Weeks past and we emailed each other. The tour was winding down and she was writing for her next album, even though her debut had only been out for a few short months. "I wanna get a jump on it," she told me in an email one day. "You know, have way more than I need, just in case." By January we were friends and by Valentine's Day we were making arrangements to get together. She surprised me that day. I came home from work and there were a dozen yellow roses sitting on my dining room table. My roommate had signed for them and came out of her room when I came home wondering whom they were from. I opened the card and found a short little note from Krystal. "I'll call you later. We need to talk." I just told her they were from a friend and headed off to my room, practically skipping. By this time, I had accepted the fact that I was bi-sexual. No one knew though. I had remained single, not dating because I felt so strange about it. I wasn't afraid to tell my parents, for I knew they would accept me no matter what. But there were still the problems of my celebrity crushes. I mean, I was so enamoured with the Backstreet Boys that I knew it was the real thing, yet Krystal made my heart go nutty. I saw my friends in a new light, but never ever let on what I was really feeling. I waited for Krystal's phone call and when it came, I had to remind myself not to answer on the first ring.
"Hello?" I answered on the third ring, even though I had been sitting by the phone.
"Hi," that sweet girlish voice came. "Happy Valentine's Day."
I couldn't help but grin. "Hi." I took a breath before continuing. "You do know that Valentine's Day was invented by the card companies to keep us buying stuff." Krystal had gotten a feel for my sense of humor so she knew I usually made strange comments about everyday things.
She giggled on the other end, which made me grin wider. "So I fell victim to it. I take it you got the flowers then."
"Yeah. And you also know that Valentine's Day is for all those people who are actually in relationships, otherwise it's Single Awareness Day."
"Sorry about making you realize that you were single," she apologized. "But I was hoping you didn't want to be single anymore."
My jaw about hit the floor. Was Krystal asking me to be her girlfriend? I didn't even know she thought of me like that. I sat there stunned for a while, unable to speak. When I finally found words, they came out jumbled. "Did you just ask me...what I think you asked me?" I asked, barely able to breathe.
She giggled again, which didn't help my breathing problem. "I guess that depends on what you thought I asked you." She then paused for what seemed like an eternity. "We need to talk. Meet me downtown at the Starbucks."
This startled me. "You're here in town?" I said with a start.
"Well, where else would I be?" she asked.
My brain then went crazy. I knew the town really didn't care about relationships. I mean, we weren't a small little community mainly of older folks, we were fairly young and accepting. But being in public with someone like Krystal talking about what I hoped and prayed she was proposing was not something I wanted to do. "Um, why don't you come over here? It'd be a little more private." She agreed quickly and I gave her directions on how to get to my place. Within ten minutes of hanging up the phone, she was at my house, knocking on my door. I let her in. She was looking absolutely stunning in a white button down shirt and jeans.
Neither one of us wanted to sit down and talk; we were both too antsy at that point and too high strung. "So, um did you just ask me if I didn't want to be single anymore?" I asked, finally, pacing my living room floor. Upon reciting the question in my head, it didn't sound as if it made sense to me.
She hovered in my dining room, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Yeah," she admitted.
"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" I inquired, still unsure of myself.
