The Silver Lining (12 page)

“Purple.” 

“Favorite food?” I gestured my hand in the air.

“Taquitos.”

“Taquitos? Out of everything, it’s taquitos.” I pushed back in my seat.

“Yeah. So what? They’re delicious.”

“Favorite—”

“Stop. You don’t need to do the twenty questions.” She threw the palms of her hands up at me.

“Apparently, I do in your eyes,” I responded.

“I’m just being careful. There is nothing wrong with caution.” She waved her finger at me.

“I’m so confused. I’m trying to find out stuff about you and you don’t want to answer.”

“We don’t need to find out everything in one day, James.”

“Great. You like purple and taquitos. I feel safer around you now.” I shook my head.

She giggled. “You like your eggs scrambled, wheat toast and jelly, no butter.” She paused. “See what I did. I observed what you liked. I didn’t just ask you. That is what I mean.”

I internally rolled my eyes, because I could not take any more of this nonsense. I liked her. She liked me. I kept chasing. She kept running. I caught up and then she threw a force field up to block me. Fuck my life. If I didn’t like this chick so much I’d throw in the towel, the couch and the kitchen sink.

“Observation is easy. It’s getting people to open up that is difficult.” I took a sip of my coffee.

“And you think talking about taquitos is the key?” She smiled.

“Nope, but it’s a start. Today we are talking about taquitos and tomorrow maybe discussing your childhood dog that ran away.”

“Never had a dog. My mom wouldn’t allow it.”

“See. It’s working already. You are opening up. Congratulations on your first step.”

“I’m just entertaining you today, aren’t I?” She chuckled.

I laughed and almost spit my coffee out. “No seriously. What are you doing for the rest of the day?” I inquired, hoping she was available.

“Looking for a new job.” She frowned and for a minute I did too.

My mother is an ass.

“I could maybe get you job at the bar if you wanted. Great tips.”

“I’m not working with you. It’s the worst thing people in a relationship can do.”

I raised my eyebrow at the word relationship. She smiled and waved her hands in front of her.

“That didn’t come out right. I mean since we are friends it may destroy our friendship.”

“Friend zoned. My favorite place to be,” I mumbled. I stabbed my fork into my eggs, and jammed them into my mouth. She took her spoon and swirled it around inside her mug, as she looked around the restaurant. I watched her pick up her fork and finally dig in. She took a few bites off of her plate.

“Fuck work.”

“Excuse me?” she replied.

“You’re not looking for work today. I’m taking you out on a date.”

“I do need money. I have bills to pay, you know.”

“All I need is one day, and tomorrow you can do your thing.”

She looked at me with hesitation.

I slowly nodded to get her to move, blink or at least speak. “Emily? This is where you talk. You may say something like, I would love to go on a date with you.”

“I thought we were on a date.” She pointed down to the table.

I laughed. “This is breakfast. My grandmother used to take me out for breakfast. Nothing about eggs and toast screams romance.”

“Fine, one date…as friends. No romance included.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “That’s all I need.”

I inhaled my breakfast faster than she did, so I had to sit there and watch her eat. She ate like a damn bird with small bites that were slow and easy. She finally put her fork down and looked up at me.

“Are you done yet? Your date has been anxiously waiting for you to finish.” I winked.

“Let me just finish this coffee. It’s so good.” She stared down at her mug.

I watched her tip the mug up to her mouth. Her lips gently clamped down on the rim. She pulled the cup away and licked her lips. I just stared like an ass.

“What?”

“You’re sexy.”

She laughed at my statement.

“Seriously. You don’t even try. I don’t think you know what you do to me.”

“What do I do, Mr. King?” She smiled and gently put her cup down on the table.

“See, right there. You’re doing it again. Look at the way your eyes light up when you say my name and how your tone comes out all raspy. “What do I do, Mr. King?” I mocked her seductive voice and pushed up my pretend tits.

“I don’t sound like that.” She chuckled. “And I didn’t do that thing with my breasts either.”

“Yeah, okay.” I raised my hand in the air toward the waitress as she walked by. “Check, please.”

“I haven’t been to the movies forever. That was fun. My side still hurts from laughing so much.”

“Your side? I think I cracked a rib.” I pretended to bend over in pain.

“It didn’t help that you almost choked to death on popcorn.” She laughed at my expense.

“I was really just hoping I’d pass out and you’d give me mouth to mouth.”

“No chance.” She lightly pushed my arm.

“A man can try, right?” I smiled.

She nodded.

I stepped in closer to her as we walked side by side. I grabbed her hand, interlocking our fingers. To my surprise, she didn’t pull away. She just kept staring forward like she didn’t notice it.

“So what’s next?” she asked. “Candle light dinner? Walk on the beach? Serenade?”

