Chapter 3 - hello again!

Jimmy didn’t have to wait long until he saw Chelsea again. As he headed out of the library, he saw the stunning girl standing there with some of the other socialite types. She was so animated as she talked, so confident and clearly so much more outgoing or extraverted than he had ever been. Somehow it made Jimmy feel out of his depth, just imagining any sort of romantic encounter between them both.

“Excuse me,” he caught Chelsea call out to her friends as Jimmy walked by. Then, all of a sudden, he heard the sound of a gentle little run behind him and then the sudden presence of a tall, beautiful girl by his side. “Hello again!” Chelsea said smoothly, strolling along beside him.

“Oh…” Jimmy replied, pretending to be more surprised to see Chelsea than he actually was. “Hello again!” he echoed.

“So, I didn’t get your name before,” Chelsea stated with an obvious flirtation to her voice. “I’m Chelsea,” she offered first, then smiled with delight as Jimmy gave his name in return. “I was thinking, Jimmy. All that talk of being hungry before; maybe you might like to go out for some food?”

Jimmy’s already racing heart suddenly shifted up another gear. “Now?” he asked in shock.

“Yeah, why not?” Chelsea grinned. “No time like the present!”

Jimmy had never been all that spontaneous, but this was the chance to go on a date with the girl of his dreams. “Um, well, I guess so,” he mumbled, looking down at his clothes and wishing that he’d worn something a little smarter. His hand went up to his hair and he started to brush it down, tidying it; feeling more conscious of himself than ever before.

“You could sound more excited about it,” Chelsea joked back, clearly knowing how much of a catch she was.

“I am excited!” Jimmy responded, feeling his awkward-self return. Then he inwardly scolded himself for how desperate that made him sound. “Um… what I mean is, where were you thinking of going?”

“Relax!” Chelsea smiled, seeing how tense Jimmy had just become. “I wanted to take you to that burger joint, down by the old water tower. That’s a pretty great place for you to see my ‘impressive’ appetite,” she winked playfully.

Chelsea led the way, but Jimmy was definitely following.