Page 50 of Sunset Catchers

“Thanks, Win.”

Each grabbing an end of the couch, Ben and Levi shuffle it inside, struggling when it comes time to get it through the door.

I keep yelling at them to pivot. But neither of them, as it turns out, ever watched Friends and so they stare at me in confusion; very disappointing.

While the guys stand side by side, they watch as I do my thing. I prod the cushions and inspect the couch. I sit down, bouncing on the cushion.

“Much more comfortable than I thought it would be. Good.” Then I lean over and run my hand over the fringe. “Love a fringe moment so much.” I get up, bobbing my head in a satisfied way, then go to stand by Levi’s side, my hands propped up on my hips.

“It’s perfect,” I marvel. “Thank you, Ben, for letting us use your truck and your time.”

“Glad I could be of help. Don’t hesitate if you need anything else.”

Ben winks at me, and I get the strong impression that Levi would pee on me to mark me if it were something humans did. He’s a very territorial friend.

“I’ll walk you out,” Levi says hastily to his best friend.

I bid farewell to Ben.

When Levi comes back into his cottage, he finds me fully splayed on my back on the couch. He goes to the kitchen first to drop his loot of snacks on the counter. I pull myself up on my feet when he approaches me. “What is that?” I ask, eying the cup he’s holding in his outstretched hand.

Levi is, dare I say, nervous.

“It’s a grape soda slushie.” Our fingers brush while I grab the cup from him, and a spark runs down the nerve in my arm. “Grape is your favorite flavor,” he explains.

“You remembered?”

My voice sounds shrill; a tiny fracture in my composure. I’m offering him more clarity than I want to. Levi furrows his brows in confusion.

“Of course, Win. I remember everything you told me.”

“Thank you.”

I can’t help but smile.

…

I think my genetic code just got rewritten.

All because of a blue-eyed guy who remembered something I told him, saw that something and thought about me, then bought that something for me because he knew it would make me happy.

I am ambivalent when it comes to deciding between feeling utterly pathetic or extremely sad that this simple gesture has rattled my being this much.

This is all new for me.

Sure, I do have an awesome best friend, but Junie’s love language is all about those words of affirmation I so dearly need to hear, but it also means that she rarely comes back home to our apartment bearing gifts.

I slurp on my slushie. Levi is sitting on his side of the new old couch, drinking his own slushie, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and that pair of grey sweatpants, and what is it with a man in a pair of grey sweatpants that is so attractive?

I reached for the array of bowls lined up between us, grabbing a gummy worm and a handful of extra butter popcorn. The cheese pizza is long gone. When our gazes catch, we each let a small half-smile curl on our faces. I wish I could smash them together to get a full curve.

“So, should we choose a movie to watch?” Levi says while gesturing to the projector screen lit up on the wall. I’m thinking we should add string lights around it to make it extra special.

“That’s what we’re doing,” I shoot back, feigning complete innocence.

“We’ve been watching trailers for the last hour, Win.” I ignore the new heat that makes it’s bed in my stomach like a purring cat at the sound of my shortened name out of Levi’s mouth. He’s been calling me Win for a while; I’m not entirely sure of the reason behind this new effect.

“Yes. Trailers of movies…”