One day Grace caught Nicholas watching her practice her fire breathing routine. When their eyes met he looked down and walked away. Later the same day she found him sitting in front of his trailer, reading a paperback and smoking a cigarette.
“Hi,” she said. “My name’s Grace. I don’t think we’ve met.”
She’s flirting with me, thought Nicholas, I wonder what she wants.
He was polite but distant, not showing a hint of the interest which had caught her eye earlier.
“I noticed you were watching me practice,” she said.
He said nothing.
“What did you think?” she said.
After studying her face for a moment, he said, “You looked good.”
Her attempt at further conversation was met with polite but firm coldness.
Over the next few weeks she tried to start conversations with him, tried to make him laugh, but he remained distant. Finally, one day, she walked up to him and said, “Let me cook you dinner.”
He agreed but afterwards chastised himself. He hated eating in front of people and yet he had agreed to eat with this woman, this beautiful, funny woman who would not leave him in peace.
She made pasta with marinara sauce. He hated messy foods.
Eating very carefully, he took small bites and covered his mouth with a napkin while he chewed. The idea of drool or food escaping his mouth in front of her was mortifying.
“Is it okay?” she said.
He assured her that it was good. She suggested they watch a movie at which point they discovered they both liked classic monster movies.
Sitting on the couch next to her, all he could think about was wanting to touch her, running his fingers through her hair, or touching her face, but he remained on his side of the couch and did not reach out.
“What are you thinking?” she said.
“I always feel sorry for the monster in these movies,” he said.
“I cried the first time I read Frankenstein,” she said.
“Which part made you cry?” he said.
“When the family chases him off after he helped them,” she said. “I had to stop reading… I did finish the book eventually.”
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