The Dilemma

"Just say yes, I'm dying here, I need coffee!" the teenager cried.

"Your very persistent." she said annoyed.

"You have no idea." he said honestly, never one to deny his aggressive streak. It was just part of him, he fought hard for what he wanted, he would pull every last straw he had to win. There was just nothing like a challenge. "I won't stop until you say yes." he said and she knew he was serious.

"I'm gonna pass out on the floor." the teen exaggerated going from one leg to the other, "i need caffeine!"

"Take a chance." Devlin said, his hand sending a heat straight up her arms that gathered in her erecting nipples.

"Fine." she glared at him, grabbing a business card and a pen, "but only because you forced me." she pulled her hands from his, grabbing a business card, she wrote down her phone number.

"I can live with that." he looked at the big silver ring with the turquoise stones, on her middle finger and the chunky silver ring on her thumb. He even noticed how perfectly she wrote her numbers, since when did hand writing turn him on?

"Thank god!" the boy behind them clapped his hands twice. Devlin looked down at the number and noticed she had not put a name.

"Who do I ask for?"

"If some one answers, "she shrugged her shoulders, "ask for Sally." she smiled, dazzling him. He grinned than turned around and left, much to the relief of the anxious teenager who gave him silent praise for landing such a girl and using such aggressive tactics.

Half way there he realized he still hadn't ordered his coffee, normally he would be pissed, but he just kept smiling, even as he grabbed shitty coffee from the automatic coffee dispenser in the lounge.

***

SO BACK TO THE MOMENT OF TRUTH...

Chloe sat there, the butterflies in her stomach had suddenly developed steel tipped wings by the 2ND ring.

Why was she nervous? What was really so different about them? Hadn't she just jumped when the fear of heights had over whelmed her? Hadn't she told herself she would just keep jumping, and not let fear control her? That's what it was right?

Fear...

Fear of the unknown , fear of something so different than herself. What was she afraid of? Going out on one date with a white man couldn't lighten the color of her skin, she was who she was regardless, right?

Besides hadn't she always prided herself on her lack of racism, one of her close friends was white, her mother was white. She kept it real, she never denied her race, she was proud of what she was, the mixture that had made Chloe Simmons! She was contradicting herself by being racist. That's what it was, plain old fashioned racism. There was no other reason she wouldn't date him. If he had been the one to deny her, it would have been blatant racism and she would have been seriously offended.

She had learned quick growing up that regardless of money or prestige, one drop of black made you to dark for some, and one drop of white made you to light skinned for others. Had she not swore to herself that she would never be one of the narrow minded, never let her fear of something different control her or make her judge a stranger because of the color of there skin. Easy to say if you are never put to the test. Now she was being put to the test and for extremely irrational reasons, she was failing miserably.

The third ring was so loud, she felt the vibration in her bones, making her ears sting. If she was going to answer it, it had to be now!

What should she do? Should she contradict herself and stay home, 'keepin it real'? OR should she just take a chance date with an unknown, handsome stranger?