“We need to get sunscreen. I’m pale as hell.”
“Half of your skin is covered in black ink.”
“Yeah, but I still burn.” He gives me a look over. “You don’t need sunscreen?”
“Probably.” I shrug.
“You’ve never burned before?”
“Of course, I have. But usually I avoided it so my parents wouldn’t ask questions. Now? Don’t care.”
“You should care. They’re painful.”
“Then I will use sunscreen, too.”
“Thank you.” He grabs the remote and clicks to the guide, since the movie we were watching is over. “Oh, this one is good. Have you ever seen it? Never mind. Why am I asking? You don’t watch TV.”
I laugh as I dig into the second box. Leif is only on his second slice of pizza.
When I glance at the TV, it flashes brightly and makes a clicking sound, similar to a camera. When it comes back to the screen, a man is standing there with wide eyes and two men with suits have on black sunglasses.
“What a strange movie,” I comment.
Leif chuckles. “And it’s only the beginning. Hopefully you like it—because there are others. This one is my favorite. Vincent D’Onofrio is such a good actor. His character in this is so funny, even if he’s not meant to be.”
“What is this, exactly?”
“Oh, right. Men in Black. It’s about aliens and the secret agents that keep them in line.”
“Aliens?” I ask.
“Trust me, it’s good.”
I shrug and eat my food. I find myself laughing at random things because even me, someone who isn’t used to human culture, can see the humor in this movie.
“What did you tell everyone?” I ask.
“Just that I had a friend in the area that I haven’t seen in years and wanted to visit.”
“Smart,” I say, ignoring the pang in my chest.
I wish we could tell everyone and stop hiding.
I am so sick of hiding.
“Have you reached out to someone about buying a house?” he asks, grabbing a third slice.
“I emailed someone, yes. They scheduled a call for Monday so we can discuss what I’m looking for.”
“Good. That’s good. They’ll be able to help you way more than I can.”
“I feel like I’m looking too much into it,” I comment.
“How? It’s where you’ll live.”
“But for how long? What if we go on another tour? How many musicians actually spend time in their houses? As long as I’m on the ocean and have a bed big enough to fit me, I will be happy.”
“Then your realtor will have the easiest job ever.”
