Page 32 of The Other Side of Together

“It’s more about tradition than religion in my family. I want something different.”

“I get that.” She watches me, waiting, so I let the words fly that have been circling in my head. “I like God. Feel like we get along pretty well.” I lift a shoulder. “But I have lots of questions. About him. Religion. And other stuff, more recently.”

She raises her eyebrows. “What kind of stuff?”

“You. Lots and lots of questions about you.”

“Like…?”

“Like…how we’ve lived this close for ten years and never met.” I flick a fly off my wrist.

“Oh, I’ve known about you for a long time.” She rolls her eyes at the tree above us. “You’ve just never noticed me. You’re way too cool.”

I shake my head. “No way. If I’d met you before, this thing would’ve happened a long time ago.” I wave a hand between us. “You just don’t wanna admit you’ve been locked in a closet for the last ten years and just escaped.”

Mei laughs, her smile splitting the air with light before she rolls her eyes. “My baba’s probably thought about it. Can’t wait to get away from here.”

“Won’t miss your parents?”

“No.”

I nod and practically hear her inner doors slam shut on that conversation. “So…I’m guessing if they knew you were out with me, you really would be locked in a closet.”

“Good thing they don’t know.” Her smile is lightning on a sunny day. I’m singed inside.

“But they’re cool with Face Eater?”

“He’s practically family. And he’s Taiwanese, so…” she says to the blanket, the light going out of her face, but I want it back, so I duck my head and catch her eye.

“What do you think about boys who aren’t Taiwanese?”

She smiles at the blanket, then the sky before dropping her eyes to mine again. “I think…I like tall ones who play soccer and get a 4.0 and write funny notes and have dino blankies from their meemaws and tell stupid jokes and—”

“Stupid?!”

She nods. “The stupidest.”

I shrug and adjust my elbow. “Like what do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?”*1

“Exactly like that.”

“Guess the answer and you’ve got yourself another date with a tall white boy who plays soccer and writes notes and has a 4.0anda blankie. Although…the 4.0 is in danger because of a short Taiwanese girl with killer eyes and an assassin smile who makes me laugh until it’s an ab workout.”

“If the short-according-to-your-standards Taiwanese girl doesn’t guess the answer, does she not get the date?”

“Nah.” I shake my head. “She’ll just be in charge of date number two.”

Her eyes flick to mine. “So either way, I win. Buddha’s tossing around the good luck.”

I inch my fingers across the blanket toward hers, then lace them together until our palms meet like our hands are sending a thank you prayer to God. Our eyes crash into each other as my fingers explore hers, and I ask her a million questions until my stomach rumbles.

She raises her eyebrows and laughs while I untangle our hands and slap my stomach, then pull out my phone. “No way. 1:00 already.” I swear and drop my forehead to the blanket, groaning into it before popping back up, meeting her eyes. “Why do the perfect days go so fast and the days between drag?” I push myself up and offer my hand to help her up, then stuff the blanket in my backpack and take her hand like this is what we do every Saturday. Like I’m supposed to be touching her instead of avoiding her because she’s my personal, life-sized Oreo and could be the death of my motorcycle.

“You don’t have to be back in your closet anytime soon, right?” I smile and glance down at her, shrugging my backpack on.

She smiles up at me. “No. My parents think I’m at Lin’s.”

“Any chance you could stay at Lin’s until, like, 10 PM, maybe? That’s when I have to be home to act all studied out so my dad doesn’t guess what I’ve really been doing all day.”

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