I don’t think you meant to play matchmaker when you told us to pick partners, mostly because that would be really messed up and I don’t want to consider that you would be like that, Doc. However, that might be exactly how things played out. Caroline and I had a date tonight.
-_~* Week 8 *~_-
“Well…”
Her voice echoes in Santiago’s head, like an earworm of sorts – only it’s the voice of his favorite person saying something that he can’t unhear.
“That’s complicated to answer.”
Lingering on that one question seemed to be pointless at the time, but it’s the only thing from the conversation that keeps coming back to his mind. Together, eating noodles and listening to the sweet sounds of “Meowing Cats and Barking Dogs,” they were able to work through a lot of the reasons why he’d been angry. It didn’t make him less angry, but he did feel less burdened by his anger.
“Well…”
Santiago draws in a careful breath and releases it slowly.
“That’s complicated to answer.”
Sitting up, he decides that can’t keep mulling over the same five words. It’s going to drive him mad. Besides, it seems ridiculous to be thinking about Caroline as more than his grief group partner. Despite the fact that it has crossed his mind a few times and in a few different ways – his parents died three months ago! He should still be grieving, not thinking about a relationship.
So why is that all he can think about?
“Mierda,” he swears. It’s time to get up and do something or go somewhere. Staying in bed with his mind reeling isn’t going to get him anywhere. There’s homework to be done, he supposes – reading assignments, lab group research, and thesis writing.
Santiago puts his hair in a small bun at the top of his head so that he doesn’t yank on it and twist it, and generally use it as a distraction. He pushes up the sleeves of his black thermal up to his elbows, crosses and uncrosses his legs, and then settles to leave his legs stretched straight out in front of him and his back against the headboard. He pulls his laptop from the end table and opens it up. The screen is black. One tap of the keys will send the screen alight.
Before he can even place his hands over the keyboard, though, his phone starts to buzz on the blanket next to him.
CW I need a drink. HBU?
Did she know he was thinking about her?
Of course she didn’t, she couldn’t. Also, it’s not a fair connection to make since he’s usually thinking about Caroline in some capacity. She’ll text whenever she wants and it has nothing to do with the universe hearing his thoughts and connecting them to her. It’s just a coincidence and not even an unlikely one.
That in his mind, he names a place and a time to meet: Fountain of Drinks, in fifteen minutes.
Caroline beats him there and is still dressed in her work clothes – a long-sleeved brown shirt with a chipped coffee cup on the front and black jeans – despite working an early shift that day. She’s got on new running shoes that are starkly bright in comparison to her outfit, which makes her stand out like a sore thumb. The other thing he notices that is starkly different is her hair.
Where there were green blobs and streaks before, now she sports a blocky line of orange. It’s perfect for Halloween, but also fall in general. Whether he likes it doesn’t matter really, but he thinks it’ll take some time getting used to just because it’s different.
“Hey,” she says, bouncing on her toes and grinning so wide it almost looks painful.
“Hey,” he shoots back. Santiago waves at her gently as he gets closer and then turns to open the door for her. She beats him there, though, and she ushers him inside instead. Instantly, they are surrounded by a series of soda machines, shelves of bottles, and a couple of employees in the fray staring at them.
“Welcome to Fountain of Drinks, would you like a tap today?” The effort that they put into speaking in unison is hilarious. Caroline doesn’t hold back her laughter, which causes Santiago to start laughing too. He’s never really appreciated how her laugh is so bouncy and sweet. It is absolutely great.
“No thanks.”
Before he can even finish turning down the offer, Caroline bolts off towards the glass bottles. She’s looking for something, obviously, so he follows behind her. The section that she’s looking at is a well-known soda that has a massive line of fruity flavors. Without hesitation, she grabs two bottles as if she’s done it a dozen times. In one hand, a cream soda, and the other, a pineapple one, and she declares that she’ll be mixing them. “It tastes amazing.”
Santiago finds himself in a strange sort of calm. He used to come here to mix different soda flavors together with his friends, which he tells her passively, and then grabs his own bottles. He prefers to mix mango and piña colada, which tastes as close to heavenly as he could imagine. Caroline respectfully disagrees but offers to taste it anyway – just to prove herself right.
It doesn’t bother him, though, because he knows he isn’t going to like hers much either.
