Me: Be polite, but vague. Tell him you’re sorry but you have somewhere else you need to be. And this is important… say something like ‘we should do this again sometime’ and then get out of there.
When my phone rang two minutes later I was expecting it. It didn’t stop a victory grin from spreading across my face though.
“Hello?” I answered like I wasn’t expecting her.
“What the hell?” Bianca’s voice came in a raspy whisper.
“Did he look disappointed?”
