“Maybe there are some benefits to being stranded away from everyone and everything. No humiliating anecdotes can follow you.”
He laughs. “Seriously. I’m sure you know what story she would tell. There’s probably one in particular she likes to pull out.”
When I don’t say anything, he leans forward, grinning from ear to ear. “I knew it. Tell me the story.”
“Absolutely not.”
Elliot purses his lips. “Please?” he asks sweetly. He reaches out and takes my laurel, pulling it gently. “I made you this.”
I cave like a sucker.
“Fine.” Secrets and modesty disappeared days ago. Elliot and I know each other now like few people do. “When I went to college,” I start, but he raises a hand, cutting me off.
“We’d like to hear it from your sister, please. As it’s meant to be delivered.”
I lower my voice to Angie’s monotone, because of course I know how to match it perfectly, just like she can match my voice.
“We went to college an hour apart from each other, and when I went to visit Hank freshman year, he’d tried to change his name to Neo.”
Elliot’s eyes light up, and I keep on with the deadpan delivery, enjoying the chance to entertain him.
“He likedThe Matrixand wanted a fresh start. Like he told me at the time,Neodoes mean new.” Elliot giggles, and I continue. “The hitch was everyone in the dorm thought he was introducing himself as Neil, like Neil Armstrong, and Hankwasn’t decisive enough in correcting them. When I got there, all of his new friends were calling him Neil. It took him until halfway through the second semester before he managed to go around and tell everyone he was Hank after all.
“And that’s the story she would tell,” I say in my normal voice.
“Neo,” Elliot says adoringly. “Neo!”
I laugh. “Okay,” I say.
“I’ll call you Neo if you want.”
“That won’t be necessary, but thank you.”
Elliot glances around the table. He’s playing with one of the pink shells, and he turns it in his hand while he talks. “I don’t want to be rude and rush our dinner date, but considering how refreshingly dry the air is, maybe we should light the signal fires tonight?”
That rattles something in my brain. Could we actually get them lit again? It scares me to believe that.
How long have we even been here?
With food in my stomach, the fight to survive stirs in me.
“Right,” I tell him. I look up at the sky. A few dark clouds threaten, but they’re moving fast, drifting on the wind. “Once these last clouds pass, it looks like it might be clear beyond.”
“Exactly,” Elliot says, and leans forward across the stone table toward me. “I had another idea in the meanwhile. Want to smoke one of the joints with me on the beach? An herbal dessert?”
I snort. “I haven’t done that since college.”
Elliot nods. “No pressure. I thought it might be a fun way to celebrate the evening.”
The seals honk more, and something about the mood of the dinner date catches me. I did used to enjoy a nice hit of marijuana, especially when I was stressed out.
“You know what, sure.” I lean forward and kiss Elliot before standing. “I’ll take a couple puffs. And once the risk of rain has passed, we’ll get the wood moved and the fire started.”
I’m already stranded and sleeping with my boss’s son. What’s a little marijuana? It might even relieve some of this constant pain.
Elliot stands, too. “Cool.” He strokes the side of my face. “Thanks for taking a night off for the dinner date.”
I nod, satisfied to see him happy. “It’s a beautiful evening.”
