Page 6 of Our Hearts Knew Better

Time seemed like it was passing too quickly. So many Ten Decembers songs played like a soundtrack to our words and looks and smiles. So many that I feared I’d start to attach my favorite band to this guy. I knew about how attaching a person to a song could make you cherish the song more or ruin the song forever. And it was easy to do—attach—since I hadn’t had moments like these to do that with, and that was what tonight was all about. Letting things happen.

And as we talked more, this night just becoming more and more perfect, I didn’t think Levi could ruin anything.

Both his second can and my first were sitting empty at our feet, both of us sitting even more comfortable, our limbs as loose as they could be, our bodies completely facing each other, when he asked me if I was into aliens.

We were on to a kind of game, asking any random question we could think to ask. It was his idea. Anything that popped up. And we couldn’t think about it too hard.

I followed his gaze downward, to my pajamas, and tugged at the shirt, eyeing the patterned green alien heads with their big black eyes. “I’m into the design,” I answered. “The colors. Greenis my favorite.” The word faded from my mouth as I looked back up and reregistered his green shirt.

He grinned, then told me, “I like red.” And I told myself Iwasn’timagining that hint of suggestion in his voice. I immediately pictured the few reds I had in my wardrobe, while also advising myself, if I were to see him again like this, not to be obvious, or potentially presumptuous, and wear any too soon.

“You don’t like Jell-O?” he asked, when we’d transitioned into food, his jaw dropped, looking at me as if I just tried to sink his dad’s boat.

I made a gagging face and his shock increased. “Yuck,” I added for emphasis.

“Really?Yuck?”

I laughed. “And I really don’t likewatchingpeople eat it.”

He laughed now, and my face heated as I realized what I told him. “People eat a lot of Jell-O around you?” He was teasing, but still pulling for the story.

“It’s something I do in my free time,” I said low, then summarized, “I watch food videos, and I’ve seen a lot of Jell-O.” I always had someone besides Dad to eat with sometimes.

But simply, like most people, I loved food, and I loved to see people enjoying eating as much as I enjoyed eating.

“That’s because it’s good,” Levi stressed his defense, still wearing a smile that softened. “That’s cool.”

Then, after a smile back from me—it wasverycool—he moved us on. “Well, no one likes chicken more than me.”

I copied his shocked face. “Chicken beats Jell-O?”

“Chicken and barbeque sauce is the best pairing, hands down.”

The thought made me hungry and I blew out a sigh. “I could go for some barbeque wings right now.”

“Oh no, you have to get the chicken plain and dip it in the sauce. Your favorite sauce, because every sauce lover has afavorite, and everyone uses something different, and that, and the dipping can make or break the chicken.”

My simmering laughter bubbled over at that phrase. I couldn’t remember the last time I cracked up as much as I did listening to Levi talk about chicken. He had a serious passion for that poultry.

He was nodding to himself, with his mouth scrunched in defeat, but his dimple was showing the slightest bit to give him away that he was amused too.

“No, that’s cool,” I assured him back, rushing out the words as my laughter simmered back down. “Favorite sauce. Plain to dip. We don’t wanna break the chicken.”

His lips smoothed out, deepening his dimple. He opened his mouth, when a ringing jolted us.

The sound zipped through me, freezing me, my lungs seizing my breath, in the second I thought my dad was calling. He saw I wasn’t in my bed and the jig was up.

I didn’t remember I had forgotten my phone until Levi pulled his from his pocket, comforting my body back to normal. The ringing was sharper as he stared down at the screen.

In his stalling, I leaned over to get a peek. “Who is it?” Then I leaned back after the question left my mouth, practically able to see my nose for how I was sticking it in.

“Adam,” he said low, stalling a moment more before he answered the call. “Hey. I’m here, yeah.”

I leaned back a bit more as he talked, letting my eyes trail around the boat and my ears take in the music to tune out the conversation. Even though Levi didn’t move from beside me, I still assumed the call was private and personal for being this late at night.

I didn’t tune back in until I caught Levi shifting his gaze to me.

He paused as he met my curious stare, his almost an uncertain one. The shade of blue seemed to darken, his entire expressionseeming to do the same, right before he said into the phone, “Come to the dock.”

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