1.4

It had been about a week and half since I met Mulberry, but hey, who’s counting? I’m not. I don’t want him to call, not after what Orchid told me.. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. But I had been moping around the house so much lately that Orchid forced me to go out with her on one of her days off. At first I had been totally against it, but now that I was out I was having a really good time, and I was glad Orchid had made me come.

 We took some silly photos together in the photo-booth, and that was probably my favorite part of the evening.

 We played arcade games together, and with something to distract me, I wasn’t worried at all about why Mulberry hadn’t called. Or about how the fact that he hadn’t called must mean that Orchid had been right.. Right? I had no experience in these things, was there a certain amount of time you had to wait before calling someone… And if so, was what he was doing normal? I couldn’t ask Orchid about it, not without her freaking out.. So I was just left to wonder about it. Once or twice I’d thought about calling him, but that seemed like the wrong thing to do.

 We moved from playing arcade games to playing pool. I wasn’t really fond at all of the game, but Orchid had had a couple of drinks.. So she was up for anything and everything. She always got really hyper when she got buzzed, and I didn’t really like it at all. In fact, I rarely liked to get drunk. Only every now and then, and usually only when I was feeling lonely or depressed. So yeah, I’d had one or two drinks myself. I wasn’t far gone at all, though.

 As I waited for my turn, I stared out into nothingness. All I could think about was Mulberry, the pretty pink color of his skin, the way his eyes glowed, the way he looked when he smiled. I was practically swooning when Orchid’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“Uh, it’s your turn Moon!” She called, and I jumped.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I made my way around the pool table.

As I was aiming my shot, I felt my phone vibrate. I felt my body go rigid. It could really only be Mulberry. Rosee and Lil would still be at work, Orchid was with me.. I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t answer my phone in front of Orchid.

“I-I gotta go..” I all but whispered, as I let my pool stick clatter to the ground.

 I took off running to the bathroom, my mind whirling. I had to get there before my phone stopped vibrating. I didn’t have the nerve to call him back, I barely had the nerve to answer my phone at all.

 When I reached the bathroom, I whipped my phone out of my pocket and answered breathlessly.

“Hello?”

I heard him laugh a bit on the other line, “Bad time?” He questioned knowingly, and the sound of his voice made me go weak at the knees.

“No, no it’s fine!” I was slowly catching my breath.

“You sound like you just ran a marathon!” His voice was still amused, though slightly questioning.

 “I’m out with some friends, I didn’t want them asking any awkward questions.” I explained, my breathing now normal.

“You don’t want them to know you’re talking to me?” His voice didn’t really sound hurt, more perturbed.

“It’s not that, it’s just….” I trailed off, what could I say?

“Listen, don’t worry about it, I was wondering if you wanna meet up later?” Any concern he’d felt about my friends was long gone.

 Before I could answer I heard a knock at the bathroom door, “You okay Moony?” Orchid’s voice sounded from the other side of the door, and I’d never felt more annoyed at her. Couldn’t I have any privacy? I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I would be concerned if she took off to the bathroom like that too.

“I’m fine! I’ll be out in a moment!” I called.

 “Ouch!” I heard Mulberry’s voice, sounding a bit annoyed. I jumped, realizing I’d just screamed his ear off.

“Sorry!” I exclaimed, “I didn’t mean to.”

He seemed to shake it off easily enough, “It’s fine.. Anyway.. Tonight? The beach? Eight?”

I swallowed, it would be hard to get away that late.

“I’ll be there.” I promised. The line went dead and I felt a goofy smile appear on my face.

 I slid down the wall and sat on the bathroom floor, not even thinking about how disgusting that was. All I could think about was Mulberry. Maybe it had taken him awhile to call, but that didn’t seem to matter right now.. Not in light of our date.. Was it a date? Whatever it was, I was glad for it.

More pounding on the door caused me to start, “Moony, I’m about to come in…”

“No need! I’m coming out!” I jumped up and opened the door.

 I stood in front of her for a moment, still feeling dazed. Her look of concern only increased.

“…. You okay?”

“I’m fine, I uh… Had some female problems.” I’d never been good at lying, and she looked at me thoughtfully.

“Well, are you ready to go eat?” Her voice was awkward, and I instantly felt bad. She knew I was lying.

