Serendipity

He's an exception

Tim's hair is soft, and the strands are cold as I run my fingers through them, probably from the rain.

I open my mouth to tell him he really didn't have to come, but close it again. He won't listen to me if I start saying things like that. Instead, I start squeezing out the water with the towel.

"You have a lot of hair," I comment, noticing how soaked the portion of the towel I'm using to dry him with is. He nods.

"I got it from my dad," He says. "My brother got my mom's thin hair."

I pause. "Brother?" This is new information. Since when does Tim have a brother?

"Yeah. I haven't told you about him yet?" Tim tilts his head slightly. "Huh. Well, yeah, I've got a brother. But he's stationed in Virginia right now, so he doesn't live with us."

"Is he in the military?"

"Yep. The Marines," Tim laughs, and I catch a hint of bitterness coating the edges of his voice. "He's also a royal douche."

"Royal, eh?" I tug on a section of Tim's hair with a dry corner of the towel, and he flinches.

"I try to avoid him," He admits. "That's also probably why you've never heard me talking about him."

"Funny how we both have older siblings, isn't it?" I ask.

"Except yours is actually cool," Tim sighs. "I really hope you never have to meet Ryan."

"Ryan's your brother?" I confirm.

Tim nods. "Ryan the Royal Douche."

I snort. "From what little I've heard from him, I hope I don't have to meet him either."

"Let's hope."

And by then I'm done drying off his hair, so I pat his head, running my fingers through his new fluffy 'do.

He leans his head back into my lap, and his eyes slide up to meet my gaze.

"You know," Tim says slowly. "You're pretty."

I blush. "Yeah? How so?"

"Everything," He licks his lips thoughtfully. "I could elaborate, but then I'd just sound shallow."

"I don't think you'd sound shallow," I tell him. He smiles.

"Well, I have a ongoing list of things," He blows me a kiss. "If you wanna hear them."

I shrug, my face refusing to cool down. I also don't trust my voice to not come out as a squeak, so I stay quiet as he inhales.

"Starting off, there's your eyes-"

"Dirt brown and ugly," I finish for him. He rolls his eyes.

"-Brown like... Have you ever seen oak trees after a good rain?"

I nod, picturing the dark, rich brown. The color reminds me of life.

"Yeah, like that," Tim looks proud of his tree reference. "And your nose-"

"Curls up like a pig," I nod.

"Quit interrupting me," Tim purses his lips. "Your nose looks like it was sculpted by one of those cool gods. Yeah, it curls up, but not like a pig- have you ever even seen a pig? It's...a button nose, at least I think that's the proper name for it." He reaches up to tap his finger against my nose, but ends up missing and tapping my upper lip instead. "Oh, and these-" He taps my lip again.

"You know, I actually like the way my lips look," I swipe my tongue across them self-consciously.

"Good, because they're pretty, too," Tim smiles. Apparently pleased with my satisfaction with that aspect of my face, he moves on. "And to go back to your eyes, you have the most luscious lashes I've ever seen."