Chapter 26 Gastric Episode
I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel as I continued to drive through the illuminating streets of a very lively, late-night Chicago. I smiled when a couple of kids on the sidewalk waved at me, and bopped my head in time with the Christmas song playing on the radio.
As I took a left and entered Maplewood Ave, I started to hum, but quickly stopped myself when I thought of Rina’s message from earlier.
She’d driven with me enough times to know how easily music could affect my attention.
I could mostly never stop myself from singing or humming along to the songs on the radio, but that also meant I usually ended up either almost hitting an old lady on the street, or a random car driving ahead of me.
It’s definitely not something I’m proud of, but hey, at least I’m willing to work on getting rid of the habit for safety reasons.
It was only when I entered Rina’s neighborhood that I realized that my stomach was in knots. Not because of an impending gastric episode, of course, but in time with the wild beating of my heart, knowing that I was about to meet her. Knowing that I’d get to touch her in just minutes.
God, the things Carina Ribeiro made me feel were massively compulsive. Risky, yes, but also madly inclining.
And damn if I didn’t burn for her like a cinder did for an ongoing fire.