26. The Big Question
"A+ Libra, that's mighty impressive. Keep up the good work."
She grabbed her paper from her Poetry teacher Miss Samuelson and gave her a shy smile. She was doing well here and that was a relief because transitioning from high school to college isn't always easy for everyone. Luckily Libra's academics were the gateway to her confidence and knowing her professors thought the same boosted her even more.
Class had been awfully long today, though, and as soon as the clock struck 2:45 pm Libra truly reflected on how long it had truly been, somewhere between talking John Keats and T.S Eliot Libra stopped listening â and that had been at least an hour ago. Now she was walking rapidly toward home and hoped that Jack was still there to fill her in about what had happened when Dillon woke up.
This morning he had been so difficult to wake that she had sighed and left him a note, giving him some brief information and woken up Jack to give him the same. On her way to class she had texted Sophia, already long gone, to ask if they should offer Jack the couch or perhaps buy a bed and have it placed in the living room â Sophia had been on board. Now that she was heading home she decided to tell Jack the good news and perhaps they could celebrate with a movie night in â seeing as neither of them had work this evening.
"Honey I'm home," she joked when she stepped inside her apartment. It smelled of pepperoni pizza and her mouth watered instantly.
When she finally turned to see Jack she saw that he wasn't alone and the smile that she'd just had was as good as gone. Dillon hadn't left yet, he was still there! He looked arguably better than when she'd left him and they both were eating pizza while watching TV. What the hell is he still doing here?
"Hey," she started as she walked over, "how are you feeling?" Her voice was almost too soft when she spoke to him as if she had forgotten that Dillon was a professional party monster back in high school â this could hardly be his worst hangover.
"He's fine and so am I, thanks for asking. I ordered two large pizzas; there is one in the kitchen for you and Sophia." Jack waved toward the kitchen area but her eyes were stuck on Dillon â and his on hers.
The silence now was almost unbearable and she had no idea how to break it. She wondered if Jack had explained what happened last night or if she should do it now. Perhaps it was better to leave it be and allow him today to feel better, this conversation could be had another day.
"I'll go have a shower before I eat, thank you for the pizza Jack," she then shifted her eyes toward Dillon, "and I'm glad you're feeling better." Then she turned her heel and headed for her room, to retrieve some new clothes before her shower.
Behind her she could hear the two boys talking but she blocked out what they were saying, just kept on walking until their burning eyes were no longer on her back. With her door closed to her room she took a deep breath and saw her unmade bed before her â it probably smelled just like Dillon. There was an urge to go over and smell it to see if his scent had lingered on to her pillow but the creep level of the matter stopped her. A sudden knock on her door ripped her from her own thoughts and her heart began rushing once more. Still in her clothes from today she opened the door and assumed it was Jack who wanted to check in, but it was Dillon.
"Can we talk?" He simply said and without a word she replied with a nod.
Dillon slipped inside her room and spotted the unmade bed. She had no idea if it was guilt or manners but suddenly he was grabbing hold of her duvet and straightening it out, fluffing her pillows and throwing on her blanket that she had brought from home. When he was pleased he turned back to her with a half-smile.
"You didn't have to do that," she mumbled and stopped meeting his eyes for a second. Her cheeks flushed at the thought of him in her bed â that was as far as she dared to think of with him in the room.
"What happened last night? I'm sorry if I did something bad or behaved shitty, I just can't remember having that much to drink. Todd, Keith and I were hanging out at ours before we left and then I had two beers at the party â nothing more." He looked slightly tormented not knowing what he had done â even if he hadn't done anything.
Libra put her hand up for him to calm down and gave him a shy smile for some sort of comfort, "You were just passed out when we got to the party. Keith had said you've mumbled something about being drugged â so maybe that's the reason you don't remember."
"But who the fuck would want to drug a guy? Sorry for the bluntness but I've heard enough about colleges to know that guys use that tactic on girls." Dillon scratched his head and grimaced a little.
Quickly Libra gestured for him to take a seat on her bed and with a thankful smile he did just that, giving her more fantasies 'not' to think about. Neither one of them seemed to want to be the first person to talk but Libra didn't want this lingering over here anymore. The whole situation between them was less than desirable anyway â technically, according to her, Dillon shouldn't even be at this college. Everything about her journey had been turned upside down and the calm and drama free college experience suddenly seemed so unattainable.
After taking a deep breath she decided to break the ice:
"I called you last night because you weren't at Summer's party, but Todd was. He was kind of being a creep but I handled it fine â but that's not why I called you." Her voice was so low that she wondered if he could actually hear her. Somewhere inside her she thought perhaps it'd be better if he didn't hear any of this.
"Then why did you call me, Libra?" His voice was soft and not at all demanding of an answer, more a pleading almost.
Her breaths were fast, rapid almost and her nerves caused her to ball her hands into fists. She hated how badly she was at concealing her emotions right now but she had to accept her change of heart about Dillon Holden. Now they looked at each other differently, to the point where the old Dillon Holden had nearly faded away from her memory. Instead she thought of the guy who had her back since the moment they had arrived here and now they had gotten so far that he felt comfortable to hang out in her apartment. This was progress for her and she should be proud of it â at least Dr. Fine would think so.
"I wanted to see you, I guess," she mumbled, "everything is so confusing right now, Dillon. I'm not sure why I called when I truly think about it." She scratched her forehead and shook her head when she felt a migraine coming on.
Dillon got off the bed and walked, with slow steps, toward her and grabbed a hold of her hands. Gently they swung back and forth and he saw a smile grow on his lips. She desperately wanted to be kissed right now but she knew this situation wasn't about that â kissing Dillon could cause a ripple of things and she'd rather avoid that.
"I think I know why you called and I think you know why I showed up outside your place the other night. Now we don't have to talk about this now, let's talk over dinner tomorrow night."
Libra pulled her hands out of his and stepped one foot back to put some space between them. Dinner tomorrow night equaled a date â she knew that much. Dillon wanted to take her out on a date? Was this his ploy on teaching her how a date worked, he had already offered his services regarding that.
"If this is about the Google search thenâ"she started,
"It's not about that at all, I had completely forgotten about that! I just want to take you to dinner." His smile widened brightly and soon it transferred to Libra's lips as well â slightly less wide.
"What are you actually saying here?" She asked to get a final confirmation.
Dillon took her hands once more and waited patiently for her to look into his eyes when he spoke to her. His eyes were so sparkling that she was afraid to get stuck in them â which technically wouldn't be so bad.
"Libra Jones â would you like to go on a date with me?"