Calhoun Beach

It was the day after I and Belle, uh, connected, in Vicky's Diner. I had learned that Tina had actually planned the whole thing, thinking that Belle and I would make great friends. So, nothing horrible had happened to anyone Tina knew -- she had just gotten her cousin to call her up so she could leave the two of us alone.

Yeah, I was pretty pissed at her, but at the same time thankful she'd made me meet Belle. Belle was different; she wasn't the over-the-top girly type with the huge loops dangling from her earlobe, but she wasn't exactly plain and simple either. She could make you laugh by just her giggle, and for some reason you just couldn't frown when you were with her.

It was a Sunday, if I forgot to mention, and I was sitting in the last pew of Calhoun First Methodist. Can I just say for the record that my family isn't your go-to-church family, but today my mom had decided it was one of those days. Well, anyway, Reverend Hawk was delivering his usual dreadful sermon, and practically no one in the crowd was listening. I was fiddling with my mobile phone -- turned to silent mode, of course -- when I received an SMS from Belle.

I could almost swear on my life that my heart skipped a beat when I realized who had sent the SMS. I hurriedly opened the text message.

"Mark, meet you at the diner later?"

I had been half-wishing she'd want to meet up sometime, but I had never expected her to do so in under 24 hours after we met. I looked up, and a smile began to form on my face, but I bit my lip so as to remove the grin. Reverend Hawk never, ever wanted anyone to smile in the middle of his sermons.

I looked at my Moto, and deliberated whether or not to show up. I mean, I really enjoyed her company, and in retrospect I would even daresay I began to fall in like with her. But really, I hadn't fully recovered from my past relationship yet, and I thought that Belle's eagerness to meet up again was taking too many things at a time.

This deliberation between me and myself went on for quite some time before an unseen force made my thumb hover over the "9" key on the keypad. I shook my head, let out a little laugh, and then typed in my reply:

"Would love to. Meet you at 1?"

I pressed 'send', and waited for her reply.

It came, about thirty seconds later. "Sure. Can't wait. and, p.s., we should really stop texting in church =)"

Another laugh came out, almost impulsively, from the back of my throat, and I was sure Reverend Hawk would kill me -- yes, kill me -- if he saw me smiling in church. I ducked my head behind the pew and tried hardly to stop laughing.

When I finally regained composure, I looked for Belle amongst the congregation. There were quite a few blonds in the pews, but I didn't recognize her head. Well, it was probably because we had met only a day prior.

I was about to reply to Belle's text when a blond girl sitting in my pew turned to me and gave out a slow, almost inaudible hiss. Belle winked at me, and I raised one finger up with a smile as I mouthed the words, "one o'clock."