“Friday’s here!” I squealed and jumped up and down on my bed. I had once again been wakened by internal alarm clock before my real alarm had gone off. I collapsed onto my bed and screamed into a pillow. There was no need to wake my neighbors with extreme happiness. I’m sure they would have just called cops and had my happy and crazy ass arrested for a noise disturbance.
“Are you done acting like Maddie?”
“Yes,” I answered. “Thank you for letting me call you this early.”
Walsh sighed into the phone. “What’s a big brother to do? Besides, you don’t ever ask for anything. Why didn’t you want to call Roman?”
“Because I can be as excited as a sixteen year old on her first date and you will allow me to behave that way without criticism. I also need moral support that only my big brother can give me.”
“What do you expect to happen on this date tonight?”
I stared at the ceiling and thought a moment. “Honestly Walsh, I don’t expect anything. I really just want to be in the same room with him. Is that cheesy?”
“Completely. Sweet, but cheesy.”
“I don’t care happens what tonight.”
“If you’re on first base and he doesn’t steal to second, walk out.”
I laughed. “Should I try to steal second?”
“You don’t even have enough self confidence to steal first.”
“I can be a brazen whore.”
“There’s nothing brazen or whorish about you. It’s probably why he’s taking so damn long to get into your pants.”
“I don’t mind it. It’s been a turn on.”
“You’re telling me if he tried to get to home plate tonight you’d stop him?”
“Absolutely not. I was starting to think I couldn’t attract the opposite sex.”
“If you left your apartment and that bar every now and then, you’d actually meet people. New people.”
“But I’ve met someone new.”
“He had to knock you down first because you didn’t believe you could snag him.”
“I still don’t believe that I have a date with him.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed. I did lack confidence in myself.
“Anna Montgomery you take men’s breath away.”
“Stop.”
“No,” Walsh replied. “You’re going to hear me out and when I’m done, you’re going to say thank you.”
“Okay,” I said, readying myself for his pep talk.
“You are honest with your words and your feelings. You think you’re average but you are far from average. You have an unassuming beauty about you. If you put a tenth of your confidence that you have in your writing in yourself, you would see whatever one else sees.”
“Thank you big brother.”
“You’re welcome baby sister. Now get out of bed and prepare yourself for your date.”
“Yes sir.”
“And do me a favor.”
“What?”
“Believe that you’re all that because you are. If you do, he’ll see it too.”
“Done. Have I told you lately that I love you.”
“You just did.”
“Maddie doesn’t know this yet, but she’s got the best father on earth.”
“Her aunt isn’t so bad either.”
This page copyright © 2009 Shelia Taylor
All rights reserved | This is an excerpt of the rough draft and not the final version
