Jamie's tiny one-bedroom apartment overlooks a park, and she loves to sit in the bay window nook she converted into a window seat and listen to the birds. And if part of the reason she spends so much time there is because of the pretty girl in the park, well, that's no one's business but hers.
The girl looks to be the same age as Jamie, and is so gorgeous she could be a model, but Jamie never sees her flaunting it. She spreads a picnic blanket on the grass and sits to eat her lunch as birds hop around near her. Tiny red squirrels and chipmunks also seem to like to visit her. Most days the girl visits the park, there is a little flock of animals around. They don't look like they're mooching for food but merely enjoy her presence.
A part of Jamie wishes she could sit with her. To just be next to her and enjoy the warm sun.
But, being the hopelessly awkward lesbian she is, she sits in her window and admires the pretty girl from afar.
Then one day, as Jamie is walking through the park on the way to get groceries, she sees the girl reading. It's the first time she's seeing her, and she's even prettier in person.
Almost in a trance, Jamie's feet carry her across the grass and don't stop until she is at the edge of the girl's blanket.
The girl looks up. "Hello." Even her voice is pretty.
Jamie blushes. "Sorry."
The girl arched an eyebrow. "That's not how people usually start conversations with me. What are you sorry for?"
Jamie didn't expect to talk to her, so she has nothing to say. Her mouth moves wordlessly as her mind blanks on all words. Anxiousness starts to take over as she stands there saying nothing and probably annoying the girl.
The girl's expression softens. "It's okay-"
Panic overtakes Jamie, and she blurts out another 'Sorry,' then turns and speed walks away. When she's out of the park, she bolts and doesn't stop running until she's in her apartment with the door closed and locked behind her. Slumping against it, she lets out a sigh. That was a disaster.
After catching her breath, she pushes herself up and walks across the living room to the bay window. The girl is still there, still reading, but she occasionally looks in the direction Jamie ran.
Probably wonder who the crazy person was who went up to her, apologized, and ran away, she thinks bitterly. She's normally good and welcoming in the presence of people, but pretty girls make her tongue-tied.
Sad at another missed opportunity, Jamie turns away from the window to make herself a grilled cheese, but groans when she opens the fridge. No cheese. Right, she was on her way to the grocery store when she ran into the girl. Damn it.
Not wanting to leave her apartment, Jamie looks through the stack of delivery menus from local restaurants. Pizza? Tacos? Chinese? Deciding on pizza because it'll have the melted cheese she wants, she places the order for a medium meat lovers and garlic fingers.
She does her best not to think of the girl and her failed attempt at a conversation, but it's no use. After almost a month of seeing her from her window, the girl has carved out a section of Jamie's mind and taken residence there. Jamie's eyes automatically seek her out on her blanket in the park.
The only way Jamie knows how to deal with something taking up more than its fair share of her brain is to put it on paper. She draws the girl in the park with her gorgeous brown eyes and beautiful black curls. She changes her clothes into a sweeping, floofy dress, and piles her hair into a fancy updo with ringlets framing her face and tumbling down her back. The public park turns into sprawling gardens with a flock of songbirds at her side and one on her shoulder.
The picture doesn't help Jamie think of her any less. Rather, it piques her interest about who she is and what she's really like. Jamie might know those things if she actually had the guts to stick around and talk to her the other day.
The thought of going back and trying again has Jamie pacing the length of her tiny apartment and wringing her hands. It wouldn't be so bad to go talk to her if she hadn't royally messed up the first impression by blubbering an apology and running away. Should she go back? She probably freaked her out.
Jamie talks herself into and out of the plan to go find the girl over the next two days, going over the pros and cons of both options.
"What the hell am I doing?" She finally asks herself. "I should just go and get it over with, and if she doesn't want to talk to me, I'll leave. No harm, no foul. Right?"
Her coffeemaker doesn't answer.
She goes to the door and grabs her keys, then put them down and walks away.
"No." She walks to the entrance and pulls on her Converse. "I am better than this. I am a strong, independent woman and I can talk to a pretty girl if I want to."
She opens the door and leaves. Opens it again, grabs the drawing from her desk, and leaves again.
Her stomach is a mess of nerves as she walks to the park, and she wipes her sweaty hands on her jeans. I can do this, she tells herself. She pauses when she sees the girl, but tightens her ponytail and forces her feet to keep moving.
For a second time, she finds herself standing at the edge of the girl's blanket.
The girl looks up from her book, and her face lights up when she sees Jamie. She keeps her finger in her book to mark the page, but closes it and puts it in her lap, giving Jamie her full attention. "Hi."
"Um. Hi. Uh, I just- I'm sorry if this is weird and freaks you out, but I live over there-" she points in the general direction of her apartment building- "and, um, I've seen you come here for a while. And I. Um." She digs the toe of her shoe into the ground as she stares at her feet, her face going hot. "I think you're really pretty, and I like that you like spending time in the sun and nature and that there's always at least one bird around."
She cuts off her rambling before she embarrasses herself too much, and it's quiet for a moment. There are the sounds of birds chirping, wind rustling the trees, and footsteps against gravel as other people walk around the park, but the girl doesn't say anything.
When she peeks up, Jamie sees that she's smiling. "I think you're pretty, too."
Jamie's eyes widen. She's never had a girl flirt with her before. "Really?"
"Yes, really. Would you like to sit with me?"
Jamie's mouth quirks up. "Okay."
As she sits, she realizes there's another weird thing she's done that might make the girl uncomfortable. She thrusts over the paper in her hands.
The girl gently takes it, and her mouth drops open as she gapes over Jamie's drawing. "This is amazing! Wow. You're really good."
Jamie shifts and blushes. "Thanks."
Tracing her fingers reverently over the drawing, the girl studies it for a few moments, awe written all over her face. When she looks up at Jamie, she's smiling. "I'm Madison."
"Jamie."
Madison holds out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jamie."
Jamie shakes it, and because she can't help but put her own foot in her mouth, she asks, "Even after what happened last week?"
"Especially after what happened last week. It was kinda cute. I couldn't stop thinking about you all week. I kept hoping you'd come back."
With Madison's hand still in hers, Jamie smiles. She likes that thought- of Madison thinking about her as much as she thought about Madison. And not only did she think of her, but she also wanted her to come back. "I'm here now."
Madison links their fingers together. "I'm glad. Would you like to go on a date with me?"
Tightening her fingers around Madison's, she says, "I'd love to."