He chuckles.
Yes, give me more of those please. I’m going to start counting them and keeping score. He’s stingy with anything that’s not a scowl, so I want to collect them all.
And I want them all for me.
“Can I ask you something?” He sits, taking the spot next to me, right by my head.
“You already did.”
“Smartass,” he mouths.
“Thanks. I like to think I am.” I cross my legs at my ankles and close my eyes. His are too intense for me right now, and I would rather avoid them. “But yes, you can ask me anything.”
“Um, have you—” A low grunt leaves his lips, and I dare toopen my eyes to find him shaking his head. “You know what? Never mind.”
“Dom, what? Just ask me. There’s very little I won’t share.” He pinches his nose. I love getting a rise out of this so put together man.
“I don’t mean disrespect, and if I’m out of line?—”
“Spit it out. You’re making me nervous.”
“Have you ever talked to someone about ADHD?”
I burst out laughing—one I can’t contain, no matter how hard I try. I cover my mouth, but it’s relentlessly trying to leave me, hurting my throat and prickling my eyes in the process. It overtakes me, jerking me upward so I don’t choke on this fit.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” His baritone voice carries so much feeling, and damn it, I scared him.
“No, no, it’s not that.” I shake my hands in the air, folding over, unable to stop laughing. “I one hundred percent have ADHD. I thought it was obvious.”
It was to my parents too. They knew from a very young age that my brain was different, but, as usual, it took a while to get the diagnosis, since I did well in school and was labeled chatty and friendly. Which I am.
Finally, one day, I broke down in tears—I couldn’t ever get my brain to stop. I couldn’t think before acting. I just couldn’t stand still, ever. That, and after they couldn’t keep me from breaking things and just flat out being a menace, they asked the doctor.
“Oh, it is. I just didn’t know if you knew,” he mentions.
“Aww, were you just a little bit worried about me, sweetie?” I reach over to pinch his cheek, trying to make this moment cuter, but it backfires, terribly so. Because now, I’m all up in his space. Rich, damp soil, and juniper, and something sweet, like honey, hits me, and I want to sit right in the middle of it and let it consume me. His breath hitches as my eyes bounce from obsidian gems surrounded by perfect amber skin and thick, dark brows.
He’s gorgeous.
He has to know it. If I looked likethat, I wouldn’t talk to anyone ever.
Oh my God.
This is why he’s so grumpy. Hecanbe. He has pretty privilege.
He clears his throat. Fuck. I was ogling.
“Sorry.” I pull my hand away from him. “Thanks. That was sweet of you. And yes, I do have ADHD. For the most part, I can function. Medicine makes me jittery and I hate it, so I don’t use it often. That’s why I run so much. Being physically active helps my mind settle.”
He nods.
“Some days, I struggle, especially with tasks like that.” I point to the mess hiding under the worn tin roof.
“Executive functioning,” he replies.
“Wait, what? It’s very rare I hear anyone talk about executive functioning.”
“My brothers both have a best friend with ADHD, and I’ve learned a lot. One of them won’t stop educating people about it.”
