Page 48 of Heat Haze
When I'm done with my coffee I take the glass and return it to the counter alongside the plate, Toro following close behind as my dutiful shadow. The lady waves us off, and soon enough we’re back outside.
“So,” I turn back to him with a wide smile. “Where are we going next?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“Uh… uh…” Toro must have thought the date was over, because he’s looking at me like I just asked him something crazy. “Home?”
“We have to wait for Alma, remember?” I let my fingers intertwine with his. “Plus, there’s no way I’m lettingthatbe the whole date. It’s fun. Come on! Aren’t you having fun?”
He just stares at me, clearly not amused at all.
“Not fun,” Toro grumbles before pushing me up against the wall. It’s not rough, though, he just whines and hugs me extra tight. “More fun at home.”
Ialmostfeel bad for him. “But this is what normal couples do. They go on dates, and walk around, and—”
“Don’t want normal. Just want you.”
That nearly gets me. For a second calling Alma and asking her to drive us back early doesn’t seem so crazy at all, especially since he’s holding on to me so needily. But I’m not letting him win. Not today.
“You have me,” I remind him before sliding out from the wall and beginning to drag him down towards the park I saw earlier. “But sometimes we have to do things I like too, you know? It can’t always be cuddling in your bed.”
He whimpers, but the look in his eyes tells me he knows I’m right. “Okay…” The sigh he lets out issodefeated, as if I’m beingsocruel by making him go on a real date with me. “Makes you… happy?”
“Very much so.”
That seems to kickstart a change in his attitude, since my legs get lifted off the ground before I process what’shappening. He’s carrying me bridal style, smiling at me. “Wife.”
“What?”
“Wife!” Toro says again, his touch so gentle. “Mine. My wife.”
Of course I’m blushing, even though I wish I wasn’t. “Why do I have to be the wife? Why can’t you be the wife?”
His head tilts to the side, before he just shrugs. “Don’t wanna be.”
Even though I wanna open my mouth and complain about how that’s not fair, he’s compromising and already in a better mood. So if I have to be his ‘wife’ to get a normal day out, so be it.
“Miss… radio,” he mumbles, boots thudding against the sidewalk. Despite how cute he looks in his outfit, he was absolutely a monster to dress. Not only is his wardrobe already small, but most of it is stained. I didn’t check to see how many of those stains are blood. “...Music.”
Toro sounds so sad, which makes me feel as though Ihaveto fix it. “You broke it, remember? You were upset.”
“I know…” he says grimly. “Still miss it.”
The hand on my back pushes me upwards so he can easily plant a chaste kiss on my forehead, before pulling me closer to his broad chest. Even though I was just manhandled I did sort of like it.
“Maybe we can get you another one,” I offer despite the fact I have no clue how much money is left in my account. Between the countless subscriptions I can’t even use and rent for an apartment I’m never going to see again, a big fat zero could be waiting for me. “Should we go see?”
Toro must not have expected that since his eyes get all big and adorable. Makes me wanna pepper kisses all over his face, but I restrain myself. “Really? Mean it?”
“Of course I mean it, Tor. But you can’t break this one, okay?”
“Won’t.” He sets me down—which is good because people were starting to walk by—and puffs out his chest. “Promise.”
I just smile and nod, taking his hand and leading him towards the electronics store. It’s made of brick and has a sign so faded the colors are non-existent, but I’m sure there’s a cheap radio inside for him.
Glass doors slide open, an older man standing behind the counter. He’s tinkering away at something, but utters out a soft ‘welcome’ when we enter. Toro spots the cheap crappy radio section almost instantly, and begins speed walking towards them.
Unsteady wooden shelves carry a few boxes with CD radios in them. Toro reaches for the bright red one, holding it close to his chest and looking down at me. There’s a look of hesitance that flickers across his face, but then he brings one hand back down to mine and immediately eases up when I take it.
