To Love And Be Loved

Chapter 19

"Spit it out," said Sam. He took his glass of water from the table and downed it in one gulp.

"What?" said Victor. He didn't have much of an appetite so he hadn't touched his food. He rubbed his thumb against the smooth surface of his glass cup.

They were in a small restaurant, most of the dining space was under the open air. Raffia palms whispered in the breeze while across the sidewalk was the beach.

Surprisingly, Victor had not been disturbed except for two guys who had asked for a selfie.

There was a long pause and when Victor looked at Sam he was folding his napkin into tiny squares and smiling.

"You are never this quiet," said Sam.

Victor smiled and stretched his hands behind his head while tipping the chair ad far back as it could go without falling down.

"I met this girl," he said.

Sam nodded. "You always meet girls. You are like a freaking honeycomb to them."

"She's different."

"Is she?"

"She's different."

"You just told me."

"She makes me feel... "

"Okay," said Sam, raising his head up from his napkin. "Now you got me."

Sam ordered another bottle of water and when it arrived, he held the sparkling liquid in his hands turning the bottle up and down.

"I'm afraid... "

Sam quirked his eyebrows. "Now that's something I've never heard from you."

"I'm afraid I'm going to fuck things up."

Sam dropped his water. "You most probably would."

"You don't get it," said Victor. He needed to simplify the feelings clawing at his chest. The girl with the short afro was doing things to his head.

"I.. I feel-"

Sam turned and stared at the beach, a faraway look in his eyes.

"You're in love."

Victor snorted. "Love? Whats that? Besides its just been a month since we met."

"You can fall in love in seconds, time doesn't matter."

Victor believed in love as much as he believed the earth was flat. Even saying the world love left a rubbery taste in his mouth. It sounded like the stuff you'd hear in fairytales.

Sam turned and he was smiling.

"Oh, I remember you don't do that love stuff," he said.

"Hell I don't," said Victor. He stared at his phone on the table and resisted the urge to call her, to hear her voice.

"She is a dove," said Sam, sitting up straight in his chair.

"Yes."

"I don't think its a good idea."

"Why?"

"What I can garner from the little you've told me is that she is an average girl. The farthest she has been in the public is probably her high school magazine."

Victor nodded.

"No, no, man. You guys are eons apart. If you really feel the way you do, you'll leave her the hell alone."

Victor closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. Sam was right. Sam was always right. But the truth was bitter.

"She'll probably hate you if her life gets screwed by the media."