“Well,” Jillian began, after a sip of her coffee, “I suppose the most earth-shattering thing I can tell you right now is that my name is Sally, not Jillian.”
Amy smiled.
“Oh my god, that is such a cool name! It’s, like, classic.”
Amy regarded her companion anew, getting used to viewing her as a Sally, not a Jillian. She determined that the name suited her, even more so than Jillian did.
“Bet you can’t guess who I’m named after,” Sally prompted. “And, no, it’s not a family member.”
Amy considered the question.
“Sally Ride?” she ventured, naming America’s first woman in space.
“Nope.”
Oh god…what is the name of that old actress my mother likes…?
“Sally Field?” she asked when it suddenly came to her.
“Nope.”
Amy twisted her features into an expression of being stumped.
“Oh gosh. Are there any other famous Sallys?”
Her date feigned surprise.
“I’m sure there are but you’re forgetting the one mega-famous Sally!” she said.
Amy laughed.
“Who?”
“Charlie Brown’s sister!”
“Oh my god, I totally forgot about her! That’s hilarious!”
“I hope you made note of it,” Sally said, “I will be quizzing you later.”
Amy felt her pulse quicken.
“And if I fail the quiz?”
“You’ll have to take the make-up exam, won’t you?” Sally told her.
“I see. Well, I’m sure I don’t want to do that.”
Sally quirked an eyebrow and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Don’t be so sure of that,” she said.
Amy felt another delicious chill tickle her spine and which made all her nerve endings feel alive. She brought her coffee cup up to her mouth for a sip, more as an attempt to cover the blush she felt creeping up her neck to her cheeks than because she wanted a drink.
“So, how did you come up with Jillian Ashley as a pen name?” she asked.
A change came over Sally’s features then, which Amy had trouble interpreting.
“Do you mind if we not talk about Jillian Ashley and writing and the books and all that?” Sally inquired. “I’d rather our time together be about getting to know one another instead.” And then she gave Amy a smile that actually made Amy cross her legs under the table.