“Oh—yeah. Girls love a sexy scar,” she said, and when I translated it for Cat, she snorted. Alyssa’s blush deepened. “I—I’m not just saying that, I’m quoting you. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with saying that, I just thought it was funny.”
“I’m going to go grab a drink,” Cat said, completely unsubtle with the way she patted me on the back and left the two of us to our own devices. I guess that was Cat for you… I sat down across from Alyssa.
“So,” I said, giving her a darkly serious look.
“Yeah?” She tensed.
“How long have you been judging me for saying girls love a sexy scar?”
“I wasn’t—that’s not—” She put her hands up in panic, and then she stopped, scowling. “You’re making fun of me.”
I laughed, relaxing. “You’ll have to forgive me. You’re just a bit easy to wind up. Any reason you’re so nervous? When I first saw you, I figured it was because you almost hit a tree, but seems like it’s just your default state.”
She scratched her head. “Oh, yeah, no, that’s classic me. I overexplain, I guess. My boyfriend… well, my ex-boyfriend always saidclear communication,but mostly it just feels like I’m justifying myself.”
“So, here from Boston to get away from an ex.”
She winced. “I’m sorry. I can stop talking.”
“I asked a question, and you think I’m mad at you for answering it? What do you think I’m doing, trying to trick you in my evil trap?”
“No, I just… figured you weren’t looking to chat.” She twisted her ring from side to side—a big diamond-shaped ring with a gemstone in the same blue as her eyes. “I mean, I’m not stupid. I can tell Cat did this to get us to talk. She was confused when I said you gave me her number but not yours—I mean, not that I’m asking for your number.”
“Oh, are you not? Maybe I need a few more sexy scars first. Hit me another couple times.”
“Oh my god.” She rolled her eyes, flashing a smile. “I amsohappy to know how much fun you’re having.”
“Did you get your car back, by the way?”
“Yeah, just now. Dan… Daniela took me there to pick it up and come here,” she said, hesitating on Daniela’s name but pushing through. “And yes, to answer your question. Came from Boston to escape an ex. And now I’m here, camping out in someone’s basement.”
“She’s got you in the studio, huh?”
“Oh.” She relaxed. “Yeah, it’s a bit dark with the tiny basement window, but it’s cozy. I guess you’ve been around?”
“Watched her draw in there a couple times. Cat, too. Cat likes to model for figure drawings.”
“That’s so fun,” she said, eyes twinkling. “She does seem very… charismatic. I feel bad not knowing any sign language, though. I was trying to make it clear for her to read my lips, but I still had to write out words for a lot of our conversation.”
“Probably because you made it clear. Lipreading isn’t about seeing the sounds, it’s recognizing speaking patterns. If you try to enunciate everything, then it looks unnatural and it’s actually harder to read.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “Well, don’t I look the fool?”
“We all do it. Just learning the letters is a good start. It’s a little clunky at first, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you can sign out the letters of a word she didn’t get much faster thanwriting it on your phone and showing it to her. And usually she’ll get it after just a couple letters.”
“Okay, great,” she said, sitting up taller. “That much, I think I can do. Am I ever glad to have something I can actually do… Daniela’s just letting me stay rent-free as long as it takes to figure my life out, and she’s even cooking for me.”
Damn, I missed Daniela’s cooking. “She is remarkably stubborn,” I said offhandedly, and she winced a little.
“Yeah. I mean, I know her pretty well, too. We’ve been friends for years. She even mentioned you before.” Judging by the way she winced harder, she hadn’t meant to say that part. I shouldn’t have focused on it the way I did.
“Oh, yeah?” I said, trying for casual. “What’d she say?”
She forced a laugh. “That you, um… that you make candles. Really nice candles, actually. She’s obsessed with them.”
For a while there, I’d kind of wondered if Daniela and I maybe… I don’t know, had something. We’d been friends for some time, and then things shifted, and suddenly we were spending an awful lot of time together. An awful lot of time with just the two of us. And I swear we almost kissed one time… late-night camping trip under the stars, we’d been lying side-by-side while I talked constellations and she listened patiently, and then the conversation had died down, we’d turned and looked at each other, and it was hard to tell in the low light, but I swear she’d looked at my lips.
I wondered if things would have gone differently if we’d kissed. Probably worse. I’d have had to either break up with her or abandon Cat all to herself.
