Chapter 5
Lacey
“Who’s your favorite lyricist?”
Two hours had passed since Max and I sat in the diner booth. Time passed by without notice from either of us. We ate our burgers and fries in companionable silence, occasionally commenting on the meal.
It was delicious.
As soon as we both finished we fell back into discussing music. Sports. General likes and dislikes.
I had never felt so at ease with anyone else and the fact that I had to find a stranger to listen to me with such interest and respect my passion for music should have been a depressing thought. Reina didn’t even care to listen to me carry on about music. Our friendship revolved mostly around parties and studying. Nothing too deep.
But with Max it just felt natural. He seemed genuinely interested in what I thought and words flowed from my mouth without pause.
“Don’t laugh.” I warned him, pointing a finger across the booth playfully and holding back a laugh of my own.
He covers his heart with hand as if hurt, grinning the whole time. “Laugh? Why would I do that?”
“You’re already laughing and I haven’t even told you yet!”
“Ok, ok. I’m not laughing, angel. Out with it.”
I pause briefly at the pet name, not expecting it. “Ok. I have a top five.”
He nods and waits quietly, hazel eyes sparkling from the light that hangs over the table. Both of us lean forward across the table and I find myself looking closely enough to make out the flecks of green and gold in his eyes.
“Of course Adele.” I hold up my fingers to count each artist. He nods his approval and encourages me to go on. “Luke Bryan. Eminem. Lil Wayne.”
“Wasn’t expecting that.”
“I’m full of surprises.”
“That you are, angel. That you are. Number five?”
“Taylor Swift.”
He lets out a chuckle before he can stop himself and I’m holding back a laugh in anticipation. Honestly I love her romantic lyrics that range from angst ridden to swoony but doubt Max is going to let this choice slide without some ribbing.
“Taylor?”
I nod.
He looks at me carefully, gaze drifting from my eyes to my lips and back up almost too fast for me to notice. Almost. I wait for more laughter but it doesn’t happen.
“That fits you. You’re a romantic.”
My heart speeds up. “How would you know that?”
“I can just tell. All the songs you sang in the car were about love. All the books you had stacked up on your coffee table back at your apartment were romances.”
Observant.
It made me uncomfortable that he could see through me so clearly and easily. Because he wasn’t wrong in his assessment. I change the subject from myself, deflecting the attention he was giving me.
“My turn. What lyrics describe your life?”
“My life? I don’t know.” He takes a long drink from his glass. “Numb.”
“By Linkin Park?”
“Yeah. I used to listen to that shit all the time back in high school. I guess that was my teenage anthem.”
“Ah. A tortured soul.”
“Something like that.” He grows quiet and seems to be lost in thought. When I finish chewing a stray fry leftover on my plate I ask another question.
“Do you like being a finance major?”
“I know it sounds boring. But numbers don’t change. It’s black and white and you just have to work through the problem. The answer is always there and it doesn’t change. You just have to find it.”
“I never thought of it that way. That’s pretty deep.”
He eats a fry from his plate, dipping it in ketchup. When he finishes chewing he takes his turn to ask something.
“What’s your major?”
“Social Work. I want to work with kids. Maybe CPS.”
“So you like kids?”
“Love them. And I really love helping people.” I steal one of his discarded fries and nibble on the end. I’m really full but can’t seem to stay away from these fries. There must be crack sprinkled over the top instead of salt.
“Are you close to your family?”
He tenses almost imperceptibly and I worry I pissed him off. Maybe I just overstepped a boundary I didn’t know was in place. We were just two acquaintances having dinner. Barely even that. Family shit was personal. I regret asking but the question is already out there so I wait quietly, stirring the lemon in my iced tea.
“Sort of.” He answers tightly.
It’s a vague response and I find myself more curious than ever. He reaches for his glass and slides it back and forth between his hands leaving a trail of condensation over the wooden table.
I decide to save him the awkwardness of making up a bullshit answer and tell him something about me. “My parents are cool. I’m an only child so they worry about me more than I’d like. But we’ve always been pretty close.”
“I have an older brother. Chris. We were close as kids. He’s only a year older than me so we were always partners in crime growing up.” He smiled to himself, as if laughing at an inside joke but it morphs into a small frown. With furrowed brows, he slides his glass across the table again between both hands.
“That sounds nice. I wish I had a sibling sometimes.”
“He’s not too happy with me right now. Dad either.”
“Why not?”
“They didn’t want me coming here to college.”
“Was there a different school they were pushing for?”
“No. They didn’t want me to go anywhere.”
“I’m sure they’re proud of you.”
He huffs out a sarcastic laugh and grows quiet again for a moment. He seems to choose his next words carefully. “They want me to help with the family business. College doesn’t really fit into their plans.”
“What kind of business is it?”
He hedges. “You know…marketing, sales…that sort of thing.”
I look at him curiously as he shifts in his seat. Why does he look uncomfortable? Does he not like talking about himself?
“Wouldn’t having a finance degree be great for that?”
Just as he was about to answer the waitress returned with an apologetic smile. “Hey guys, we’re getting ready to close up for the night. Anything I can get you to go before we shut down the kitchen?”
Max looked to me. I try to ignore the visible relief at the distraction.
I shrugged. “Cheesecake?”