Is it crazy to say I think I've met my match. She's funny and silly and we talked all night until four am about the most randomest of things. I learned her favorite color, her favorite foods and snacks, foods she refuses to even try. Her favorite ice cream flavor. What size bra she wears. Trust me I have no idea how that even came up. Her shoe size her clothing size. What her favorite movie and tv shows are. What her favorite songs are. What her favorite book is, what tropes she will DNF immediately if she didn't know it was in the book. Everything and anything this girl was willing to share I learned and memorized into my mind like I was studying for the world's toughest test.
—
Me: Can I show you around town today?
Apple: I don't know, let me check my schedule.
Me: Haha, very funny.
Apple: Yep looks like I'm good to go.
Me: Be ready in ten.
Apple: I'll be out in twenty.
Me: fifteen.
Apple: I'll be out in twenty suck it up buttercup.
—
Half an hour later Carmella emerges from her house wearing a sage skirt and a simple white tank top. She has big gold hoops in. And her dark brown hair pulled back into a slick bun.
"If I were to tell you that my friends are coming to visit for two weeks and are staying at the house, what would you say?"
"To anyone else I would say fuck no, but sense it's you, I'll say I really don't care, just don't break anything."
"Damn, getting special treatment all ready."
"Shall we go already?"
"Who says shall?"
"Apparently me because I just did."
"Well, what a sophisticated young man you are."
"You sound like a grandma."
We reach the sidewalk and I discreetly put her on the inside.
"And you sound like you're from the 14th century."
"Blah blah blah."
She scrunches her nose and sticks out her tongue. And I return the gesture.
"What would you like to look at first?"
"A grocery store I'm going to have guest soon I need snacks."
"Right this way m'lady."
—
We walked to the 'grocery store' which is more like a convent store with more stuff. She got tons of snacks and drinks pointing out why she was getting them telling me how much she hated some of the things but how much Clara, Eden, Ocean and Serena loved them. She picked up another watermelon because she finished the other one last night.
—
We're now on our way to a bookstore because I told her I'd buy her three books.
"You know, you're not half bad."
"Let me guess you're only saying that because I'm about to buy you books?"
"No you dummy. I'm being serious, you're not as bad as I thought you were going to be."
"Wow, I really appreciate it. You're not half bad yourself."
"So we both decided that we're both not half bad."
"Seems to be like that."
We reach the dainty little store and go in. Rows and rows of books and I see Carmella light up.
"Where to first?" I whisper in her ear. It's so quiet I feel weird disrupting it.
"Romance duh." She whispers back. We make our way to a back corner where the romance novels sit.
"Oh my goodness they have From Blood and Ash!" She whisper shouts.
"Do you want it?"
"No, I've already read it but I've loved this book forever. I only read the first like two and a half though. I stopped when her brother showed up and was like 'I'm completely fine.'"
"Interesting."
"Hold on, I have to show you one of the scenes." She picks up the book and flips through the pages till she finds the one she wanted.
"God, still as good as I remember. I read this when I was like eleven. Well, I didn't read it, I listened to it on YouTube." She hands me the book and watches me intently while I read this very descriptive sex scene.
"You read this when you were, how old again?"
"Eleven or ten."
"You must be crazy."
"Some of the scenes ahhhh so good. There was this one with Kieran when Casteel needed blood and Kieran needed to be there so he didn't take too much from Poppy and kill her. And so everything started off fine and Casteel slammed Poppy up against Kieran and Kieran couldn't move because he was against the wall. And oh it was so good. But that scene you just read has been and always will be stuck in my memory forever."
—
We spent an hour and a half wandering around and her telling me all about the different books she's read and how she's never read any other genre besides romance. She also picked out three books along the way. Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum and Every Day David Levithan.
"I can't believe it's already four. I'm starving."
"We can go home, I'll make us something and then watch the sunset, sound like a plan?"
"Sounds like a very good plan." She smiles up at me.