My heart ached for my son. I hoped I’d done better for him. Would I ever mend our fractured relationship?
“Are you all right?”
Yukio’s voice startled me, and I spun. My cheeks flushed with heat.
“You’re still here.”
He chuckled and ran his fingers through his short black hair while he hitched his book bag higher on one shoulder. His rings glinted under the low hanging lights and the purple in his hair appeared more vibrant. He had some lip gloss on, I thought, or maybe it was spit from when he’d....
I shook my head and rubbed my chest. “I’m sorry. That was someone I know.”
“Your son.” He stepped in closer to me and touched his hand to my shoulder, and the grip made me wince. He was quick to raise his hand again, and I smiled in apology.
“Sometimes... I don’t enjoy being touched. I... don’t feel comfortable with it.”
He nodded, an understanding passing over his face. I’d never met anyone like him. He seemed aware of me as I am, rather than trying to tell me how I should act. “Can I ask you a question, Micah?”
I focused on the silver balls of the piercing through his right eyebrow and nodded. “Yes.”
“This might come across as rude, so tell me off if you want, but are you autistic? We think my brother Asuka is on the spectrum, and I’ve read about it. My parents haven’t gotten him tested yet, though. You seem like you’re not comfortable with people. He doesn’t really like anyone he isn’t familiar with, so my mom works hard to make sure he has a stable environment. He’s fine that way but not with strangers. He doesn’t like surprises much, either.”
I sighed loudly. It wasn’t the question I’d been expecting, but hearing it wasn’t a shock, either. “I don’t know. My father isn’t the type to get his kids diagnosed with that sort of thing, and in the time I grew up, unless you were cognitively impaired, it wasn’t something we knew much about. Back then, you were either fine or you weren’t.”
“But you’ve thought about it.” He smiled gently. “And you haven’t been diagnosed?”
“I’d rather not go to the trouble.” I frowned and wrapped my arms around myself like they were a shield. “I don’t want to know.”
He stayed silent for a moment before his grin returned. “Okay. So, if you’re after someone to watch a movie with, I’d love to.”
“What?” I stared at him, and his smile widened.
“Netflix and chill, what do you think?” He waggled his eyebrows, and my cheeks went hot again. I rubbed my face in embarrassment, and he laughed.
“I know what that means,” I whispered, feeling more giddy than I’d expected. “I’m notthatold.”
His laughter grew, and while he didn’t touch me again, he moved in closer. “It does mean what you think it does, but I didn’t mean it that way. You came to watch me play my songs, so let’s do something you like. Let’s watch your movie together, and you can rant as much as you want.”
My chest squeezed. “I complain about the historical accuracy a lot. Probably too much. My son used to laugh at me.”I miss those times. I turned to look up at the stairs. When did Alex begin to hate me so much? Maybe it was when Candy and I divorced.
“I won’t laughatyou, but I will laughwithyou.” His soft tone made me glance at him and the way his eyes shone. He had gorgeous eyes. Warm and brown. Comforting. “And I promise, we can pause the movie if you want, and you can tell me how it’s wrong, and I’ll listen to every word you say with interest.”
“Do you enjoy history?”
“Not really.” He winked. “But I’d like it a lot more if it was you who taught me about it.”
I chuckled nervously and my entire body turned hot. My stomach fluttered with weird sensations, and it took all my effort not to cringe at the overwhelming embarrassment flooding me. “If you want.”
“Done. You and me. Tonight. It’s a date.”
“I—”
“Give me your address.” He tugged his phone out of his pocket and typed something on the screen before passing it to me. I realized he’d typed in my name, and he was waiting for my phone number and address, and as anxious as I was, I typed both in for him before I passed the phone back. “How about eightish? Is that too late?”
Even though he was asking, it sounded more like an order, and all I could do was let out a weird sound and nod. “That’s fine.”
“Great. I’ll see you then. Can I kiss you?” This time, it was a question he wanted answered. He tilted his head while he waited for me to decide.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
