“I’m sorry, Jessie. I went too far. I don’t know how to do this right.”
His apology caught me off guard. I expected him to keepslinging hurtful truths my way.
“Yeah. It’s uh, it’s okay.” And surprisingly, I did really forgive him. For someone so cocky, he was especially willing to show me his shortcomings,andown up to them. He trusted me in a way I didn’t anticipate. Mikey did everything 110%, it seemed.
It was still dark outside and would be for the duration of our drive together. A soft folky love song played.
“Is this the playlist you made for my drive?”
A sad smile played on his lips. “Yeah.”
“This isn’t very beer uncle of you.”
“I have a variety of musical tastes, thank you very much. The goal was to ease you into your day. I go from gentle to party.”
“Who would’ve guessed you had a gentle side, Mikey? You slam people around for a living.”
“Excuse you, I also chase a frozen piece of rubber around and run on metal blades.”
“Oh, yeah. That reminds me,” I said, rifling around in my work bag. I’d started a hat for Mikey a couple days before. I could get some stitches in since I wasn’t driving. “I hope you like dark gray.”
Ben gasped. “Is that for me?”
“It will be when I’m done. I should be able to finish it between these two drives.”
“Seriously? Jessie, I love it. Thank you.”
“Maybe hold your applause till it’s done. It might still come out lumpy,” I laughed. “Fiber arts aren’t my strongest craft.”
Dancing In The Moonlight by King Harvest came on and Ben hummed into our comfortable silence, punctuated by the soft click of my metal needles.
“Oh, come on. I know you want to sing,” I said. “Let it out.”
“I’m trying to be less loud. I’ve been told I’m too loud.”
“Aw, did I break you, Mikey?” I asked, squeezing his shoulder. He hissed and squirmed away from me. “Fuck, sorry, that’s your bad shoulder, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine,” he said.
“Are you still hurting that bad? How are you playing?”
He just grumbled, turning his attention to the road like I didn’t ask the question. Touchy subject, okay. I tried to soften him up again. “Come on,” I said. “Sing. You have a nice voice.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really! Let’s hear you. I’m knitting for you. You can sing for me,” I pushed.
“I’m also driving your ass to work, Jessalyn,” he pointed out.
“Don’t hold that over me! I could have driven myself. Stop distracting. Sing.”
“Only if you sing with me.”
Joke was on him because my voice is god-awful. I got him to join me in the chorus as we belted out the song together. Mikey wore a huge smile. I got a little chill. I hadn’t gotten close to someone new in a long time. I’d spent so long being a dull piece of linen, and Mikey was this bright, sequined disco dress. Colorful threads were stitching us together, binding us to each other and making me brighter from being associated with him. This guy did truly everything big and it was the most fun I’d had in a long time. The last week had been hell with Cole, so actually enjoying myself was a stark contrast. When was the last time I had fun on my way to work? Never?
“You sound good, Jessalyn,” he said when we were done.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a terrible liar? I sound like a dying swan.”