I tried to hide my smile, but I couldn’t. “No. I have something better in mind.”

“What could be better than you crooning out a song?” She flipped her long hair from one side to the other.

“Mmmm. I could think of lots of things that are better.”

She stopped and looked at me with slight irritation.

“I’m joking. Geez. Come on. It’s just around the corner. It’s a little spot I want you to see. It’s within walking distance.”

“I hate this.”

“You hate surprises? Nobody hates surprises. Live a little. Come on.”

I tugged her down the road to a place that would forever hold sentiment to me. This was a special spot that was hidden, yet in plain sight. We walked until we hit a thick patch of bushes surrounded by trees. I stared down at the ugly, thorny bushes with disgust. This was always the worst part. You had to experience a little pain to see a lot of beauty. I winced. She looked at me confused.

“This is it. We have to cut through.” I nodded my head toward the bushes.

“Wait. You want me to walk through these tall bushes?”

I nodded.

“Are you crazy?”

I nodded again.

She released a long sigh.

I grinned and grabbed her hand so I could pull her behind me. The trail was hardly even visible. It was like walking through a war path. Humans versus bushes. I could hear her sputtering off a few curse words. It only took a few minutes to make it through all of the branches and thorns that poked at us. The pain was always worth it in the end to me. I stepped out first and she stepped out behind me. She was angry for a second as she dusted off her clothing, angry until she looked around.

“Oh my god,” she gasped. “This is beautiful.” She turned in circles. “Who drew all of those murals?”

She pointed to the brick wall that was filled with art. Not a single space of brick was clear to see.

“I don’t know who he is exactly.” I smiled seeing her light up. She was beautiful.

“The gardening back here is amazing, so many roses. Why is this not open to the public? It’s so shut in, so enclosed. The world needs to see this.”

“It is open to the public. There’s just a bunch of bushes and trees blocking it.”

“Why? This is gorgeous. Somebody should remove those nasty bushes.” She looked at me again for answers. There was this sparkle in her eyes as she grinned. “How did you even find this? I would have never thought to look back here.”

“My dad brought me to this place a lot when I was young. He said it was beauty that the city didn’t see. He told me he used to come here before the bushes were put up. It must have been nice.” I took a breath. “Rumor had it that a man lived on the other side of this wall, just over those murals. If you drive over to the next street, there is a boarded up house. That’s where we thought he lived. Somebody told my father that story, not sure what the truth was on that, but the man had an obsession with painting people as they walked by. I guess at one point he pretty much painted the whole town. Well, the business across the street thought it was an eyesore and the artist thought it was beautiful. They both fought over it. One fought to keep it and one fought to destroy it. I guess the artist won, because it’s still here. However the business across the street was tight with the city and persuaded them to plant some trees and very nasty bushes, and that’s the story that I have always known.”

“That’s crazy. This is a masterpiece. To hide beauty like this is a shame.”

“It’s beauty hidden behind fear of the unknown, kind of like you.”

She stared up at me captivated. With our eyes locked, it felt like the right time to kiss her. I leaned in and with one hand pulled her into me. I heard a short gasp. I lowered my head and let my lips gravitate to hers. I was gentle. I was slow. It was seduction at its best. I pulled back, but not before giving her a love bite on her bottom lip. It was something to remember me by later when she was alone. I licked my lips still savoring the taste of her on me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She was blushing now. That was new. The sexual tension between us thickened with each passing second, but the best course of action would be to change lanes, because I knew how Emily operated and too much too soon would trigger her fight or flight response.

“Umm. Do you want to sit down for a bit?”

She was dazed and speechless. All she could do was nod.

We sat down in the grass next to each other, facing the sun. She scooted closer to me and then laid her head upon my shoulder. This felt good, but I continued to hold back sticking to my too much, too soon rule with Emily.

“It’s like our own private park. It’s perfect here, James.”

“I know, right?”

“So…your dad. What was he like?”

“He was a good man. I strive to be like him every day. Honest and caring.”

She pulled her head up and stared at me. “You already are.”

I remained silent. She laid her head back on my shoulder and reached through the gap under my arm and grabbed my hand.

“Hey, hey, hey woman. Friends don’t hold hands.”

“A girl can change her mind. It’s not illegal to do so.”

“So that’s all a guy has to do to get you, is take you through a bunch of bushes.”

She playfully pushed against my rib with her free hand.

“I didn’t say you had me. I just find your shoulder very soft, and your hand comforting that’s all.”

“Let’s say I did have you, and we were a couple. Would I lay in your lap like this?” I positioned my body to where my back was now on the grass and my head rested on her thighs.

She smirked. “I suppose you would,” she replied, trying to hold her laughter in.

