Page 225 of Phobia
“Does that dude know how to play anything else?” I ask Asa, and he chuckles, a rumbly sound that spreads warmth through my insides.
“No,” he sighs. “Definitely not, and he doesn’t take requests. In fact, if you ask him to play anything else, he’ll tell you to get off his lawn.”
I laugh, and he grins at me from the side. “Good to know. So, I hope I wasn’t interrupting your night…”
He bites on the inside of his cheek visibly. “Not at all. I’m, um… I’m a homebody. Most nights, if I don’t have work, I just stay in… Writing.”
“You’re a writer?” I ask, immediately fascinated.
He’s a creative… Just like me.
“Not that I’ve done anything with it,” he murmurs. “But yea. I guess so.”
“What do you like to write?”
He gets shifty again, which is clearly his thing. “Some poetry… Some short stories. Kinda just whatever comes to me.”
“That’s amazing,” I gleam, and he scoffs.
“Sure, if you think things that are impossible to make a career out of areamazing.”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” I turn my face to grin at him. “I want to be an actor.”
His lips part and he stares at me for a moment, like something is snapping into place. “Ohhh… Okay, that makes sense.” My forehead lines in confusion. “I mean… I just mean, um, you seem like you could be an actor. You seem like you’d be really good at it.”
My smile goes wide, and I have to bite it off. “You just met me.”
“I know, but you have… a vibe, I guess.”
I laugh. “Anactor vibe?”
He grins. “Yea. An actor vibe.”
“Well, you’re the first person to ever say that, so thank you,” I hum. “Everyone back home knew me as a football player, and it was sort of stifling.”
Asa gawks at me. “You played football?” Stowing my amusement, I nod. “I’ve literally never been friends with a football player in my life.”
I nudge his arm with my elbow. “Until now.”
We wind up chatting and walking for a while, all the way down to the entrance of the trailer park. Then we turn around and come back, stopping at Credence guy’s house to clap and cheer for the encore ofHave You Ever Seen The Rain.
Totally made his night.
When we get back to our places, an overpowering restlessness churns in my gut. It’s a little nuts, but I don’t want to part ways yet. I know we’re only hanging out asfriends, and I just met the kid. But for some reason, this feels like a really killer first date, and I’m not ready to call it a night.
Asa is fluttering in place, fiddling with his shirt and his hair. Either he’s the most nervous person in the world, or he’s tweaking. I don’t want to believe it’s the latter, but then I’m from Florida. I wouldn’t put it past anyone.
He’s definitely got the pale complexion of a drug addict, the constant fidgeting, dark circles under his eyes… If I’m being honest, he looks exhausted. But still, somehow he pulls it off.
Tell me how this kid might be the hottest junkie I’ve ever met in my life?
“You tired?” I ask him, inching in closer when the breeze rustles through his blue hair.
He smellsdelicious. Like coffee and sweets, and a hint of something masculine that has my mouth watering.
“No,” he grunts, almost defensively. His Adam’s apple dips in his throat as he watches the ground, drawing symbols in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. “Are you?”
“No…” I croon, my voice sort of raspy as I get even closer to him, until we’re barely a foot apart. “Wanna come over? My mom’s asleep…”
