Chapter 23

He left the apartment with intent- he was going to call Billie. The two hadn't spoken in days and he assumed that could be the reason for his agitation as well. She was refreshing. After seeing her, being with her or talking to her he felt a whole new surge of energy. Nothing but Billie could calm and ease the anger his pals had reared up. John walked downstairs and out of the building, putting on his jacket and making for a phone booth a short distance away.

As he considered further, it was an obvious and predictable response from the men. He tried to turn the tables; what if it had been one of them with a much younger woman? He, too, would likely think it a joke. There was no way any of them would be interested in that kind of girl aside from a single, or multiple night stand. John himself had the reputation of being a kind of womanizer. They could believe him when he said he was with a young girl, a teenager. What they couldn't understand was his seriousness toward her, his long-term hopes, and how she mirrored his own emotions.

He fed the machine his coins, put in the number, and waited as the call was processed. He wasn't supposed to call her, but she hadn't called him. If something was wrong... well, he didn't want to think about it. It probably wasn't. If he didn't hear her voice, if it was anyone else who answered he'd hang up.

In the house the shrill sound of ringing alerted the home of a telephone call. Some of Billie's siblings were upstairs and her mother was out back in the garden. When the sound of the ringing persisted she flew down the stairs, jumping over several, and landed clumsily on the floor. Scrambling to the kitchen she stopped the ringing, bringing the piece to her ear and picked up the entire transmitter.

"Hello?" she said breathlessly into the mouthpiece, leaning against the wall opposite the kitchen. There, in the hallway, she could see anyone approaching from any direction inside the house.

John heard the voice, the delicate, feminine and accented voice. He smiled. "Hey, doll. Can you talk?"

"Yes," she breathed, relieved even though her heart pumped faster. His voice was so rich; it was, she realized early on, one of her favorite parts of him. "H-how are you?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. What about you? You haven't called."

She heard the slightly disapproving tone in his voice. In that second she felt overcome with guilt. He really had wanted to hear from her. "I know, I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance..." It felt like an excuse then; she should have made a chance.

"I told you you could call at anytime. Even in the middle of the night. I told you that, didn't I?" Though his words were stern he said them softly.

"Yes. You did," she whispered.

"You still like me, don't you?" he said playfully then but in the same tone. At heart it was an honest and real worry, but he tried not to let it be that obvious.

"Yes. Of course."

"You haven't given me the slip for some little boy at school, have you?"

She could hear the amusement in his voice, the idea absolutely ridiculous to both of them. Her laughter came through the phone, tickling his face into a smile. "No. Never."

"Good," he grinned, running his hand through his hair. He paused, taking a breath, and when he spoke next his voice came out even softer. "You know, I've been thinkin' about us finding a spot to be together. I've got this apartment in town...we could go there one night, have dinner, just the two of us... What do you think about that?"

There was silence. Billie found herself nervous. The request was innocent enough- dinner; but this time they would be entirely alone and on his turf. She'd never been faced with a decision such as this, and she was unsure of the feelings that kept her at bay. "I think...it'd be wonderful."

She did want him, more than anything else she'd ever known, and perhaps it was the power of this feeling, so new and uncharted, that taunted her.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," she told him more confidently. "I can't wait. I miss you."

His smile grew broader. "I miss you too, doll."

They planned the evening. Billie would tell her mother she was spending the night at Mary's when really she would meet John halfway and be swooped up for their night together. An entire night. Billie hung up the phone with thoughts and worries about what could happen in an entire night.