Chapter 71 You taste like butter
NEW YORK CITY
Saraphina
You probably do not remember much from school. I know I do not.
I was in classrooms for as long as I can think back. Now, after four more years of it, I was finally done. I was officially a citizen of what people like to call the real world.
What did I actually learn from all that time? I could not tell you.
Today was graduation. Loiusa and Clement flew all the way from Hawaii for it. Just them, though. No Ryan. In case you were thinking about him.
After he took off from New York last year, my mom mentioned he went back to Hawaii for a little while. Then he left again, headed who knows where. He has not been back since. He never tells anyone his plans. Sometimes a postcard shows up for Clement, but that is it. Loiusa said the last one came about a month ago, from somewhere in Mexico.
So, while Ryan chose to become a guy who just wanders the earth, I chose to become an intern at the New Yorker Magazine. Yes, I took the job. It is absolute chaos there, but I love it. Every single minute.
They say time fixes everything. I was beginning to think maybe that is true. I think Ryan and I both found the ending we needed, so now we could each go our own way. He was right, after all. We just live.
After the ceremony, I had a nice lunch with Loiusa and Clement. They were so proud, seeing me do well. Clement even started comparing me to Ryan, saying he wished Ryan had gone to college or found something more solid to do. But he said, as long as Ryan is happy, he is happy too.
Talking about Ryan with Clement was uncomfortable. I had to act like I barely knew him. My mom kept shooting me these looks the whole time.
After we ate, Mom and Clement went off for a big New York day. Museums, a Broadway show later. I went home. I had plans.
It was a thing we did now. Cole, Elle, her boyfriend, and me. Movie night, twice a month. Tonight was the night.
When I got to my apartment, Cole was already on my couch. I was not shocked. He knows where I keep the spare key, yes, under the potted cactus. I am not a criminal mastermind.
“I have the popcorn and the movie! You ready?” He was practically glowing when I walked in.
“If it is anything except SAW, I will survive,” I said. “Where’s Elle?”
“She had an emergency.”
“What kind of emergency?”
“I am just reading her text, okay? These are not my words: ‘Hey Cole, sorry about movie night. Have to take my boyfriend to the emergency room. He was tickling me during foreplay and I kneed him in the balls. Tell Saraphina sorry and congrats on graduating.’”
Cole and I stared at each other. There was a quiet pause, about three seconds long, and then we both lost it laughing.
“Oh my god, Elle,” I snorted, wiping my eyes.
“You have to admire the honesty,” Cole chuckled.
I sat down next to him on the sofa. “So, what are we watching?”
His arm went right around me, and I leaned into his chest.
“Your absolute favorite!” he said, clicking the remote.
“Casablanca,” I said flatly.
“Casablanca!” he announced. “Humphrey Bogart, do your thing.”
Truthfully, I would rather watch SAW. I could not stand this movie anymore… not after everything. But whatever. It is just a movie. No big deal.
Also, I should say. Cole and I, we were a thing now. Actually together.
It began a year ago, after Ryan left. Cole showed up at my door. He came at the exact moment I needed someone. I told him how shattered I was, and he listened to all of it. He stayed up with me. We ate ice cream and watched bad TV until we fell asleep. Just like that, I had my best friend back.
A few months later, I started seeing things about Cole I never really saw before. Like, when we walked outside, he always moved between me and the street, shielding me from cars and puddles. He knew my Starbucks order by heart and brought it for every early class. He always knew when my period was coming and would show up with candy so I would not get mean.
Those little things got to me.
One night, he came over to fix my useless oven. I watched him, his head stuck in there, totally focused. He was fighting with it, but he would not quit.
“You okay in there? Please do not light your face on fire again.”
“Ha ha,” he said, his voice muffled. “That was eight years ago. Let it go.”
“Never. It was perfect. Who burns off one eyebrow on a Bunsen burner the first day of lab?”
“Okay, in my defense?” He pulled his head out and looked at me. “That was your fault.”
“Mine?”
“Yeah. You distracted me. You had on this blue dress with stripes, your hair was up, and you would not stop talking about electrolytes in water. And I just thought… this girl is so fucking beautiful and so smart. Next thing I knew, something was burning.”
I could not stop the huge smile that spread across my face.
“I cannot believe you remember what I wore that day.”
He just shrugged, with this shy, sweet grin. I loved that grin. His whole face smiled, even his eyes.
“Cole,” I said. “Remember when you told me to tell you if I was ever over him?” I waited a beat. “I think I am.”
For a second, he just looked stunned. Then he smiled, a real one, and I smiled back.
I did not want to think too hard. I just leaned in. He leaned in, too. And then we were kissing.
He put his fingers under my chin, drawing me closer, kissing me deeper. It was nice. Really sweet. His lips were soft. His touch was warm and careful.
I thought kissing my best friend would feel strange. But it did not. It felt… important.
So, yeah. It had been a few months. Cole and I were officially a couple.
“Stop keeping the popcorn to yourself!” I said, as he held the bowl out of my reach.
“Then come and get it,” he grinned.
We looked at each other, and I smiled without meaning to. He leaned in until our noses touched, then he stopped. He was just watching me, waiting. So I tilted my head and kissed him.
His lips were warm and soft, even softer than I remembered. His tongue touched my lips and I opened my mouth with a quiet sound.
“You taste like butter,” I whispered against his mouth.
“You taste like you,” he murmured back, smiling into the kiss.