Arms

Belen viciously chews on her pen as she stares down at the research papers that were turned in by her students. Reading each one was slowly getting her a headache because of one simple fact. She couldn’t stop thinking about Matt. Matt Smith, the man that had no boundaries.

His smile stuck at the edge of her mind prodding her to pick up her cell and text him. No matter how many times she picked up the phone and hit his name, her stop started to beat ten times as fast, her palms getting sweaty and before she knew it she places her phone back down on the desk. It took her no time at all to program his number into her cell and now that it was there, it was driving her insane.

All the courage in the world could not have her muster up the energy to message him. Surely he isn’t think about her like she was thinking about him. That would be odd, right? Thinking of a deaf woman that he screwed the night before, Belen didn’t remember that night, but for some reason she has a hunch that Matt remembers more than she does.

It wasn’t odd that she had a one night stand, but to sleep with a hearing person? She rarely did that. Belen stayed in the deaf community as much as possible barely having any contact except for her American Sign Language classes where hearing students wanted to learn the language.

Belen could imagine the miscommunications they endured in their night together. It must have been disastrous!

A small groan left her lips, rubbing her temples to relieve the stress that was weighing down on her shoulders. Once again, her curious brown eyes darted towards her phone before placing one of the graded papers on top of it.

The papers soon became a chore as she scribbled the score on one of her student’s papers with an average score. Pushing the initial thought behind her she almost jumped out of her skin when she felt the vibration of her phone from the desk. Without a second thought to who it might be, she flipped the paper over to reveal the person.

Her heart skipped a beat when the phone continued to vibrate signaling someone is calling her. The name Matt boldly appeared on the phone as if it is taunting her to pick it up. Even if she did, there was no way of communicating to him that involved verbally conversing.

Before she could utter another thought the phone stopped the incessant buzzing only to have a text message appear not a moment sooner. Belen peeked at the message wondering what he had to say.

Matt: Hello, stranger. Sorry for the mishap there I completely forgot you are deaf and had no way of verbally speak to me. My apologies, I was thinking about you earlier when I saw two people signing and thought I give you a ring or text…haha. Anyways, is there a chance of seeing you again soon?

Belen reread the message a few times, he thought about he when he saw two people signing? Should she take that as a bad thing or a good thing? It has been a few months since their first encounter and she cannot blame it all on him considering she was avoiding him until now.

Gnawing on pen, she text back.

Belen: For future reference staring at people signing is disrespectful :P No offense, of course. I just didn’t think you would actually contact me.

Continuously biting her pen as harshly as she could, it only took moments before a reply is sent back.

Matt:Why wouldn’t I contact you? You were completely charming and made me breakfast :D

Belen fought back a smile at his flattery, but expressed total honesty of the situation. She’s deaf and he isn’t. There is a reason why she didn’t date hearing men, they never gave her a chance once they saw that she couldn’t hear what they were saying. It was a struggle and with zero ASL skills made them more inclined to dismiss her.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest when he took his time replying. There is a possibility that she scared him away and this is his way of saying they should stop speaking to one another. It could be insecurities talking, but she is mentally preparing herself for the outcome.

Why is she so scared of his answer? She never cared before. Belen is so nervous around this guy that she has only met once. What is wrong with her?

When the phone vibrated again she snatched the phone from her desk reading the response slowly.

Matt: Why not? I always like a challenge ;)

Heat rose to her tan cheeks, her heart fluttered at his response as he sent another message asking if he could see her again. Matt truly is being persistent with her and without a second thought she typed in her response.

Belen jumped out of her seat when she felt something tap her shoulder. Quickly she spun around with panicked eyes as her phone dropped to the ground. Noticing the plaid shirt and jeans she relaxed that it was her assistant, Malia.

“What’s going on here?” Malia pondered with a quirk brow at her mentor’s flushed cheeks.

“Nothing.” Belen’s eyes were everywhere except the young girl who didn’t say anything else and muttered something under her breath as the blushing teacher picked up her phone.

Something is going on, Malia could feel it and seeing her mentor flustered was actually refreshing.

