Kindred Spirit - Noah Harris Page 0,14
was relieved to find that her gaze wasn’t too searching, though he thought it telling that she didn’t linger very long or turn her most charming smile on Jacob. According to Laura, Deidra was running into something of a long dry spell, and Jacob was right up her alley.
Speaking of, Levi turned to Jacob once she was gone. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting...you when you opened the door.”
Jacob snorted. “Me?”
“You know,” Levi motioned to Jacob, trying to emphasize the bulk. “You know, you.”
“Well, that narrowed it down. Thank you, Levi. Let’s try this, what were you expecting?”
Levi was suddenly aware that what might come out of his mouth might be one of those things that someone would accuse him of being rude for saying. Jacob was looking at him curiously, though, and Levi was pretty sure there was a wry twist to his lips that he was trying to hide as well. Either the man was amused by Levi, or he was preparing himself to come back with something clever and biting.
“Someone...artsy,” Levi said, thinking it sounded lame even to his own ears.
“Artsy,” Jacob repeated.
“You know,” Levi motioned again, trying to convey his meaning and knowing he was failing miserably.
“Let me guess, skinny, probably long hair, piercings all over the place, weird eating habits,” Jacob listed off.
Levi sunk down into his chair. “Yeah, something like that.”
“You haven’t met a creative person in your life, have you?”
“Hey! I just told you I lived in LA. I met plenty of creative types, and they were all...weird.”
“Pretty sure they’d say the same thing about a guy who moved from LA to live at the edge of some small town and occasionally play Bob the Builder for the townsfolk.”
Levi narrowed his eyes, growling when he heard the echoing laughter of Lou somewhere over his shoulder. Great, the guy was making fun of him, and Lou was agreeing with him, just what he needed.
Levi crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m just saying. And they were all skinny, but they usually had colors in their hair.” And unlike the natural red of Jacob’s shorn hair, it was usually vibrant and born from a bottle. “I think the sad boy artist image died out back in the nineties, just saying.”
“And they all had weird eating habits?”
“I knew a guy who wouldn’t eat anything that was green.”
“Doesn’t sound very healthy.”
“No, I mean, he ate shit like lettuce and broccoli, it just had to be...dyed first.”
Jacob raised a brow at that. “That’s...interesting.”
“It was weird is what it was. I ate over at his place one time, and I never did it again. There’s something unnerving about trying to eat pink kale.”
“I think kale, in general, is pretty unnerving to eat.”
“Well, there is that,” Levi muttered.
Jacob chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, I know a few odd types myself who call themselves ‘creatives.’ That’s what they insist on being called, not artists, creatives.”
“That’s…” Levi began, trying to find a somewhat tactful way to phrase his opinion.
“I think the word you’re looking for is pretentious. But I think there’s a bit of that weirdo and that arrogance in any artist...or creative. Kind of just comes with the territory,” Jacob said, taking a drink.
“Even you?”
“I’m an artist, aren’t I?”
“Well, you could have gone with the whole ‘not like other girls’ shtick that someone in your position might use.”
“And have you tactfully call me out on it? Perish the thought.”
Levi laughed. “Alright, fair enough. I guess I wouldn’t have let that one slide.”
They fell into companionable silence as Deidra reappeared, her tray loaded up with their meals. Levi was still chuckling as he picked up his bacon cheeseburger and took a huge bite. It was certainly better than pink kale, and he had to admit, the company was a lot better too.
They continued to talk over dinner, everything from the noise of the city to some of the highlights like impromptu concerts in parks, to random hole in the wall eateries with the best food. Jacob was casual, finding no need to be overly polite and taking Levi’s bluntness like water off a duck’s back. On some level, Jacob seemed to understand what it was like to be a drifter, planning to stay somewhere temporarily. He never once asked Levi where he’d been or why he’d come to Gilcreek. In fact, he seemed content to bring a topic up and smile almost knowingly as Levi found himself chattering away about the subject easily.
I don’t like him.
Levi kept smiling as