Page 76 of On the Bright Side
“Yes, hello again,” I say, buying myself time to put together the signs. “Again, hello.”
“Shay, Izzy, and Alex.” Ellie points with each introduction, then signs a question to them. “Oh, they said Kayla’s in the room.”
“Want food?” Izzy gestures to the plastic box of leftovers that Alex is about to pack away in the fridge.
“We just ate,” I say, copying the sign I just saw for food.
“I’ll give him the house tour,” Ellie says and signs, reaching for my hand. I leave the cane propped against the counter and hold on to her instead. As we walk down the hallway toward the bedrooms, something brushes up against my leg, and Ellie leans down to pick it up.
“Meet Cheese.” She holds a large black cat out toward me. He dangles there, apparently comfortable, with his eyes fixed on me. I stabilize myself along the wall while offering my other hand for him to sniff. “Aww, he likes you!” she shouts, and the cat isn’t startled by the loud exclamation in the slightest. He’s used to Ellie’s volume.
I don’t really know how to read a cat’s expressions, and as soon as she puts him down, he races away, but I’m glad he seemed unbothered by me. “He’s cute. When you said Cheese, I thought it might’ve been an orange cat.”
“If only he was named based on color.” She lets out a theatrical sigh. “He’s a stinker.”
There’s a hammering noise coming from the open doorway nearest us. Ellie leads the way and introduces me to her roommate Kayla, who is assembling a small dresser.
“Are you planning to decorate?” I ask Ellie, pointing to the bare blue walls.
“I want to do a whole string of photos.” She motions toward the corner and down the side of the wall above her bed. “But I don’t have many to put up yet.” Ellie signs something to Kayla, then leads meback out into the hall. “The others should have just left for a night class. We can hang out in the living room.”
“Okay, yeah, I could sit down.”
Ellie grabs my hand again. She keeps holding it as we take a seat on the stiff couch. “Are you doing all right?”
“Yeah.” The way my heart is racing definitely distracts from any of the lingering dizziness, fatigue, or twitches.
“I’m really glad you texted me.”
“You were kind of the only person I wanted to see.”
“Really?” She leans beside me, resting her chin on my arm as she looks up at me. “I wanted to text more while you were gone, but I wasn’t sure where we—”
“We’re good now,” I reassure her, not wanting to belabor it. My life has been miserable these past few weeks. I can’t remember the last time I was as happy as I am sitting here with her. “But just to be sure, that ex of yours…”
“Is completely out of the picture,” she says, her face suddenly serious. “I promise.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yeah?” Ellie puts her arms around me in a tight hug, which causes her hearing aid to squeal when it brushes against my shoulder. “Whoops.” She bends her knees to sit back on her legs.
Her face is inches away from my own, and I know two things. The first is that she doesn’t want to be the one to initiate a kiss again. The second is that she really wants me to kiss her right now.
“You don’t happen to have a vomit bag or anything?” I scrunch up my face, feigning concern.
“Oh!” She jumps to her feet.
I burst out laughing and draw her back to the couch, pulling her onto my lap. “I’m just kidding. I don’t think I’ll need one tonight.”I take a deep breath, hoping I didn’t just jinx myself. “As long as I don’t have to run anywhere.”
Ellie narrows her eyes, smiling as she shakes her head and closes the distance between us. “We can stay right here.”
“Good because…” I trace my fingers down her back. “I want to kiss you…”
Her breath is minty and inviting. I lean forward to meet her warm lips, slowly. It’s the opposite of last time, when I seized the opportunity and met her frantically, unsure of how fleeting the moment would be. Ellie runs a hand through my hair, planting a soft kiss on my neck, and my cheek, before returning to my lips.
Now we have all the time in the world.
Chapter Thirty-nine
