My Heart Like A Kick Drum
Two.
Zack’s right on schedule the next morning. All in all, his day’s looking out to be pretty good. At exactly 8:57, he locks his apartment. At 8:58, he reaches the elevator at the far end of the hallway. But at 8:59, everything goes wrong.
“Are you gonna pick me up today?” A high-pitched voice inquires. “Or is Jacky?”
“Jack’s going to pick you up, and he’ll take you back home and hang out with you until I get off work, Molly. How does that sound?” Molly doesn’t respond, because she’s suddenly hiding behind her father, just like last night, at the sight of Zack standing in front of the elevator door. “Oh, hey, Zack,” says Rian cheerfully. He’s wearing a black suit with a maroon tie. Molly has a Dora backpack and Dora sneakers. “How’re you?”
“Good,” Zack mutters, but he’s not good. He doesn’t want to share an elevator with the pair. There’s no way Zack’s going to start his morning out like this.
“Going to work?” Rian questions.
“School,” he replies quietly, shifting his bag from one shoulder to another.
“Wow, Molly, did you hear that!?” Exclaims Rian in a voice that only an over-enthusiastic father could have. It makes Zack cringe. “Zack’s going to school, too!”
“Don’t like school,” the little girl responds, her voice muffled as she speaks into the back of Rian’s leg. “Not even a tiny bit.”
“Preschool,” Rian says to Zack. “It’s torturous. Even worse than an accounting job.” Well, that explains his suit, thinks Zack. Rian’s voice is dripping with sarcasm, but he’s smiling from ear to ear. When the elevator opens, Zack watches as Rian takes Molly’s hand and leads her inside. “Wanna press the button?” Molly nods and with Rian’s help in identifying the right button, the girl stands on the tips of her toes to reach the button. She giggles as it lights up, and the elevator suddenly spurs to life.
“Alright, well, I’ll see you later,” Zack says quietly when the elevator reaches the first floor. “Uh – have fun at preschool, Molly.” He adds quickly, and Rian smiles. Zack doesn’t understand why, though.
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A couple of weeks go by, and Rian and Molly Dawson have managed to worm their way into Zack’s daily life. To most people, having to share a morning elevator ride with your two neighbors wouldn’t be that huge of an ordeal. For the first couple of days for Zack, it was nearly painful.
However, by the time December rolls around, Zack doesn’t mind anymore. In fact, if you ask him, he might even consider saying they’ve grown on him. But he’d never actually admit it out loud.
Sure, as over-enthusiastic as Rian is, he’s still bearable. And Molly’s a cute kid, and she’s finally able to stand in the elevator with Zack and not hide behind her father’s leg.
Rian asked for Zack’s phone number a couple of days after they met – incase something ever went wrong, Zack rationalized – and occasionally, Zack opened his phone to find a message from Rian. Usually, he just asks him how his day is going, or what class he’s in at the time. Zack responds simply, enough to fulfill Rian’s questions, but not enough to keep the conversation going.
This particular afternoon, though, Rian’s text message is a bit different than usual. It takes several minutes on Zack’s part to fully digest what Rian is asking of him. Do u want to have dinner with me and molly tonight? Zack can’t imagine having dinner anywhere besides his small apartment, but with sweaty palms and twitching fingers, Zack responds with a simple sure.
At 6:45, Zack walks down the hallway to Rian’s home. Social norms call for him to contribute something to the meal, so he bought three large black and white cookies on his way home from work from the local bakery. When he arrives at the door, he barely has to knock once before Rian is escorting him inside.
Zack will admit, it does smell awfully good inside. Rian immediately busies himself with preparing dinner – some kind of stir-fry, maybe? Molly, on the other hand, watches TV, but steals occasional glances at Zack, who stands awkwardly in the center of the apartment, still holding the cookies.
“I brought dessert,” he finally says, taking a step towards Rian.
“Oh, Zack, you shouldn’t have,” Rian replies, taking the cookies from his hands. He opens the fridge to place them inside, probably to keep them from melting. “Molly loves cookies. She’ll be so excited.” And even that can’t keep a small smile off Zack’s lips.
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Dinner wasn’t great, but it was still edible. Zack thinks to himself that if this is going to be a constant thing, Molly and Rian will have to come over to his apartment for dinner. Zack’s a much better cook. But he doesn’t say anything, and he finishes his plate at the same time Molly finishes her own. Rian seems more than pleased to see them eating their entire portion.
Rian allows the small group to eat their cookies in the living room. They sit in a small circle on the ground, listening to Molly talk about her day at preschool. Rian finishes his cookie almost immediately, but Molly and Zack are a bit slower.
“…so much fun. I love the playground, ‘cause we get to go on the side –“
“Slide,” Rian corrects gently. “You get to go on the slide.” Zack barely notices that every couple of minutes, Rian’s moving a bit closer to him, until their thighs are nearly touching. A couple minutes later, after Molly seems to have fully recapped her day in hyper-detail, Rian stands up. “I think it’s time for all little girls to start getting ready for bed,” he teases, and Molly quickly scrambles to her bedroom, giggling the entire way. And yeah, even Zack can’t deny, it’s kind of endearing. “Want me to walk you back to your apartment?” Questions Rian.
“Oh, uh, um, it’s –“ But Rian’s not listening, already heading towards the door instead. Zack follows him, and they begin walking towards Zack’s apartment. As Zack fumbles for his key, he feels a hand on the top of his arm. His body is shifted, and suddenly, there’s a pair of lips on his. It’s light, gentle, and kind of sweet, but Zack is shocked into silence.
