Bird Song (29 page)

I braced myself for the protest from another member of the audience but none came.
 
I slyly peeked around me and nearly fell out of my seat.
 
We were the only three people in the theater!

“Can you believe her?
 
Like any normal person would go and meet some stranger in the middle of nowhere!”

Seeing my opportunity to leave without being too distracting, I crept out of my seat and slowly ambled towards the aisle.
 
I turned to see if Lark and Stacy had noticed my departure and smiled when I caught Lark’s hand poised to throw some popcorn she had found on the floor at the screen.
 
She might think we had low standards but Lark was every bit as much a human as we were.

I entered the hallway between theaters and headed towards the lobby, my nose following the pungent smell of burnt popcorn.
 
It was fairly empty—most of the movies were currently playing—so I walked over to the door that read “employees only” and stared at it, thinking of his name, picturing his captivating eyes staring down at me.

“You’re going to go cross-eyed if you keep staring at that door, Grace,” Graham called out to me from behind the concession counter.

“Maybe it’ll help me out in the looks department,” I replied.
 
I continued to look at the door, wondering how long it would take before he showed up.
 
“Where is he?”

“Probably ordering us some more popcorn, or something along those lines.
 
He’s always in there.
 
I’d start to wonder about him if I didn’t see the way he looked at you all the time.”
 
Graham frowned as he said that, his forehead wrinkling with the thought that formed in his head.
 
“D-do I look like that?”

I stepped away from the door and walked over to him.
 
“Do you look like what?”

“Do I ever…have you ever seen me have that look on my face?” he questioned.

I watched him, saw the nearly pained look he had in his eyes as he awaited my answer.
 
“Actually, yes, I have.”

It was an honest answer, and it was one that I freely gave.
 
It didn’t matter who he was looking at when he did so, it only mattered that he was capable of doing it.

“Grace, do you think I’m unromantic?”

I held my hands up at that question.
 
“Whoa, just because I told you I was in love with you, that doesn’t mean you get to ask me all these emotional questions,” I kidded, winking at him when it took a bit longer for him to realize that I wasn’t being serious.

“Graham, I know you’re not exactly the romantic type.
 
You’re Mr. Football, not Mr. Flowers and Candy.
 
But I do know that you’ve got a sentimental streak to you, and when you show it, man…it ends up being one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen.”

The slight smirk on his face told me that I was convincing him, reassuring him that he wasn’t whatever it was that he thought.
 
He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a little white heart.
 
He handed it to me and I examined it in my palm.
 
It had two little words inscribed on it.
 

“Best Friends.”

“Yes we are,” I agreed, and popped the little heart into my mouth, nearly gagging at the chalky, peppermint sweetness.
 
“But next time, write it out on a post-it or something, okay?
 
I think it’d taste much better than this.”

He laughed as he watched me struggle with the candy and handed me a cup of water.
 
“Sorry.
 
I guess I still get a kick out of watching you eat whatever it is I give you.”

“That’s because you’re a sadist,” I stated, gladly accepting the cup of liquid relief.

“Well, that’s true,” he agreed.
 
“But you’re not exactly an angel yourself, you know.”

I coughed, nearly choking on the water.
 
He whacked my back a few times, slightly amused to be doing so and slightly concerned as to why he needed to in the first place.
 
“None of us are angels, Graham,” I managed to choke out before a fit of coughing took over.

He removed the cup from my hand and thumped my back a few more times until I settled down.
 
“Geez, Grace.
 
You’re too serious tonight.
 
It’s no wonder Stacy likes hanging around you and Lark.
 
The three of you make a fairly frightening trio sometimes.”

“We do not!”

He snickered at my response.
 
“You are!
 
Just think about how intimidating you three are.
 
You stood up to Erica during the soliloquy, totally destroyed her in under two minutes.
 
Then there’s Stacy, who got knocked out and came back to school the next day like some kind of superwoman.
 
And then there’s Lark, who’s so beautiful everyone forgot about Erica today and gave their gifts to her instead.”

“Even you,” I said softly.
 
I watched his reaction, his expression change from surprised to defiant.
 
I was pleased.

“You know then.
 
She told you.”

I shook my head.
 
“She didn’t tell anyone.
 
I was there when she found it, Graham.
 
I knew who it was from the minute I saw what it was, and I have to say, that was pretty slick, typing the note in Braille.
 
When did you learn how to do that?”

He smirked at the praise.
 
“The girl who cuts my hair has a sister who’s blind.
 
I was telling her my idea, since I know that none of you know who she is, and she mentioned her sister and suggested that she write the note.
 
So…what did she say?”

I wanted to say that she liked it, that she was over the moon, but she hadn’t said anything about it.
 
So that’s what I told him.
 
I almost wished I had kept my mouth shut when I spied the disappointment flash in his eyes and pull his carefree grin down.
 
Almost.
 
Whatever the fate of Graham and Lark, right now Graham was dating Stacy.
 
He shouldn’t have been giving anyone Valentine’s Day gifts if he hadn’t given her any, and so I told him that.

“I know, Grace.
 
It was stupid and dumb, and I suck at being a boyfriend but I didn’t really think about
not
getting Stacy a present, if that makes any sense to you.”

