Page 57 of Sunset Catchers

A content sigh slips from my lips, leaving behind a small-sized smile in its wake. Levi has the strangest expression on his face, one I haven’t witnessed before.

“What?” I ask, a bit self-conscious.

“Nothing. Lunch?” he asks, voice hoarse. I bob my head.

His hand finds the small of my back as he leads me across the street, toward Ben’s place. A new invisible mark for my collection.

Sip & Cin is packed with lunch break in full effect. Every table is filled with cheerful goers talking over cups of coffee or bent over laptops while they eat a quick bite. We spot Ben behind the counter, busy making coffees, which allows us to slip unnoticed to the counter and easily pay for our order. Ben’s concentrated frown smooths over when he spots us.

“Hey, guys. Taking a lunch break?”

“Yup. We’ll probably head over to the park to eat, though. The place is packed.” Levi is openly proud of his friend’s success.

“Can’t complain about it. Did you already order?”

“And paid for everything,” Levi says with a smirk. Ben sighs while steaming some milk. “Do you happen to have more of that cherry cheesecake, though?” My ears perk up at the mention of cake.

“Got a whole pie in the back. I’ll get you some.”

Once we have our drinks and food, Levi says goodbye to Ben with a promise to catch up soon, and we make our way back outside, walking across the street to a side alley that leads to a park nestled behind the main street.

There are a few other people scattered throughout the open green space. A mother pushing her giggling toddler at the swing sets. A father watching his kid go down the slides. A teenager lying on her stomach in the greening grass, reading a book. Levi leads me to one of the picnic tables, where I discard my shopping bag beside me on the bench. He places my lunch in front of me. I almost squeal of delight over this spring rolls inspired salad with rice, marinated tofu and avocado. The first sip of my oat milk iced latte hits like a straight shot of happiness in my bloodstream.

This is nice. Having lunch with Levi after a shopping session. Sitting outside and enjoying the crisp, refreshing spring air.

“What’s your cloud status?” Levi asks me. He takes a sip of his own coffee.

My cloud status? My heart stutters. I check in with myself before answering. Sure, there’s still some residual stress from that missed (ignored) call, but gone is my inner turmoil.

“Sunshiny all-around, baby.”

His chuckles are wind chimes to my ears.

“Glad to hear it,” he replies softly.

“Sorry, again, for earlier.” I wince, remembering how short I was with him. How unfair and underserved it was. I spent the entire car ride here profusely apologizing, but it still doesn’t feel enough.

“I have this thing…”

“What?”

“A temper.” Levi laughs. “And I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not great with talking about my feelings.”

“It’s barely noticeable.”

“Shut up.” I hide my grin behind my straw. “Seriously, you did a very good job. Where did you study handling a girl’s messy outburst 101?” I need to know if I’m getting soft or if Levi has some kind of special training.

“My parents have always been adamant that my siblings and I could tell them everything. They were there to listen to us whine and complain and cry and get angry. Kit is the same way. Shit, if I think too hard about all that I’ve confessed over the years, I’ll never show my face again to a family dinner.”

What a gift to grow up in a balanced household where feelings were heard and understood instead of ignored. The longing coating my throat is thick like honey.

“That must’ve been really nice.”

“Yeah, it was. When we were kids, and we’d feel really sad, my parents would drop everything on their calendar and make it a day filled with our favorite things.”

“What would you do?” I’m eagerly curious to learn more about Levi. I get it now; wanting to learn all there is to know about someone.

“My dad would cook my favorite chocolate chips pancakes for breakfast. Then we’d take a walk to my favorite bookstore to pick a new book. Pizza for lunch, then ice cream. I’d spend my afternoon reading my new book and end the day having dinner with my family.”