Teach Me How to Dougie

I slammed my textbook shut, putting it on the couch cushion beside me and groaning.

"Ughh, this is so stupid. I don't want to read about foreign policy anymore" I complained as I slid to the floor, lying facedown and being dramatic.

Holly sat on her bed, scrolling through Facebook.

"Dude, I think you've studied enough. Give yourself a break."

She was right, I guess. I had spent the past six hours alternating between studying for this test and writing an essay I had to turn in at the end of the week. Plus, it was only 3:00PM on a Sunday, so I guess I could afford to relax a little bit.

Nothing too exciting had happened in the few days since Dougie had come over. I had had a test on Thursday that took up most of my mental capacity, so I hadn't had much time to think about things. Holly and I had watched the B's play on Friday, which I must say was definitely not as nice as watching them from the edge of the ice. It was also a little strange to see Dougie whenever the camera did a close up or an announcer said his name. I couldn't lie, though, it was kinda cool as well.

I rolled over and forced myself into a standing position from the ground. I walked over to Holly's bed and sat right next to her.

"You know what? I will take a break. I know all the material and I deserve to have at least a semi-enjoyable weekend." That last comment caused Holly to look up at me, with a suspicious grin on her face.

"Hmm, you know what you should do?" She picked my phone up off of her bed, holding it out to me. "Text Dougie!"

I tore the phone from her hands, clutching it close to my chest.

"Absolutely not! I don't want to freak him out and I thought we discussed that I was just gonna relax and let things happen."

Holly rolled her eyes.

"Okay, you're right. But hey, that doesn't mean you can't make things happen yourself."

I thought about what she was saying. I mean, I guess I could put some effort forward, too.

"Come on, just text him asking what's up! No biggie."

"But what if he-"

Holly cut me off, reading my mind.

"If he ignores you, brush it off and move on. But maybe he won't! Stop selling yourself short. Besides, confidence is sexy, so you making the move may work out in your favor."

Ugh. Why was Holly so good at this stuff? She was the queen of pep talks.

I looked down at my phone and opened up my texts, typing a quick message out to Dougie.

*Chloe: Hey :) What's up in your world? Congrats on the big win Friday, btw.*

I added the last comment in a hurry and threw my phone onto my bed. I stood up and laughed as Holly smiled, knowing that she had worked her magic. I decided to shuffle into the closet and grab a sweatshirt, cuz it was getting a little chilly.

"Chloe! Your phone is ringing!"

I could her the faint sound of my ringtone from where I stood in the closet. The sounds of the Bruins goal horn and song filtered through our tiny apartment as I raced to pick the call up.

"Hello?" I hadn't had time to look at who was calling in my rush to avoid missing the call. I nearly dropped my phone when I heard who was speaking.

"Hey, it's Dougie. How are you?"

"Oh I'm, uh, I'm good. How are you?"

"Ha, I'm good, too. Listen... Uh, are you busy today?"

By this time Holly had moved over to where I was sitting on my bed, staring at me intently and trying to eavesdrop on what Dougie was saying.

"Well, I've been studying all morning and writing an essay, but I'm taking a break for a while. Why, what's up?" I was trying hard to sound casual but felt ridiculous and unnaturally laid-back.

"Would you wanna come over later? We could order pizza and just stay in if you want. Nothing fancy."

I laughed at his suggestion to watch movies again. I mean, that had worked out pretty well last time.

"Yeah, that sounds great! What time were you thinking?"

"Uh, well, do you wanna get here at like 4:30? I live in Cambridge so it should only take you like half hour to get here."

I mulled what he was saying over in my head.

"4:30 sounds good. I'll just change and head over soon."

"Don't worry about dressing up or anything. It sounds like you've had a busy day. Besides, uh..."

He paused for a second or two.

"I'm sure you'll look great in whatever you wear."

Holly had heard Dougie's comment, because she had pretty much placed herself as close to my phone as possible. She covered her mouth and gasped, hitting me on the knee with her other hand. She mouthed "Oh my god!" at me and kept smiling. I smiled, too. Dougie and I said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone.

"HE'S SO CUTE OMG HE SAID YOU'LL LOOK GREAT IN WHATEVER YOU WEAR AHHHH"

Holly had launched into a bout of word vomit after hearing our conversation. I still couldn't stop smiling. I shrugged my shoulders and pretended to be all cocky and nonchalant.

"Well, he wasn't lying. I do look great in everything."

I burst out laughing as Holly joined me, both of us still sitting on my bed.

Notes