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awk•ward
adjective
To cause or feel embarrassment.
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The guy in the suit came by again. He asked to come in, and Kaitlyn gladly accepted. They joined each other on the couch in the living room.
"I just want to apologize for making it so awkward yesterday." He paused and gave Kaitlyn a look as if to wait for a response from her. When he saw none, he furrowed his eyebrows, but still continued. "By 'it,' I mean our introduction. I know it was kind of wierd for me to follow you to your dorm-room with my only intent being to congratulate you for being brave. Now that I think about it, it was also kind of wierd for me to come here today, because I just wanted to tell you my name."
The situation was the very definition of awkward. Kaitlyn just nodded and smiled, so the man was forced to continue.
"My name's Dallon," he said slowly, giving Kaitlyn a look as if to say that she could speak up at any time. After a while, Dallon sat up straight. He tried to put on a more comfortable expression. "You don't speak much, do you?"
Kaitlyn bit her lip. She didn't know how to go about it: break her practical vow of silence or completely creep Dallon out with her silent glares. To which, she chose something nearer to the latter and simply shook her head.
"Well, do you have a name?"
Kaitlyn nodded and took a Sharpie out of the pen cup that sat on the coffee table near her. Dallon was confused when Kaitlyn gestured for him to extend his arm toward her, even though he did.
Dallon was tickled when Kaitlyn wrote on his left forearm. She wrote so lightly that it felt like a feather.
She wrote, "Kaitlyn- I'm mute."
Dallon could barely stutter anything out. He leaned in closer in order to commiserate with Kaitlyn on her unfortunate circumstance. "I'm so sorry," he said lowly, comfortably, "I didn't mean to come off as rude at all. I just didn't know."
Kaitlyn shrugged and kept a comfortable smile on her face so that Dallon didn't feel too bad, even though he did. He grieved for Kaitlyn's roommate, who probably underwent graceless situations with Kaitlyn time after time.
Dallon and Kaitlyn sat in silence for a little bit. The silence gave Kaitlyn a pain in her stomach. She felt so bad for Dallon. She wished he'd just walk away and this painful conversation could be over.
When Dallon noticed the way Kaitlyn was painfully biting her lip, he smiled at her. "Can I borrow your pen?"
Kaitlyn was obliged to do anything to get herself out of that stupidly awkward situation.
Dallon's hands were cold. Kaitlyn practically shivered as he chastely grabbed her hand and wrote his phone number on it.
"Okay. Now that we've tattooed each other's arms, I think I can bid you a good day?"
Kaitlyn nodded with a smile and the both painful and beautiful setting with Dallon ended just as painfully awkwardly as it had started. Before he walked out of her door, Dallon wasn't sure what to say. "Thank you," he said. His voice cracked painfully, and he wished he hadn't said anything at all.
