Page 46 of Walk the Line

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to mute it the second the notification came up.

I send a quick response to Jalissa anyway.

Hey, yeah that was me. Come round to get it when you’re ready, I’ll be home all day.

I think she might have left the moment she saw my message back to her, because it’s kind of impressive how she’s the one knocking at the door less than fifteen minutes after.

“That was…very quick,” I say as a form of greeting when I open the door.

“Yeah, I just thought it would be silly to waste time. Thanks for letting me come over.”

“I was hardly going to hold your bag hostage.”

“That wouldn’t have been very nice for the bag.”

“I found a bag wedged into the couch right before you came,” I say, leading her to the front room.

The moment she sees it, she runs towards it and squeezes it against her chest. “Yes, this is it!”

“An emotional reunion.”

She turns to me, the smile on her face making me retreat a little bit. “You’re actually so funny, did you know that?”

“Do you find a lot of things funny?” I ask. I’m sure I’m many things, but funny is not one of them.

“Yeah, but I think you might be one of the funniest.” She studies me, then says, “You’re kind of awkward, aren’t you?”

I raise a brow. “Are you saying this because you remember last night?”

“Oh, I don’t remember anything, or just like a few bits and pieces. It’s just the way you’re acting now.”

“I guess you could say awkward then, yeah.”

“You give me black cat vibes.” A sudden burst of laughter erupts from her and I think it’s best I convince myself she’s still a little bit drunk. “Is this like a nightmare for you?” she says.

“What?”

“Me being such a talker.”

I consider my words. “It’s…a way to be.”

“Yeah. I would be offended but I actually think people like you are hilarious and harmless. Like, my cousin’s man is pretty much the exact same as you. He’s literally so straight faced all the time, doesn’t crack a smile, always says things with no emotion, and then sometimes I’m just like, “Christian, what’s wrong with you?” and he’ll be like, “Nothing, every day with Kennedy is the best day of my life.””

The impersonation she’s going for is ridiculous enough I’m sure she notices me cracking a smile as I begin with, “How can every day be the best day of your life?”

“That’s what I said! But yeah, it’s especially funny because Kennedy, my cousin, is like me. She might talk even more than me, actually. And Christian barely talks but that is her man.”

I’m finding it hard to keep up with where this conversation is going, so I say, “I’m happy for them.”

“Yeah, sorry, I went off on a tangent there,” she says with a wince. “But anyway, I wanted to thank you for taking me home last night.”

“That’s all good. How are you feeling today?”

“Kind of fucked, but it’s not that bad, actually.”

“Glad to hear that.”

There’s a moment of silence before she fills it with, “Do you like to eat?”