Riley noticed that Lazlo was not so destructive as she categorized all males to be. Lazlo was different; quieter, mature. He was reserved and she liked that about him because over the span of three weeks she learned something new everyday.
She learned he had anxiety.
His favorite color is "tarnished silver".
He liked chicken sausage.
And he had anxiety.
And she also discovered that he liked her a lot.
The feeling was mutual, however the two thought it crucial to develop at least a friendship.
"My friends want to meet you," he blurted in the silence. He had a habit of doing that; he tended to grapple with self-expression.
"I didn't know you had friends?"
He sucked his teeth and laughed.
"My friends want to meet you too. You might not like them, though. They are kind of... flamboyant."
And when they decided to all go to a jazz club together, Riley thought maybe Lazlo positively hated her friends.
Poor Lazlo with his clenched fist and clenched jaw, and wide eyes. Her friends were interrogating him and he looked like the cutest mouse trapped by two feral cats.
"SO what are your intentions with Riley?"
that was Kennedy with her light brown skin and copper colored Afro.
"Yeah we not on that dumb shit, so come correct, you feel?"
Ansley with a glittering gold nose ring against her golden brown skin.
Lazlo's friends, Troy, Spencer, and Kay were snickering and watching their friend with his nervous antics.
"Please leave him alone, that's enough bad cop, worse cop." Riley was irritated.
"You know we only want the best for you," said Kennedy.
"He's a good boy," chimed Troy.
"Yeah, but how do we know Riley is the best for our boy?" Spencer was a bit brutish, Riley thought.
She also thought that he could get his ass kicked with those underhanded comments.
Kennedy and Ansley looked at Spencer, on the same page as Riley.
The trio folded their arms on queue.
"Don't be an ass, Spenc," said Kay, with her dark hair and piercing blue eyes.
He grunted.
They decided the dance floor was crowded and moved over to the bar to order appetizers.
Hot wings, barbecue wings, and ox tails decorated the countertops and occasional laughter flittered the miscellaneous conversations.
Riley thought it was all going pretty well as she observed the group of intermingled cliques and smiled.
In the midst of it all, she caught the fawning gaze of Lazlo and winked at him.
He blushed.
Weeks later, Riley and Lazlo met at the same club, just the two of them. It was there Lazlo initiated their first kiss.
It was chaste at first but then lips smashed and teeth clashed and mouths parted and Riley felt as if he was searching for something in the depths of her mouth; prodding with an excited tongue.
She let him take control of the kiss initially before she slowed his haste into languidness. Her palms rested on the sides of his cheeks before fingers tangled through his curls. She smiled through his kisses and when they decided air was essential to vitality, Riley said
"I like your hair like that, all grown out. Your curls remind me of budding roses."
He looked at her with doe eyes and leaned in until their foreheads touched.
"I think I love you," he whispered.
She knew he loved her.
أنت تقرأ
she floats
القصة القصيرةA SHORT STORY in which he meets a girl who is also a dreamer. cover illustration by manjitthapp
