Page 10 of Infinite as They Come
“Thanks,” I said. My eyes moved from the slowly moving water and the ducks that were now swimming in it to the trees in the distance and then back down to the card, pressing the black pen to the crisp white.
“Hey,” Holly scolded. “You’re supposed to give those to people.”
“Don’t be like that. You said you liked it here. Now you can have it forever.”
“I’ve gotta get you more cards now.”
I laughed and got to work on drawing the water, using Holly’s smooth golden thigh as a surface. “So, what do you want for dinner? I saw this place when we were driving in yesterday. It sounded good. Maybe I’ll go there and grab us some food. It’s a bit of a drive. I can drop you off at the room if you want.”
“You don’t want me coming with you or something?”
“It’s not that…” It wasn’t a complete lie. I had seen some chicken place that looked good and figured it’d make a decent meal for dinner, but I had also been waiting over three years to find her that dream home, the place we’d spend the rest of our lives together. I needed it to be perfect, but I also needed it to be a surprise. “Just don’t want you getting bored while I drive. I’ll take you back and you can get some rest.”
“Hm, okay. It’ll give me a chance to get some writing done. I was thinking of writing about all the places we see along the way,” she said. “Maybe I could add those to my portfolio or something?”
“Yeah, good idea.”
“When are we doing that interview again, by the way?”
I snorted, the pen meeting the lower half of the card so I could draw some grass. “You don’t wanna interview me.”
“Yes, I do. I need an interview piece for my portfolio, and I don’t know anyone famous but you.”
“Baby, I don’t think you know what that word means.”
“You’re a famous, successful artist. Be generous and let me interview you. I’ve got so many questions I wanna ask you….” She broke out into a little laugh, fidgeting ever so slightly under my touch. “That tickles.”
“Don’t move,” I said, dragging the pen over to the right to make the trees.
“You know I’m ticklish there.”
“I know. That’s why I’m touching you there.”
“You’re the worst. Always have been.”
“Yeah, but—”
I heard a loud thud to my left and I quickly looked at the source of the noise. Some kid had hit the grass a few feet away from us, his dark hair a tussled mess as he pressed his hands to the ground to sit up slowly. Two other kids stood in front of him—both taller and probably a couple years older, all neat brown hair and wide grins and blue eyes that were filled with a little too much amusement. They were laughing as the one on the ground reached for something a few inches away from him, but he was too slow, and one of the other kids was snatching whatever it was up. I squinted. Glasses. They must have fallen off him when he hit the ground.
“You want these back?” one of the kids standing up said, waving the glasses above him. “If you want ‘em back, you’re gonna have to ask nice, Spencer.”
The kid on the grass pushed all his dark hair out of his eyes. “Don’t break them. I need them. I only have one pair, please just—”
“I told you to ask nice, Spencer.”
The kid—Spencer, apparently—let out a shaky breath. “Can I please—”
“Try harder.” The other kid cut him off.
“Can I—”
“Try again.”
“Oh my God, what do we do?” Holly gasped next to me. “We have to help him.”
And I was on my feet before I knew it. I didn’t even really know what I was doing. It was like my legs were thinking before my brain could as I moved over to them. I snatched the glasses out of the kid’s hands and watched his smug little smile fall in a second flat.
“Don’t do that,” I said, holding the glasses tight. “What’s the matter with you?”
