Page 11 of Touch In Excess

“I—” His words were cut off when both of his hearing aids suddenly gave their loud, obnoxious four chimes in his ears. They were dying. “Shit.”

Rami sat up straight. “What’s wrong?”

“Hearing aids are dying.”Beep-beep beep-beep. He pulled them out and slipped them into his pocket. He hated waiting for them to fully die. It made him anxious sitting there in anticipation of the world going muffled and thick. ‘Sorry,’ he signed.

Rami looked confused. ‘Batteries?’

‘They charge in their case, and I left that at home.’ And, of course, in his fixation on the date, he’d forgotten to charge them the night before. He’d stayed up late watching YouTube videos of people making clay sculptures.

‘We can sign. I like ASL. It’s easier than speaking.’

Skye could not relate. He was pretty sure he’d never default to his hands before his mouth. One of the classes he’d taken was for adults losing their hearing, and so many people took to the language like it had been lying dormant, waiting to be activated.

He was not one of that crowd. He struggled to remember sentence structure, non-manual markers, mouth shapes, and if his eyebrows went up or down during questions, and his hand placements were often so wrong. There was terminology and slang that he’d been taught that had slipped his mind.

He still didn’t know what Deaf Bing meant or the appropriate time to sign Champ, and at this point, he was too afraid to ask his teacher.

He felt lost and foolish.

But Rami hadn’t once complained about how slow he was or the fact that he was somewhere between ASL and signed English, even when he was trying. He just rolled with Skye’s pace and looked perfectly happy to do it.

God, he wanted to get this right. He wanted to end this date with the promise they could do it again. That Skye could have another chance and not fuck it up.

‘Are you okay?’ Rami asked.

Shit. Busted. ‘Sorry. I have a lot on my mind, and I…’ His hand hovered, pointing at his chest. He took a breath. ‘Am I doing something wrong?’

‘Wrong?’ Rami echoed the sign, tapping his Y hand on his chin, then used his finger to indicate he was asking a question.

‘I like you,’ Skye told him. ‘You’re funny and hot and nice.’

Rami’s cheeks darkened again, and his shoulders hunched slightly. ‘Thank you.’

Skye laughed. ‘I wasn’t trying to flatter you. I’m being honest. But I get the feeling you’re not as interested in me, and I want to know what I’m doing wrong. Or is it just me?’

Rami looked panicked, glancing from left to right, and then he stood up. ‘Can we go for a walk?’

Skye was not expecting that, but he knew the neighborhood well, and a walk sounded really nice. He hadn’t come with a big appetite, and he was glad they weren’t waiting on huge entrees. ‘Let me pay. Want to wait for me outside?’

Rami nodded, looking relieved, and he darted away. Skye was terrified suddenly that if he took longer than a second to get the bill squared, he’d go out and Rami would be gone and Skye’s number would be blocked. He’d been on better dates than this and had been ghosted.

So why would this go differently?

He approached the bar, and the bartender began to talk quickly. Skye held up his hand and put his finger to his ear. “Sorry, I’m deaf, and I can’t understand you. I just want to settle my bill.”

Her eyes widened, but she nodded and swiped his card after he handed it over. She motioned for him to sign, and he only just managed to roll his eyes because he was deaf, not a child. He knew how to close a bar tab.

His heart was tripping in his chest as he tucked the crumpled receipt in his pocket next to his hearing aids, and he held his breath as he walked out through the front doors.

Fuck. He was right. Rami was nowhere to be found.

God, seriously, what had he done? How was he so much of a disaster that he couldn’t manage a single dinner and?—

A hand touched his shoulder, and he spun, almost toppling over. Rami caught him with his strong arms. His fingers dug into Skye’s biceps, and then he slowly dragged them down until he was holding both of his hands.

He was standing close. Not close enough to kiss, but almost.

Rami licked his lips, then said in a voice pitched just loud enough for Skye to hear, “You didn’t do anything wrong. It wasme. I really like you, but I’m also a virgin, and it has to stay that way for a long, long time.”

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