Energizer

six

The food was very delicious, and I was enjoying my soup more than I probably should have been.
"Excuse me, I'm so sorry to interrupt your dinner but you're Ari, right?"
A woman stood over our table, and I directed my eyes up at her, a bit surprised that she even bothered to come over.
Marcus stopped mid chew, his expression clearly showed he was not amused,
"Yeah, it's fine. Do you need something?" Marcus wiped his mouth with a napkin, the same slightly annoyed expression still glued on his face.
I gave a look in Marcus' direction, speaking afterwards.
"Yes, I'm Ari. I remember you, Kat, right?" I saw Marcus shrug out of the corner of my eye, turning back to chow down on his sandwich once again.
"My daughter is so excited to see her painting. I came down here to get her a grilled cheese sandwich and a hot chocolate. It's such a coincidence seeing you here!"
Kat seemed very peppy. She probably had quite a few coffees today. The thought was accurate as I noticed an empty coffee cup in her purse.
"I'm so glad she's excited. Just let me know when you'd like to pick it up. Or, if your offer is still up, I'd love to come with to the hospital," I smiled at Kat, and she smiled twenty times bigger.
"Fantastic! I'll give you a call later this week. See ya'll later!" Kat walked to the line, immediately pulling a pair of glasses from her big tote bag purse, placing them on her face while she looked at her phone. It must be stressful having your young child go through something like Maya is going through.

"Who was that?" Marcus dropped his napkin on his empty plate, his expression almost angry.
"It's a long story. I'm a painter... well, artist I guess, and she approached me about paining something for her daughter who is in the hospital sick with cancer."
Marcus's eyes grew wider and his mouth opened slightly. It was a total 360 from his previous expression. It was kind of funny to watch.
"No way! That's so cool and so nice of you! I'd love to go visit a children's hospital just for one day to see the children and to see what the nurses do and how they help the children... that's so cool!"
Marcus seriously was excited, and I didn't know whether to feel bad or not because nobody likes to be let down.
"I'm looking forward to it," I ate the last spoonful of soup, noticing Kat waiting to the side of the counter as she feverishly tapped her phone with both thumbs.

"You're such a nice person! I'd love to do that - WAIT! You're the one who paints those paintings down at the mom and pop shop?!" Marcus looked like he was about to explode from joy.
"Yeah, that would be me," I crossed my arms and leaned back against the seat. I wished I felt as much joy as Marcus did.
"So I'm basically, like, eating dinner with a local celebrity!" He leaned back against the seat, pressing his palms flat against the table. "This is awesome!"
I started to laugh, and in response he did too.
"I wouldn't say that," I rolled my eyes, still laughing over his excitement.
"You know what, you are really hot," Marcus looked me straight in the eyes and I kept laughing, because I didn't know he was being serious until his face went back to normal with no smiles.
"No, really. You are just, so... irresistible."

I slowly stopped laughing, my eyes growing wide as I looked back at him, "Am not!"
He nodded, crossing his arms, "You are."
I squinted my eyes at him now, sticking my tongue out while I dropped my arms back to my sides, "Now you're mocking me."
Marcus shook his head, standing up to take our garbage. I watched him walk to the garbage cans, and he still looked good even when throwing away trash. There's nothing hot about me.
He came back over to my side of the booth, extending his hand.
"Shall we go, sir?" He chuckled quietly, placing his other arm behind his back.
I took his hand, and it felt very warm and comfortable in mine.
"We shall," I responded.
As we walked towards the door, his hand dropped, leaving my palms cold and alone. He held the door for me and we started walking back to our houses.

After arriving home, we laid down in the grass and looked up at the sky. God, this was so cliché. We talked about everything, and I felt like I knew him forever.
It was exactly 10:23 PM, and he sat up,
"I had a really good time tonight, but I'm beat." He rubbed his eyes, yawning exactly after his last word.
"Me too, we need to do this more often," I added.
Marcus tilted his head, speaking softly while I gazed up at the clear night sky, "Do you mean eating together, or laying together and talking?"

"Uh, I mean all of it. I like being with you... so far," I half smiled, and he smiled fully in return. I just got done telling him about my short temper, but he didn't seem to care about my flaws. He didn't care, or he didn't want to show me that it bothered him. I focused on his smile instead. His smile was adorable because it showcased his dimples and his perfectly straight teeth.
"I know this sounds stupid, but you've made me so happy tonight. I don't know why," He tapped his chin, a hint of sleepiness taking over his voice. Now, we were both standing up.
"I'm glad." My arms automatically opened, and he fell forward into them. What was I doing? Giving a hug? Being nice, I guess.
He wrapped his arms around my neck, and I wrapped mine around his waist.

"You're an amazing person. I hope we can speak again soon. I should be here most days this week," He whispered.
In response, I nodded. He pulled away slowly, and pushed a piece of paper against my chest, which I quickly took from his fingers.
"Call me sometime... and I mean it," He started to walk back to his yard, pointing at me and glaring like he would hunt me down if I didn't call him sometime.
The night was peaceful, so I stayed outside. Truth is, I could have fell asleep there, but I quickly opted out of that scenario because you never know what's lurking at night. I picked up the paper and made my way inside. The lights at Marcus's house were off.

My house was freezing and the smell of cinnamon candles still lurked from Elana's visit.
I started to pull off my shirt once in my room, but quickly noticed something. The smell. It smelled like him, not cinnamon, and quite frankly, he smelled good. My hands parted with my shirt, letting the fabric drop back down to cover my stomach.
I sat on the end of my bed, wondering if this would have counted as a date. I picked up my phone, and held it in my hands for a few seconds. I set the paper down on my knee, entering his number into my phone, triple checking to make sure it was right. This was the first time I got someone's number since Dominic. I sort of felt proud. I felt like someone actually wanted to get to know me. I will never be able to explain the feeling, but maybe it feels something like finding out you're eating dinner with a local celebrity.

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A little note:
Thank you for taking the time to read! Leave a comment and vote to show your support!

I'm also very sorry if I mess up some of the grammar in the future chapters, especially with Marcus. I always forget when to use s' and s's.

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