Steel & Ice by Emily Eck Page B

Despite the enormity of his hands, he
used the perfect amount of pressure as he massaged from heel to
toe. Had a man ever rubbed my feet before? I’m guessing not if I
had to think so hard about it.
    “ So you are twenty-two,
almost twenty-three. You cook. Love the arcade. Are a picky wine
drinker. And you have a sister. What else?”
    I took a long drink of my wine. “Uh, I’m
tall.”
    J let out an honest laugh. I took another
long drink, emptying my glass. “Yes, you are tall. I like that
you’re tall. You and your friend make quite a pair at Eight Oh
Eight when you’re in heels. You two are kinda hard to miss.”
    I shrugged, “I used to hate being tall. Now
I love it. My size has saved me a number of times. I can’t imagine
being five feet tall and getting out of some of the situations I’ve
been in.”
    J gave me that look again. The cog turning
look. I diverted, “Want another beer?” I stood up, and walked into
the kitchen. He nodded and started to rub his shoulder. Always the
left one it seemed.
    I returned with a beer and a newly filled
glass of wine. “So look, all this getting to know you bullshit is
screaming starfish. You ask me a question and I’ll ask you, but can
we keep it light?” I asked in a cautious voice, not wanting to
sound like a bitch.
    “ Of course. You wanna puff
while we ask non-starfish questions?”
    “ That sounds good,” I
replied smiling, my apprehension starting to subside. He grabbed a
bag and a beautiful glass sherlock from under the coffee table. It
was obviously a hand blown pipe. It was shaped like the pipe
Sherlock Holmes smoked. The glass was a mixture of blue and purple
swirls. I grabbed it from him, admiring it.
    “ Got it from a hippy who
owed me a favor.”
    “ Gotta love them hippies,” I
laughed. “Oh look!” I said, pointing out the window and passing him
the pipe. The sun was just starting to move below the horizon. J
packed the bowl and passed it to me with a lighter. He put his arm
around me and pulled me into him. I fit perfect in the crook of his
arm, my head against his chest. I felt so small next to his huge
frame. It was an odd, but pleasurable feeling. So far, every inch
of him that I had touched was solid. It made me want to touch all
of him. I puffed the bowl and passed it to J. He grabbed it with
his free hand.
    “ Light for me?” he asked,
holding his lips to the pipe, as I lit the bowl with the lighter.
We continued smoking and enjoying the sunset in silence until it
was dark, and the bowl was empty. After the sun set, we continued
sitting, both lost in our thoughts, mesmerized by the beautiful
sight we had just witnessed. It was an easy silence, which was rare
for me. Silence could be awkward, yet I usually refused to break it
with meaningless dribble. If the other person couldn’t come up with
something to say, then I figured there wasn’t anything worth
talking about. This wasn’t like that. It was as if nothing needed
to be said. We were just existing in the moment, talking
unnecessary.
    Curled up against J, his chin resting on top
of my head that lay on his chest, I felt like the world had
disappeared. Just like at the arcade. I guess the whole day had
felt like that. Nothing mattered except the moment we were living.
The past was over, and the future was unwritten and it didn’t need
to be analyzed. There was no need to be two steps ahead, just in
case. Just in case of what? I didn’t know. I had always felt the
need to be a few steps ahead in order to feel safe. I couldn’t
remember a moment like the one I was feeling where I could just…
be. Did J feel the same way? He seemed so comfortable in his own
skin. Did he get nervous?
    J standing up shook me from my reverie. He
went to the kitchen, and came back with the bottle of Merlot and
another beer. He nodded towards my glass. I held it out for him to
refill.
    “ So we got lost in the
sunset and the bowl. Can we still have non-starfish time?” he
asked, passing me a can of