Speechless: REWRITTEN

15. Primrose

Roscoe

"No offense," Mordecai laughs. "But that's the most cliché thing I've ever heard."

I toss a dish rag in his face, making him laugh harder. The one day Gianna decides to go out and run errands, I invite Mordecai to my humble abode to tell him about my plans to ask her out on New Year's Day. Then he laughs in my face like the jackass he is. As if every kiss he's ever had hasn't been cliché within itself.

"Tell me, how'd you first kiss Sophia?" I opt for his most recent ex since bringing up his first love might make things tense.

"Nothing special," he shrugs. "It was our second date, we saw a movie, and I just kissed her outside the theatre. Went from there."

"And that's not cliché?" I exclaim.

He leans on the archway, smiling. "You're going to take her to Times Square and kiss her at midnight. Don't you think she'd see that coming a million miles away?"

"No, because she doesn't even know I like her," I retort, and then point the sponge at him. "And you better not tell her."

"I don't talk to Gianna, and even if I did, it's none of my business. I'm just here to be a friend and a shoulder to cry on."

I lean on the counter, pondering. Now that I'm thinking about it, it is incredibly cliché. She wouldn't see it coming, but it just feels so classic. Basic. And basic is not what she deserves. But I'm at a loss for what else to do.

"You could at least give me suggestions," I say now, finishing up the dishes.

"Just do it."

I turn to him. His arms are crossed and he looks at me like that's the easiest solution ever. I snort. Just do it. What is this, a Nike commercial? I can't just do it!

"I think you're overcomplicating this," Mordecai chuckles. "I've never seen you care about how you kiss a girl."

I exhale sharply. "This isn't just a girl. This is Gianna. And I really like her. More than I've ever liked any girl."

"You say that about every girl."

I pinch the bridge of my nose. That's true, and I can't find a way to convince Mordecai that this is different. It's different because it didn't happen the typical way. I didn't meet her at a bar or at the store or at the mailboxes. I didn't see her and instantly want to date her, because when I first met her, she was fourteen. I didn't even consider her as a romantic partner until a month ago. This wasn't supposed to happen like every other way, and that's why this is different. It's not normal for me.

But is that really a good indicator that Gianna is someone I could spend a long time with? Or is this just a new adventure my life is taking me on that will inevitable end in heartbreak like everyone else? Or end in what I thought was heartbreak, but it was actually immense disappointment... something is telling me to take a chance on this, and I want to do this right. Not that every other time wasn't right, but this is special.

I mean, she wrote and sang me a song for Christmas. And it was amazing. It took everything in me not to just lean over and kiss her hard. I kept trying to collect my thoughts, offer feedback, produce anything in the English language, but it kept coming down the conveyor belt as stutters and gibberish. No girl has ever rendered me speechless.

Mordecai stays for another hour before he makes his way out. After he leaves, Gianna comes in with groceries, setting them down on the counter that I literally just cleaned.