Page 15 of Dirty Chorus

“Hey...” I say and pull his beanie off my head. It’s soft to the touch and laced with the warm scent of dryer sheets. The logo is white, and it’s a crown of thorns, with three roses woven in, and nails lying outside.

“You okay?” Noah asks while his Converse crunch against gravel. The orange patio light highlights his features. The perfect little indent rests in the middle of his chin, and there’s even a microscopic dent at the tip of his nose. He’s actually attractive for someone wearing nothing but black.

“Yeah... I guess.” I pass him the beanie, but he holds up his hand, shaking it.

“You can keep it.” I glance down at it again before tugging it back over my head. I bring my knees up to my chest and hug them. “You look good wearing it,” he says.

“Thanks...”

“I’m sorry about your boyfriend.”

Bugs buzz by, and I watch them hit the orange patio light like zombies. “He’s not my boyfriend anymore...” A beetle hits the light and falls to the patio deck with a light tap. It’s upside down with its legs flailing in all directions. “He’s just like every other guy on this planet. I didn’t want to ride his dick... so he found someone else to do it.”

“How long were you two together?” he asks as he flips the beetle over with an index finger. The second it opens its wings and flies off, I flinch.

“About six months. Maybe two in total with how many times we broke up.”

“Oh...”

“Look, I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like you chatting it up with me. I’m just some random chick you barely know that sniffs Sharpies in her spare time.” I pick at my nails with the urge to rip off the pink polish. “I know I’d be losing my goddamn mind.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.” He visibly swallows and his foot taps against the loose gravel. “I don’t have a girlfriend...” He pauses, and runs a hand over his neck. “She’s a friend, and was a random, drunk one night stand and now she has a crush on me, but I don’t see her like that.” He presses his lips together, glancing away from me.

“But you two were...?”

“I know...”

“Why are you sitting here with me?” I bite my bottom lip. He rubs his palms together in silence.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Okay? Why would you even care? I’ve caused you enough trouble, I’m sure you got blue balls from me too.”

“I mean, there's always a way to fix it.” He gives me a hand gesture of jerking his junk flashing me a half smile and a raised eyebrow.

I shake my head, biting back a small laugh. “Right...”

“There’s that smile. Umm, look, just because you’ve made my life hell by graffitiing that bathroom doesn’t mean I wanna see you get hurt. Especially by some guy not appreciating how beautiful you are.”

“I’m beautiful?”

“Yes, very… very beautiful.”

I think my cheeks turned cherry-red as the heat crawled underneath my skin.

“So, are you trying to lure me into the bathroom next, is that your plan?” I find my purse resting next to my thigh and unzip it. “I already know how the game works. You’re gonna start texting me daily, ask me how my day is, tell me good morning, call me beautiful, send me memes daily. That’s what you’re going to do, right? Until I cave in and date you... then you’re gonna beg me to sit on your lap, or suck you...”

Noah raises an eyebrow. “I’m not looking to date anyone.”

“Oh, please.” I grab a piece of gum and chuckle as I pop in a piece of cinnamon goodness. “Every guy I’ve met is the same. Here, keep my beanie. It’s a sacrificial offering. You’re going to do the same thing until you get, or don’t get, what you want. Putting things in my body holes.”

“Well, not all guys are like that.” He leans over, grasping my purse and plopping it into his lap. Girls would probably become extremely possessive and snatch it back, but I let him dig around my mess. “Yeah you saw a girl sucking me off but that doesn’t mean I use girls.” He steals a piece of gum. “Hmm, cinnamon.”

“Please don’t lie to me.”

“Why did you offer me your number then? Honestly? For someone who had a boyfriend, you were quick to give me your number.” He folds up the silver wrapper into a tight ball, rolling it in his fingers.

“I dunno.”