Page 3 of Sol
Dani gave him a teasing look as she started the car. “He faints if he hasn’t had his cereal for fourhours.”
“This is true,” headmitted.
“Let’s see what we can find on the way back home.” Dani took off driving, paying more attention to the sights than the curves of the road. Typical Dani, the one to live in the moment and damn the consequences. After white-knuckling it for miles, a brewery came up on thecoast.
“If we feed you pizza, will it shock yoursystem?”
“Nah, all good.” Deganchuckled.
Dani agreed. “Soundsgreat.”
We parked and walked in, blinking at the lights and thenoise.
Unfortunately, it was karaoke night. We learned how bad “Bohemian Rhapsody” sounded sung by a dozen drunk women. After the sacred quiet of the forest, the karaoke struck me as especiallyprofane.
Luckily the three of us all liked the same pizza—plain old pepperoni. I’d half expected Dani to ask for organic tofu on the pie or some such nonsense, but she easily agreed and sat next to Degan in a booth, across from me. Throughout dinner, she got quieter and quieter, picking at the straw wrapper for her Coke, not sayinganything.
Was grief catching up toher?
Likely.
She slumped in her seat, her face distant. Yet I could just reach out and touch her if I had the nerve. With deft fingers, she rolled the paper wrapper, then set it down, fingering herearrings.
With a sigh, she gazed off to theside.
She was just so goddamn beautiful. I’d wanted her too long. I’d wanted to kiss her for so long. To tell her how much I likedher.
Was I gonna be able to bear not seeing her in the foreseeablefuture?
Shit.No.
Adrenaline spiked in my body. I needed to act, do something. Fuck this passive bullshit. I had enough of holding back. She needed to know how much I liked her. So much. So, somuch.
If I didn’t do it now, I didn’t know when I’d ever be able to tell her. I didn’t want to be fatalistic, but if I was going to the Middle East, well, I might not come back. And it would be worse than death to never live. To never know what she tastedlike.
For the rest of our dinner, I waited for my chance, trapped in the booth. I ran my fingers up and down my pant legsrepeatedly.
“You alright, dude?” Deganasked.
“I’m fine,” I said, as I scraped my hands through my hair, my palmssweating.
Then I knocked over Degan’s emptycup.
“Relax, killer.” He stood. “Anyone else want arefill?”
I handed him mine. “Can you get me aCoke?”
Dani handed Degan her glass to be refilled and slid out after him. “I’m going to thebathroom.”
Opportunity.
“Me too,” I said, calling after Degan, who headed up front to refill ourdrinks.
Fuckit.
I got up, followed her to the back room full of arcade games, and waited for her to get out of therestroom.
The dooropened.
