His Nepenthe | complete

26. The

T H E S U N D A Y P L A Y D A T E

*

"Oh my god, look at the puppy!" Brandy squealed before fast walking over to the dog and speaking with the owner.

Saoirse and I watched as she pat the puppy, letting it lick her and nuzzle her hand.

"I think she likes puppies so much because she is one. Jesus, when there's dogs around she can hardly pay attention."

I nodded in agreement as Brandy turned to us again, grinning from ear to ear before speaking to the puppy again. I'm not even sure what possessed me to agree to hanging out with the two.

I smiled, shaking my head at her as she poked her tongue at me.

"Well that was hard to miss," Shay commented with a scoff, folding her arms as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"What?"

"You like Brandy, don't'cha?"

My cheeks heat up at the question I refused to even answer for myself. I rubbed the back of my head, craning my neck up to the blue sky above, "She's pretty much my only friend."

Saoirse punched my arm, trying to retrieve an answer I didn't have with force, "That wasn't the question"

"But it's the only thing that matters."

"Brandy's the kind of person you meet once in your lifetime," Saoirse stated, smiling as she watched Brandy talk animatedly to the owner of the puppy, who was excited to be talking about the bouncing pet, "I wouldn't have had a lifetime without her."

"What do you mean?"

"Years ago, I went to a lake with my sister's friends, even though she really didn't want me to be there. At the time, I didn't know how to swim, but I wanted to be part of my sister's group, because she was my absolute role model," She shook her head at the remembrance of a time she didn't seem to like, "I went into the water anyway, without telling anyone. I was waddling around, and then it got deeper so suddenly. I couldn't keep myself above water enough to even call out to anyone. I was just splashing my hands above the water as I sunk. In that moment, I was absolutely sure I was going to drown, but then, I felt something pull me up."

She shook her head again, laughing with a much more lighthearted look in her grey irises. It took me all but a second to figure out what that 'something' was, "Brandy?"

Shay nodded, "Brandy. She pulled me up, holding herself under water as a result so I could breathe. Idiot didn't know how to swim herself, but she did it anyway. The day she was going to learn, she dove in the deep end to save me."

The grey eyed girl looked down to the ground, scuffing her shoe as she scoffed.

"Brandy would drown for a stranger if it meant they would see another day."

I stared at the girl with bright hazel eyes as she waved off the owner and the puppy, in awe, yet again, of the everchanging enigma.

She raced back over to us, a wide smile on her face, "Did you guys see that puppy? My heart was going to explode!"

"At least you didn't cry like last time."

I raised an eyebrow to Bandy, who's cheeks only changed to a light pink shade as she looked away, "Shut up, I like dogs."

Saoirse scoffed, messing up Brandy's hair with her hand, "I like dogs. You have some kind of obsession."

Brandy bit her lip, shaking her tussled hair out with a smile, "They're gorgeous creatures who deserve better. You know what? So are cats. People always give them shit because they aren't super affectionate to strangers, but they are nice to the people they love. That means more, I think. The trust of a cat is worth a lot."

Saoirse looked up at me, almost expressionless, "I hear this all the time."

Brandy laughed, an extra added pounce in her step from her introduction to who she later called was a 'new friend', "Come on, let's go get something to eat, I'm hungry."

I rolled my eyes, continuing to walk along with the two psychotic girls. They spoke individually of their art, prodding questions at me to find what I found interesting. Saoirse was a photographer, quite a talented one, too.

She showed me her original black and whites of Brandy that had apparently won her a couple of awards at one point. She named the series 'i've been lost', and featured Brandy in all her natural beauty. Dancing, laughing, eating a lot of pasta.

Brandy's cheeks were a bright red by the end of the stream of compliments which always followed good photos, saying she felt embarrassed to be the subject but did it 'for Shay and only for Shay'.

As we continued through the day Brandy's hand somehow found mine, her finger lacing between my own. I didn't even flinch before squeezing her hand softly back. There was something so strange about it, but I couldn't help but to like the way her small hands fit in mine.

And it stayed in mine until the afternoon, where Brandy came home with me yet again, continuing to smile brighter than the stars at each word we shared.

After our day in the sun, Brandy analysed her face in my large bedroom mirror, checking her shoulders with a sceptical look on her face. I just watched from my bed, a smile I didn't even notice creeping its way onto my face, "I think I'm a little sunburnt, but I can tell, can you check?"

"Sure, get over here," she dived over to the bed, face inches away from mine as I cupped her cheek, checking her tanned skin. It was barely more pink than usual, as far as I could tell, though my heart was begging to burst from my chest, "I think you're fine."

"I'm so jealous of your skin. It's so flawless," a small pout reached her lips, my eyes darting down to analyse the natural pink hue they had.

I nudged her shoulder, an attempt to further myself enough that I wouldn't ruin our friendship in one foul swoop, "Like yours isn't."

She obviously had no qualms with the closeness, however, as she only got closer to analyse my skin, "I work really hard on having good skin," she mumbled, eyes squinted to focus on determining what was a flaw and what was the forming of facial hair on my jaw. Her eyes lit up as she prodded my cheek, "You have one blackhead right there."

"Do I now?" I asked as a rhetorical question, picking her up by her thighs to take her along with me to the bathroom. I rested her against the counter, checking the point she had noted, clicking my tongue, "That's a so called 'beauty spot'."

"Fuck me, do you even have to try?"

"I try a little bit," I folded my arms over my chest, resting against the counter so she sat next to me, "Romany, Marco's girlfriend is a beauty therapist, and I may, possibly, let her test stuff on me when she's over."

"You're so cute," she teased, pinking my cheek with her thumb and forefinger. I rolled my eyes in return as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, "you should be a beauty therapist. You'd be great at telling people what to do, tell them their skin sucks," My jaw dropped as I took mock offence to her statement. She winked back to me, jumping down from the counter, "in the best way, of course."

I tackled her, throwing the small girl over my shoulder as she squealed, banging her firsts against my back. After a muttered apology, I placed her down.

Kiss me already.

The grin on my lips didn't fade as she beamed up to me, a question stuck in my mind finally reaching my tongue, "Will you come with me somewhere?"