Beyond Desire

37-Neither one would leave me unscathed.

When are you going to stop this?" I picked my phone from the island, pressed it to my ear, and walked out of the kitchen with a vase in my other hand, a single lily floating inside.

Khalid chuckled on the other end. "Maybe when lilies go extinct. Until then, don't hold your breath."

"I will probably run out of vases long before lilies run out of lives,"  I placed the vase on the entryway console. "Plus, my mother is going to raise an eyebrow soon. She actually got today's delivery before I did."

"She did?" There was amusement in his voice. "And what did she say?"

"She said I was moving shady and that she'd soon 'light up my path' so we could both see what I was doing, together."

I grinned, just remembering how she stood by the entrance this morning, my delivered lily in her hand. Thankfully, she hadn't read the note that came with it. That would have been a different interrogation.

"I see where your flair for drama comes from," he lightly stated.

"Oh, you haven't seen drama yet," I sank into the couch. "Wait till she calls you herself to demand why you're sending her daughter flowers every other day."

There was a pause. Then with a delighted laugh, he asked. "She'd do that?"

"She once called someone I barely knew to demand a clear explanation of his role in my life simply because I mentioned his name twice in a day."

There was a longer pause this time around. "If I understand correctly," he said carefully, "she just loves clarity."

"Oh, in everything,"

"That's not a bad thing."

I scoffed. "I hope you keep that optimism after she's done with you." In an attempt to change the subject, I asked. "What are you doing?"

"Reading." I heard the ruffling of paper after he spoke.

My excitement surged. "Really? What book?"

"The Wretched of the Earth."

"No, you are not reading Fanon's." I yanked my back off the couch in sheer giddiness. Not even in my wildest dream would I believe he would really check out the author I had once casually recommended.

"Of course I am. Why would I lie?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "So you will sound impressive?"

He sighed and mumbled "Lily." under his breath, like he couldn't fathom why I would even think that of him.

"What page are you on?" I exclaimed, dying to keep the conversation going.

"You sound like you're about to spoil the book for me, so I'll pass."

"I won't," I quickly declared, settling back. "I Promise."

"How about I give you my thoughts on it when I'm done?"

My lips curved. "Like a book club? We can create our own book club."

Silence stretched between us for a second after I said that, it was comfortable and charged, and I could tell that for some reason, he was thinking about what I just said.

"I like how your mind works," he spoke unexpectedly. "The way you think and speak... they tell me things."

"Oh?" I raised a brow. "And what do they tell you, exactly?"

"That conversations with you never stay where they start. One moment it's flowers, the next it's your mother, then suddenly I'm being quizzed about Fanon and book clubs."