We Only Breathe For So Long

Triim, triiim, triiiim!

I woke up with a start. My heart was racing. The alarm o’clock had just disturbed a dream - one of those falling down a cliff type of dreams. It took me a couple of minutes to slow down my heartbeats and my breathing pattern.

The clock showed ‘6:15’ and there was still several hours for this day to end since it had just begun. I wasn’t looking forward to go to work. After the call with Eric last night, I couldn’t fall asleep because the anxiety wouldn’t let me. I just couldn’t wait for tonight, to see them.

To see him.

If only I could fiddle with the clock’s pointers and immediately fast-forward time, I would without hesitation.

I pulled the covers off of me and slowly started to stand up. My eyes were half opened and I had difficulty opening them because of a streak of sunlight exiting the curtains. I made my way to the bathroom and started to get ready for work. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and entered the shower. I was always too lazy to do something with my hair in the mornings so I always put it in a bun or even a pony. Today I decided to change it up a little and I did a side braid. My hair was long and too straight for the braid to even stay tight. I applied mascara to elongate my naturally long lashes and after the second coat, they didn’t look like they were mine. My body was tanned compared to my face so I added a little blush to my cheeks, a rosy shade of color. After I finished pimping up, I looked in the mirror. Not bad Kylie, I thought. I then laughed at myself with no apparent reason. I never really did this type of stuff and suddenly today I woke up determined to do it for a change. If my dad were around, he’d be too surprised to even congratulate me. I guess Eric was right… I don’t care about myself too much.

By the time I was done pulling my dark jeans up and putting on my black Converses, I was running late. Another reason why I was never determined to get fancy for work, I’d always end up late. I grabbed my bag and didn’t even bother to grab any coffee or breakfast. I was way too late for that. I rode on my not-so-new-yet-new bike and it did turn some heads. I felt like one of those girls in the movies when they ride their perfect bikes around the neighborhood with a smile stamped to their faces. Due to the traffic, I reached the bookshop after 20 minutes. I was just in time. I sighed. The day’s good so far! I walked to the back doors and locked my bike to a pole.

As I entered the bookshop through the back doors, I immediately saw Greg walking from side to side non-stop. He looked nervous, his arms were crossed against his chest and his face expression was almost a frown.

“Morning,” I said with a smile followed by confusion once I laid eyes on Greg.

“Good morning!” Eric said. “Coffee?”

He handed out a take away coffee cup to me.

“You do read minds, don’t you?” I jokingly asked, taking the cup out of his hands and taking a sip. “What’s up with him?”

“That girl showed up earlier, she’s in the office now talking with Jessica. He’s been like this ever since.”

That should be a good thing, why was he pacing around like a mad dog? I placed my hand on his shoulder gently as an indication for him to stop moving. He did.

“What’s wrong?” I said.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong! Why would anything be wrong?” said Greg. He sounded like a squirrel with rabies or a paranoid person. He was really worrying me.

“Greg, why are you acting so jumpy and crazy?” I said, word by word.

“I- I- I don’t know,” he stuttered. “Who is that girl?”

“She was looking for a job yesterday and Jessica called her in so she could speak to her. Do you know her or something?”

He completely ignored my question. “What’s her name?”

“Um, Lisa. Her name is Lisa.”

“Lisa.” He repeated as if a moment of realization had hit him.

“Yeah, Lisa,” Eric pronounced her name louder. “Is she some girl you’ve previously slept with and she kicked your ass or is she your old high school bully or something?”

Greg nervously chuckled. “No, no. No.”

He started biting his nails and stamping his feet.

Eric walked towards Greg and stood two inches away from him. “I don’t know what’s going on with you but whatever it is, suck it up and stop being such a sissy about it. Thanks to you I’ve got a headache from watching you move from side to side like a ping-pong ball. I’ll introduce my fist to your face if you don’t quit it. Now!” His voice was serious and cold.

Greg stopped fidgeting completely and finally clicked out of his own trance.

He sighed. “Thanks man, I needed that.”

Eric did his breathtaking half smile and patted Greg on his shoulder. “Always here.”

“Sorry to disturb your… gay moment or whatever that was-”

“Bromance.” They both said in unison.

