Relative Fiction | ✓

26

"You've got uh..."

AJ pointed at my face. I wiped at the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and came away with a glob of mustard.

"I think your mustard consumption is getting out of hand," she chuckled as she handed me a napkin.

"Listen, I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that I still have tastebuds after all I've put my mouth through." I shoved two more french fries in my mouth. "Besides, I'm ashamed to say it's taken me this long to realize that mustard is the superior condiment."

"Oh please," AJ scoffed. "I'm not having this argument with you again. Ketchup beats mustard, always and forever."

"Ketchup doesn't even know if it's a condiment or a fruit spread," I fired back, flicking a fry at her. She laughed, and I wanted to just stop time. In the simplest of moments, I felt the most human. The most alive.

Seagulls gathered on the beach under the deck at Rita's, but they weren't getting shit from me this time. I'd gained 10 pounds in the last few weeks, but weirdly enough, I felt lighter than air. The weight of my past and my bullshit and my turmoil was slowly beginning to slough off.

I leaned back in my chair until the sticky plastic squeaked underneath me. "So...I have a question."

"You always have questions."

"Well..." I chewed on my bottom lip. "I figured since I've seen you naked...multiple times at this point, I should probably get to know you more."

AJ shifted in her chair and looked down into her milkshake, her eyebrows knitted together. "You do know me, Kai." Her voice was soft as it carried on the breeze.

"Do I?" I leaned forward on my elbows.

The faintest smile pulled at her lips, and when she looked up at me again, her eyes twinkled with stars. "You do more than most people."

After my whole summer entwined in AJ's world, it was still those little things that made my heart soar.

"Anyway..." she sighed out. "What is this important question?"

I gave her a sideways grin. "Well, what's your favorite word?"

AJ barked out a laugh and nearly knocked her milkshake over. "My favorite word?"

"Yeah you're a writer," I shrugged. "So, what's your favorite word? You've gotta have one."

She tapped her fingers on her lips, running her eyes up and down my face until I felt my cheeks fill with heat. "Kairosclerosis."

"Kairo-what?"

"Kairosclerosis," she repeated with a soft smile. "It means...well, it's the moment in time when you realize you're happy. Really happy."

My face flushed again. "I...uh, I guess I could relate to that."

"Yeah, me too." She looked out toward the ocean, that soft smile of hers still pulling at her lips, but I kept my eyes on her, relishing the moment and drinking in her features like I'd go blind tomorrow. When she looked back up at me, I had to look away.

"Okay, but now it's my turn. What's your favorite color?"

I scoffed, trying to recompose myself. "But that's such a generic question."

"But you're a painter," AJ drawled in a matter-of-factly tone. "Make your answer not generic."

I thought on it for a moment, then just gave her a shrug. "Phthalo blue. It's the technical term for the ultimate primary blue. I use it as the base of any cool tones color I mix, so I guess it's not really my favorite, but it's my most important, so that sort of counts."