Page 84 of Skate the Line

Fuck,I do act like that.

Sunny laughs again. “Whatever you say…Oscar.”

I glare at her, and she responds with a flirty smile. Those big, brown eyes glimmer beneath the dim lighting of the lamp, and her white teeth gleam like she just used whitening strips.

I scoff. “Why are you so…happy all the time?”

A playful gasp leaves her, but then she turns away from me. The corners of her mouth slowly drop, and she shrugs. “Because.”

“Because why?” I prod.

It’s late.

We should go to sleep.

Except, I’m still sitting here on the couch with my double in the background, banging his trash can while I question her radiant personality.

I would have never guessed that…one, she was assaulted. Two, she doesn’t date nor does she have a boyfriend. And what was it her friend said? She hasn’t had sex infar too long.

For someone as chipper as her, she has to be letting out some tension somehow.

Is that why she is always fiddling with clay and painting?

“Because I know real sadness…”

My chest constricts.

“It makes me appreciate the smaller things in life. Nothing seems as bad after I’ve been in…certain situations." She turns toward me. “You know?”

I continue to stare at her. My mind spins in different directions. Is she referring to what she’s already alluded to, or is she referring to something else in her life?

Suddenly, I find myself wanting to know everything about her.

What makes her angry?

What has she had to endure in life?

What are her dreams?

Why is she so captivating? Even to a guy like me?

“Plus”—my thoughts scatter with her add-on—“I just like to make people happy.”

Gazing at her, sitting with her knees beneath the blanket pulled up to her chin with the colors ofSesame Streetpainting her soft features, I’m not sure she has to even try.

Just looking at her can thaw any man’s cold heart.

Except mine, of course.

Twenty-Nine

SUNNY

I sigh wistfully.

I wiggle myself farther onto my bed and pull the blankets up higher. Except, they’re stuck? I keep my eyes closed and grumble.

It’s too early to be awake.

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