“Here are the papers that you needed. Graded and ready to go.” Belen signed her gratitude placing the stack of papers on her desk while Malia grabbed the papers she was currently grading herself. “There’s no need to fight me on this. You should go back to texting your new man.” A sly smile graced her lips, amusement dancing in her eyes watching Belen deny it.

It was useless. Malia didn’t believe a word she said. She huffed before plopping down on her seat to see the message that made a smile appear on her lips.

Matt: Fantastic! I’ll message you the details later. Until then, Bay.

Bay? How interesting. She actually found it a bit odd seeing a nickname being tagged on her within minutes of speaking to one another. He is quite the chirpy one.

Feeling bold, she text back.

Belen: Until then, Mattie.

Belen covered her face with her hand fighting back a smile. A glowing wonderful smile that is influenced by a wonderful man; she should still be cautious. She has to remember that when she does meet up with him. Even if he is the nicest guy in the world it could be a horrible experience, but like Malia said she should enjoy herself.

It won’t be that serious, right?

_ _ _

“I’m so sorry. I thought it would be more extraordinary than this. Trust the man that hasn’t been here enough times to get around, yeah?” Matt chuckled scratching the back of his short hair. A sheepish smile crept on his lips.

Matt insisted that he take her somewhere nice for their first outing, but it turned to finding the right place so she told him that she would settle for decent. Guessing from his reaction when she told him the ‘d’ word he grew more determined to find a place. That only drove her insane as they wandered around for hours only to finally stop at In-N-Out for a nice juicy burger and milkshake she was starting to crave.

Belen blinked wondering what he was rambling on about. She couldn’t quite catch his words, but seeing the sheepish smile and worry lines still deep in his features she assumed that he was apologizing…again.

“It’s alright. I love this place.” Lifting her phone for him to see, he read it quickly before he pursed his lips in thought. “This is extraordinary to me. No need to impress.”

“Right, well that relieves some of the pressure. I don’t know what kind of food you go for so I thought I would start from the top and work my way down. Should’ve just kept in simple, eh?” Matt nervously smiled as he watched her watch his lips move. It was an odd feeling, having her eyes focused on his mouth so much.

Somehow it made him feel self-conscious as if there was something in his mouth or stuck in his teeth. He knew he didn’t, but one can assume with the way she zeroed in on his mouth for more than half the time.

“Are my lips that lovely to look at? If you wanted to kiss me just say so.” Matt leaned in in a teasing matter hoping to relieve some of the awkwardness around him. His unfiltered mouth sent him to another world of confusion as it took her time to process what he said.

A tint of pink brushed her cheeks, “That’s not it at all! By watching your lips move I can figure out what you are saying, but seeing that you form certain letters a different way than what I am used to it’s taking me longer than usual.”

“It may because I’m British.” There was a short pause before he repeated himself again only this time slower.

“British? Really? That makes sense.”

“Oh? And how does it make sense, Ms. Soto?”

Matt grinned seeing the twinkle in her eye, a sense of comfort washed between the two as she responded, “Because you pronounce your ‘o’s in a bizarre way. The way your mouth moves is freakishly weird.”

“I bet you will be thinking differently about my lips if I kissed you.”

Belen scooted further into her seat easily noticed by Matt, but she tried to hide it with a simple shrug as if she doubted him. Sipping on her milkshake, her eyes stayed focused on his eyes not wanting to miss anything that will spew from his mouth. She found his way of words to be amusing. He has a quirkiness that she finds refreshing.

A playful smile later, she chewed on her straw as she typed away.

“Are you that confident in your kissing skills?”

Matt slyly grinned, “Very, but you will have to be patient to see for yourself.”

A silent chuckle escaped her lips as they continued the banter a little while longer before Matt escorted her out to the cool air of California. Belen’s arm was linked with his pulling the small sweater tighter around her body. Typical American, the cool air that is considered freezing here is casual back in England.

His thoughts were broken when he felt his arm being lifted at an odd angle. Looking up he saw Belen now walking on a small beam next to the sidewalk, the flat surface only provided a foot width for balance. She used his arm for support as their pace decreased to a slow stroll.

