Hope

Chapter Two

Job 6:8 (ESV) -- Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope

Nacho stained jacket draped over my arm and a bag of popcorn in the other, Alex Taylor and I strolled out of the food court. I picked out a few kernels of popcorn covered in greasy butter to eat. Alex Taylor took a huge bite of his funnel cake, which caused the powder to fall down his chin.

"Good?" I asked, mouth clear from popcorn.

"Delicious," Alex murmured. The one word came out muffled because of his stuffed face, but he kept on eating. I grabbed another single piece of buttery popcorn and ate it slowly. I repeated my picky popcorn eating while I watched Alex inhale his snack.

Once it was finished, Alex took the time to lick every single tip of his fingers, and his pink tongue darted around to capture any stray funnel cake powder. His eyes glanced towards me, caught me in my observance, and I turned away, face heating up.

"Ryan, what are you doing?" he asked with astonishment.

I prepared to answer, but, as I looked at his face, he was focused on my popcorn. "Excuse me?" I asked, perplexed.

"You have barely even touched your popcorn!" Alex's gaze turned towards me. He looked like a wounded puppy dog. I didn't know what to say.

"I-"

"Do you like it?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then why aren't you eating it?!"

I blurted out, "I am! See?" I searched for another buttery piece of deliciousness, then plucked it out with my fingers. I popped it in my mouth. Chew. Swallow. "It's delicious!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Dear God, you can't eat popcorn like that! It's not normal."

"And what exactly is normal, oh wise man?" I sassed, hand on my hip.

Before I could let out a single protest, Alex's hand dove in my bag of popcorn. Kernels flew out when he removed it, and his entire fist was filled with popcorn. "Eat it," he demanded with a laughing twinkle in his eye.

My jaw dropped, and I was ready to decline; however, caught off-guard, my mouth was stuffed with popcorn. Delicious, yes. Attractive, no. My hand covered my mouth as I chewed every piece of popcorn. Alex's face stayed in the corner of my vision, smiling at me.

I finished chewing and glared at him. "What were you thinking?" I demanded to know.

Alex shrugged and gave me a boyish grin. "You were being picky." I rolled my eyes. "No, seriously," Alex stated, "if we want to do anything fun, we need to stop eating."

"Maybe my definition of fun is eating."

"Well, my definition," Alex poked my nose and I blushed, "is not eating. It's getting on rides or playing games. Now what do you want to do? By the way, you blush a lot."

"Way to be tact," I muttered under my breath. He's right, you know.

I know that I know.

"Okay, Alex Taylor. How stereotypical do you want to be?" I asked.

He took his right hand to his face and stroked an imaginary beard. "Well, we can start by walking through the haunted house. I'll hold your hand while you scream in fear. Then, we can head over to a balloon-popping stall where I will win you the biggest teddy bear in this fair ground. After that, we will end our night by watching fireworks at the top of the ferris wheel and share a magical kiss."

At the word kiss, I felt my face heat up. I placed my hand onto it to allow it to cool down. "As enticing as that sounds, I think I would like a different approach." I paused, letting what I said sink in. "As long as you are okay with that, I mean," I corrected myself.