Between Dreams by Cynthia Austin

accusation as he continued walking. “My family lived here years ago. I’m staying in the old McAllister house down on Court Street. I actually just came here to handle some family business. I plan to head back home at the end of the week. At least, that’s what my plane ticket says.”
    He patted his back pocket. I could feel my anger working its way back up. I was really starting to enjoy this guy’s company. Here he was, discussing the possibility of becoming friends just to tell me he’s leaving.
    I no longer attempted to hide my disappointment. “Well, if you’re just going to leave in a week then I really don’t really see the point in being friends.” I picked up my pace and began to walk a few steps ahead of him.
    He didn’t attempt to catch up to me, and instead shouted, “Well, if I had a friend, maybe I wouldn’t leave. I mean, if that friend wanted me to stay all they’d have to do is ask.”
    I no longer heard his footsteps behind me. I continued walking, too stubborn to give in and play his game. I was so sick of boys and their childish ways. I didn’t even know him and now he wanted me to beg him to remain with me?
    I defiantly thought, I’d rather go on a date with Jason back at the bar.
    I kept walking without looking back. I was all the way down to the Market now and Adrian was nowhere behind me. I glanced in the direction of the bar and saw there were still a bunch of people loitering out front. I could hear Chrissy’s loud laugh, so I knew she was still there. She was probably not missing me in the least. I considered crossing the street and heading back to the bar but then I thought about Adrian. I didn’t want to leave our conversation half-finished like this. I turned back around and began marching back up Main Street.
    A few blocks later I smelled the scent of a burning cigarette. My guess was that it was a Marlboro Red…
    He was sitting on a fire hydrant as if he were expecting me to return.
    How arrogant.
    I marched right up to him. “Look, I don’t know you well enough to make that decision for you to stay or go. If you want to stay, then cool. If not, then have a safe flight. People from Jersey seem kind of annoying anyway, so by the time the end of the week gets here I might be dying for you to go back.”
    It was odd how I was at a loss for words initially and now I had no shortage of insults to fire at him. Familiarity really may breed contempt.
    He just sat there on the hydrant, looking as if he were enjoying this conversation way too much. He took one final drag of his cigarette and flicked it into the gutter. He brought his green eyes up to mine and smiled. “I guess we’ll just take it day by day then.”
    I plopped down on the sidewalk next to his feet and together we sat in silence. A strong gust of wind blew in, sending a shiver down my spine, reminding me that winter wasn’t quite over yet. I crossed my arms, trying to stay warm. Adrian stood up and looked down at me.
    “You didn’t tell me anything about you.”
    I looked up at his pretty face, narrowing my eyes in confusion.
    “Friendship is a two way street you know,” he prompted.
    “What do you want to know?”
    He sat down next to me on the sidewalk, his arm touching mine, once again igniting the spark I couldn’t deny. “Anything and everything. You seem like a pretty complex person, Sidney. I’m dying to peel back those layers and see what’s underneath.”
    I buried my head in my knees so he couldn’t see my face turning salsa red. I didn’t know if he was referring to my emotional layers or my clothing. I began thinking of what I could tell him.
    “Well, I’m totally obsessed with music and I can pretty much relate every song to my life,” I spilled out.
    Gosh, what a stupid thing to say , I immediately thought. Here this guy is asking for something personal about my life and I tell him that I like music. What an idiot I am.
    “That’s interesting,” he pondered. “So what song fits best