Page 25 of Sunflower Persona
Call me Saint Kori, the patron saint of amusing broody men.
That smile changes his face completely, softening his bolder features into something beautiful, and my stomach does a somersault worthy of an Olympic athlete.
“What about you? Is your sunflower persona a front, or is it the real Kori?” he asks, and that goddamn seagull comes back with a vengeance.
I have no clue what he means with the whole “sunflower” thing, but he says the word with affection, not malice, so I’m choosing to take it as a compliment.
“I don’t have the type of energy to pretend to be anything other than the real me.”
“Does that mean your favorite movies are chick flicks or something? I could see you being really intoLegally Blonde.”
“Ouch,” I tell him with a laugh. “Is that really the vibe I give off?”
“Well, what do you like?”
“Do you know what kaiju movies are?”
“Like big monsters andGodzilla?”
“Exactly that. I love those. Especially the JapaneseGodzillafranchise.”
“I mean, big monsters fighting is cool.”
“It’s so much more than big monsters fighting. The originalGodzillablended the Shinto religion with the fears and trauma of the Japanese people to create an allegory of the devastation that occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the franchise expanded, it continued to use current issues regarding humanity’s destruction of the planet in order to send a message.”
The urge to explain in more detail is overwhelming, but I keep my mouth shut. No one ever wants to hear me ramble about old Japanese movies, and I’ve been ridiculed enough for my interests over the years to know when to keep it quiet.
Normally by this point, people have either tuned out, or they give me their best please-shut-up look. Gage isn’t looking at me like that, though; he is still giving me his full attention, and the remnant of that smile is still on his face.
“I didn’t know that,” he says in a deep timbre. There’s a spark of something in his gaze that has heat rising to my face and my eyes dropping back to my fidgeting hands.
This time it’s my turn to shrug.
“Not many people do. It’s really cool once you look into it. The newest era has more of a focus on climate activism, but the movies have been really good. They’re on Netflix if you’re interested.”
“I’ll have to check them out. Maybe you—” He’s cut off by the other bartender shouting his name.
“We’re out of Tropicália. Need another keg from the back,” she continues.
Gage sighs and pushes away from the bar.
“Duty calls. I’ll be right back.”
It isn’t until he disappears that I remember we aren’t alone.
His friends are all watching me with looks ranging from confusion to curiosity. The only one who doesn’t seem shocked is Karis. She looks more pleased than anything.
“So, new girl, are you any good at pool?” she asks.
The question breaks the awkward tension in the air, and the rest of them avert their stares. Their judgment is visceral, worming its way into my veins, making me itch from the inside.
I swallow back the need to scratch away the unease and answer in the strongest voice I can muster. “Never played.”
“Then you definitely need to see a master at work.” Nathan threads his fingers together, cracking his knuckles as he stretches his arms and rolls out his neck.
“As if,” James says with a snort and pulls out of her boyfriend’s embrace. “You’d have more luck learning from Morgan than this fool.”
“Morgan sucks,” Karis fills me in with a mock whisper.
