I will say, being able to converse with someone in a language few understand does have a few perks. Like, realistically I know that it can’t feel particularly good to know that there’s this huge language gap which can oftentimes leave someone feeling left out, but if thereever were a silver lining, it’s finding someone who can communicate in the same manner and when that happens, you feel like you’ve been inducted into a special space. You get to gossip about people, right in front of them, and they are none the wiser.
Times like these almost make the language barrier seem less like a hindrance and more like a superpower.
There are voices that steal my attention suddenly. The two women sitting at the high-top table behind Caleb definitely look like tourists. I’ve never seen either of them around town before, and they’re definitely giving “from away” vibes.
“Jeesh! What do they put in the water around here? Areallthe guys seriously this hot?” one of them asks the other. “Lord, thesupernaturalthings I’d let the mini one do to me if I had the chance…”
The redhead swats at the blond, looking mortified. “Oh my god, stop! You’re so embarrassing!”
“What? It’s not like either of them heard me. Didn’t you see them?” The blond starts pretending to sign, clearly just making shit up as she goes through the motions.
Caleb starts to turn around when I give her a dirty look, but I stop him. “Let’s see how this plays out,” I sign, urging him to pretend like we can’t hear them.
Caleb huffs at me, rolling his eyes. “I’m used to this by now, unfortunately.”
“If it makes you feel any better, the one who thinks you’re a pipsqueak just inadvertently signed something that looks a lot like ‘I pooped myself,’” I tell him.
His throat bobs on a silent chuckle.
From my periphery, I can see the redhead’s face get beet red and she glances in our direction. Her jaw hardens. “Molly, don’t do that. It’s offensive.”
A guy comes over, drinks in hand, and sets them down on the table. He pulls up the third chair and sits. “Molly, what trouble are you causing now?” he asks, playful accusation in his tone.
“I was just saying that the guys over there are super hot and was wondering if all the locals around here are just as smokin’. But now Keeley has her panties in a wad over it. They’re deaf; they can’t even hear me.”
The guy glances over at Caleb and me. “What if they can lip read?”
The blond enunciates, “Then they deserve to know they’re both fine as fuck.”
The guy snickers. “They really are.”
Caleb preens, sitting up a little straighter, and I smirk.
The redhead—Keeley, I guess—quietly adds, “You both need to stop. You’d be singing a different tune if they were cat-callingyou, after all.”
“Jesus, Keels, lighten up. Is it even cat-calling if they’re deaf?”
The redhead, apparently the only conscionable one in the group, scowls. “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?”
The guy sighs loudly, then leans in towards his company and stage whispers, “Dibs on the big guy. He’s totally more my type. I’d let him rail me.”
Caleb’s lips thin as he rolls them between his teeth, stifling a laugh. “The ‘big guy’ prefers to be the one railed, if memory serves. He also likes hearing what a 'good boy' he is, being driven hard, and then put away wet.”
I scowl at him. “You hush.”
“Tell me, how does one who speaks with his hands hush anymore than I currently am?”
I try like hell to fight back the sarcastic grin that wants to break free, but end up losing the battle. “Smartass. I see nothing has changed there.”
He blinks at me, the amusement that tinges his expression falters slightly. “I thought it had for many years—that I’d lost my ability to be playful. Many things have changed about me, but it seems you have a way of bringing that side of me back out.”
I lick my lips and solemnly nod. “I’m sorry you felt you’d lost that side of yourself.”
I sincerely hope that it wasn’t because of me that he felt that way, but I can’t help but worry I may play some role there…
“I started to feel more like the old me out on the boat earlier,” Caleb admits. “I realized how much I missed messing with you, I guess.”
“Teasing me, you mean.” I narrow my eyes at him. “You seriously brought back dirty talking Caleb?”