I laughed. “You guys manage to surprise me everyday! Bromance? Really?”

“Don’t stress Greg, she’s just jealous.”

After a few seconds, we all burst out laughing.

In the middle of our little hysterical session, Jessica walked out of her office with Lisa just behind her.

Jessica cleared her throat as a method of gaining our attention. “Please welcome our newest employer, Lisa Anderson.” She stepped aside and Lisa came fully into view.

“Welcome!” I said enthusiastically and hugged her.

She hugged me back. “Thanks!”

“I got to work on some bills. Williams, you’re taking care of her.”

“O- okay.”

Lisa turned her gaze towards the voice who had just spoken. Her eyes were bright and filled with excitement. “Greg, right?”

Greg seemed in a trance again but this time he snapped out of it sooner when Eric poked him with his elbow. “Yeah, um… Gregory.”

“Nice to meet you!” she walked towards him and hugged him too. She then hugged Eric.

He smiled at her. “Eric.”

Greg was as still as an inanimate object.

“Wow, you’re all so… almost photoshoped!” she joked.

We all laughed except Greg.

“Does he speak much?” asked Lisa.

“Yeah, he does. He just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Right Greg?”

“Yeah, yeah! Um, sorry.”

“Do you mind showing me around? Jessica briefly spoke about it but it was too much to comprehend,” she giggled.

Greg hesitated before speaking up and answering her question.

“Sure he can,” Eric said while pushing him towards her direction.

“I can,” he finally spoke.

They both vanished behind a few sections and since the store was empty, all we could hear were the cars out on the streets and their whispers.

I turned around to face Eric. “What. Was. That?”

He was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed on his chest. “It’s either he revealed himself to his true roots and became a vegetable or he really likes that girl to the point where he can’t even damn speak to her.”

I chuckled and leaned next to him against the counter too. “If it’s the second option, that sure sounds like a nerdy movie character who likes the cheerleader.”

“I think we can put it that way. Although I’d love the first option to be true, I’m pretty sure that it’s the second option.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked out of curiosity.

“The way he was looking at her,” he turned his gaze to me. “I can’t quite explain it but the way he was looking at her seemed pretty real to me.”

We held gaze for a while, thinking about what to say next.

“Or that’s a stripper he once hired and she came back to his life to haunt him.”

I just stared at him. Once I realized the joke, I burst out laughing and he followed my league.

“What took you so long?” said Eric through laughter.

“I thought for a second that it could’ve been true.”

We ceased our laughter and stared at each other. A second later we burst out laughing again. My stomach was aching and my cheeks were sore. I placed my forehead on his shoulders and laughed some more.

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice interrupted our laughter.

I looked up and there he was. I didn’t even get a change to recompose myself from the laughter that left my eyes watery. I quickly put myself together but Eric kept on laughing, making the process much harder. I was surprised to see him standing right in front of me. He had a soft smile placed to his lips and his hair was an utter mess. Butterflies filled my stomach as soon as I really realized who was standing right before my eyes. I knew I was going to see him tonight but I thought I’d have time to prepare myself so I wouldn’t act like a fool.

“I just wanted to get a copy myself,” he said as he placed the band’s book on the counter.

Eric quickly put himself on his feet. “That will be $49.99.”

John handed him a hundred note and then his eyes fell on me. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I smiled. Even though I was smiling, I was freaking out on the inside. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know why he was here. “I thought you had a book already.”

“Yeah, I do. I gave my away to um, a fan. I didn’t even get the chance to read it yet.”

“How thoughtful of you.” Eric barged in the conversation.

John glanced at him for a second and didn’t reply to his comment. I softly punched Eric on the side with my elbow.

“Be right back, I’m going to get some change for you dude.”

“Thanks.”

Eric went to the storage room leaving John and I alone.

“Really? Buy your own book? Is that your best excuse?” I looked at him with a disappointed look and a smiled hovered my lips.

He looked at me with no expression. He kept quiet for a few seconds as if he were thinking of what to say next.

“Dammit.” He muttered under his breath. “I definitely didn’t expect you saying that when I was practicing what to say before getting here.”

