the hole in the ozone layer lay out to bake in the sun. No
one bothered me; it was just me, Dostoyevsky, and my stack of beef jerky. That
is, until he came along.
I
was smiling up at the sky, reveling in how good the sun felt on my face. There
was a slight breeze, which blew my hair in all directions. He came out of
nowhere, he said nothing. When I looked at him, he smiled, but that was all. I
slid over, to give him room, and because I felt uncomfortable being so close to
a stranger. But he did the same, like he had taken my actions as an invitation.
So I slid over again, abandoning all attempts at subtlety in hopes that he
would get the hint. He did it again. And again.
And
so grandfather, we continued this little dance until there was no bench left.
He was so close, much closer than common courtesy permits, so close I could see
the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed. I turned towards him, forced
to lean back because otherwise our noses would have been touching. I was ready
to stand my ground, but he smiled again, like he was amused by the whole thing,
like he was just hoping to get a reaction out of me. I grabbed my beef jerky,
clutched Crime and Punishment in my arms and slid onto the sand. I tried to
mimic his smile, wanting to master his frustrating yet undeniably handsome
expression.
I’ll
always remember the first words we spoke to each other. “You can have the
bench,” I said and he replied, “I’d rather sit next to you.” And that’s how it began, the moment that
changed my life.
---
I raised an eyebrow at Jessie. He was
leaning on the frame of our front door, looking as cocky and cheerful as ever.
He had come to borrow “sugar.”
He said it suggestively with that stupid
smirk on his face, like I was
supposed to be “ sugar .”
I shook my head; I was
still a little frazzled from nearly getting caught. I’d barely had time to put
away Ash’s diary before she ran into the room.
“ Jessie’s asking for an ‘ Ali’ ,
I’m guessing he meant you,” she’d said when she came back.
I’d given her a weird
look and practically ran out of her room, but I was fairly certain she hadn’t
suspected anything.
I felt guilty for what
I’d done, but what was I supposed to say? “Hey,
Ash, I think I found what you were looking for. By the way, who the hell is
Julian?” Yeah, right.
“Not interested!” I
exclaimed to Jessie impulsively. I tried to slam the door but it seemed to get
caught on something. I realized it was his hand when I heard him squeal. There were a slurry of curse words from him.
I saw Rachel look up
from the T.V. to give me a questioning look, one that said, “Is this your way of charming him?”
I just couldn’t stop
myself from disliking him long enough to try to “charm” him especially after
how stupidly he’d acted the last time I saw him. But he didn’t seem to mind.
After all, he’d wanted my sugar.
I opened the door
slowly, waiting for him to move his fingers. I bit my lip, trying to give him
my most innocent look, “Whoops,” I muttered. There was an expression of bewilderment on his face.
“I just wanted to
talk,” he pouted. “And I’m pretty sure you did that on purpose!”
“I swear I didn’t,” I
protested.
“Then why are you
smiling?”
“Because I can’t
believe you think I would do that! Here, come in,” I said, pulling him in with
his good hand.
“Cool place. Hey
Rach!” He shouted as I dragged him towards the kitchen. I rolled my eyes,
apparently it hadn’t hurt that much.
I opened our freezer,
wondering if frozen waffles could suffice as an improvised ice pack. I decided
against it, grabbing a hand towel to put ice in before handing it to him.
“Woah,” I said once
I’d actually looked at his hand. It had quickly turned an angry red, making me
suddenly remorseful. “Sorry, I honestly
didn’t mean to.”
“You can kiss it and
make it better,” he said with a smirk. And as quickly as it had come,
one bothered me; it was just me, Dostoyevsky, and my stack of beef jerky. That
is, until he came along.
I
was smiling up at the sky, reveling in how good the sun felt on my face. There
was a slight breeze, which blew my hair in all directions. He came out of
nowhere, he said nothing. When I looked at him, he smiled, but that was all. I
slid over, to give him room, and because I felt uncomfortable being so close to
a stranger. But he did the same, like he had taken my actions as an invitation.
So I slid over again, abandoning all attempts at subtlety in hopes that he
would get the hint. He did it again. And again.
And
so grandfather, we continued this little dance until there was no bench left.
He was so close, much closer than common courtesy permits, so close I could see
the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed. I turned towards him, forced
to lean back because otherwise our noses would have been touching. I was ready
to stand my ground, but he smiled again, like he was amused by the whole thing,
like he was just hoping to get a reaction out of me. I grabbed my beef jerky,
clutched Crime and Punishment in my arms and slid onto the sand. I tried to
mimic his smile, wanting to master his frustrating yet undeniably handsome
expression.
I’ll
always remember the first words we spoke to each other. “You can have the
bench,” I said and he replied, “I’d rather sit next to you.” And that’s how it began, the moment that
changed my life.
---
I raised an eyebrow at Jessie. He was
leaning on the frame of our front door, looking as cocky and cheerful as ever.
He had come to borrow “sugar.”
He said it suggestively with that stupid
smirk on his face, like I was
supposed to be “ sugar .”
I shook my head; I was
still a little frazzled from nearly getting caught. I’d barely had time to put
away Ash’s diary before she ran into the room.
“ Jessie’s asking for an ‘ Ali’ ,
I’m guessing he meant you,” she’d said when she came back.
I’d given her a weird
look and practically ran out of her room, but I was fairly certain she hadn’t
suspected anything.
I felt guilty for what
I’d done, but what was I supposed to say? “Hey,
Ash, I think I found what you were looking for. By the way, who the hell is
Julian?” Yeah, right.
“Not interested!” I
exclaimed to Jessie impulsively. I tried to slam the door but it seemed to get
caught on something. I realized it was his hand when I heard him squeal. There were a slurry of curse words from him.
I saw Rachel look up
from the T.V. to give me a questioning look, one that said, “Is this your way of charming him?”
I just couldn’t stop
myself from disliking him long enough to try to “charm” him especially after
how stupidly he’d acted the last time I saw him. But he didn’t seem to mind.
After all, he’d wanted my sugar.
I opened the door
slowly, waiting for him to move his fingers. I bit my lip, trying to give him
my most innocent look, “Whoops,” I muttered. There was an expression of bewilderment on his face.
“I just wanted to
talk,” he pouted. “And I’m pretty sure you did that on purpose!”
“I swear I didn’t,” I
protested.
“Then why are you
smiling?”
“Because I can’t
believe you think I would do that! Here, come in,” I said, pulling him in with
his good hand.
“Cool place. Hey
Rach!” He shouted as I dragged him towards the kitchen. I rolled my eyes,
apparently it hadn’t hurt that much.
I opened our freezer,
wondering if frozen waffles could suffice as an improvised ice pack. I decided
against it, grabbing a hand towel to put ice in before handing it to him.
“Woah,” I said once
I’d actually looked at his hand. It had quickly turned an angry red, making me
suddenly remorseful. “Sorry, I honestly
didn’t mean to.”
“You can kiss it and
make it better,” he said with a smirk. And as quickly as it had come,
Similar Books