 We arrived at the coffee-house, and ate in silence. I knew Orchid must be hurting. I’d never lied to her before, and I really wished I didn’t have to.. But I had to see it for myself, I had to know for myself if Mulberry was the guy she said he was, he couldn’t be. Berries started rumors in this town all the time. I knew Orchid wasn’t lying, but maybe she just didn’t have the right information.

I sneaked into the bedroom and grabbed my bathing suit while Orchid was taking a shower. I really didn’t know what to do, what could I tell her? Finally, I decided that I wouldn’t tell her anything. I’d deal with it when I made it back home. I slipped out the front door, flagged a taxi, and was on my way.

 I arrived a little early and watched the sun set over the ocean. It really was beautiful, but I barely took any of it in. My mind was a whirl with emotions. Surely, if this wasn’t wrong, I wouldn’t have to sneak around to do it? But then, I got angry. I was a grown woman, I shouldn’t have to sneak around to do anything. It was bull-sugar, Orchid should just let me live my life. But then, I felt guilty. She only wanted the best for me…

 Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong arms  slip around me. I looked down at them, though I was already sure they were Mulberry’s. Who else could it be? No other berry took any notice of me. I smiled and leaned back into him. Did this mean it was a date? Did he like me like I liked him? And why was I so comfortable with a berry I barely knew?

“Hey there,” he murmured in my ear, and I felt my legs turn into jelly.

“Hi,” I whispered back, barely able to think. Finally, I wriggled out of his grasp and turned to face him.

I just stared at him, at a loss for words. He stared back, the look in his eyes was one I didn’t understand. Eventually, it was up to him to break the silence again.

“I’m glad you agreed to come, is your friend okay with it?” There was a playful glint in his eyes under the seriousness, and I knew that he didn’t care what Orchid thought.

“Yeah,” I lied easily, surprising myself. There was no point in telling him the truth.

“Why do you even care?”

“I dunno, we’ve been friends for so long…”

He pulled me into a hug, ending the awkwardness of me being unable to explain it to him. I nuzzled into his neck, feeling small electric pulses throughout my body where our bare skin touched. He was so gentle, being with him made me feel so happy.. How could he be the awful berry Orchid had warned me about? Suddenly I stiffened, and he instantly backed up a bit.

“What?” He questioned, and I flinched a bit under the intensity of his gaze.

“Uh.. I… Uh.. Orchid told me some stuff…” I mumbled and looked away.

He dropped my hand, “What?” He repeated, and I continued to look at the ground like it was the most interesting thing I’d ever seen.

“She told me you were mean to your girlfriends….” I would be surprised if he heard me.

“I don’t see why that concerns you, since you aren’t my girlfriend.” His words stung, and I glared up at him. He laughed and pulled me forward sort of roughly. My feet got tangled up…

 The next thing I knew, we were snuggled up on the sandy earth. I still felt the pulses through my body, and they were even worse now. How could I be feeling that sort of stuff when I’d just met him. Wasn’t that a bit skanky? Suddenly I was overwhelmed with worry.

“Then why are we doing this?” I don’t know  if I actually wanted him to hear, but it seemed like he never missed anything.

“Berries can meet up without being boyfriend and girlfriend..” He answered.

“I’ve never seen friends doing this.”

A chuckle rumbled deep in his chest, and he placed a small kiss on my forehead. I was thankful he couldn’t see my cheeks, but I was sure he could feel the heat radiating off of them. “I can see us being more someday, but we hardly know each other.”

I fretted silently. We hardly knew each other, he was right, so that meant this was wrong. Even so, I didn’t move, I just nodded helplessly. We laid there for awhile, I dunno how long, before he finally spoke again.

“We should go.” I felt disappointment wash over me, but I knew he was right.

I slipped my clothes on over my bathing suit when I got home. Orchid was still awake on the couch, but I’d expected that. She stayed up late because she worked the night shift.

“Where were you?” She questioned, and the worry that flowed through her tone caused me cringe.

“With Lily.” I suddenly felt sick with myself, that was the third lie I’d told today… And they were getting easier.

“How is she?” Orchid didn’t believe me, but why would she?

“Good, she’s settling in with the police force well…” Silence stretched between us, “Well, goodnight.”

“Night,” she responded as I turned the bedroom doorknob and walked in, feeling a little bad, but mostly feeling bubbly.