Page 46 of Safety Net
"Of course," I said. "It's on the tip of my tongue. The obvious thing you drew is at the tip of my tongue."
"Go on." He relaxed back in his seat. "We've got more than enough time for you to remember what it's called."
I laughed at how he wasn’t going to let me off easy. Lincoln passed the Moleskine to me, encouraging me to look closer. He didn't care about being bad at drawing. Lincoln wasn't embarrassed in his lack of proficient when creating, and yet, he did it anyway.
The music below us continued to play. The song was slow and cheerful. I wasn’t looking at the stage anymore, and I didn't know what play they were putting on. But I guessed it was a scene that captured a cozy lull in the story. A pocket of time where the audience got the chance to get lost in the beauty of a fantasy world and forgot all about the world outside of the Playhouse's walls. I'm falling into a fantasy world of my own,too. One where Lincoln smiled at me as if I were the most interesting person on earth. One where he watched me with so much focus in his gaze, as if my company was more thrilling than anything he's ever experienced. Somehow, his attention gave me courage. His nonchalance tugged me closer. I straightened my fingers again and brushed against the side of his palm on purpose. Lincoln didn't pull away. His pinky finger flexed slightly, returning my touch. It's nothing. It's everything. It's a hint maybe his crush hadn't faded after all my months of radio silence.
"I could give you a hint," he said.
"Would you?"
"It'll cost you," he sang, voice low and teasing.
It's hard to breathe in the best way possible. "You can't draw, act, or play any instrument. But you can sing. You lied. You said you couldn't."
He gave me a look.
"What? I'm serious," I promised.
"You shot a thousand arrows and then flattered me," he teased.
I chewed on my bottom lip, trying not to laugh. "Sorry, but are they really arrows when they're the truth?"
"The truth?"
"You can't draw, Lincoln," I whispered. "It's...actually kind of comical how terrible you are."
"Is that so?"
"Very much so."
"I like this biting side of you," he confessed.
I felt the comfort I've exclusively experienced with Naomi coil around me. "I don't mean to be biting."
"But you're so good at it," he said.
There was a lump in my throat. I couldn't swallow it, so I remained silent, letting the music below fill up the spacebetween us. I really wanted to be able to have a back-and-forth with him. Come up with witty things to say and flirt back. Instead, I hit a wall I couldn’t climb.
"Look here." Lincoln broke the silence, pointing at the rounded end he could only reach by sliding his hand underneath mine. "And here."
He moved again, his fingers left hot trails across my skin. I still wasn’t in warm core or swollen breast territory. But I did feel something stir in me.
"It's a balcony," he said.
"Why is it horizontal?" I asked.
"Because it'd be easier to build it sideways, and then we could get a rope to pull it up."
"Yeah, sure, but why'd you have to draw it sideways and not up? Wouldn't whoever was building it be able to concur they should build it sideways without the visual aid?"
He opened his mouth and closed it, trying to think of a decent response. I laughed again. This was more than I laughed in weeks. Maybe even months. The weight of school has made everything black and white. With Lincoln, I could finally see colors in between.
"I'm really happy we're working together," I said before I overthink. "This project has felt so impossible for so long. But now with you…I can see it happening. And…thank you. For putting in all this work. It…thank you, Lincoln."
"I got you." Lincoln smiled and brushed his hand against mine once more. "You focus on getting all the music together, and I will do everything else. Don't worry about anything. This is going to be amazing."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