The conversation paused as Graham helped a kid who went to our school with his drink and popcorn order.
 
The kid looked at the two of us and shook his head.
 
I couldn’t help myself.
 
I winked at him when he looked one last time and laughed when his face distorted with shock and disgust.

“Am I really that frightening?” I asked as the kid left.
 
I looked at my reflection in the chromed frame of the popcorn maker and stuck my tongue out.
 
“Well…am I?”

Shaking his head, Graham replied, “Of course not.
 
You’re just not what a lot of we guys are used to, that’s all.
 
None of you are.”

I raised an eyebrow, my silent cue that he should elaborate.

“I told you, you, Stacy and Lark are intimidating.
 
Yeah, guys all follow Lark like she’s got them on leashes or something, but they talk about you, too.
 
I hear them, Grace.
 
I know what they say about you, the good as well as the bad.
 
The story about your mom…that kind of freaks a lot of people out because they can’t picture it in their heads, but the guys that can get past that see you as someone who’d rather talk about stuff than trying on clothes at the mall.
 
They always thought it was cool that you’d come to the games and knew what was going on.

“That’s one of the most awesome things about you, Grace.
 
You’re just like one of the guys; you’re approachable and if they ever stopped to actually talk to you, they’d understand why you’re my best friend.”

I blushed at the compliment, knowing full well that no guy would ever truly understand.
 
It just wasn’t possible.
 
“Look, Graham, I get that you think I’m someone that guys would like.
 
I don’t necessarily understand it, but then again I don’t understand how you can eat so much food and not look like the Goodyear blimp either.
 
I’m never going to be
that
girl, the kind that guys flock around and talk about like they do Lark and Erica.
 
I know my limitations, Graham.”

“I would beg to differ,” I heard voiced behind me.
 
Robert placed a hand on my waist and turned me to face him.
 
“I talk about you all the time.
 
You’re the only topic of conversation I’m ever interested in.”
 
He lifted my chin with a finger and pressed a quick kiss to the corners of my mouth.

“Why aren’t you inside watching the anti-Valentine’s Day movie with Stacy and Lark?” he asked when he realized I was alone aside from Graham.
 
“How long has she been here?”

Graham looked at the large clock on the wall.
 
“About fifteen minutes,” he replied.
 
“She likes campy horror stuff, not the hardcore guts and glory kind of film that Stacy’s into.
 
Speaking of which, are we on next week for some RHPS?
 
We haven’t done that in a while, and since I’m staying on your couch, there’s no real excuse for not doing it.”

Robert looked at me and raised a curious eyebrow.
 
“RHPS?”

I laughed at the puzzled look on his face.
 
“You honestly don’t know?”
 
When he shook his head, I felt something akin to…pride.
 
“I actually know something that you don’t?
 
Oh wow, I need to savor this moment for a bit.
 
Hold on.”

“Holding,” he said, laughing as well.
 
“You let me know when you’re ready to let go of the smugness.”

Graham rolled his eyes at the two of us, a loud groan of discomfort spewing from him.
 
It only made me laugh harder.

“Okay, okay.
 
RHPS stands for the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
 
It’s a ritual with us.
 
We watch it on the last Friday of every month.
 
Well, we
used
to anyway.
 
We sort of stopped doing that after-”

“After I made one of the biggest and dumbest mistakes of my life,” Graham interjected quickly.

I nodded and continued.
 
“We get kind of goofy, and call each other the names from the movie all day.
 
Whoever forgets and says our real name first gets punched.”

“You watch a B movie, call each other names, and then hit each other as a ritual?”

“Yeah.
 
I said it was goofy,” I said defensively.

Robert glanced over at Graham who seemed to be trying very hard to appear as though he wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation.
 
He was failing miserably.
 
“I think that’s actually a great idea.
 
I’d like to participate.”

“You what?” Graham and I uttered at the same time, our jaws hanging open in shock.

“I’m interested in everything that you do, Grace.
 
If this is something that you like to do, I’d like to do it with you.”

Graham objected first.
 
“Look, Robert, I’ve got nothing against you, man, but this has been our thing since Grace and I were kids.
 
You hear me?
 
Our thing.”

I held up my hand to stop Graham from continuing.
 
“Robert, I don’t know if this is something that you’d really enjoy.
 
Are you sure you want to?”

His hand lifted to cup my face, a soft and gentle touch that spoke of comfort and tenderness.
 
“I want to.”

I looked over and Graham who threw his hands up in the air, defeated by three little words.
 
“Sorry,” I mouthed to him and cringed as he threw his hands up once more, exasperated by my weakness.

You are mine as well.

I turned my head to face Robert and felt the warmth of unrestrained affection flood my cheeks.
 
How was it possible for him to not say a single word out loud and yet still cause my heart to flutter like some spastic bird’s wings?
 
I shook my head at the inconvenience of the moment and pushed my face deeper into the palm of Robert’s hand as his fingers cupped my ear and his thumb gently stroked the edge of my cheek.

“So, are you planning on staying out here until the movie is done?” he asked when Graham’s angry banging and annoyed grunting became too loud to hear even the silent thoughts in our heads.