It takes her four days to call. In the meantime, I'm freaking out.
"She's never going to call me," I tell Ruby on the third day. "Never."
"Oh, my God," she groans. "Shut up, will you? It's going to be fine. She'll call. How could she say no to such a hot piece of ass?"
Ruby grabs my ass and squeezes, making me yelp and jump slightly.
"Stop it!" I cry, slapping her hand away. "It's not funny!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry."
But I can tell she's choking back her classic howling laugh, and it's threatening to break through.
"I'm going to die alone!" I whine.
She loses it and bursts into a fit of laughter.
"RUBY!" I scream, knocking one of the kitchen chairs onto the ground.
She jumps and looks at me seriously.
"Whoa, tiger. Relax."
When I start to cry, my tears hot, angry, and desperate, she moves close and wraps her arms around my torso, holding me tightly against her chest. I cry harder, letting my head rest on her shoulder, and she keeps me there until I stop.
Finally, Belle calls me. I answer on the first ring.
"Hello?" I squeak out, my voice cracking.
I sound like a pre-pubescent boy.
"Hey, Emma. You free tonight?"
"What?" I ask dumbly, like I don't know what she's just said.
It's not registering with me. The sound of her voice is ringing in my ears.
"I asked if you were free tonight. Am I interrupting something?"
"No! No, not at all. Yes, I'm free!"
I sound like a blubbering idiot, and I can feel my face getting hot with embarrassment.
"Good. Dinner?"
I'm dumbfounded. How can she not call for four days and just throw that out there so casually? Oh, wait. She has a life, unlike me. Fuck, I'm a loser. Then, I realize I have plans with Ruby. I don't tell her though, I just try to smile as I reply to her question.
"Sure. Where and when, princess?"
Princess? I'm thinking. Now I'm some kind of smooth-talking Don Juan? I'm so screwed. I'm going to open my mouth once or spill my drink again and she's going to walk right out on me and never look back.
"Seven-thirty. At that new place on the corner of Main and Pleasant."
"Alright. Great. See you then."
I have no idea what new place she's talking about, so I just go along with it and hope for the best.
As soon as I hang up, I call Ruby.
"Rubes. Rubes, I'm really sorry, but I did a stupid thing."
"Oh?"
"Belle called."
"Yeah?!"
She sounds excited.
"She wanted to have dinner tonight."
"That's great!"
"But we were gonna-"
"Oh! Oh, honey. It's totally fine. Rain check on the movies, okay? We'll go this weekend."
"You're not mad?"
"No, not at all! This is your soul mate we're talking about here!"
"I love you, Ruby."
She can hear the smile and relief in my voice as she replies, "I love you too, Em."
My stomach drops when I pull into the parking lot of the restaurant. It's way too fancy, and I feel under-dressed, even though I wore my nicest clothes. The feeling of dread grows when she pulls up and parks in the space next to me. She looks gorgeous. As she steps out, I see the subtle curves of her body, and my heart stops.
I stare for a few minutes before getting out of the car, and when I finally do get out, my legs feel like Jell-O. When she catches me staring, a broad smile spreads over her painted lips.
"Hey, there, gorgeous," she says.
My stomach drops again.
"H-Hi," I stutter. "You look lovely."
"Why, thank you, dear. You look quite lovely yourself."
When she takes my arm and leads me to the front door, I blush like a schoolgirl. Once we're seated, I find myself awkwardly not knowing what to say. The silence is heavy, but only for a few moments, before she reaches across the table and releases the tension.
"Don't be nervous," she tells me. "It's just me."
It's just me, she says. Ha! Just my soul mate. Just the woman I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with. No big deal. I swallow hard and try to be brave enough to not break her gaze. I fail quickly and look away, but she turns my face until I'm looking in her eyes again.
"You're really cute, you know," Belle comments, and I'm stunned by her words.
"Oh. I… I'm just-"
"No, really. You're adorable."
Her smile puts me at ease, and slowly, I'm able to relax. Regardless of how much anxiety the atmosphere is causing me, her presence is calming.
We finish our meal, talking quietly, and she even makes me laugh several times.
Back at our cars, we stand next to each other after saying goodnight, but she hesitates.
"Emma?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think… Do you think I could kiss you?"
My eyes widen. This is going so much better than I ever could have imagined.
I stammer a quiet, "P-Please," and she steps closer to me, cupping my face in her hands.
When she kisses me, I shiver. I've never been kissed before, and the sensation is so new and unfamiliar that it shocks me. She breaks the kiss slowly, leaving her hands on my face as she looks into my eyes.
Then, she says, "You're so beautiful." I blush and look away, but she lifts my chin and adds, "Is it too forward to ask you to come home with me?"
Oh, my God, I'm thinking. This is happening. My heart is palpitating, thudding hard in my ribcage, and I feel like I can't breathe. What do I say?
I only manage to shake my head and squeak out, "I'd love to."
What can it hurt? Sure, it's moving fast, but she's my soul mate, right? How could it go wrong?
I meet her at her place, and as soon as we're inside, she advances on me, kissing me slowly, with soft, tender lips. My legs are Jell-O again, and I suddenly feel the urge to be high. Not because I need to feel it, but because I'm too scared to do this on my own. But here I am, and it's too late now. Not that I don't have pills in my bag, but I don't have a chance to take them, so I just take a slow, shaky breath and close my eyes as she gently pushes me down onto the couch and keeps kissing me.
Soon, we're in her bedroom, and she's on top of me, kissing my neck. My whole body is shaking. I've never felt anything like this, and the sensation of her hands palming my breasts through my shirt is driving me crazy. Now, I do feel high.
"Are you ready?" she whispers, her voice husky and seductive.
I'm not, but I nod.
I get scared when she starts to unbutton my blouse, but she goes slowly, and I resist the urge to run. By the time we're naked and her hips are pressed into mine, I'm breathing hard.
"This your first time, sweetie?" she asks.
I blush and nod, wanting to be honest with her, even though I'm embarrassed. But she smiles and kisses the other side of my neck.
I'm almost coming already by the time she puts her fingers inside me. I pray to whatever gods exist that I won't finish before she does, but it happens anyway, and I moan loudly as she makes me cum. By the end of the night, I'm just glad that I'm able to make her finish too. I'd expected my own complete and utter failure. I mean, I don't know if it's good, but I can hope.
To my surprise, when I move to get up, she wraps her arms around my torso and pulls me back down on the bed, holding me against her and kissing my cheek, saying, "Stay."
So I do.
