Andylaughed, filling the space between the phone and my ear with a happiness Ihadn’t felt in days. “Touché. Anyway, I’m really into watching videos of JohnEdward.”
Myeyes narrowed at the street below me. “The guy who sees dead people?”
“Hedoesn’tseedead people,” she muttered defensively. “He’s a psychicmedium, and a really good one, actually.”
“Okay,”I conceded, nodding. “So, you’re actually into that stuff?” I asked,remembering the night I had met her outside that show Greyson had dragged usto.
“Iam.”
“That’scool,” I shrugged, stamping my cigarette out in the ashtray I kept outside.“Why would I laugh at you for that?”
“Well,considering how we met …”
“Hey,I don’t care if people are into that shit. What I cared about, was you makingfun of my brother-in-law for believing in it.”
“Ithink it’s nice you care about your family so much.”
Thecompliment came from nowhere, it seemed, and I stopped the grinding of myfingers. “Yeah, well, uh … they’re kinda all I have, so …”
“Oh,come on. That can’t be true.”
“Well,it ain’t a lie.”
“Youdon’t have any friends? Or a, um, a girlfriend or boyfriend, or … I dunno …”
“Nogirlfriend, and I’m not into guys,” I said with a smile, easily offering theinformation she was obviously fishing for. “I have a couple friends, but I’mnot like, super popular or anything.”
“Yeah,same here.”
“Which?”
“Whatdo you mean?”
Myback relaxed against the side of the brick building as I pulled out anothercigarette. “Friends or a boyfriend, or you know, girlfriend, if you swing thatway.” Grinning, I lit the cigarette and inhaled, patiently awaiting herresponse, and allowing her some seconds to adjust to my direct approach.
“Both,”she finally replied, suddenly bashful.
“Ihave a hard time believing that.”
“What?That I don’t have friends or a boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“I’mnot really someone guys wanna date,” she said quietly. “And, I mean, it’s notlike I don’t haveanyfriends. I just don’t get out much, so my friendsare mostly from work.”
Ipinched my lips around the end of the cigarette, considering how bold I waswilling to be, and quickly decided that, fuck it, I had nothing to lose.
“Well,Iwanna date you,” I declared.
“Jesus,”she said, barking with an abrupt laugh. “You don’t sugarcoat anything, huh?”
“Eh,”I shrugged, holding the smoke between two fingers, “I have too much to dealwith to dance around this shit.”
“Yeah,I can understand that.”
“So,what do you say?”
“Aboutwhat?”
