”OK. Maybe it was a little bit funny.” I gasped when I regained my breath after laughing so intensely.

Both ends of the receiver were filled with silence, a comfortable silence, and I lay there listening to the calming sound of her breath, crackled through the phone line. This had become a more frequent exploration of our relationship, talking late at night on the phone, recounting our days to the other, filling in the brief, insignificant moments we spent apart. There had been the odd time when we had fallen asleep together over the receiver, our breathing seeming to relax each other into the state of deep unconscious.

”Arizona, are you still awake?” she whispered delicately into the resolute silence, her voice a welcome intrusion into the relaxed state her breathing had put me into.
”Mmmm.” I knew I was on the verge of sleep, that tonight’s phone call was nearing its end but I fought to stay awake, to hear if she had anything more to say, any more precious information my brain could store about her. I wanted – no, I needed to know everything there was to know about Calliope Torres.

”Can I ask you something?”

”Yeah, sure Calliope.” My voice was thick with impending sleep at this point, I’m not sure I remember this conversation accurately, but Calliope assures me this is how it went. I’m trusting her judgement.

”Do you like me?” she sounded anxious, I picked up on the insecurity that laced the tone in her voice, but I acted dumb.

”Like you? Of course I do. Your one of my closest friends out here.” I really was fighting sleep, like with an imaginary bat, fending it off for just 5 more minutes of Calliope’s angelic inflection.

She chuckled a little, ”No, silly, do you like me?”

”Like you?” I knew what she was getting at, it made my heart jump in palpitations. She couldn’t really be asking me if I had a crush on her, could she?

”Yes Arizona.”

”How could I not like you? You’re perfect. My dream girl.”

All I remember was her sharp intake of breath, that subsequently disrupted the even pattern had been listening to, in order to fall asleep. The disruption made my eyes go wide as I realized what had come out of my mouth because of my stupid, semi-conscious brain. But to save any awkwardness I finished our late night conversation how I always did.