Small Smiles - 2. Chapter 2

I sighed, shutting my laptop and resting my head on my arms, the warmth of the laptop screen under my forearms making me shiver as it contrasted the cold of the room.

I smiled, remembering this exact scenario from three days ago, and I decided – again – that my homework could wait. I picked up my phone, leaning back in my chair, and went into my contacts. My finger hovered nervously over Micah’s name for a moment before I clicked the speech bub button, opening messages. I typed a simple ‘hey’, belatedly adding who it was, and took a deep breath before I clicked send, worried. The quiet confidence that had stemmed from that happy feeling was gone, and I was terrified of making a fool of myself in front of Micah.

I couldn’t help a smile as my phone buzzed in my hands, the screen lighting up again. Hey Derek, he’d texted back, and my fingers flew as I responded.

How are you? I asked, suddenly unsure why I’d texted and feeling lost for what to do.

Can I call you?

Sure, I replied, uncertain what to think about him ignoring my question.

The phone buzzed again, in a different pattern, and I swiped across the screen, accepting the call and lifting it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Micah’s voice came through the speaker, his contentment audible even through the distortion of the microphone.

I waited for what felt like a second too long, unsure what to say. “Umm, you OK?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Sorry, I just hate texting.”

“Oh,” I said, relieved.

He hummed as if he was thinking, and I felt the corner of my mouth twitch upwards. “You coming down to the café?”

“Maybe, are you working?”

“No, but I’ll be there if you go.”

“Getting paid to bring in customers in your off time?” I teased, getting more caught up in the conversation.

I could practically hear his grin. “Let’s just meet there, and we can go somewhere else, then,” he suggested. “I’d offer to make you hot chocolate at my place, but if you’re being that suspicious, you might not want to…?” he teased back.

“OK, your place it is,” I laughed. “Meet at the café in half an hour?”

“Sounds good,” he said warmly, his voice teetering on the edge of a chuckle.

There was a second of silence, and my previous awkwardness rushed back to fill it. “Umm, see you then, I guess?”

“Yeah, see you,” he told me, and I could picture the playful grin that must be on his face.

There was a moment of quiet, the faint sound of his soft breathing barely making it through the phone, and I began to feel even more timid, unsure if I should be hanging up now or not.

His gentle, quietly amused laugh made it to my ears, and the small smile crept back onto my face. “Bye, Derek,” he said, and I hung up with a laugh, energy returning to my movements for the first time in a while as I stood, leaving my phone on the table and heading into the washroom. I made myself presentable before grabbing my coat off the hook and putting it on. I blushed as I recalled last time, the image of Micah leaning against the doorframe and smiling, holding my coat, flashing through my mind. I shook my head, clearing it, and looked around the apartment for Larry. I found him in his room, lying back on the bed and scrutinizing the wood that was gradually taking the shape of a plane. He looked over at me as I paused awkwardly in the doorway, and I felt stupid for bothering him.

“Uh, I’m leaving again,” I said, blushing with embarrassment. “Bye, I guess.”

Larry broke out into a smile, and I felt better about it. “OK, be safe,” he told me, turning his smile back to the wood.

“Yeah… see you, Larry,” I said, giving him a small wave as I turned and left. A tiny grin worked its way onto my face, despite my best efforts, as I walked out of the house. I took my time as I strolled, not worried about getting there late, and I had to laugh as a seagull flew by, enjoying the last of the thermals as the heat in the roads faded. It was so free, floating along like that, and I felt more energetic just watching it.

I was still smiling as I walked into the café, a few minutes early but not worried about it, and I waved happily to Jane, earning a warm smile and a wave back.

“Derek! You’re back! It’s nice to see you,” she exclaimed, moving to the cash register. “Mikah’s not working today,” she said, regretful. “The hot chocolates are still good, but they’re not the same. I think he’s been wanting to see you, anyway.”

“I’m here to meet him, actually,” I told her, grinning, before really hearing what she’d said. “He mentioned me?”

“Oh, um, just conversationally,” she said, brushing nonexistent loose hairs from her forehead and looking down. “You’re not ordering anything, then?”

I shook my head. “How’s your wrist?”

She grimaced. “Sprained. It’ll heal quickly, at least.”

I heard the sound of bells and I turned, seeing a grinning face approaching.

“You’re early,” he observed, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“You are too.”

He nodded, his grin only widening. “I see you’ve got your coat this time, too,” he teased.

I blushed, but he patted my back reassuringly.

“It’s fine, you’ve got a lot of homework to stress you out, I don’t blame you for forgetting the occasional thing.”

My smile returned, unable to be subdued for long, and we turned to Jane.

“Been telling him embarrassing stories about me?” Micah asked her, smiling wryly, and she laughed nervously.

“Um… not really,” she said, looking down at the cash register again, and I gazed back and forth between them, biting my bottom lip.

He paused for a moment, watching her, and then shrugged. “OK, I’ll see you soon then, huh?”

She nodded, and I waved cheerfully to her as we turned to go. She waved back, and as we left I saw her sit back down, smiling as she watched us go.