“You used to come hang out here with your friends? Like…” she starts, masking the silence midway through by riffling through her purse for cash. Santiago already knows the question she’s going to ask. It’s the one that everyone wants to know about when he talks about having friends. Still, he humors her (or rather he humors himself by not answering without the rest of the question) and lets her finish her thought. “You don’t hang out with them anymore?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he gives her the only truth he knows. “I’m too busy, usually. We still talk online sometimes. But we’ve all got our own things going on at different universities, you know?”
Once they’re at the counter, Caroline gestures for Santiago to go first because she’s still going through her purse. He’s sure she probably forgot her wallet at home and offers to pay for both of them. After insisting that he doesn’t care at all about paying for her because he just enjoys her company, she caves and puts her bottles on the counter. He gets his change back and she requests large cups, which they give her without question.
Caroline sets up shop in a corner at one of a dozen two-seat tables, rushing to get her drinks mixed. He follows her lead, pouring his two drinks into the cup alternately out of habit. Just when he gets comfortable with his pattern and the silence engulfing them, Caroline rips through it.
“Thank you for bringing me here. It’s exactly what I needed.”
Shrugging and huffing, “Anything for you.”
As soon as he’s said it, his brows shoot up. He wanted to tell her it was fine, ‘anything for a friend,’ but that’s not what he’s said to her. No, he’s told her that he’ll do anything for her. Now he’s in his own position to respond to any questions asked with “That’s complicated to answer,” and she’ll still know the answer, obviously.
If his cheeks aren’t reddening underneath his cinnamon-dusted skin, surely his trembling lips give him away. He did not intend to say it this way, no matter how true the statement is, and now he’s embarrassed.
“Oh?”
Much to his surprise, Caroline shrivels up into herself, nervously brushing hair behind her ear. Suddenly she can’t make eye contact with him, blushing and fiddling with the rim of her cup. Where is the conversation supposed to go next? Santiago isn’t sure what sort of follow-up statement to make after opening himself up on accident. But, if he must…
“You just mean a lot to me and I appreciate having you around. I want to make sure you’re happy. That’s what makes me happy,” he admits slowly, his heart racing with every syllable. If he must say something, then he may as well say what’s true. Honesty is the best policy, isn’t it?
Caroline straightens herself up and puckers her lips in thought. As she tilts her head back and forth, she seems to return to her usual self. In fact, her entire mood seems to shift. “I needed a drink tonight because Casper said tonight was a special night for him and Kayla, and he wanted me to leave. Then Kayla cornered me in the bathroom and said she wanted me to stay because she’s been thinking about breaking up with Casper because she’s attracted to someone else.”
“In the bathroom?” Santiago inquires, appalled at the thought of anyone trying to have a serious conversation with him in the bathroom. That is not a space he thinks he’ll willingly share with anyone anytime soon.
“Fucking yes,” Caroline bites, “and you know what she says to me? You know who she’s attracted to?”
Santiago doesn’t need an answer. The fury that is stirring in her eyes tells him exactly whom Kayla is attracted to, and it’s a theory that Caroline has been hinting at periodically whenever they discuss her run-ins with Kayla. Now that it is confirmed, though, he cannot imagine how uncomfortable she’s going to feel in that apartment from here on out.
“Well, I hope she doesn’t think that I’m going to share you, “ he quips effortlessly. The goal is to lighten the mood, and it seems to work because Caroline’s laugh emerges again. She shakes her head and rests it in her hands, elbows firmly on the table. The glint in her eyes is absolutely remarkable. Santiago doesn’t think he’ll ever forget it.
Caroline grins, “This is one hell of a first date, huh?”
A first date?
Is that what this is now? Is this the start of a relationship he never meant to pursue? There’s no stopping now, really, not with it in the open like this. Whatever comes out of it, the only way to go is full steam ahead.
“Indeed,” he hums, lifting his own glass to toast this – whatever they call it next.
I know you’re not ready to stop – good thing the next chapter is up and ready for you to view! Read it here right now!
Acknowledgements
I didn’t have anyone edit through this tonight, but I did read the vast majority of it aloud to my family. Which, honestly, I would just like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to my family. They’ve been supportive of my efforts to continue making writing a bigger part of my career path. However loud or quiet that support it, I know that there are many others that do not have the same support system, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
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