Into My Own

Forty

"Coda, where in the hell were you yesterday? We literally didn't talk at all!"

As usual, Oakley started Monday with some sort of dramatic exclamation.

"I was a little busy," I shrugged, struggling to hide my smirk.

She raised her eyebrows. "Busy with what?"

"Well for starters, Kellan came over."

"Ooh!" She squealed. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

I shrugged again. "It was kind of spur of the moment."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed deeply. "I finally got around to putting all my equipment from spring show away."

"And?" She prompted.

"And I found a note."

"From who?"

"You'll never guess."

"Oh my gosh. It was him, wasn't it..." Her voice filled with anger and dread.

"Yeah," I breathed shakily.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did it say?"

"Said to meet him in the pig barn. No signature." I chewed on my lip, hating the feeling of panic that was rising in my chest at the thought of that day.

Oakley gave me a wordless hug as I relayed the rest of the story in a single breath.

"Kellan called right as I was starting to have a panic attack and he calmed me down and came over."

"That was sweet of him." She smiled, holding me at an arm's length. "Then what?"

"Then he helped me put everything away and we went for a ride around Morrowtown. And guess what we did?"

"Tell me!" She demanded, bouncing on her toes.

"You know all those old buildings out at the town site?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we went exploring. And you know the big one? The old dance hall?"

She nodded, enraptured.

I grinned hugely. "We went in there. And may I say, it is stunning. But he asked me to dance and played some music on my phone."

"You better have said yes!"

"I did. We spun around the dance floor, just us two." My voice became dreamy.

Oakley let loose an ear-splitting scream and crushed me in a hug. "Oh my gosh! Coda! That is the cutest thing ever!"

"Agreed." I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

"Holy shit. Where can I get one?" She pouted before bursting into giggles.

"You'll find your prince charming someday," I winked.

"Are you saying you found yours?" She poked me in the ribs.

"No, I'm not. But he might be as good as it gets."

She glared at me in disgust. "Just admit it already. You like him. And he's your type."

"No, he's really not my type. I don't date cowboys," I argued.

"But he knows his rigs, he wears hats and button-ups, he knows how to dance... What more could you want?"

"I don't know, Oakley. I just don't know if he's right. But I'm gonna just go with it until I figure it out."

"You have all the time in the world," she nodded with a smile. "But make sure you enjoy every minute of attention you get from that boy. He's a doll."