Chapter 6

“So tell me, why don’t you drive long distances?” I asked Damian.

We were currently in the kitchen, where he was making some pasta baked with sausages. I had never had that, but it smelled really nice already, and I planned on enjoying it.

“Long story,” he laughed.

“We have all evening,” I told him “And why are you laughing? Hope it’s not something lame?”

“No no, it’s nothing like that,” he replied “Give me a minute.” He put his pasta mixture in the oven and came to stand between my legs. I was sitting on the kitchen counter, beside the tap.

“What are you doing?” I inquired.

“What?” he asked like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

“Why are you standing here?” I clarified.

“I just like it,” he responded, and I laughed.

“Okay, explain yourself,” I urged him.

“Okay, so when I just started my bachelor studies, my dad got me a car, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to go on a trip with a few friends, in my new car,” he started off “We left early in the morning, and it was all fun and games until my right arm got a cramp and I couldn’t even move it, it was horrible,” he explained.

“Oh my God,” I exclaimed “Please tell me you all figured something out.”

“Within seconds my entire body was cramped and it hurt so bad when I tried to move. I became completely static, and all that was in my mind was the fact that we were going to die, and I would be the cause of my friend’s death. My friends tried to help, but to no avail, and within seconds, we were crashing into a roadside fast food restaurant. It was crazy,” I could feel him trying to hold back the pain, so I hugged him, and he hugged me back.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. We remained like that for a while, until he decided to finish his story.

“I only remember waking up to my mother crying beside me, and when they were cautious enough. She and my dad told me my friends were fine, and no one in the restaurant was injured since it was just opening, and there was no one there yet. My dad had to pay the restaurant owner for damages though, but the entire experience made me really scared of driving, and even entering a car for a while” he concluded.

“I’m so sorry Damian, I would be scared of driving too if that happened to me,” I tried consoling him.

“Thank you, it's fine,” he replied, letting go of me “I’m sure the pasta is ready,” he said, bringing out the pasta from the oven. The smell hit me immediately;

“Oh God,” I moaned “Smells like heaven,” I complimented.

“Tastes even better,” he boasted.

“Hmm overconfidence,” I commented.

“It’s not that, I trust my hands,” he said.

“Okay sir, let’s serve this and test your skills,” I said, and we laughed.

He put small amounts on two plates, and carried both of them to the living room, while I took two water bottles from the fridge and followed him. We set everything on the dining table and sat down. I picked up a piece of pasta with a fork and ate it.

“Mmm, taste good,” I complimented; he didn’t know I was tasting to see if it was something I could actually eat, there were a lot of things I just didn’t like.

“Just that, taste it again,” he instructed.

 That time around, I took a forkful, with everything else; sausages and all, and ate.

“Oh my God, it’s yummy,” I exclaimed, rolling my eyes because it was actually that good.

“Told you,” he smiled.

“Stop smiling, it’s not bad,” I lied.

“Please, the compliment is all over your face,” he said.

“What,” I was confused, was there something on my face? I touched it.

“No silly, you're blushing so hard, so I know you’re enjoying it,” he clarified to me.

“Don’t call me silly, silly,” I joked with him.

“But you just called me silly too,” he remarked.

“Okay, it’s 50/50, no more silly remarks,” I said. He put his hands up in surrender.

We ate in silence, mostly on the phone, but it didn’t seem rude.

When we were done, he offered to wash the dishes, and I let him because I was that lazy, but while he washed and rinsed, I dried them.

“Can I ask you the last question for the night,” I asked him.

“Go ahead,” he replied.

“It’s a little intrusive,” I continued.

“Is it about Ann,” he asked in a low tone, not looking at me.

“Yes,” I whispered, feeling a little guilty, but still wanting to know.

“What do you want to know?”

“How long have you been together?”

“Three years,” he answered, then turned around and leaned on the counter.

“I met her in my second year of university, and since then it’s been just her. We’ve had a lot of fights this year though, and I sensed the break-up coming already,” he explained.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized to him for the millionth time that night.

“It’s fine,” he said, then smiled at me.

“What?” I asked him, smiling along with him because I couldn’t help it.

“You didn’t sleep here last night,” he tells me. Ohh.

“I had dinner with someone,” I said, suddenly remembering Caleb hadn’t reached out ever since.

“Ohh, dinner that lasted all night, I see,” he noted.

“I went home,” I suddenly felt bad.

“What’s wrong,” he inquired.

“He hasn’t reached out to me since he dropped me off this morning,” I told him.

“I’m sorry,” it was his turn to console me “Maybe he is busy,” he suggested.

“Yeah maybe,” I said. Something in me was already giving ghosted vibes, but I didn’t want to discuss that with him, I had shared enough.

“Well, thanks for dinner, I should go to bed early, I have work and classes tomorrow,” I said, trying to run away.

“It’s still six p.m. too early, let’s watch a movie, or better still play a video game to drown away our sad lives,” he joked, and I laughed.

“Ha, speak for yourself,” I countered him “What games do you have in mind?” I asked.

“You don’t wanna watch a movie?” he questioned.

“Needs too much concentration, I just wanna have fun,” I said excitedly. I didn’t know how to play any video games, but I was open to learning.

“Which do you play? I’ll play any,” he said.

“What do you have,” I asked.

“Ps?” he suggested.

“Okay,” I said, “I don’t know anything about playing that.” Laughing, I went on “The only video game I ever played was mortal kombat and I was twelve, but I wanna learn,” I confessed.

“Favorite player”

“Sonia,” I laughed again, and he joined me this time around.

Two hours later, Damian was laughing his ass off on the floor. He had been teaching me, but I kept messing up. All I could do was select my players, but I kept confusing the controls when it came to playing.

“You can’t keep laughing at me, I’m still learning,” I told him.

“I know, I know, it’s just funny that you keep running away from the ball instead of kicking it,” he laughed on. I checked my phone, and it was time to go to bed.

“Okay,” I said standing up “I have to wake up early tomorrow, we’ll continue this another day”

“You want to leave me here alone?” he pouted.

“I’m sorry, just school and all that, I need to rest”

“I get it,” he said standing up and turning off the game.

“Thanks for tonight, the food, and game,” I thanked him.

“It’s nothing, was an honor, just make sure you actually go to bed, don’t start worrying about unnecessary things, we don’t want this apartment to turn gray because of your bad mood,” he joked, smiling broadly.

“Okay Damian, just make sure you don’t cry yourself to sleep, we don’t want to wake up to a river in the house,” I returned his joke, smiling too.

“Goodnight Ash”

“Goodnight Damian.”