Bon Bons to Yoga Pants

Chapter 33-Just A Guy

I stared at my computer screen with the uncomfortable feeling of having just eaten a bowl of lava.

"Okay," I said through a soothing exhale. "Just relax. It's a video chat. Not a big deal. I'm ready. At least, I better be ready."

I'd only been puttering around my basement for the last two hours trying to straighten my hair and remember how to apply mascara.

Makeup? I thought, looking at the mirror next to my computer. Check. Although, admittedly, I hadn't worn makeup since before Dad died, so I kept it simple at foundation and mascara. The maturing effect startled me. While I still wasn't sure that I'd lost much weight in my face—I could never tell—Mira and Megan had reassured me that I had.

Outfit? A quick glance down confirmed that I hadn't forgotten to put on a new shirt. Mira had surprised me with it that morning at the gym just for this occasion.

"The color will make your eyes pop," she had reassured me. "Sometimes a new shirt is all you need to feel like a rockstar."

The shirt, which was an XL, was smaller than any t-shirt I'd worn since high school. Okay, maybe even Junior High.

I couldn't get over the miracle of it how it fit. A small boost of confidence made it seem like letting Bradley see my face might not be a total disaster. I completed the outfit with a pair of sweatpants and fuzzy bunny slippers. No reason to be totally uncomfortable. He wouldn't see below the neck anyway.

Door locked, I thought, glancing to the top of the stairs. No one would accidentally interrupt the most fateful call of my life.

"All set."

I was just about to check my phone for the billionth time when a familiar bell rang through my computer speakers. My blood froze. My heart stilled. I stared dumbly at the notification on my screen.

Incoming video call.

"Okay," I whispered again, smoothing my hair back one more time. "Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay."

But my hand remained. The computer continued to ring, echoing in long waves. I couldn't do it. Bradley, the love of my life, the only boy that had ever paid attention to me, waited on the other side of that call.

What if I disappointed him?

What if he didn't like me?

What if all my dreams shattered tonight?

On and on rang the video call.

A voice deep inside, one that I barely recognized as my own, rose through the layers of doubt. What if I keep doing what I was doing and never take a chance? Then I'll never know.

I reached forward and clicked 'accept.'

The connection was black for a second, although I could see myself in a small box in the corner, blinking. The lights in my lair were dim, but not too dim, so he could see my face but I wasn't blinding him with my pale winter skin. I'd tested it far too many times.

"Lexie? You there?"

A familiar face floated on the screen, distorted at first by the new connection, and then settled into an attractive smile. My heart skipped, making me breathless. He had a head of haphazard brown curls, giving his face a fuller, younger look. His hazel eyes, as smooth as pond water, were wide and thick with lashes.

"Bradley," I said, hoping it didn't sound as strangled as it felt. "Hey! How are you?"

"Oh, man!" He breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad it worked! I've been worried all day that we'd have a bad connection or something." He grinned in a crooked boyish way that I had only seen in pictures. "Talking on the phone with a beautiful girl just isn't the same as seeing her face to face."