Summer In Barcelona

O N E

Benji looked around the apartment in wonder. The walls were painted a pretty yellow, green plants sitting on every surface. Each one was unique and had a tag saying what type it was. They were silent as Benji looked around, stepping onto the balcony, looking around in amazement. Jorge fixed his shorts, hoping he didn't look to unpresentable.

"Do you want a.......drink?" he asked, walking to the small kitchen off to the side.

"Uh, sure" he nodded. He watched as Jorge moved around the kitchen, grabbing two glasses and pulling a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge. He was wearing a floral printed button up tucked into khaki shorts. It was a cute outfit, on him at least. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts his mother always warned him about. The ones that would crawl into his head late at night when the lights were out, and he thought he was alone. The ones that left him breathless and confused. He hated those thoughts.

He looked up to see Jorge standing in front of him, holding out a glass. It was sweating where he held it, beads of water dripping down the side.

"Gracias" he smiled, accepting it. A small breeze moved through the open balcony door, raising goose bumps on Benji's arms and neck. "Do you live here alone?" Benji asked. It took a minute for Jorge to process what Benji asked, after he did, he nodded.

"Yes, I moved out when I was nineteen" he said, his accent heavy. Benji nodded. "Do you live by yourself?" Jorge asked, setting his glass on the coffee table, immediately regretting it since he had no idea what to do with his hands.

"Yeah, I moved here in order to get away from just about everything" he shrugged, looking out the door.

"Why want to get away?" Jorge asked, feeling as though he knew the answer already. He knew because he understood. The feeling of being trapped, unable to get away from where you were. Running was always considered weak, but Jorge found it to be one of the hardest things to do. Getting up and leaving everything behind, not sparing a look back. That's why Jorge never could do it. That's why Jorge was still there paying rent on a house he hated and watering plants before going to a job that he hated. He was pulled from his thoughts when Benji began speaking.

"It's a rather long story, and I should get going, but thank you, for the lemonade it was amazing" he smiled, following Jorge to the door.

"I'll talk to you later" Jorge nodded as though assuring himself that was correct.

"I plan on it" Benji tipped an invisible hat to Jorge, walking backwards down the stairs. Jorge shut the door almost immediately, leaning against it as though he would turn around and come back. He had barely spoken to anyone by choice in the past year, yet here he was inviting strangers into his house. He grabbed his watering can as he tried to gather his thoughts.

He poured fresh water onto each plant, the soil soaking it up almost immediately. He couldn't quite remember the last time he had properly watered them and most had begun to look sickly. Jorge apologized to them under his breath as he picked off dead leaves, tossing them off the balcony. They immediately looked better, at least to him He felt a little better too, having taken care of his small jungle and maybe making a new friend. If Benji wanted to be his friend, which was probably unlikely. The whole interaction between the two had been nothing but awkward, the kind of awkward that hung in the air and had the potential to crush you unless you fixed it. If you left awkwardness like that, it would grow and fester until it was difficult to look at the person. Jorge didn't want that. He already had to deal with that with his parents and a majority of his co-workers, he could not afford more.

Once his plants were watered, he grabbed his tennis shoes, lacing them up quickly. He had to get to work soon, and if he didn't leave now, he would be late.