Strangers | ✔️

ten

friday ☼

The word rang in my head. Stranger. It grew gibberish if you repeated it too much in your head. I was starting to think I was the one who had just woken from a nap, not Damien.

Another soft laugh came from the line.

"I think we can work with that, darl. I'm sure strangers go out all the time,"

I could barely interpret his tone over the phone, and my brain ran at a million miles a minute just to process what he'd uttered.

"Oh," Confusion laced my soft voice, and I bit on my lip, adhering to my shaky assumption. "You scared me for a second there," I kept my voice light, though it still shook with fear that he wasn't joking.

A pause. I could hear his soft breathing, calm like waves. "Oh," He muttered, like he'd just realized what misunderstanding he could've caused with the joke. "Oh, I'm sorry." His tone was light. Yet another pause.

"Here," He exclaimed after my silence. "What's your address?" Soft shuffling, and his voice grew grainy, like he'd put me on speaker then dropped his phone on the bed.

"My address?" Hesitantly, I gave him the vague version of my address, then the name of my apartment.

"Ah, good enough. Your parents aren't home, are they?"

"No..." But what did that have to do with anything?

Damien grunted from halfway across his room. "Alright, give me ten. I'll be there."

"What– no, Damien, you can't just–"

"I'll call when I'm there and wait for you downstairs. See you." He hung up.

* * *

I gripped my phone in front of me, waiting for Damien's call. But what informed me of his arrival wasn't a call, but a hand-me-down car of some brand that slid to a stop parallel to the sidewalk. I looked down at my phone, but nothing. Clearly he'd seen me and decided it was unnecessary to call. I nervously walked towards the car and gave a small wave as he opened his car door. After closing the door, he took his sunglasses off and tossed them onto his car seat through the open window.

As he approached me, the smile on his face grew clearer. I pocketed my phone.

"Hi," I chirruped, my breath quite taken away, and he surprised me with no words but a big hug. "Oh," I muttered and returned the sentiment, breathing in his scent and letting my arms tighten around his waist.

"I missed you," He muttered into my hair, and I closed my eyes against his chest.

"Me too," I barely murmured, not wanting to wet his shirt with my lips.

After a solid thirty seconds, he pulled back, and I reluctantly looked up, sheepishly smiling.

"I–" He interrupted me once again, this time pressing his lips against mine. His mouth barely opened and he barely moved, just pressing into me like he wanted to suck my soul out. It felt more like yet another long embrace than a kiss, but he still made my knees weak. After finally letting me go, he let out a long sigh and we both breathed deeply. He gazed down at me almost cheekily.

"Hey," He finally greeted.

And that was it. That was all the confirmation I need, that Damien was a genuine charmer that might just be interested in me. I almost giggled, pulling a hand up to my face to hide a giddy smile.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked, and his arms tightened around my waist, pulling me closer. He pursed his lips.

"Like what?"

"Like that!" I let out an exasperated noise and buried my head in his chest instead of excruciatingly keeping eye contact with him. After a breathy laughing session from both of us, I finally looked up again. He pursed his lips again, like he was desperately trying to keep his smile to himself.

"Because I like you," He finally answered, looking at me with bright eyes. "And I haven't liked anyone in a long time." His words made my heart melt. No 'I love you's or 'you're so beautiful'. Just, 'I like you'.

"I like you, too," I replied. "A lot!" I added when he didn't say anything, as if to prove my point. He bit in a laugh, and his eyes narrowed like crescent moons as his growing smile compelled them to light up.

"Okay," He accepted the confession after a long pause, still holding me tightly. "Care to come get a popsicle with me, then?"