Demi tugged down her shirt. She closed her car door, and fiddled with her red flannel as well as the rings on her fingers and the end of her braid. She was nervous. She was meeting a girl she met at her friend Selena's party a couple days ago. They exchanged numbers, the girl asked her out, and, for a reason unknown to Demi, she agreed.
She shuddered and started walking to the cafe. As she walked along the side of the building, she could see the outdoor patio and the short black fence surrounding it. The tables in the center were round, but the ones near the fence were rectangular. It irritated her and she wanted to toss all the circular tables into the dumpster. Her fingers crumpled into a fist.
Demi saw the girl. Taylor. She was sitting at one of the rectangular tables three down from where she was turning into the gate. Demi tried to relax but it was difficult. She didn't know why she had even shown up. She should have stood her up. She wasn't ready for another relationship after that last disaster she had. And she had never dated a girl before, though she knew she was attracted to both boys and girls. Selena didn't even know until the night of the party, where Demi drunkenly blurted it out. Selena cut her off after that.
Her fingers tingled. Her heart jumped when Taylor looked up and saw her and, waving, stood and pulled Demi's chair out for her. Demi was too shocked to reply to the girl's greeting. Her ex would never have been so considerate.
"I hope you don't mind eating outside," Taylor said, sitting in her seat. Demi still felt a little rattled from the simple gesture but forced herself to listen to what Taylor was saying. "I know it's windy, but it's such a beautiful day out."
"It's fine." Demi smiled. "I prefer the fresh air." On a good day, she loved being outside. She loved how free she felt. She loved long walks and taking pictures of the sun shining through the trees. On a bad day she closed the shutters and locked the doors and tried to catch more than two hours of sleep. She always failed miserably.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asked. "You look a little..." She motioned to her own face with her hands, but couldn't name the word she was looking for, not for a while. When it came she almost snapped her fingers. "Anxious." She smiled softly. "I don't bite."
Demi felt a smile crawl onto her face as she brushed back some loose hair. "No, I... This is my first date in a while," she admitted. She looked down at her feet, wondering if high heels were a good choice.
Taylor noticed her downward gaze and followed, her eyes lighting up at the black heels. "Oh my god! I have those same heels! They're my favorite pair. The only reason I'm not wearing them is, well," she stopped and gestured to her clothes, "I'm wearing an outfit fit for brown boots."
Demi was surprised. "I--uh--oh," she stammered. Her ex was only an inch or two taller than her, and he hated when she wore heels because it made her taller than him. "We should go shopping together some time," she finally forced out.
"Yeah! That would be fun." Taylor grinned at the girl across from her. She wondered if she was being too perky. Demi hadn't seemed so shy at the party, but then again, there was alcohol involved, and a lot of it. Maybe she should tone it down.
A waiter came. Taylor ordered them both some coffee and muffins she claimed to be so magnificent that one bite could make you cry with joy.
"I swear I shed a few tears the first time I had them," Taylor said after the waiter left.
Demi, leaned back in her chair, smirked, and crossed her arms at the blonde in front of her. "Mhm. I'm sure I'll start sobbing at how glorious they are."
"You will, just wait."
Demi thought Taylor was glowing with happiness. She didn't understand it. She wasn't funny, she wasn't nice to be around. She was surprised they had lasted longer than five minutes.
