Page 23 of The Sitcom Star
She laughed, and it warmed something inside him.
“No,” she said, biting her lip.“I’ve been trying to say yes to more things recently, but this time, it’s a no.I literally just had ice cream.”
“Eating ice cream twice in an afternoon is against the rules?”
“Of course.”
“Whose rules are these?”he asked.“I’ve never heard of them.”
“You know how sometimes you don’t know a rule exists until you’re presented with an opportunity to break it?”
“Uh, I can’t say I do.”
“Since I can’t have a chicken-and-ice-cream sandwich today—”
“Due to some totally arbitrary ‘rule.’”He made air quotes.
“Tell me what it was like.”
“Better than I expected.The different components complemented each other surprisingly well.You can even make it into a double-decker sandwich for an extra five bucks.”
“Wow.That sounds intense.Are you suggesting we share one of those?”
Was she saying that in a flirty way?
Surely it was his imagination.
“Look!”she said.
Disoriented, it took him a few seconds to figure out what she was pointing at.
A white squirrel.
“I’ve never seen one before,” she whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
“So we don’t make it self-conscious and scare it away.”
“Do you think squirrels understand English?Actually, if this one spends a lot of time in Trinity Bellwoods, it probably does.It might understand half a dozen languages.”
It was hardly a witty comment, but she laughed, and he smiled on the inside.Maddie thinks I’m funny.She was sitting so close to him, and he wished he could put his arm around her.What he would give to be able to pull her close and just kiss the top of her head…
She took a few pictures of the squirrel before it scampered into the bushes.“Had you seen one before?”
“Many years ago, yeah.”
They stayed on the bench for a few minutes, and when no more white squirrels made an appearance, Maddie suggested they continue walking.
On Grace Street, she said, “Thanks for spending the afternoon with me.How would you rate my efforts at relaxing?”
“Ten out of ten,” he said automatically.
She preened, the way Waverly Yu might.
“But you still have a ways to go,” he added.He didn’t want to suggest that he had nothing else to teach her, because then she might decide she was done with him.
“I do?”
