Chapter 9 #2
She dazedly meets my gaze. “Cards on the table, yeah?”
I can’t help but smile softly at the reference from our trial run day, just as her chest visibly rises and falls.
“Yes,” I confirm, leaning in closer. “Let’s gather them up and lay them out.”
She nods and also shifts, even fucking closer. The shadows playing across her features highlight her full lips, the slight angles buried in the overall round shape of her face. “What are you thinking?” she asks.
“I’m thinking …” I clench my teeth, unsure of how I can best express my feelings honestly without coming on too strong. “That I would do anything you wanted me to.”
And then because her face is so close to mine, and her chest is heaving, and her eyes fall to my mouth again, and her scent is muddling my brain, I slip the tips of my fingers onto her knee. A small puff of air escapes her.
“I’m thinking,” I continue, my voice barely recognizable as I flatten my palm and slowly slide it up her thigh, “I would do things you don’t even know to want.”
She slams her hand on top of mine as a whine pops out of her throat. I’m going to chase that sound …
The distinct jingle of keys in a lock causes us to jolt apart.
A very tall Asian man carrying a guitar case appears through the front door.
Christina’s hand is on her heart. “You scared the shit out of us!”
He notes the small amount of space between us, eyebrows only slightly raised as we wrestle our breathing under control. “So sorry, love. I should have known better than to use my own key to enter my own apartment.”
Christina snorts a laugh. “Indeed. No Southern manners at all.”
He smiles and drops his guitar by the door. “Speaking of Southern manners …” He pointedly gestures to me with a head nod.
Christina starts. “Right. This is Danny. Danny, this is my roommate, Runzhou.”
I’m still trying to regain consciousness, but I somehow find the wherewithal to lean forward and shake Runzhou’s hand. “I think you’d know me better as hot documentarian.”
Christina throws the back of her fingers against her mouth as Runzhou rolls his lips together in admonishment.
“It’s impossible to keep anything from this man!” she laughs, palm still out. “He’s basically an investigative reporter.”
Runzhou pinches her arm lightly when he sits on the other side of her. She yelps.
“It’s really nice to meet you, Runzhou,” I say, transfixed to see Christina blossom with someone who so clearly cherishes her the way she deserves. “I feel like it would be impossible to fully know Christina without knowing you.”
Runzhou discreetly winks at her. “I knew you were talking about me on camera.”
“Get used to the limelight, love.” Christina turns to me. “Runzhou is going to be famous.”
He snorts. “Hardly. Chris is by far my biggest fan.”
“Do most people call you Chris?” I ask her. She introduced herself to me as Christina.
A blush dusts her cheeks. “Yes, I go by Chris.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“No.” She closes her fingers around my forearm. “I like that you call me Christina.” A beat as she holds my gaze and grips my forearm a little tighter. “I want you to.”
I won’t read into that, or what it does to my chest and … other parts. At least not right now. And I definitely won’t think about all the scenarios I’ve fantasized in which she might enjoy me biting out her beautiful name. “Better than Sloppy Bitch, I suppose.”
She grins and Runzhou chuckles quietly.
“Runzhou and K are auditioning for music agents right now,” she continues. “They’ll be moving to the Big Apple come June.”
Runzhou gives her a flat look. “Chris, my country sweetheart. No one’s called it the Big Apple since the dawn of the internet.”
“It’s retro!” she squeaks.
Runzhou smiles at her just as indulgently as I imagine I do.
“That’s so exciting for you and K,” I say.
Runzhou nods. “Exciting and only slightly terrifying.”
I laugh. I’ve felt so much of Runzhou through Christina’s stories and even in this apartment that he seems instantly familiar.
Christina squeezes his knee. “Runzhou is a guitarist and K is a vocalist. I go to every one of their recitals, and sometimes they even let me sit in the practice rooms with them for a while. They are unbelievable. You know Hilltop has one of the best Schools of Music in the country, right?”
“Is that why you came to Hilltop, then?” I ask Runzhou. “The renowned School of Music?”
Ever since Christina explained her reasons for staying at Hilltop and the range of people one would find here, I find I am rabidly curious to collect all of those individual stories, to piece together the rich mosaic of life here.
“It’s definitely why I applied.”
“Runzhou was accepted to several top music programs in the country,” Christina adds.
“But I chose Hilltop because my mother begged me to,” Runzhou says.
My brow furrows. “Is your mother Evangelical?”
Christina is grinning knowingly at me.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re going all Maestro on Runzhou.”
I run a knuckle across my mouth. “You’re right. Sorry.”
“Don’t get me wrong.” Christina lays a soft hand on my thigh. “It’s my favorite.”
My heart contracts in my chest. She really only wants me to be myself, all of the time.
She likes me to be myself. Is it possible that Danny Reeves of UNsweet Tea—the curious storyteller who feels compelled to right the wrongs of this fundamentalist world—doesn’t have to be so separate from the Danny who laughs with her?
“My mother is not Evangelical,” Runzhou jumps in. “But my family does come from religious and cultural traditions where being gay is a nonstarter. And well,” Runzhou gestures down himself, “I’m pretty sure everyone knew I was gay out of the womb.”
“He was also the longest baby ever recorded at that hospital,” Christina says proudly.
Runzhou wrinkles his nose at her. “My mother loves me deeply as I am, even though we’ve never explicitly discussed my sexual orientation, but she begged me to go to the school with all the anti-gay policies to appease my father.
She would be the one receiving most of my father’s vitriol over me living a godless existence at some wild school.
So I came to Hilltop for her. To buy her a few more years of peace. ”
Christina cuddles into Runzhou’s shoulder as I desperately try to organize my spinning thoughts.
Runzhou smiles softly at whatever he sees on my face. “It’s okay. There are so many more LGBTQIA+ folks secretly at Hilltop than you could imagine. And I’ve gotten a solid education here.” He considers. “Minus the religion minor.”
Christina laughs. “And you found K!”
He props his chin on her head. “And my soulmate. My real family. So it all worked out.”
I’m astounded by the life they’ve created through the cracks of oppression. That so much love and goodness could flourish in this harsh environment.
Runzhou nods to the camera bags on the coffee table. “What were you guys filming tonight?”
Christina and I catch wide eyes, then burst out laughing.
“Bit of a long story.” She waves a hand. “But we may or may not have just ordered $150 worth of erotic fiction.”
Runzhou’s eyebrows tick up. “I’m gonna need to get the pre-bed tea going to hear about this. Danny, you’re staying for pre-bed tea, yes?”
Christina swings her face to me, all hope and sweetness. “Are you?” Then she retreats. “Although, I guess it is pretty late, and I’ve already taken so much of your time today—”
I cut her off with a light hand on her arm. “I’d love to do pre-bed tea with you guys.”
Her smile is so beautiful it feels like my chest is collapsing in on itself.
“Alright, boys,” she announces. “Let’s talk decorum. Would it be indelicate to display these erotica books on my shelves?”