That Kinda Girl

Kate kicked my ass tonight.

No, no, no, not in a violent way — she's not that kinda girl. And no, it had nothing to do with those occasions when she'd beat my grade on a paper or test by a half or a full point, then proceed to rub it in with a mischievous giggle and a "Ha-ha, I beat you!" (Yes, she's that kinda girl.)

No, tonight she just cracked me up with the text messages she exchanged with Anthony, her more-than-a-friend-but-not-quite-yet-a-boyfriend friend. They were going back and forth, you know, because she's in Michigan and he's in Florida.

"R u done with ur paper?" he asked. "Not yet," she wrote back. OK, that was the slow part of the conversation. Then there were silly parts: "Ur not 2 skinny, ur 2 hot," "No u r" and "Ur sexy." Then there was the "R u coming 2 C me?" and the "No, cuz I don't have a plane." And at some point, Kate ended up calling Anthony a V-tease (V as in ... Vagina). Yep, she's that kinda girl.

OK, so maybe you had to be there, I dunno. The thing is, I was there, and I laughed my ass off — so hard, in fact, it hurt. It felt like a rock was stuck in my throat and a hundred cramps seized my gut. The tops of my cheeks were moist with tears, and the skin covering my muscles in my face and the area around my mouth were stretched so tightly for so long, I was sure there'd be permanent damage.

I can't wait to meet him, not just because he's supposedly hot (Kate's words, not mine). It's just that he does something to her. She's different somehow. For example, there's the way she talks about him, compared to others before him. They bugged her when they called to ask what she was doing or where she was.

"He's so clingy!" she'd complain about pretty much each one.

But she smiles and gets giggly when Anthony asks her what's up.

"It's how they ask," she explained.

Then, there's the fact that she actually still digs the guy, even after, like what, a couple of dates? Now, I'm not saying she's picky, because I really don't believe she is. The way I see it, Kate knows exactly what she wants but, until recently, just hadn't found it ... er, him. But this Anthony guy, well there's something special about him. He makes her blush, and crack up, and she gets that faraway, zoned-out look before she tells me something she remembered about him.

There's something very ... je ne sais quoi ... about her lately, and I happen to think it's Anthony, which would make him one lucky fella.

And all I can say is, I really hope he's that kinda guy.