“Wait, you said this one was your favorite!” She offered her cup back to me, holding it out. I smiled, noticing a little of the spicy stock staining the corner of her lips.
Did she have to look so cute?
“I don’t mind,” I said. “You have a little...” I pointed to my lips. “Just a little stain.”
She wiped at her mouth, but it remained.
“Here, let me,” I offered, but as soon as my finger reached the corner of her lips, I realized my mistake.
Soft. Pink. Plump... and I knewexactlyhow those lips felt against mine.
Music, playing down the hall. Her, sitting on my lap. My tongue, in her mouth.
“Got it.” I pulled back, a wave of awkwardness crashing into me. The less I remembered that night, the better.The less I’d want a repeat.
“How about we go halves?” Chloe offered, tilting the cup in her hand. “I’ve already eaten from both bowls.”
“I’m not afraid of your... What do Americans call it?”
“Germs?”
“Cooties,” I said flatly. As soon as I said the word, I wanted to take it back. Her smile fell for a second, before I spoke again, trying desperately to move on. “But thanks, half sounds nice.”
The awkwardness dissipated as we ate, Chloe introducing me tothe show she’d put on, explaining the backstory. We sat side by side, her bare thigh rubbing against mine, and not even thirty seconds would go by without her bringing up a new topic.
Have I ever visited Japan? Tried sushi? How I got into tennis, when I’d won my first match.
I wasn’t sure if it was borne out of nervousness, or the need to fill every bit of silence with new conversation, but I found myself not hating it, enjoying the questions that she asked, watching her reaction to my answers.
We were halfway through a conversation about our favorite foods when the television went blank and the lights went out.
“Oh shit, I think the power must’ve gone out,” I said.
“I think I have something we can do,” she said, her expression turning light as she pushed herself up from the sofa, heading to the small cabinet under the TV.
“I swear to God, Chloe, if you pull out a puzzle.” I laughed.
She shook her head, instead pulling out a box. Turning around, she held it proudly in her hands.
“Friendship bracelets?” I read from the box, before looking back at Chloe, a look of confusion across my face.
Were we one step away from calling this a sleepover and getting into a pillow fight?
“It’s cute, right?” She smiled, settling on the other side of the table. “Will keep us busy until the power comes back on.”
She opened up the box and began to set out the contents.
“Are you really avoiding going home so much that you’ll stay here and make friendship bracelets with me?” I still felt unclear why she was hanging around, but I also was not complaining about it. As weird as it was to admit, I was having fun, being with her.
“No.” She coughed. “It was you who said it takes less energy to be friends.”
I rolled my eyes, not believing her.
“Okay, so at first, I was avoiding the parents. I love them, I really do. But I’ve been fighting with my dad since the meeting. He wasn’t exactly thrilled that we—”
“You,” I interjected with a daring smile.
Chloe shot me a flat look, the corner of her mouth twitching as if she was fighting back a grin. “Fine. I took over. And honestly, we were already arguing about me working with you. Or with anyone, really. But I trust Calvin.”
