Just a Minute Too Late

A few days later, I stood in one of the practice studios at school, and stretched while I waited for my friend, Avalon, to show up. We were refining our choreography for a dance sequence from Hairspray, seeing as it was our school’s winter musicals. My hair was in a low, braided, bun, and I was in a simple white v-neck, and a pair of purple shorts. I had just got into the splits, resting my nose against my knee to stretch my back out, when the door opened and Avalon walked in.

“Sorry I’m late, traffic was horrible,” she said, rolling the waistband of her baggy shorts down, “I’ll do a few quick stretches, and we can get to work.”

“No hurry, we have until five,” I said leaning back, so I could arch my back as much as possible.

“Ooh, hot date?” she asked, doing a quick runners stretch, and rotating her hips.

“Possibly,” I said standing up, trying to hide my blushing face.

She just smirked, promising to grill me during one of our breaks, and I just shook her off, walking over to the stereo so I could plug my iPod in. I found “You Can’t Stop The Beat”, and put It on repeat one, before pressing play, and telling Avalon to get into her place.

She was mimicking the actions the guys on the cast would be doing, and I was doing what we girls would be doing. I made sure that my character shoes were tightly secured, and we got into places, starting the choreography instantly. When we got to the part we needed to work on, we let the moves flow out naturally, and were impressed with what we had improvised. I quickly ran over to the spiral by my bag, and wrote down the steps, backing up the song, and trying it again. We ran through it multiple times, making sure it was on the correct counts, and then ran through the whole number up to that point. After almost an hour of working, we took a break.

“So, more on this boy you’re going on a date with,” Avalon said, unscrewing the cap to her Nalgene bottle.

“Well, I met him at a coffee shop last week,” I said with a smile, “And then saw him again on Friday, because it turns out he’s the best friend of one of the guys on Glee. So we drank, sang karaoke together, and then ended up at the beach together on Saturday.”

“Please tell me the date was magical, and all Notebook like,” she said eagerly rocking forward.

“Hardly,” I said with a laugh, “We went to lunch at one of the pier restaurants, where I spilled my drink down the front of me. Then, I accidentally tripped him and made him get sand in his eyes.”

“You’re honestly the biggest klutz I’ve ever me,” she said laughing, “But, it couldn’t be that bad if he wanted another date, right?”

“I guess not,” I said shrugging, “But it’s just the movies and dinner. Nothing extravagant, just jeans and a top kind of thing.”

“Not if I have any say,” she said with a devious smirk, “After this, I’m going to your place and helping you pick out your outfit.”

I tried telling her I would be fine, but she insisted, telling me I had a habit of dressing down, something she had told me before. I finally gave up, telling her that if we hurried, we could have the song finished early, and even go shopping for something new. Her eyes lit up, and in record time, we had finished the number, excited that we could teach it to everyone at rehearsal tomorrow.

===

I sat anxiously on my vanity stool, watching Avalon work on my hair in the mirror, and smiled when she told me it was done. It was done in soft curls, making it look wavier more than anything, and she had pinned back my bangs so they’d stay out of my face. I had already finished my makeup; bronzer, eyeliner and a soft blend of eye shadows, and was now ready except for being dressed.

I walked into the bathroom, my new dress hanging on a hook, and slid my robe off so I could pull it on. I pulled it on, and admired how well it fit. It had thick straps, with a plunging neckline that made it look like I actually had boobs, and had a thin belt around my waist. It was colorful; jagged stripes of every color going horizontally; and ended right before my knees. I straightened the belt, and smoothed out the material before walking out to greet Avalon, and now Trista.

“Girl, you look adorable,” Trista said, clapping her hands together in excitement, “Please tell me you’re going to wear those adorable wedges you bought a few weeks ago. They’d look perfect.”

“I planned on just some flat sandals,” I trailed off, “But they would go really well, and I wouldn’t be so short next to him.”

Avalon just grinned, ducking into my closet, and came out holding the shoes Trista had been talking about. I put them on, double checking the buckles, and stood up, doing a small, dramatic twirl for the girls. They both complimented me, and as right on cue, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of Joey. I bit my lip nervously, grabbing my purse from my bed, and took a breath to calm my nerves. As I opened the door, I smiled at Joey, who smiled right back.

“You look wonderful, Caroline,” he said still smiling.

“Thanks Joey,” I said trying not to blush, “You look really good, too.”

“Thanks,” he said with a wink, “You ready? I figured we’d start off with dinner, and then see where the night takes us.”

“Let’s get going then,” I said taking his outstretched hand, “Bye Trista, Avalon, see y’all later!”

