Home > Wish You Were Here(3)

Wish You Were Here(3)
Author: Renee Carlino

The man walked to her other side. “Let me help you,” he said.

“No, no, we’re fine,” I protested, but Helen had already slung her arm around his shoulder. She reached up and pulled his hood back, and he turned toward her, nonplussed, his striking brown eyes wide with curiosity. He was undeniably good-looking, and would be in anyone’s book. “I’m Adam,” he said. “Let me help you.”

“Nice to meet you, Adam. I’m Trixie and that’s Dottie. I think we got this.” I said.

Adam grinned. Two deep dimples punctuated his cheeks. “Trixie and Dottie, for real?”

“Yep,” I said curtly.

Helen rolled her eyes. “That’s Charlotte and I’m Helen.”

I elbowed her in the ribs. She leaned in and whispered, “He has Chinese food and he’s cute.” She said the last part a little too loud, which made Adam smile.

“Adam, do you live around here?” I asked.

“Yeah, I live on Molina.”

“Why were you headed in the opposite direction then?”

He looked straight ahead so I couldn’t see his face. “I must’ve gotten flipped around.”

I looked at him curiously. Maybe he’s new to the neighborhood? That would explain why I haven’t seen him around.

“You wanna eat at our apartment?” Helen slurred.

“That’s okay,” Adam said. “I’ll just walk you to your place.”

“It’s right up here.” I pointed to the steps leading to the front door of our building. “This is good here; I’ll get her up the rest of the way.”

He stopped, looked at the side of our building, and crooked his head. “Ahhh, man, I love that mural. It’s like wolves dancing in a bed of flowers.”

I followed his gaze to the large, abstract mural that took up the whole side of our building in a riot of grays, pinks, oranges, and blues.

“We always thought those streaks were blood,” Helen said, making sweeping motions with her hand.

“That’s a pretty gruesome interpretation. Those are pink and red flowers, obviously,” he countered. “Their beauty is meant to emphasize the equally wild beauty of the wolves.”

I tipped my head and squinted. “Now that you mention it, they do look like flowers. But why are the wolves angry if they’re dancing in a field of flowers?”

“Maybe they’re allergic,” Helen offered.

“Who says they’re angry?” Adam replied. “The flowers are rising up from the ground to embrace them. To me, they look happy.”

I stared at him as he stared at the mural, completely transfixed. Silence washed over us as we stood in the street, two best friends and a stranger sharing an oddly sincere moment together.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Adam,” I said, gently breaking our collective daze. “Thanks for your help.”

“No problem. It was nice to meet you, ladies.” He nodded at us, gave a little wave, and headed up the street. But as we turned and made our way up the stairs, we heard Adam call out, “Oh, I almost forgot!” He jogged back toward us, pulling a take-out container from his plastic bag. “Here, I told you I’d share.” He held the little carton out to me and looked into my eyes with total sincerity. He pushed his thick, wavy brown hair back with his other hand, and I felt something pull within me.

“That’s okay.”

“No, we’ll take it!” Helen swatted at the box, ripping it from Adam’s grasp.

He chuckled at her and then turned his attention back to me. I couldn’t pull my gaze from his, from that face full of kindness, those eyes that turned down slightly at the corners, giving him a slightly sad air. I should’ve felt uncomfortable, but I didn’t.

You know when you’re looking at someone and you can’t help but smile at how oblivious they are to their own charm? That’s what was happening to me, and it was making me feel . . . happy. Euphoric. Something indescribable. It was like we already knew each other, like we had met in a previous life. Memories that didn’t exist began exploding in my mind like fireworks.

I smiled at him; he smiled back. There was some sort of affinity between us, but I didn’t know where it was coming from, exactly. I didn’t know this guy half an hour ago, but now I needed to know him.

He glanced past me at the mural, and then he searched my eyes, squinting. “Have we met before?” he asked. Is he feeling it, too?

“No, I don’t think so.”

“But you seem so familiar to me.”

“I know, right?” I said with conviction.

He reached out for a handshake, the whole time never taking his eyes off mine. “Maybe we both have familiar faces.”

“Like, average faces?” I asked.

“Yours is anything but average.” I felt that same pull again. I let him shake my hand for an unusually long time while he continued studying me. He turned it over, palm up, and ran his index finger across it. “Long life line,” he said.

“Thanks. I think.” If he wasn’t so adorable and if I wasn’t feeling the magnetism so fiercely, I’m sure my subconscious would have been screaming, Is this guy a serial killer?

Helen yawned audibly and I realized Adam and I were just standing there, staring at each other in a trance.

“Bye, Adam,” I whispered.

His kind eyes crinkled. “Bye, Charlotte.”

I swallowed and pulled my hand out of his. After he turned to head down the street, Helen said, “What on earth was that?”

“What do you mean?” I was still blinking out of my trancelike state.

“He could have impregnated you with that look.”

I jogged up the stairs to our apartment. “Yeah, he was kinda . . .”

“Hot!” Helen blurted.

I was going to say strange, even though I liked that about him.

She went on. “Did you see the way he looked at the mural?”

“Yeah, I thought it was sweet.”

Helen stood near the door, waiting for me to unlock it. “You should have asked him out. I would have been all over that guy if he looked at me like that.”

“Too late, I guess.”

Once inside, Helen hopped up on the countertop, which sat in front of the sliding glass door that led to a small balcony overlooking the front of our building. She tore open the Chinese takeout box and began eating directly from it with the chopsticks Adam had given her.

“I can’t believe you’re eating that,” I said from the couch.

“It’s delicious!” she mumbled through a mouthful of noodles.

I rested my head against the back of the couch, closed my eyes, and yawned. “I think I’m gonna go to bed.”

“Oh my god!”

“What?” I turned around quickly.

“Look, look, there he is!” Helen was pointing toward the sliding glass door.

I popped up, slid the door open, and ran out onto the balcony. From our second-story apartment you could see all the way down to the corner, to where Adam was standing stock-still, gazing up at the street sign.

“What’s he doing?” Helen asked, joining me on the balcony.

“I think he’s lost.”

“Should we help him?”

“Adam?” I called out. He turned around and began shuffling toward our building.

“Now you can get his number,” Helen said under her breath.

“Look at him, he has no idea where he is,” I said.

“Maybe this is some weird act.”

“Adam? Are you okay?” I shouted

“Yeah. I haven’t lived here that long and I forgot my phone.” He was looking up at us from the street.

Helen leaned into me. “Help him. Let him use your phone.”

“I’ll come down and help you,” I said.

As I was walking toward the door, Helen followed me out. “Tell him he can use your phone in exchange for a kiss.”

“Not if you’re going to be watching us from the window, weirdo.”

I don’t know what changed inside of me; maybe it was his sweet smile as he stared up at me like a lost puppy while clutching his Chinese food, or maybe I was tired of always being the one to sit back and watch.

   
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