Page 102 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls
“I’m trying my luck with another.”
He spits his gum into a tissue before launching it into the garbage bin. Then he puts in his quarters for another gumball. An orange one falls out of the shoot.
I burst out laughing. “I think the Universe is trying to tell you something.”
“Just my luck.” With another frown, he pops it into his mouth. “Let’s check out the comics.”
The store is pretty big and I swear there’s every single issue known to man and woman here. I’m thankful there’s no “female superhero” section here because the female superheroes are just as kickbutt as the male ones, but it does make searching for the female ones a little difficult.
I’ve read most of the famous female superheroes before, like Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, and so on. But it’s always awesome to find an issue I haven’t read before. But after browsing for twenty minutes, I come up with nothing. When I look at Finn, he’s got a few comics in his arms, and a ginormous smile on his face. I watch him for a few seconds, enjoying the way his eyes light up every time he checks out a comic. But I don’t feel anything in my heart.
Maybe that’ll change in time? Or am I supposed to feel a spark from the start?
“Find anything good?”
I snap out of my thoughts. “What? Oh, um, nothing good yet. What about you?”
He holds out the stack. “Got a few options. And I found anX-Menissue that focuses on Storm. I don’t think you’ve read it before.”
“Storm? Nice. I love her. Did you find any on Jean Grey? I love her, too.”
“I’ll make sure to keep my eyes peeled for that, too.”
We browse for another fifteen minutes before deciding we’ve had enough. I choose the Storm one while Finn chooses three issues that came out this month.
When we head to the guy to pay, Finn places all the issues on the counter and produces his wallet.
“I can pay for my own,” I offer.
“Date, remember?” he says with a grin, handing the money to the guy. I don’t know why him saying the word “date” makes me cringe a little. Maybe because I’m not used to it? It’s somewhat weird to be hanging out with one of my best friends like usual when in reality…it’s more than that.
We walk out of the comic book store and stand before one another. I move from one foot to the other. Finn clears his throat.
“So do you want to do something else?” he asks.
“Like what?” The truth is, I do like hanging out with him and don’t want to part for the day. But to say I feel differently than all the other times the two of us hung out alone? That would be a lie.
“There’s a smoothie shop over there.” Finn points to a store in the distance. “It just opened a few weeks ago. Dean says their smoothies are really good.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember him mentioning that. Sure, I could use a smoothie. And the weather is pretty nice. We’d better soak whatever’s left of it before it gets too cold.”
“Yeah.”
Walking side by side, we make our way to the smoothie shop. His hand is very close to mine—if I would move it just a few inches, I would feel his skin on mine. Would warmth and protection and all the good stuff engulf me like when I heldBrock’s hand? I know, I know, I shouldn’t compare. But I don’t feel the desire to reach for his hand like I did with Brock.
He raises his hand to push some hair out of his eyes, and the opportunity is lost.
“Yeah?” he asks.
“What?”
“I asked if your private rehearsals have been paying off.”
“Oh. Yeah, I think so. I mean, there are still areas I need to work on, but I’m sure I’ll be perfect by the performance. I hope.”
“I bet you’re perfect already.”
“Thanks.”
