Chapter 44 - Everybody Knows #5
"You have your own car."
"I know."
"It's over there."
"I know where my car is."
"Then why are you following me?"
"Because you said you're hungry."
"That does not explain why you're abandoning your vehicle."
"I'm not abandoning it."
"It'll be here overnight. That's abandonment."
"I'll get it tomorrow."
I stared at him.
"You're leaving your car at work so you can ride in Candy?"
"Yes."
That answer came far too easily.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You hate Candy."
"I don't hate Candy."
I actually laughed.
"You insulted her for months."
"I insulted the name."
"You insulted the suspension."
"It deserves it."
"You insulted the color."
"The color is aggressive."
"She is Molten Magenta."
"Exactly."
"And yet you're voluntarily getting inside."
Adrian looked at Candy.
Then at me.
"Apparently."
Something about that one word made me smile.
I unlocked the car.
"Fine."
He reached for the passenger door.
I stopped him.
"Wait."
His hand paused.
"What?"
"Say something nice about her."
"No."
"Then walk to your Tesla."
"Angelica."
"One compliment."
"No."
I folded my arms.
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
He glanced at Candy.
Then back at me.
"The wheels are acceptable."
My mouth fell open.
"Acceptable?"
"Yes."
"That is not a compliment."
"It is from me."
Unfortunately, that was true.
"Fine. Get in."
He opened the passenger door.
I got behind the wheel.
Adrian settled beside me and immediately moved the seat back.
I looked over.
"You're so dramatic."
"My knees were touching the dashboard."
"You're unnecessarily tall."
"That's not how height works."
"Sounds like a personal problem."
I started Candy.
Adrian reached for the seat belt.
I pulled out of the parking space.
"So where are we eating?"
"Drive."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because the last time you controlled dinner, you ordered enough food for a family of twelve."
"You ate most of it."
"That is a vicious lie."
"You ordered dessert."
"You ordered the chocolate milkshake."
"For you."
I turned my head.
He was looking straight ahead.
I blinked.
"You admitted it."
Silence.
"Oh my God."
"Drive."
"You just admitted the milkshake was for me."
"I said drive."
"Months later."
"Angelica."
"I knew it."
"You suspected it."
"I knew it."
He looked out the window.
I grinned.
This was already worth letting him into Candy.
"Where are we going?"
"Anywhere."
That made me glance at him.
"Anywhere?"
"Yes."
"You don't care?"
"No."
That was unusual enough that I slowed slightly.
Adrian noticed.
"Why are you driving like that?"
"I'm processing."
"Process at the speed limit."
"You said anywhere."
"Yes."
"So Taco Bell."
"Fine."
I looked at him again.
He frowned.
"What?"
"Who are you?"
"Drive."
"You willingly got into Candy and agreed to Taco Bell."
"I'm reconsidering both."
"No. Too late."
I changed lanes before he could develop standards again.
Ten minutes later, we were sitting in Candy with a bag of Taco Bell between us.
Adrian looked down at his food.
Then at me.
"This is structurally questionable."
I took a bite of my taco.
"It's food. Not Solara."
"Everything has structure."
"You need hobbies."
"I have hobbies."
"Name one."
"Architecture."
"That's your job."
"I like my job."
"That is the saddest answer I've ever heard."
Adrian looked at me.
"You spend your free time arguing with me."
"That's community service."
His mouth moved.
"For whom?"
"Everyone who doesn't have the courage to do it themselves."
I kicked his shoe lightly.
He looked down.
Then at me.
I ate another bite.
For a while, we just sat there.
No office.
No drawings.
No Solara.
No coworkers watching us like we were some kind of ongoing social experiment.
Just Candy, fast food, and Adrian beside me.
It was strangely easy.
Too easy, maybe.
I reached into the bag for a sauce packet.
Adrian reached at the same time.
Our fingers touched.
Neither of us moved away immediately.
His eyes lifted to mine.
Deep blue.
Close.
For one second, everything became very quiet.
Then I took the packet.
"You were too slow."
Adrian looked at my hand.
"That was mine."
"Prove it."
"I was touching it."
"So was I."
"I reached first."
"According to whom?"
"Reality."
"Biased source."
His mouth moved.
I opened the packet.
He watched me pour it over my taco.
A minute later, I looked over.
Adrian was eating Taco Bell in the passenger seat of Candy like this was a perfectly normal Tuesday evening.
Maybe that was the strangest part.
It didn't feel strange.
I had spent the entire day wondering why everyone kept looking at us.
Why Ben made faces.
Why Maya knew things she refused to explain.
Why Ethan smiled like that.
Why Emma had looked hurt when Adrian came to get me.
I looked at him again.
He caught me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
His eyes narrowed.
I smiled and reached for another taco.
Maybe everyone else was seeing something I wasn't.
Or maybe I was seeing it too.
I just didn't know what to call it yet.