Page 32 of Sending Love Letters to Animals

Davud nodded.

“You waiting on your mom?”

“I was about to text her to let her know I’m ready,” he said. “But then I saw you and thought I should make sure you were okay.”

“Oh,” I said. “I’m fine. Do you want me to take you home? I’ve obviously got nothing going on.”

He laughed and reached up to rub the back of his neck.

“At least until Jules is done having a coffee date with Connor.” I chuckled. “We’re watching movies again tonight.”

“They’re dating?”

“I’m just kidding,” I said. “They’re meeting up to work on their project. You could watch movies with us tonight. If you want?”

“Um,” Davud said, “I think I’ll pass on movies again, man.”

“No worries.”

I didn’t push him on the issue. I’d promised him that I’d keep asking him if he wanted to join us on movie nights, and he could keep declining if he wanted. No harm no foul either way.

“Maybe next time.”

“All right,” I said, managing to sound like I believed him. “So…ride home? It’s freaking cold. You’ll probably freeze your nuts off before your mom gets here.”

He laughed nervously.

“You don’t mind?”

“Nah,” I said, reaching for the door handle.

Davud gripped his wheels and rolled back a few feet so I could open my door and get out.

“I’ve already told you,” I said, “you make me look like I can bag the hot guys.”

He rolled his eyes. “Please. No one in their right mind would think you’ve got enough game to land me, man.”

I laughed as I jogged around to the passenger side of the car. My hand reached for the door, but then realized what I was doing. Davud hadn’t asked for help; it was rude of me to assume.

He had noticed that I had begun to help without asking as he wheeled around to the passenger side. However, he had also seen that I had realized my mistake and stopped myself. No harm no foul.

“You can open it,” he said. “My hands are freezing anyway.”

When I grabbed my car door handle, I realized what he meant. The handle was like a block of ice in my fingers. I swung the door wide, and Davud wheeled into the opening. He locked the brakes on his chair and used the arms on his chair to lift himself and slide into my car. Once he was securely in the seat, his legs hanging out of the car, he used his hands to lift his legs up into the car and position them in front of him. Once he was seated properly, he put on his belt.

“Okay if I close the door?” I asked.

He nodded without looking up, instead focusing on tightening his belt. Safety first. His obsession with car safety was for obvious reasons, so I said nothing about it. I closed his door and wheeled his chair to the trunk. Having given Davud plenty of rides in the past, I deftly folded his chair and stowed it in the trunk. A second later, I was climbing back into the driver’s seat.

“Jeez,” I said as I closed my door, a shiver running up my spine. “I’m not saying global warming is a good thing, but I’m kind of looking forward to the world ending in a ball of fire, you know?”

“Tell me about it. It’s so cold I can almost feel it in my toes.”

“Bad joke.”

“Was it, though?”

Looking over at the mischievous look on his face, I couldn’t help but smile.