Page 6 of Light Up The Night
"I see." He lets out a breath. "Well, maybe you can try me, someday. If you wanted to. I've been told I'm actually a pretty good listener."
A sharp note in his tone alerts me to the possibility that I may have offended him. "I did not intend offense."
He grins, waves a hand, "Nah, it’s good. I get it. There's a lot I don't understand. One of the super fun perks of never finishing high school."
It takes me a moment to connect his previous statement regarding not finishing school to my insinuation that he would not understand my upbringing. "Oh. Riley, no. I did not mean it in that sense. It is not a matter of you not being able to comprehend it, as if it were too complex a concept. I only meant that my upbringing was rather unusual in a variety of ways."
"Oh."
"May I ask why you did not attend high school?"
He sighs, eating several nuggets in a row before answering. "I, uh…I attended. I just…didn't get to finish."
My sessions with Dr. Murthy provide me with enough understanding of body language that I realize I should not press the line of questioning. He appears physically uncomfortable, which tells me he does not want to discuss this any further.
"I see." It is all I say.
I attend the food, then; I eat triple what I would normally. He and I eat in silence, which is not entirely uncomfortable. There is one mozzarella stick remaining, and he and I both reach for it at the same time. Our fingers brush, and a spark of something intense bolts through me at the contact—so intense is it that I wonder if there was not an actual, literal spark of static electricity.
I jerk my hand away violently and shove it under my thigh. "You may have the last one," I whisper, turning my head away so he cannot see the furious blush on my cheeks; being of pale complexion, blushes show readily, and given my state of extreme innocence and naïveté, I blush easily.
"Hey." His voice is gentle. "Cadence?”
I turn to look at him. "Yes?"
"Open your mouth."
My jaw hinges open before I register the fact that my body obeyed his command automatically. He places the deep-fried cheese stick into my mouth, and I bite down through it. He pullsit away so the cheese stretches out like the wires of a suspension bridge….and then eats the other half. While it is still connected to me.
I freeze, eyes going wide, lungs shuttering closed, as he uses his lips and tongue to draw the string of cheese connecting us to into his mouth—which means his face grows closer and closer, until he is mere inches away, pale eyes wide and big and searching my face. A small, private smile curves the corners of his lips up.
For a wild, terrifying instant, I think he is going to kiss me. Instead, he bites through the cheese and then taps the tip of his nose to mine. "Boop." He says the sound-word in a falsetto voice.
"Boop?" I echo in a normal tone.
He grins. "Yup. Booped your nose."
"I…but…why?"
He shrugs. "Fuck if I know. To be cute?" He grins at me again. "Dunno if you've noticed, but I'm kind of a goofball."
"It has not escaped my notice."
"You don't know what to do with it, do ya?"
I shake my head solemnly. "No. I do not."
"That's cool. No one really does." He removes the plate and heads into the kitchen; I hear the fridge open and close and then the crack-hiss of another bottle opening.
I have only tried the one sip of mine, and take another. Just as shocking, but not…bad. I pause to let my taste buds settle, and then try again. Better. Still a jarring barrage of flavors and textures—the bubbles tickle my mouth and throat, which is why I rarely drink carbonated beverages. But this is different. Soda is too sweet, and I dislike the artificial flavors of canned, flavored, carbonated water. This, however, has promise.
Riley sits beside me once more. "Whoa, hey, guess you like beer after all, huh?"
"What?" I ask.
He points the mouth of his bottle at mine. "Drank half of it while I was in there."
I realize with no little astonishment that he's right. "Oh. I suppose I am discovering a taste for it, yes." I make eye contact with him. "Thank you for your hospitality, Riley. I should not take up any more of your time."
