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He laughed. “I think you like that about me.”
It’s true. I like that about you.
I shifted in my seat, trying to take the conversation away from the oddly sexual yet not sexual situation that had occurred. “So…” My voice cracked. “Where’s our next stop?”
He grabbed a wet nap and started cleaning his hands. “Oh, it’s a good one—a great one, actually—and it’s one-hundred-percent solely for you.”
4
Connor
I hadan unexplainable need to try to make people happy. Did I understand that a person’s happiness was their own responsibility? Yes. Did that ever stop me from trying to nudge people in the right direction of said happiness? Not at all.
I prided myself on being an overall happy-go-lucky guy. Sure, I wasn’t always in a good mood, and I had crappy days and nights—I was still human, after all—but at the end of the day, I knew my happiness was something to keep at the forefront of my life. If I felt myself slipping too far down the other road, I did things that made me feel good to find my footing.
It just so happened that what made me feel good was making others feel good. I got my happiness high from seeing others smile. Something was so rewarding about knowing someone might have a better tomorrow because they crossed paths with me today.
What I didn’t expect was the fact that Little Red Riding Hood would be the reason for my happiness tomorrow because of the experience she’d given me that evening. I’d already come to terms with the fact that she’d cross my mind repeatedly in the upcoming days.
Man…that woman.
I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it!
Okay, it wasn’t love. But dang, I liked this girl. I’d met a lot of cool people since moving to New York from Kentucky. I prided myself on being a people person. Being involved with others was where I shined. Truth be told, I didn’t do so well by myself. When I was alone, my thoughts got lonely and traveled to places I didn’t want to deal with. Some called it anxiety, but I called it ‘get the fuck out of my head’. Therefore, I spent a lot of time surrounded by people. If there was a gathering, I wanted to be a part of it. Look up the word extrovert in the dictionary, and there would be a cheesy-ass photo of me grinning ear to ear.
I felt as if Red was different. When I first saw her outside the bar, I could tell she’d stepped outside to get a breath of air, a break from the crowd inside. Every time we moved through it, she cringed a little, even squeezing my hand a bit tighter as I guided her. She wasn’t the same level of extroverted as I was, and I liked that. I liked how calm she was, how deep she seemed without even trying.
As I said, I liked her.
Plus, outside all the parts of her I’d discovered from conversation, she was beautiful. Her black hair was long with bouncy tight coils, her lips were full, and when she smiled, it highlighted the golden brown glow of her cheeks. Her body had curves in all the places I loved, and goodness, did I mention her smile? Yeah, I did—but it was worth another mention. She smiled in a way that could make the saddest person feel happy for a few moments. It pulled me in and made it almost impossible for me to look away.
A part of me was shocked when she agreed to my crazy idea of falling in love before sunrise, but something within me didn’t really want to face the possibility of never seeing her again after the bar closed. If we were dealing with limited time, I wanted to fill it up with experiences outside of drinking in some bar.
Did I hope by morning she’d give me her number? Yes.
Did I also hope she wouldn’t? Also yes. I knew what my current life situation was—I was a workaholic, trying to make the craziest dreams come to life. The amount of success I’d found in the past few years had come from me making sacrifices to build the empire that lived in my mind. That meant personal relationships weren’t really on my radar. I wasn’t boyfriend material, and if I couldn’t give Red the time and attention she deserved, I wasn’t going to waste her time.
But damn…tonight was turning out to be one of my favorites. Had you ever lived in a moment you knew was going to be one of your favorite memories? That was exactly what Halloween night was becoming for me. I was almost certain no Halloween night could ever live up to the situation I was experiencing that night.
The craziest part of it all?
I still didn’t know her name.
“Are you going to give me any clues about where we’re going?” she asked as we walked down the streets. We’d taken a subway to Queens, and I could tell she was confused about what was going on. I had to thank my first New York roommate for putting me onto the location I was taking her to, and I prayed she would like it.
“Don’t worry, we’re almost there. It’s right around the corner.” I saw as she shivered a bit, and I placed a hand on her lower back, pulling her in closer to me to try to help keep her warm. Before the night was over, I needed to search out a store that might have a coat for her to wear. She didn’t complain about being cold, but it was clear her small frame was freezing.
To my surprise, she leaned into me, allowing me to wrap my arm around her. She fit against me as if she was always supposed to be there, too, as if she was a missing puzzle piece I hadn’t known belonged to my world.
At least temporarily.
“No way,” she said breathlessly as we stood in front of a gaming arcade. She raised an eyebrow. “How did you know I love arcades?”
“I didn’t until you just said so, but that’s not exactly what I was going to show you, so that makes this a double win. Come on, let’s go inside.”
UpDown was a bar arcade where people were able to drink and nerd out all at once. The place was packed that night, not surprisingly. Even on a non-holiday night, UpDown always had a line to get inside.
We hopped in line, and her puzzle piece stayed connected to mine as we talked about our favorite video games growing up. Small talk with her came so effortlessly yet it felt so big. I took in every word she gave me and listened closely. I also took in her small mannerisms. The way she wrinkled her nose when displeased, how she shimmied her shoulders when excited. The way her two dimples deepened when she smiled, how she unconsciously swayed her hips whenever music began to play.
