Sunset Memories

Chapter 18 - My Love For Underwear

On February 13th, I set my watch alarm for 6:27 a.m. the next day. The ticker flicked on and off as I got ready for bed. A second later, Danielle walked in. Her hair was wet from a shower and she was wearing matching blue PJ's. 

     ''Hey,'' she said.  

     ''Hey. Did you get that last question for Mr. Brosch's homework?''

     She hopped on the bed. ''Luca, the answer was 27.''

     ''Oh . . . just asking.''

     I sat down on the blankets that I was still sleeping in. They needed to be washed.

     Danielle was watching me. She said, ''Come up here with me.''

     I locked on her eyes for a second before sitting down on the bed with her.

     ''How's your wrist?''

     ''It's okay.'' She lay down on her back. The fading sunset spread across her face. ''I don't know what to get you for tomorrow,'' she whispered. Her voice was crisp.

     ''You don't have to get me anything,'' I said. 

     She closed her eyes and grinned. She looked like a piece of art, lovely and unreachable. I felt like sketching her. 

     ''You're sweet,'' she said quietly, sitting up and pressing her shoulder to mine. ''And modest. I like that about you. I like a lot of things about you.''

     I felt my face warm up, so I looked away and stared at my knees. My jeans were crinkled. They felt warm and soft.

     I searched for something to say.

     Apparently, so was Danielle.

     We sat in a silence. It was deathly and cold, the rays of sun slowly seeping out and into darkness. I felt guilty and warm. Say something. But what? I like your drawings. You have a great voice. No! That's lame! I racked my brains, but nothing came. 

     Then I realized that the best words didn't have to said aloud.

     Danielle was looking at a distant spot on the floor. Something invisible that I couldn't see. She looked lonely, but not depressed. Cold. Unprotected. Vulnerable.

     The last sun rays disappeared from the room.

     I kissed her on the cheek.

     Her skin was baby-soft. She tasted like soap, a fresh salty thing on my mouth, and she smelt like my shampoo. It wasn't strawberry. Peppermint. She had used my shampoo. 

     I pulled away. ''Was wir gerne über jemanden ist Zärtlichkeit. Was wir lieben über jemanden ist Freundschaft,'' I whispered. 

     A tiny smile formed on her lips. ''What does that mean?'' she asked without looking at me. 

     I recited. ''What we like about someone is endearment. What we love about someone is friendship.'' 

     Danielle raised her head. ''Who said that?'' 

     I started to stand, and as I did, I leaned in so our eyes were only centimeters apart. 

     ''Me,'' I answered.

     Then I turned off the lights, pulled off my shirt, and crawled into the blankets on the floor, which were still needing to be washed.

     ''Goodnight,'' I whispered.