Belen felt the eyes of Matt beside her giving him a quick smile and a thumbs up she continued on. Matt is at a loss here. He didn’t know what to talk about when she isn’t looking at him directly. Clearly she can’t hear anything that he is saying so he would look like a man harassing a girl. The more he focused on her the more he realized that maybe he shouldn’t try so hard like she said.

The girl is used to silence more than everyone is. She didn’t mind not speaking for periods of time, the things that he goes mad about. Matt couldn’t even think of what it would be like to not hear the things around you, the whistling of the wind or the waves crashing into the shore, the birds chirping in the morning to a simple laughter of joy. The things that people took for granted she didn’t mind. Belen didn’t focus on occupying her time to entertain him, she was being herself.

She is quiet than most women he knew and how can he blame her? Belen has circumstances, he heard little sounds here and there on certain occasions while they were out. She would tap him on the shoulder and possibly a small hoarse noise would come from her lips. He actually enjoyed her company even though it took more work to get the other to understand.

Belen started to sign again gaining his attention. “What is it?” He couldn’t understand the motions she is making with her hands, slowing down her movements and added other signs to get her point across. Belen pointed at the ocean before she drew a question mark.

“Oh! You want to go to the ocean?”

She nodded firmly, a successful smile. Before he could answer she hopped over the beam bringing him with her and darted towards the water. “Belen! Bay! Hold on!” He laughed, she released his hand as she jogged near the peak of the water. She bent down and snatches something from the sand waving it in the air before bending down and picking up another one.

Matt followed her, peaking over her shoulder he understood. Seashells. The admiration in her eyes said it all. She loves seashells. Dusting the sand off the small shells she tucked them away in her bag before looking around with the moon being the only source of light for her.

He joined in on the hunt finding shells that she could possibly like. Sometimes she would approve of his choice giving him a hug while other times she gave him a look of disgust and tossed the unwanted shell behind her. He wondered what she is going to do with the collection as they walked hand in hand, shells clanking in her bag back to his car.

As he drove her home his mind started to spin a thousand miles per minute. He didn’t know what he should do next. Why is he so concerned? Belen looks like she is having a good time, he quickly glanced at the woman to see her smiling at the treasures they gathered.

Soon they arrived at her apartment complex, he thanked the lucky stars that no paparazzi shot any pictures of them. Matt didn’t know when he should tell her that he is an actor, so far it appeared as if she didn’t know him at all media wise. He was thankful for that because she acted like herself for the most part even if she is a bit withdrawn from time to time.

Opening the car door for her, he escorted her to her door. Belen pointed at her door and mouthed ‘home’. He had to say the way she communicates with him is really adorable. He nodded as he watched her rummage her bag for her keys pushing aside all the shells.

It took her a few minutes to fish them out. With a victorious smile, she stared at him and tried to communicate with her hands again. Slowly she mouthed the words along with the signs having him repeat her. Matt soon got it and smiled adoringly at her. “I had a great time too.” Belen grabbed his hand and adjusted it for his response; demonstrating what to do; he mimicked the motion.

The two stood there awkwardly not knowing what else to say. It is too soon for him to be invited into her apartment even though he already has been in there. So he took a daring step closer leaning in to capture her lips with his only to be stopped by her fingers.

Belen shook her head mouthing ‘too soon.’ Matt deflated from the response. The date didn’t go as well as he thought it did. He was quickly taken aback when Belen hugged him tightly instead to compensate for the kiss, pecking his cheek lightly. Matt knew he shouldn’t take the gesture too seriously seeing that she comes from a Spanish background and their customs are pretty affectionate, but it did make his heart twirl for a bit.

“I’ll see you later?”

Belen nodded excitedly, right when he turned around she tapped his shoulder as a small noise came out of her mouth. Showing him her phone he chuckled, “I promise to text you when I get home so you know I made it.”

“Good.” Belen turned on her heel and walked into her apartment without a second glance back. Matt on the other hand followed her movement until he couldn’t anymore.

As he jogged down the flight of stairs, he mumbled to himself, “This is going to be interesting.”