Just Another Silly Love Song - Rich Amooi Page 0,35
know that I really do love those movies?”
“Both. I love those movies, too.”
Ben shrugged. “Something else we have in common.”
“Don’t remind me.”
He lowered his head, breaking our gaze. “Do you really hate me that much?” He let out a heavy breath through his nose.
Hate was such a strong word.
And oddly enough, Ben looked kind of upset.
I certainly didn’t hate him.
I didn’t hate anyone, for that matter, not even Zachary.
I was trying to figure out why I had such hostile feelings toward Ben and I couldn’t actually remember why. The only thing I could come up with was that I didn’t like his style on the radio, but was that because I thought it was wrong, or because I thought my way was the only way?
Ben was still looking in my direction, waiting.
“Now look who’s staring,” I said.
It was the only thing I could think of.
Not a great comeback, I admit that.
Ben chuckled. “I wasn’t staring. I was maintaining eye contact with you and waiting for an answer, since I asked you a question. But if you prefer not to answer it . . .”
I sighed. “Okay, okay . . . I don’t hate you.” I tilted my head to the side and waited for his answer, hoping I wasn’t coming off as a snob. “Happy now?”
Ben broke off another piece of garlic bread, dragging it across his plate to soak up some of the sauce from the lasagna. “Very happy.” He popped the bread in his mouth and smiled.
“But—”
He laughed again. “There’s always a but. One T, not two.”
“You can’t make fun of romantic comedies anymore because all those movies you rattled off are rom-coms. And I love them.”
“No, they’re not.”
I put my elbows on the table and leaned in. “Do they have romance?”
He mocked me and copied my elbow move. “Yes.”
“Are they funny? Do they make you laugh?”
“Yes.”
I smirked. “Rom-coms.”
Ben pointed a piece of garlic bread at me. “How did you sleep last night?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head hard like I had water in my ears.
He reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Are you okay?”
I slowly opened my eyes, glancing down at his hand on top of mine.
He was touching me, and I wasn’t doing anything about it.
I was confused.
It actually appeared that Ben did have a caring bone in his body, by the look on his face and the gesture of his hand on top of mine.
“Lori? Your left eye is twitching. Is this a seizure?”
I finally pulled my hand back and placed it on my lap. “No. I’m fine.” I took the last sip of my beer, thinking about it for a moment, trying to recover. “Okay, there you go. You learned something personal about me. That little twitch is involuntary and happens when I’m confused, surprised, or stressed out.”
Ben nodded. “And which one are you right now?”
“All of the above.”
“How so?”
“Well, I’m confused because I’m getting this impression that I have no idea who you are. I’m surprised because it appears we have more than a few things in common. And I was stressed because you changed the subject so fast I almost got whiplash. We were talking about romantic comedies, and then, out of nowhere, you asked me how I slept last night. Where in the heck did that question come from?”
He chuckled. “Do I need to announce to you ahead of time when I’m going to change the subject?”
“No, but a smoother transition would be greatly appreciated.”
“Do you analyze every word that comes out of my mouth?”
I shrugged. “How could I not? It’s astonishing what comes out.”
Ben laughed. “Okay, I’ll give you that much. So, are you going to answer the question?”
“First, tell me why you want to know how I slept.”
He smiled. “You’re making a huge change from the night show to the morning show. That transition can’t be easy. I was just curious, that’s all.”
I tilted my head to the side. “That’s all?”
He nodded.
“It actually wasn’t so bad last night. I fell asleep right away since I stopped drinking coffee at night. This morning was a little more difficult to get up, but once I had my mocha it was business as usual.”
I expected him to beg for me to bring him a mocha again, but to my surprise he didn’t mention it.
He nodded again. “Good to hear. Sleep is important.”
I smiled, a little surprised that this was the second time he appeared to have a caring bone in his body. “Thanks for asking.”