I chuckled at his pathetic attempt. “You could’ve done much better. What’s up?” I asked.

“Pat broke his ankle and he asked me to come down here and call you for a marathon of Xbox.”

“You also suck at improvisation.”

He laughed. “God, am I that bad? This ain’t easy.”

I took the book and placed it inside a plastic bag. “Why are you here?”

“I um, just wanted to see if you had plans for lunch or something we coul-”

“Sure.” I interrupted him before he could try any other miserable excuses to why he wanted to see if I had plans for lunch.

“I spent an hour thinking about what to say and what you would probably say and all you say is ‘sure’?” he asked, perplexed.

“John, what else would I say? The answer is that simple!”

“I imagined you’d say you couldn’t cause of wor-”

“My lunch break is in,” I checked the clock behind me, “ten minutes.”

“Stop interrupting me!” he said hysterically with a smirk.

I laughed and stopped what I was doing. I looked at his eyes precisely and spoke slowly so he’d understand. “You just asked me out for lunch and I said yes. That’s it. There’s nothing else to be said about it. We’re going out for lunch in ten minutes-”

“Even if-”

“Even if it’s Pizza Hut again. And don’t interrupt me. I got your point. I’ll stop the bad habit,” I grinned.

“You’re unbelievable,” he smirked once again and stroked his hair with his right hand.

Eric showed up right after John finished speaking. “Your change,” he said while handing John a couple of notes and coins.

“Thanks again man,” said John.

Eric smiled, “have a nice day.”

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”

Eric stopped smiling and looked surprise. “Really?”

John looked at me. “Really.”

John’s eyes were on me and my cheeks turned the color of crimson instantly.

“Good for you then,” he smiled again.

There was a minute of silence and tension started to build up.

“I’m going to grab my bag.”

“Okay.” They both said in unison while looking at each other.

I went to the storage room and quickly took my bag. I took a deep breath in to try and get rid of the tension that was present in the atmosphere.

As I approached the counter, John and Eric hadn’t moved an inch and they were still staring at each other. I got closer to them and they didn’t notice my presence. It was as if they were communicating telepathically.

“Are we good to go?” said John, still staring at Eric.

“Yup.”

“After you.”

I awkwardly started taking the first steps towards the exit. “Bye Eric,” I said while smiling at him. He smiled back.

John looked at Eric one last time and followed me. We were walking towards his truck a few blocks across the road.

“Mind telling me what that was all about?” I asked.

“What?”

“The long, freaky stare with Eric. You guys couldn’t take your eyes off of each other.”

“Speak louder, I can’t hear you.” His hand was behind his right ear.

“The stares with Er-” I realized what he was doing and rolled my eyes. “Oh, forget it!”

He started laughing while opening the door for me.

I stopped before entering the car and looked at him. “I hate you sometimes.”

He smirked. “I’m sure you do.”

“It’s not funny!” I said.

He started laughing even more causing myself to laugh along with him. He made his way around the car and entered it, switching on the engine.

“Scratch sometimes. I hate you,” I punched him on his forearm.

He grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m not very fond of you either.”

He switched on the radio and started singing along to the song that was coming out of it. He modified his voice and made it sound bad and out of tune. He was smiling through each and every word.

“God, you’re a terrible singer! Is it even legal for unskilled people to sing for a living?” I said jokingly while holding back laughter.

He sang louder and worse. At one point, he forgot the lyrics and ended up making his own.

“ Oh, you complain too much girl. Listen to the radio! We’re going to my favorite bistroooo. ”

I threw my head back and laughed. “That doesn’t even rhyme! I’m glad you found a new place though.”

“I’m glad too. All the workers at Pizza Hut already knew who I was,” he chuckled and the car came to a stop. “C’mon.”

We both got out of the car. “Where is it? I don’t see anything.”

“It’s around the block. They’re so busy that they never have parking spots in front of it.”

“That sounds promising,” I said.

I was excited. This lunch break wouldn’t be like the others where I’d eat junk and eat alone or even skip it and stay at the bookshop instead. I was somewhere different with someone different too. I was here in Canada with John beside me. Where else would I want to be?

We were a few meters away from the bistro when it came into full sight. “Here it is.”

I froze.