She Is Beautiful

I sat upside down on the couch, my feet up in the air and my head almost touching the ground. My phone sat on my stomach, silent and still. I sighed and looked around my quiet apartment. Was it too soon to call him? I reached for my iPad and pulled up FaceTime. Hopefully, Soraya was around to chat. I didn't count on it though.

The other line rang for a few minutes before I gave up. I set the iPad back down on the table and sat up. Maybe I could watch some Netflix while I waited for Soraya.

I stopped myself. Why was I waiting for Soraya to tell me when to call Jordon again? After all, she was the one who had said I need to take more risks. I picked up my phone confidently, but I hesitated. How soon was too soon? I should watch an episode of Friends or something and then call him. I didn't want to seem too desperate.

Halfway through the episode I had loaded, I decided I couldn't wait anymore. I picked my phone up and dialed Jordon's number. It rang a few times, and just as I was about to give up, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi," I said meekly.

"Hey," he chuckled.

There was a moment of silence before I said, "Hi. Um, hi."

"I think you already said that," Jordon said.

"Uh...yeah, sorry," I said. "I usually don't call people. They call me."

"We can hang up and start over if you'd like," laughed Jordon.

"Uh, no," I said. "I had a really great time last night."

"I did too." He paused, waiting for me to maybe say something. Instead, he said, "Will there be a round two?"

I smiled and said, "I was sort of counting on it."

"I kinda had this crazy idea," Jordon said. "You can say no if you want to. There's this ghost house tour, where you go around to these three houses with a small group of people and you can either stay with the group or go off on your own."

I blushed as my FaceTime began to ring. I opened up my iPad, and Soraya was staring back at me. She waved, but I held up my finger to keep her at least somewhat quiet.

"You know," I said, "I've never done anything like that, and I think it sounds great."

"Cool!" Jordon said. "This Saturday? The tours start at 11 in the morning and go through midnight, so we're guaranteed a spot in one of the tours."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "Are you picking me up again?"

"I might as well," he said. "I'll see you Saturday at 10:30 then."

"Awesome," I replied. "Bye, Jordon."

"Bye, Belle," he said.

I hung up the phone, and Soraya giggled.

"Was that who I think it was?" she said.

"Yes, it was Jordon," I sighed. "Soraya, seriously, I can't thank you enough for making me go back to that bar."

"You know I didn't make you," Soraya said, crossing her arms. "You wanted to. You just needed that extra push."

I smiled and blew her a kiss.

"So what are you doing, might I ask?" she said.

"We're going on a ghost house tour," I replied.

"What?" Soraya shrieked. "Isabelle Marie! You would never-"

"I know, I know," I chuckled. "I wouldn't normally do this sort of thing. He seemed excited, though, and I didn't want to seem dull. I like him. I'm not going to miss out because of a few quote-un-quote ghosts."

"Okay...but the second you get back, I demand to hear about it!" said Soraya. "I want to know every detail. If you jump, make sure he holds you."

"I have to go now, Soraya," I said.

"I'll be home in two days. Don't have too much fun without me!"

"Good-bye!"

I closed out of FaceTime and shook my head. My phone buzzed, and I glanced down. Group Therapy. I stood up and sighed loudly to no one but myself. I always forgot about that, but if I had any chance of bettering myself, I needed to go.

I picked up my purse and left the apartment, beginning the long walk to the community center.