When Rian pulls back, he’s blushing madly. “So, um, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Zack can only nod.
“Are you gonna pick me up today?” A high-pitched voice inquires. “Or is Jacky?”
“Jack’s going to pick you up, and he’ll take you back home and hang out with you until I get off work, Molly. How does that sound?” Molly doesn’t respond, because she’s suddenly hiding behind her father, just like last night, at the sight of Zack standing in front of the elevator door. “Oh, hey, Zack,” says Rian cheerfully. He’s wearing a black suit with a maroon tie. Molly has a Dora backpack and Dora sneakers. “How’re you?”
“Good,” Zack mutters, but he’s not good. He doesn’t want to share an elevator with the pair. There’s no way Zack’s going to start his morning out like this.
“Going to work?” Rian questions.
“School,” he replies quietly, shifting his bag from one shoulder to another.
“Wow, Molly, did you hear that!?” Exclaims Rian in a voice that only an over-enthusiastic father could have. It makes Zack cringe. “Zack’s going to school, too!”
“Don’t like school,” the little girl responds, her voice muffled as she speaks into the back of Rian’s leg. “Not even a tiny bit.”
“Preschool,” Rian says to Zack. “It’s torturous. Even worse than an accounting job.” Well, that explains his suit, thinks Zack. Rian’s voice is dripping with sarcasm, but he’s smiling from ear to ear. When the elevator opens, Zack watches as Rian takes Molly’s hand and leads her inside. “Wanna press the button?” Molly nods and with Rian’s help in identifying the right button, the girl stands on the tips of her toes to reach the button. She giggles as it lights up, and the elevator suddenly spurs to life.
“Alright, well, I’ll see you later,” Zack says quietly when the elevator reaches the first floor. “Uh – have fun at preschool, Molly.” He adds quickly, and Rian smiles. Zack doesn’t understand why, though.
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A couple of weeks go by, and Rian and Molly Dawson have managed to worm their way into Zack’s daily life. To most people, having to share a morning elevator ride with your two neighbors wouldn’t be that huge of an ordeal. For the first couple of days for Zack, it was nearly painful.
However, by the time December rolls around, Zack doesn’t mind anymore. In fact, if you ask him, he might even consider saying they’ve grown on him. But he’d never actually admit it out loud.
Sure, as over-enthusiastic as Rian is, he’s still bearable. And Molly’s a cute kid, and she’s finally able to stand in the elevator with Zack and not hide behind her father’s leg.
Rian asked for Zack’s phone number a couple of days after they met – incase something ever went wrong, Zack rationalized – and occasionally, Zack opened his phone to find a message from Rian. Usually, he just asks him how his day is going, or what class he’s in at the time. Zack responds simply, enough to fulfill Rian’s questions, but not enough to keep the conversation going.
This particular afternoon, though, Rian’s text message is a bit different than usual. It takes several minutes on Zack’s part to fully digest what Rian is asking of him. Do u want to have dinner with me and molly tonight? Zack can’t imagine having dinner anywhere besides his small apartment, but with sweaty palms and twitching fingers, Zack responds with a simple sure.
At 6:45, Zack walks down the hallway to Rian’s home. Social norms call for him to contribute something to the meal, so he bought three large black and white cookies on his way home from work from the local bakery. When he arrives at the door, he barely has to knock once before Rian is escorting him inside.
Zack will admit, it does smell awfully good inside. Rian immediately busies himself with preparing dinner – some kind of stir-fry, maybe? Molly, on the other hand, watches TV, but steals occasional glances at Zack, who stands awkwardly in the center of the apartment, still holding the cookies.
“I brought dessert,” he finally says, taking a step towards Rian.
“Oh, Zack, you shouldn’t have,” Rian replies, taking the cookies from his hands. He opens the fridge to place them inside, probably to keep them from melting. “Molly loves cookies. She’ll be so excited.” And even that can’t keep a small smile off Zack’s lips.
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Dinner wasn’t great, but it was still edible. Zack thinks to himself that if this is going to be a constant thing, Molly and Rian will have to come over to his apartment for dinner. Zack’s a much better cook. But he doesn’t say anything, and he finishes his plate at the same time Molly finishes her own. Rian seems more than pleased to see them eating their entire portion.
Rian allows the small group to eat their cookies in the living room. They sit in a small circle on the ground, listening to Molly talk about her day at preschool. Rian finishes his cookie almost immediately, but Molly and Zack are a bit slower.
“…so much fun. I love the playground, ‘cause we get to go on the side –“
“Slide,” Rian corrects gently. “You get to go on the slide.” Zack barely notices that every couple of minutes, Rian’s moving a bit closer to him, until their thighs are nearly touching. A couple minutes later, after Molly seems to have fully recapped her day in hyper-detail, Rian stands up. “I think it’s time for all little girls to start getting ready for bed,” he teases, and Molly quickly scrambles to her bedroom, giggling the entire way. And yeah, even Zack can’t deny, it’s kind of endearing. “Want me to walk you back to your apartment?” Questions Rian.
“Oh, uh, um, it’s –“ But Rian’s not listening, already heading towards the door instead. Zack follows him, and they begin walking towards Zack’s apartment. As Zack fumbles for his key, he feels a hand on the top of his arm. His body is shifted, and suddenly, there’s a pair of lips on his. It’s light, gentle, and kind of sweet, but Zack is shocked into silence.
When Rian pulls back, he’s blushing madly. “So, um, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Zack can only nod.