She Is Beautiful

I yawned and stepped over the threshold of my apartment. I looked at the clock on the wall. 8:43am. I tossed my keys down and put my purse on the hook by the door. I turned around to see Soraya drinking a cup of coffee and smirking.

"Hello," she said coyly.

"Morning," I yawned. "I'm gonna take a nap."

"Now, hold on a second," Soraya said. "Your hair is in a ponytail. You're still wearing your clothes from last night-"

"We didn't have sex," I sighed.

"Okay, then what did you do?"

"We talked," I said. "All night, we told stories about us growing up and our friends and family."

"Did you tell him about me?"

"Of course. You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I tell him about-"

"Did you tell the Mrs. Greene story?" Soraya giggled and put her cup of coffee down.

I sat down next to her and said, "Yes. Something bigger, though."

"Oh, yeah?"

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," I said, "and I said yes."

Soraya squealed, "Oh my god! Are you gonna change your Facebook status? Are you guys even Facebook friends? Make it official to everyone!"

"I rarely get on Facebook," I groaned. "Plus, I don't really want my family to know just yet."

"When do I get to meet him, Belle?" asked Soraya, taking my hand.

"I don't know. I'm meeting his friends next Wednesday. Maybe I'll ask if-"

"What. Do. I. Even. Wear?"

I grimaced and leaned my head back on the couch. I closed my eyes and let her continue talking out loud. I drifted asleep sometime after her asking about meeting his parents.

***

"And that's when I decided I needed help."

The room filled with quiet applause, and I smiled as the new guy sat down beside me again. Our group leader, Devin, stood up.

"Thank you, Sam," he said. "Welcome to the group. Does anyone have anything new they would like to share?"

He glanced around. I played with my thumbs a little before standing up slowly.

"Yes, Isabelle," said Devin. "Go ahead."

"I met a guy," I said, smiling. "His name is Jordon. He's this really incredible person. But I'm worried. He and his friends live a party lifestyle, and I'm worried I might fall off the wagon."

"You've come so far," said Wendy, the girl sitting across from me.

"It's been almost a year since my last relapse," I said. "And I know that he won't try to push me to do anything I don't want to do. But what if I want to do it?"

"We will be here for you," Devin replied. "You have most of our numbers. If you ever feel tempted or just want to talk, you can call."

"Thank you," I said, sitting down.

I tuned out as someone else stood up to talk about something in their life. I wanted somebody to tell me exactly what to do in this relationship. I had fucked it up pretty bad with the last guy, and I didn't want to do that with Jordon. Something told me Jordon was a little more understanding than Blake had been.

All the same, I was terrified.