“Oh, I work in an office that handles making and shipping out industrial kitchen supplies. It’s nothing as exciting as what you’re doing.”
“Nonsense. I want to hear all about it,” Jin says right away. He bumps his shoulder with mine as we get in line at the sandwich shop.
“Nothing exciting,” I say with a shrug. “Well, one interesting thing happened, I guess. My co-worker stopped by today. She’s not working right now because she just had a baby. She came in to show off her baby and talk to our boss.”
“That sounds great!”
I like that he gets excited over anything and everything. I wish I could see life through his eyes. Maybe it’s the fact that this is my fourth lifetime. Maybe I’m just getting stuck in my ways now that I’m so old. I’ve gotten so stuck in a rut and it took seeing Jin’s excitement for me to see that things are allowed to be bright. Not everything needs to fit in its perfect box. Not everything needs to be dull and scheduled and boring.
“It was really nice to see her.”
“I bet! Is she doing well after having the baby? Was the baby nice?”
I chuckle softly. “Yeah, the baby was really nice. He just slept the whole time. She’s doing really well too.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“Yeah, it was.” I turn towards the worker and place my order. Jin does the same, ordering the buffalo chicken sandwich. I wrinkle my nose and he faces me.
“Do you not like spicy food?” I shake my head. Being a phoenix, I might be fireproof but that doesn’t mean I want my mouth on fire. “I love it. Reminds me of,” Jin’s voice drifts off for a moment. “Reminds me of home? I guess? I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. It brings me comfort.”
“Oh,” I say softly. “That’s nice.”
We go through the line, adding veggies and sauces to our sandwiches. Then I grab a bag of crisps, adding them to my order. I see that they have Pepsi but I already have my mocha to drink. It’s not exactly what I would normally have but it’s close enough to give me that warm, safe feeling in my chest.
I remember Jin’s words earlier. He thinks trying new things is an admirable trait. Maybe I should try new things more often. Jin makes it seem so easy. He makes me want to try new things.
After paying for our food, we make our way out of the shop and find ourselves a table to sit at. I unwrap my sandwich, my mouth already watering with how hungry I am.
“Thank you for having lunch with me, Leo.”
“It’s nothing big,” I tell him softly. “I’m glad our schedules lined up so well.”
“Leo,” Jin says, his voice a little more serious than usual. I look up at him, freezing. “Please don’t toss away my words. I’m being serious. Thank you. I appreciate this time we’re spending together and I want you to know that.”
I’m speechless, my mouth opening and closing for a few moments before I finally find myself nodding. “Okay,” I whisper, ignoring the way my cheeks are warm. “You’re welcome.”
Jin nods then, happy with my words. “What do you do for fun?”
The abrupt change throws me through a loop but I quickly follow along, answering Jin’s question. Why does being around him leave me feeling on edge but at home at the same time? Why do I want those molten eyes on me so desperately? Why can’t I stop myself from staring at his face?
Fuck, I’ve got it bad.
“I know that should be an easy question to answer but I’m having trouble with it,” I admit softly. I open my bag of crisps, popping one into my mouth, chewing it slowly while I think. “I like watching this one streamer when I’m having dinner at home.”
“What’s a streamer?”
Oh lord, how do I explain this?
“He like, live streams himself. Sometimes he’s just talking to chat, sometimes he plays games, sometimes he does random shit. It’s very comforting and he’sreallyfunny.”
“Huh. You’ll have to send me a link so I can check him out. What else?”
“I really like going for walks. It’s finally warm enough to walk again, which is nice. I like spending time with Bren. I used to do all sorts of random stuff but lately,” this lifetime goes unsaid, “I just kinda drift through my days.”
Jin hums, his eyes very intense as he looks at me. I can’t decide if I like it or not. On the one hand, it feels nice to know he wants to get to know me better. He’s actively checking me out, watching me, listening to me. On the other, he’sperceivingme, which is scary as hell.
“I like going for walks too,” he finally says. “We should walk together. I would like that a lot.”
