Page 86 of Flirtasaurus
“Same,” he says sweetly, then he reaches out to hold my hand over the console. I surprise myself by letting him. “No regrets.”
We drive a few moments in silence, holding hands. I consider letting go, but damn. It feels really nice.
“Almost there. Two lights down, you’ll want to hang a right,” I let him know.
“Sounds good.”
Just ahead of us, though, lights start flashing and bells begin clanking. The arms at a train crossing come down. We slow to a stop.
“Alright, now’s your chance.”
“For what?”
“I get that you’re anti-social media, but surely, you’re not opposed to the Google, are you?”
“Course not. A guy’s gotta do the Google.”
“Okay, good. So quick! Google the number one song from the day of your birth! I gotta know.”
“Alright.” He pulls out his phone and searches. “Okay, I found it.”
“Oooh, tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“‘Good Vibrations.’”
“Um.” My face scrunches up.
“What?”
“Dude. You told me you were a bit older than me, but ‘Good Vibrations?’ What are you, some freakishly youthful-looking, sexy sixty-something??”
“No, dude.” He laughs. “It’s ‘Good Vibrations’ by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Not ‘Good Vibrations’ by the Beach Boys. Though that’s also a great song. Just happens to have released way before my time. I’m twenty-eight.”
“Oh. Thank God. I mean, whatever. As my best friend, Sasha, always says, ‘hashtag love is love’ and all, but… I think you’ll understand when I hit you with an emphatic phew!”
“Calliope FitzGerald, are you phewing because you like me?”
“What? No! I don’t like people. Why would you ask that?”
“I just wonder why you’d be relieved that I’m not sixty-something, unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless… you are as excited as I am about this thing happening between us, and you think we might be on to something. Plus, I couldn’t help but notice that you said ‘hashtag love islove,’ not ‘hashtag hate ishate.’”
“Ralph. Come on. Clearly, I don’t hate you.”
“Yeah”—he laughs—“I was gonna say, if last night’s escapades are what you do with someone you hate, then Jesus Christ, what the hell do you do with someone you like?”
The train passes, the arms rise, and we start moving again. I feel a weight drop into the pit of my stomach.
“Brace yourself, my friend; we’re heading into the fire. Oh, and if you want some advice? Go easy on using the phrase ‘Jesus Christ’ for anything other than high praise for the man himself. Also, if you don’t mind, let’s not bring up the fact that we had sex last night, okay?”
“Calliope”—he chuckles—“I highly doubt the topic of sex will come up with yourparents.”
“Oh, you doubt that, huh?” I give a humorless laugh. “Well, then clearly, you’ve never met Ken and Sue.”
Chapter Nineteen
