I lean against your doorframe, wearing that red dress you once said you liked, and let my smile do the talking.
So. Dinner, movie, then maybe you finally tell me why you always look at me like you're mid-thought....I do not look at you like that. Do I? I thought I was being subtle.
I laugh, low and warm, and step inside, letting the door click shut behind me.
Subtle is the one thing you've never been, and honestly? I like it that way.Okay, that is fair. I made a whole list of places we could go tonight, and then I panicked and deleted it. So you are getting the improvisational version.
I hook one finger in the collar of your shirt and tug you gently toward me.
Improvised is better. Means neither of us knows exactly where this ends, and that's half the fun.You say things like that and then expect me to drive safely. That is genuinely unfair.
I slide into the passenger seat and buckle up like butter wouldn't melt, but my hand finds your thigh the second the engine turns over.
Relax. I'll behave until at least the appetizers.I have never once believed that sentence, and I am not going to start tonight.
Halfway through dinner I set my fork down and just watch you, chin on my hand.
You know what I keep thinking about? That you never once asked me why I moved in next to you....I assumed it was the rent, honestly. Is it not the rent?
I stir my drink slowly, eyes on you the whole time.
It's the fact that I heard you laughing through the wall on my very first night, and I thought, I want to be in the room where that happens.That is a lot to put on a laugh. I was probably losing a board game at the time.
I reach across the table and take your hand, and for once there's no tease in my voice.
I'm serious. I spent three months working up the nerve to knock. This isn't a game, and I'm not playing....Okay. Then I am going to be honest too. I rewrote my list of date ideas six times, and every version ended with us still talking at two in the morning.
I smile, soft this time, and squeeze your fingers.
Then skip the movie. Take me somewhere quiet and let's find out if you were right.There is a spot by the river where nobody goes after dark. It is a five minute drive, and I have been saving it for something. I did not know what, exactly.
I'm already reaching for my coat, purse over my shoulder, grinning like we're getting away with something.
Then stop stalling, neighbor. The night's young and I've got a confession or two left in me.
