And now we're sitting in hos car, eating Tacos. Something I honestly never thought I'd be doing, but then again, it's DeAndre, and he's the most unpredictable person ever, so let's hope he speeds this up.
"looks like rain," I say, breaking the silence, the fun part is watching him try to muffle through his words, letting out an incoherent sentence, which I ignore because well, he looks cute doing it, and I'm just stupid.
"Well, we're leaving right now, so don't worry your pretty little head about it" he fixes up his lap before sitting up straight and fixing his hands on the steering wheel, "are you ready to leave?" I nod my head yes, and we're out of the parking lot, thankfully so, felt like that was my murder scene.
After what seems like forever, we pull up to the lake, ah yes, the notorious lake, it's beautiful around this time.
"you know I didn't bring any swimwear right?" I ask, admiring the slight sheen and reflection of the stars on the water, it's beautiful, probably cold, but beautiful none the less. "you won't need a swimsuit, we're just here to talk" he grabs my hand and leads me to a little picnic spot, I mean of course it's dark so he uses his flashlight and he has candles in his hand, but it's thoughtful, at least I think so.
"sit right here, I promise I won't kill you....unless I have to" he says, tickling me, something I'd normally hate, but come on, it's DeAndre, him and that beautiful voice of his. "Tell me about yourself," he says, grabbing the candles from the box and lighting them, "well, my name is Dom, and I hate cats? I guess, I don't know what you want to know"
"I wanna know everything, what do you like, what's your biggest fear, your scars, your demons, give it all to me and I'll give mine to you" he smiles, and not like the awkward smile he's always giving people just to be nice, he's genuinely smiling.
"well...I don't know much about myself honestly, I like reading I guess, I'm good at math, I'm very politically inclined, and I guess I like you, that's what I like" I turn to him, he looks fascinated, almost.
"well I'm DeAndre, my friends call me Re though, my mom's Caribbean and my dad's afro latino, so you know, that's always great, I like dancing, and I want to make it to New York school of performing arts, I don't think I'll make it though, my financial situation doesn't really permit for dreams" as soon as he says that, I realize it, it dawns on me that maybe we don't have much in common, and maybe we're not Bonnie and Clyde, but we have the same experience, that's what makes us Dom and Dea, we're endgame, even though I've known him for a few weeks.
"you said you liked books, what's your favorite one?" he asks, realizing that I've zoned out of the conversation, "I like them all, I think they're all works of art, but my favorites are definitely Romeo and Juliet, Mobison Dick and To Kill A Mockingbird" he looks at me, his eyes clearly question my book choices.
"well, I like Mobison Dick because, despite all the conspiracies about what the whale represents, the author has been caught on record saying the whale represents nothing, and his greatest fear was that his book would be perceived as being some weird code, or as having 'hidden meaning' Whatever else can be said about it, the book is a clear source of cultural reference and jokes and allusions you otherwise wouldn't get anywhere else. The very ideas of the white whale, the crazed captain! Even though it has no hidden meaning, I find it truly poetic." by the time I'm done with my little synopsis, DeAndre is sitting up and pretty interested in what I have to say, and I'm surprised honestly.
"that's, lengthy, interesting, but lengthy none the less, so what's with Romeo and Juliet? Don't they commit suicide together or something?" he asks, for once someone genuinely sounds interested in the books I like, it makes me feel way more special than it should.
"well, technically yes, but it's symbolism, it's all about literature, understanding text, the poison was symbolic of the feud between their families, the feud was deadly, and so it not only killed Romeo and Juliet, but it also, I believe, slowly killed everyone who partook in it. Romeo and Juliet were in a toxic relationship, so much so that their addiction with one another led to their deaths, or, as some may label it, suicide." we chats some more on this, and while I'd love to share all the details, of all the times I'll be with DeAndre, you'll know, I think it's fair you let us keep one moment to ourselves, or at least the moment at the lake.
We left the lake when it started raining. Well that's a lie, for a while we danced and kissed in the rain, but now I'm wet, I'm in DeAndre's t shirt, and we're headed to my place, he promised my sister he'd drop me off. The awkward music is drowned out by the fact that De is literally on his phone reading texts and smiling, which, I get it, ok, we're not dating, but it's still rude.
Well, rude gestures or not, we're home now, and he goes all the way around the car to open my door for me, before opening up his umbrella and heading up to our apartment with me. When we finally get upstairs to the apartment, it's dark, and it looks like everyone's sleeping, which is a relief. He walks me up to my room, helps me dry up, tucks me into bed, and then he plants a kiss on my forehead, "goodnight Dom, I'll see you tomorrow I guess" I say goodnight to him too and he leaves. He leaves the light on, because, of course he remembers that talk about me being afraid of the dark.
And for the rest of the night, that's where my mind is, with him, that's where my heart is too, I'm not scared, I'm excited though, to see where this goes.