you.”
I buried my head in my hands as she spoke. Hearing it come from her, it was even more ridiculous than I’d imagined.
“I could order a supper box with your picture on it if I wanted to, or a pillowcase. Honestly, I don’t even want to know what people do to pillowcases with your face on them.”
“I don’t either.”
“Or a life-sized cutout. Did you know there are life-sized cutouts of you? Thousands of girls have life-sized cardboard pictures of you standing in their rooms right this very minute. They probably practice snogging with it. Who knows what in the world they do with them. Do you know?”
“Well—”
“Water bottles. We can’t even get water in some places in Africa, but here, not only can you get water, but you can get a bottle of water with your mug on the front.”
“Technically, it’s a thermos. You have to add your own water.”
“There’s one website that I visited, and they took a live interview that you did for a film and they turned it in to hundreds of still photographs. And then they went and analyzed every facial expression you made, every gesture. I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean you’re a nice-looking bloke, but come on. You’re not that good looking.”
I looked back up at her. “Hey now. Let’s not get carried away—”
“And here I was, telling you about what it’s like to have hundreds of people staring at me.”
Unbeknownst to Kei, she was pointing the knife in her direction when she referenced herself, and every time it swung her direction, I about jumped out of my skin.
“Good God! Will you just put the knife down? I’m afraid you’re going to stab yourself. You’re scaring me to death.”
She threw the knife onto the counter and then paced back and forth in front of the stove. It was obvious that she had some sort of inner dialogue going on in her head, because her face contorted in various ways, as if she were reacting to a conversation.
I stayed silent for several minutes until her pacing finally slowed. “Will you sit down and let me explain?”
She stopped and scowled my direction. Her hazel eyes practically shot fireballs through my skull.
“Please?”
“I don’t know. I’m not certain I like you anymore.”
“Give me a chance to explain. Isn’t forgiveness part of your job description?”
Her eyes rolled before she jerked the chair out from the table and sat with a thud. “Why did you do that to me? Were you attempting to humiliate me?”
“No.”
“Was it a test you were wanting to see if I’d pass?”
“Of course not.”
She crossed her arms across her chest, growled, and rolled her eyes again. I was starting to wonder if I was witnessing a demon possession right there in the kitchen but ignored the fear and kept right on talking.
“Honestly, Kei. I was interested in what you were saying, and it actually felt good to know that someone else in this world understood what it’s like to be me.”
Her hand slammed onto the table. “I have no bloody idea what it’s like to be you. The two don’t even compare.”
“Sure they do.”
“Here I thought I had you figured out. I wasn’t even close. I’m a moron.”
She jumped out of her seat and walked to the sink.
“Whatever you do, spare me a heart attack and don’t pick up the knife again. As a matter of fact, do me the favor of avoiding cutlery altogether.”
Her eyes rested on the knife, and for a brief second, I pictured her picking it up and stabbing me in the chest with it over and over again. Luckily, before my imagination got too carried away, she crossed her arms in front of her.
“Look.” I got up, stood next to her, and slid the knife out of her reach. “You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Other than growing up in a wealthy family, you got everything else right.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“It felt good to have a person talk to me as Cabot instead of Cab. I wanted to feel like a normal person for a while. That’s
I buried my head in my hands as she spoke. Hearing it come from her, it was even more ridiculous than I’d imagined.
“I could order a supper box with your picture on it if I wanted to, or a pillowcase. Honestly, I don’t even want to know what people do to pillowcases with your face on them.”
“I don’t either.”
“Or a life-sized cutout. Did you know there are life-sized cutouts of you? Thousands of girls have life-sized cardboard pictures of you standing in their rooms right this very minute. They probably practice snogging with it. Who knows what in the world they do with them. Do you know?”
“Well—”
“Water bottles. We can’t even get water in some places in Africa, but here, not only can you get water, but you can get a bottle of water with your mug on the front.”
“Technically, it’s a thermos. You have to add your own water.”
“There’s one website that I visited, and they took a live interview that you did for a film and they turned it in to hundreds of still photographs. And then they went and analyzed every facial expression you made, every gesture. I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean you’re a nice-looking bloke, but come on. You’re not that good looking.”
I looked back up at her. “Hey now. Let’s not get carried away—”
“And here I was, telling you about what it’s like to have hundreds of people staring at me.”
Unbeknownst to Kei, she was pointing the knife in her direction when she referenced herself, and every time it swung her direction, I about jumped out of my skin.
“Good God! Will you just put the knife down? I’m afraid you’re going to stab yourself. You’re scaring me to death.”
She threw the knife onto the counter and then paced back and forth in front of the stove. It was obvious that she had some sort of inner dialogue going on in her head, because her face contorted in various ways, as if she were reacting to a conversation.
I stayed silent for several minutes until her pacing finally slowed. “Will you sit down and let me explain?”
She stopped and scowled my direction. Her hazel eyes practically shot fireballs through my skull.
“Please?”
“I don’t know. I’m not certain I like you anymore.”
“Give me a chance to explain. Isn’t forgiveness part of your job description?”
Her eyes rolled before she jerked the chair out from the table and sat with a thud. “Why did you do that to me? Were you attempting to humiliate me?”
“No.”
“Was it a test you were wanting to see if I’d pass?”
“Of course not.”
She crossed her arms across her chest, growled, and rolled her eyes again. I was starting to wonder if I was witnessing a demon possession right there in the kitchen but ignored the fear and kept right on talking.
“Honestly, Kei. I was interested in what you were saying, and it actually felt good to know that someone else in this world understood what it’s like to be me.”
Her hand slammed onto the table. “I have no bloody idea what it’s like to be you. The two don’t even compare.”
“Sure they do.”
“Here I thought I had you figured out. I wasn’t even close. I’m a moron.”
She jumped out of her seat and walked to the sink.
“Whatever you do, spare me a heart attack and don’t pick up the knife again. As a matter of fact, do me the favor of avoiding cutlery altogether.”
Her eyes rested on the knife, and for a brief second, I pictured her picking it up and stabbing me in the chest with it over and over again. Luckily, before my imagination got too carried away, she crossed her arms in front of her.
“Look.” I got up, stood next to her, and slid the knife out of her reach. “You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Other than growing up in a wealthy family, you got everything else right.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“It felt good to have a person talk to me as Cabot instead of Cab. I wanted to feel like a normal person for a while. That’s
Similar Books