“Hey,” Micah said, almost shyly, touching my shoulder to get my attention. “Wanna take the scenic route?”

I nodded, my lips curving again, and his mirrored them, relieved. “I think I can wait for the hot chocolate,” I joked. “Where to?”

He turned to the right, and I followed, walking beside him. It wasn’t as cold as last night, and we left our coats mostly open as we meandered slowly through the city. A silence had fallen over us, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; it was the silence of companionship, a silence only emphasized by the sounds of a rock skittering across the concrete sidewalk as we took turns kicking it. Unlike before, the happy glow stayed with me, and I couldn’t help returning his shy smile each time our eyes met. We made it to the ocean before Micah stopped, looking out over the rippled surface.

“Wanna walk barefoot on the beach? I love the feel of sand between my toes…”

“It’s cold out here,” I pointed out, watching him.

He grinned conspiratorially, his eyes twinkling at me. “So?”

I hesitated, but it sounded fun, so eventually I shrugged, giving him a silly smile. “Sure,” I said, and we pulled our shoes and socks off. I looked down, and we both laughed as we wiggled our toes, digging them into the cold sand. We carried our shoes in one hand and walked, and I couldn’t help grinning as Micah dug his feet into the sand with each step, letting it sift through his toes before he kicked it up in front of us. We were both engrossed with the sand flying through the air with each step, so it came as a surprise when we found a large hole. We paused on the edge and peered down at the fruits of a happy child’s labor, and Micah laughed.

“I used to do that,” he admitted, and jumped over the hole, turning back to look at me from the other side. I glanced at the opening, but I felt no desire to walk around it like a normal person. Instead, I grinned at Micah.

“I did too,” I said, and jumped over after him. He laughed once, delighted, and we smiled as we walked for another minute. I ended our wandering when I plopped down, lying back on the sand and closing my eyes, almost able to feel the heat of the sun on my skin as the sand tickled the back of my head.

“Why did we stop doing it?” I asked, opening my eyes and looking at him questioningly. He was sitting next to me, reclined in an identical pose. He shrugged, displacing some of the sand with his shoulders.

“Because we’ve got responsibilities, now,” he said, wrinkling up his nose. “I think I liked it better before.”

I nodded, giving him a wry smile, and he sat up, shaking the sand out of his hair. I did the same, and when I looked back at him he was gazing ahead and slightly down, his eyes on his feet but his mind far away. I pushed some sand over with my foot, covering the tops of his toes, and he blinked and looked at it, surprised. He turned to me, and I grinned, kicking more sand over his feet. He laughed, a gleeful smile appearing on his face, and dug his toes into the sand, burying his feet. He left them there, mostly covered in sand, and then wiggled his toes, exposing them to the air. I pushed more sand overtop of them, and he grinned at me before leaning back and looking up at the stars, his lips retaining a small upwards curve.

“If somebody saw us right now, what would they think?”

I smiled at him wryly. “They’d think we’re crazy.”

He wrinkled up his nose again, and I laughed at how cute he looked when he did it. “What do you think they’d feel?” he continued.

I paused, considering it. “Surprise. Maybe annoyance, maybe a little amusement.”

He nodded, wiggling his toes again and smiling at me thankfully when I covered them.

“What would they do?” he asked, his eyes dark pools in the night, giving no hint as to what he was thinking. His voice sounded slightly curious, but mostly reflective.

“Ignore us,” I decided, after a moment. “They’d walk away, ignore the crazy people, and continue on with their life.”

Micah nodded, looking back down at his toes. “Imagine that,” he said softly. “Having fun is crazy? When did life get so boring?” He looked back up at the night sky and sighed. “At what age did we grow out of enjoying things?”

I nudged his foot with mine, and he looked back down to our feet, buried in the sand. “We didn’t,” I said, grinning at him. He looked over at me, and I could see the moonlight glinting off his teeth as he smiled back.

“No,” he agreed. “We didn’t.”

The now-familiar happiness in my chest surged, and I leaned over, covering his hand with mine. He looked down at our hands splayed in the cold sand, and then slowly back up at me, his deep eyes unreadable. I looked into them, surprised at what I’d done, and slowly, the whites of his teeth were revealed by the shimmering light off the ocean as his lips parted in a happy smile.

“It’s cold out here,” Micah said, looking down at his toes again and wiggling them one last time. “Maybe we are crazy.”

I pushed a little more sand over the tips of his toes again, scooting closer to him, and he put his arm around my waist, leaning into me.

“It was fun, being crazy for a little while,” I sighed, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. He nodded, still looking at our feet, and then squeezed me gently.

“Wanna go get some cocoa, now?”

I couldn’t help smiling; the way he said cocoa was still so cute, and, best of all, I knew we wouldn’t stop being crazy anytime soon. He looked up at me, his eyes twinkling, and I leaned in closer, pressing my lips to his for a moment. His breath was warm, and it tasted faintly of hot chocolate.

“I’d love some,” I told him, my lips curving into a small smile.

I think I'll be writing more short stories, I liked doing this one.
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