Thunder and Lightning || Dodie Clark

VIII. Meeting

Hey long time no talk! We should FaceTime sometime soon! We all miss you! -Mom

I smiled and texted a quick reply saying I was going to a school musical that night, so we'd have to figure out a day we were both free. I wonder how she would take to me dating again.

Mom wasn't too excited to hear me when I first came out to her. To be frank, it was one of the worst days I had to endure. I even had to come out a second time, which was strange for everyone. Eventually, she just came to accept that liking girls and boys was just a part of who I am.

"Do you want to go out to dinner?" Dodie asked, sticking her head into my room. "Before the show?"

"Okay," I smiled. "Where to?"

"I know of a few places, just bring your cute self out of your room whenever you're ready and we can go."

"Okay, love," I winked. She muttered under her breath.

I threw on a sweater some of my darkest jeans before painting color onto my face. I threw my hair into a ponytail, but with my hair short it just kinda poofed.

"Hey Dodes," I called out, "I'm ready!"

Lies. Lies. I was definitely not ready to see Dodie in her dress.

"Actually, I think we'll be late."

"What?"

"I'm thinking we might be late. If that's okay with you anyways. Just like five minutes." I brushed back a strand curl and tucked it behind her ear.

"For?"

"This." I grasped the sides of her face and kissed her. Thank goodness neither of us had been wearing lipstick that night. I was already making a slight mess of Dodie's hair.

"Meeting my mom," she whispered. And when she talked her lips moved still ever so slightly against mine. "Can't be too late. Hedy would be disappointed. She'd know."

"Okay, baby," I kissed her again.

"What was that?"

"'Baby?' Do you not like it? If not I can totally hold back from the cute name calling—"

"Don't hold back. I like it, it's cute," she kissed me again. "Now come on, let's go watch my sister in a musical."

"Gladly, I love live theatre, but first—dinner."

"Let's get going then, shall we?"

We met Dodie's quant mother outside the diner. Hedy was already at the school where she was getting ready for the show.

"Hi, I'm Murphy." I shook Dodie's mom's hand and she introduced herself.

"Shall we sit or what? I'm starving with you guys showing up late." We followed the shorter women into a booth of seats, already reserved for the three of us.

My least favorite part about meeting parents is all the questions they'll ask. Like asking what I want to do when I get older, why I live in the U.K., and a million other things. Dodie's mom did exactly that, but what else were we going to talk about?

"Well, I'm getting my degree in English Education. I hope to work my way up to getting a PhD in English so I can teach at a college level. I'm in the U.K. because I was accepted into a school with an excellent English program with a scholarship, so I can afford it." I smiled and drank from my lemonade. I could bet that she would be asking about Dodie and I.

"So how long have you two been seeing each other?" She asked and I suppressed a smile. I called it.

"We'll be reaching two months in two days," Dodie smiles. Her hand squeezed my leg from under the table. I could feel my cheeks getting hot.

"But honestly, it feels like longer," I smiled. It probably felt longer cause I fancied Dodie forever before we started actually going out.

We changed topics and started talking about Dodie's newest album she'd been working on. She wouldn't tell me much of anything, and it seemed to be the same situation with her mom.

"There's still so much to do," Dodie smiled, "but I'm excited."

"Me too," I squeezed her me under the table this time. I was really excited for Dodes but I also was a little sad. A new album meant another tour, which also meant I wouldn't be seeing Dodie for awhile at a time. I also worried about how traveling would effect her mental health currently.

After we ate we climbed into Dodie's mom's black car where she would drive us to Hedy's school. It was a slight drive, so I ended up resting my head on Dodie's lap. She kissed my forehead and I smiled. Her and her mom caught up, and I couldn't help my eyelids becoming a little heavy.

I fought the urge to nap, but sometimes you can't help falling asleep. When I woke up we were pulling into the school's parking lot.

"Come on babes," Dodie tapped the side of my face. "I can't get up if your cute face is laying on me."

"Oh, ha, sorry." I sat back up and stretched my arms up, well as much as I could in the car. "Do I have sleep lines on my face?"

"Nope, you look as cute as ever though with your sleepy eyes."

"Shut up," I smiled and followed her out of the car. "What musical is this anyways?"

"This year it's Hairspray."

"Nice! My high school did that my freshmen year," I nodded. I loved the show so much, it wasn't one that I auditioned for, but after seeing it became actively involved in the after school theatre programs.

We took our seats as the lights dimmed all around us and the velvet curtain began to rise. I could feel the smile on my face as these talented kid sang and danced their hearts out.

"Where's Hedy?" I asked in Dodie's ear.

"She's in the ensemble, but she one of the best kids I've seen."

"Wow," I nodded and leaned back into my seat. The show continued into the second act where Dodie brought me into a dark hall.

"We're heading to the bathroom!" she told her mom, but I'm pretty sure she didn't buy it.

"Man, this reminds me of high school," I laughed. I leaned against the cold lockers, Dodie's arms resting on the sides of me.

"Bring a lot of girls into dark halls?" She asked and I laughed.

"Goodness no, I was never that bold. I'm more of a admirer at a distance."

"Oh?" The corner of Dodie's mouth turned up. "Not bold?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled Dodie by the back of her neck to my mouth. "Are we going to make out in this dark hall or what?"