I heard them say goodbye, and I walked out the door with Joey, closing the door behind us. I followed him to his car, thanking him as he opened the door and helped me in, and let out a calming breath as he walked around to his door. Thankfully, my nervousness completely disappeared when he turned on the car, and Cartel started playing.

====

Joey surprised me by taking me to Happy Sumo, my favorite sushi place, even if it was nearly an hour away from our homes. He insisted that it was fine, telling me that it was also favorite, and he could barely stand sushi from anywhere else. I then gave him directions to my favorite stretch of beach, one that I knew would be practically deserted, and made sure he left his shoes in the car, just like I had.

“So, why no shoes?” he asked as we walked the short parking lot to the sand.

“So we can feel the sand between our toes,” I said airily, “It’s the best feeling, especially if the sand is right where the water laps up.”

He just nodded, accepting my answer, and I practically hopped the last few steps to the sand, grinning when I felt my toes sink in. Joey laughed at my hijinks, and I ran back, grabbing his hands and pulling him to the sand faster. I pulled him all the way down to the water line, and let his hands go so I could stand in the ankle deep water. I sucked in a deep breath, loving the salty smell of the air, and stared out at the reflection of the moon on the relatively calm ocean.

“You’ll catch a cold if you stay in this cold water for too long,” Joey said, startling me as he put his arms around my waist.

“The view is worth it,” I said turning my head to look into his eyes, “Wouldn’t you agree.”

He just nodded, and we stood in the same position for a few more minutes, before my feet got too cold, and we moved up to sit on the beach. I sat on his left side, my legs stuck out in front of me and crossed, and we slowly got to know each other. I listened to him talk about his college experience, and almost envied the closeness he seemed to have with his theater friends. He asked me about my favorite role I had played, and it took me a minute to give him an answer.

“It’s a toss-up really,” I said biting my lip, “I loved playing Sarah in Guys and Dolls, but I’m falling in love with my role of Penny from Hairspray that I’m working on right now. Both are so different, but I feel myself in each of them.”

“How so?” he asked genuinely.

“Like Sarah, I’m very stuck in my ways, and am always apprehensive about men,” I said blushing a bit, “And I have an overbearing mother and am kind of an airhead like Penny at times.”

“Well, I’m glad I made it past that test of men then,” he said nudging me playfully, making me giggle slightly.

We spent the next hour talking about our lives, realizing we were both pretty similar in tastes, and I couldn’t help but to keep a smile permanently on my face because of how animated he talked. When we finally decided to leave, the moon was high above us, meaning it was nearing somewhere around midnight or later. We both stood up, brushing the sand from our legs and bottoms, and linking hands nonchalantly as we walked back to his car. We both slid on our shoes, and he scrolled through his iPod, insisting on hearing me sing now that he knew I could.

I grinned as “Summer Nights” from Grease started playing, and told him he had to sing Danny’s part, which he easily agreed too. He sang, flawlessly I might add, as he backed out of the parking space, and I joined in, harmonizing with him almost perfectly. We sang through numerous show tunes, and right when we were almost to my apartment, a song came on, and I could tell it was Joey’s voice singing.

“Is this you?” I asked excitedly, turning to him with a grin.

“Uh, yeah,” he said bashfully, “It’s from the show I did earlier this year with Starkid.”

I just smiled, swatting his hand away when he tried changing it, and listened intently, feeling my heart melt with every note he sang. I could tell he was nervous about me hearing it, seeing his fingers awkwardly tap against the gear shift, so I grabbed his hand with a reassuring squeeze.

“You have a really great voice,” I said as we pulled into my complex, “And that song, wow.”

He just smiled, saying a quick thank you, and pulled into a spot. He hopped out, insisting on opening my door again, and I let him, accepting his hand to get out. I laced our fingers together, walking in step with him to my door, and stopped short, knowing I was probably be watched out the window by Trista and Avalon.

“Tonight was fun, thank you,” I said smiling, and biting my lip shortly.

“I enjoyed it too,” he said smiling down at me, “We’ll definitely be doing it again.”

“Definitely,” I said with a smile, leaning in and capturing him in a hug.

When we pulled away, our faces we quite close, and I leaned forward so we could attach lips. I was stopped short, however, when I bonked my nose against his, causing us both to let out a snort of laughter. I made a comment about how I had done so well with not hurting him, and he cut me off, pressing his lips softly against mine. I let my eyes flutter close, and pressed up on my toes to keep our lips connected. We pulled away, both having dopy smiles on our faces, and stepped out of each other’s embraces.

“Goodnight, Joey,” I said still smiling, and walking inside, nearly knocking into the two girls with sheepish smiles on their faces.