“I think if we were a couple you would be inclined to run your fingers through my hair.”

“Is that so? Okay I’ll play along,” she said, looking down at me.

She ran her fingers slowly through my hair, which honestly felt amazing.

“Then you would say something sweet like—” I waved my hands around.

“I love you,” she blurted out. She chuckled for a minute before she realized what she said.

I watched her body tense up, as she sat up straight and removed her hand from my hair. I pulled myself up into a sitting position. She was back stepping. I could see it in her eyes. It was time to take a mental detour.

“You hungry? I could really go for some ice cream.” I smiled, and stood up. She followed.

“Yeah. That actually sounds really good. I could go for some of that too, but do we have to walk through those bushes again?”

I nodded as I grabbed her hand. She wrinkled her face at me. We took one last look around before we decided to conquer the brutal branches from hell. We hurried through as we hit the trail, so it was faster getting out than it was going in. We made it out alive with minimal scratches. I called them war scars from the battlefield, which made her laugh.

It was a silent walk back to my car, and that silence told me that the wheels in her head were turning. I placed my seatbelt on as I looked at her. She was sitting there in deep thought, fiddling with her thumbs.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things weird back there. I was just playing along with the whole pretend thing.”

“There is no reason to apologize. I’m not even thinking about it.” I shook my head.

“I saw your face when I said it, and then all of a sudden the energy changed between us.”

I grabbed her chin gently and turned her head toward me, so that I had her full attention.

“Emily, just shut up and enjoy yourself. There is absolutely nothing wrong.”

“I don’t want you to think—”

“I don’t think anything,” I said, as I released my hand from her and started up the car.

She exhaled long and hard as if something serious was wrong. As if loving me would be a crime. Maybe I was just tripping. I had to remember slow and steady was the way to Emily’s heart. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She leaned over and put her hand in mine. I picked her hand up and kissed the back of it, before putting the car into motion.

“What’s your favorite ice cream?” I asked.

“Bubble Gum.”

I quickly glanced at her and then back to the road.

“Seriously? Not chocolate. Not vanilla, but bubble gum? That’s not very grown up of you.” I smirked.

“Shut up. It’s my favorite. What’s yours, smartass?”

“Mint chocolate chip.”

The car pulled to a slow stop for a red light. I looked over at her and knitted my eyebrows together.

“You really like the ice cream with the little cold, hard gums inside? I would have never guessed. You look more like a rocky road type girl.”

“What does a rocky road type girl even look like?”

I waved my hand in her direction. “This.” We both started laughing.

The light finally turned green, so I pressed the accelerator down, giving the car some gas. The front wheels barely hit the middle of the intersection before something terrible happened. It was felt before it was even seen. A pickup truck slammed into Emily’s side. The car spun around a few times before it flipped over. The next thing I knew, a man was shouting to me from outside the car. I could feel all of the blood rushing to my head so I knew I was upside down. I figured I may have blacked out for a minute, but I wasn’t sure.

“Mr. you okay? Can you hear me?”

Suddenly I could hear several voices talking.

“I think they are hurt really badly!” a female said.

“I just called 911,” another voice yelled.

I struggled back and forth with my vision for a while, just barely being able to open my eyelids. Things would come in and out of focus. It was no use, so I closed my eyes again. I could now taste a metallic flavor on my tongue. Blood was dripping down part of my face into my mouth. The blood reminded me I was still alive. It was enough to make me fight through. I opened my eyes slow and easy. It was just a squint at first, and as my vision came through, I opened them wider and wider.

“He’s awake,” someone yelled.

“Stay still, okay? Help is coming,” a male said.

Now that I was awake, staying still was not an option. I fought to turn my neck to the right. I had to see her. Fuck the pain. Fuck the excruciating pain it took to twist my neck that much. I had to know if she was okay. Shit! She was slumped forward, which killed me. My heart broke a thousand times looking at her like that. Was she dead? God, please, no. I tried to speak, but only a whisper came out.

“Emily” I tried again. “Emily.” I was barely audible this time. Instead air choked its way out.

I could hear the sound of sirens approaching, and then all of a sudden the car was surrounded by paramedics. They were talking to me and trying to comfort me, but all I could think about was her. Was she alive? If so, was she hurt badly? I didn’t even care about my injuries. I needed to know if Emily was okay.
God, take me instead of her, please.

There was movement, and lights, and voices, and panic. Panic on my end. I couldn’t breathe. Thoughts of her being dead made my chest hurt. I was on a stretcher within moments, tightly bound in restraints. Paramedics had placed a neck cast on me and then strapped an oxygen mask around my face.

“It’s going to be alright, buddy. Just hang in there, okay,” the male paramedic said.