I sighed and slapped the book shut. I hadn't really been reading, but daydreaming while my eyes moved over the words. That had always been a bad habit of mine. Having a short attention span isn't my fault.....it must be.....genetic, I thought, tossing the novel onto the bed.
Just when I felt I would have to learn voodoo to keep busy, I heard the soft playing of the piano. I haven't seen my Jonesy all day...maybe I should pay him a visit... I stepped into the living room and quietly flung myself onto the sofa. I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted him to notice me or not. Well, he's probably not bored, or else he would have come to me, so that means he's probably completely enthralled in his playing, I mean, I wouldn't want to disturb him, and I should just go watch TV, or take a nap or something... I decided against being discreet and kneeled with my elbows on the back of the couch, facing him.
"Hey Danny! Watcha doin'?!" His shoulders jerked and his fingers stopped moving.
"Shit, Daz, are you trying to kill me?" He put a hand to his heart and took a deep breath.
"No, I just wanted to see what you were doing..." I smiled innocently and batted my eyelashes, making him smile as well.
"No, really," His face fell. "What are you up to?" I loved the way he'd get all paranoid when he hadn't been keeping track of me.
"I'm not up to anything, I swear!"
"No, I'm serious."
"Dan! I am not plotting something against you! Relax, I'm just..." I sighed, resting my chin on my arms.
"Just what?" He turned towards me slightly
"Bored." I said, causing him to abruptly face the piano again.
"Is that all? I thought you'd murdered someone, or you were sick, or dying--"
"I practically am dying!" I whined.
"Oh, you are not." The way he said it made him sound like my mother when I'd have this exact conversation when I was younger. "You just need something to do..." His fingers resumed their positions and continued the song I'd interrupted.
"That's just it! There isn't anything to do!"
"Nonsense. There's plenty to do..." Again, he seemed more like a parent than a boyfriend.
"Like what?"
"I don't know...how about you clean the bathroom?"
"No." Had he been facing me, he would have seen the face I made.
"The kitchen?"
"No."
"Speaking of the kitchen, you could make me a sandwich"
"No." He did turn around then, but only to stick his tongue out.
"Fine. Find something to do on your own."
"No, no! I'm sorry, really," He sighed.
"Pick a letter of the alphabet." I didn't know if this was a game or what, but I played along.
"Umm...C."
He thought for a moment.
"Do a crossword puzzle." I wondered how he thought of that 'pick a letter' idea.
"What if I would've said X?"
"I would have told you to go out and buy a xylophone, or watch the X-Files, or something like that." I couldn't help but smile. My clever Jonesy...
For once, I did what I was told and got up from the couch to look around for a newspaper. I circled the apartment and didn't find it.
"Where's the paper?"
"It was right in front of you on the coffee table." I could hear the smile in his voice. I thought briefly about closing the lid on his fingers, but then my conscience spoke up. You do that and you're sleeping on the sofa tonight... Instead of being evil, I went over to the table and dissected the paper until the crossword was found.
With pen in hand and puzzle in lap, I was prepared for the challenge. I became severely discouraged after reading a few of the questions: Wild ass of India, six letters...Emit coherent light, four letters...Make keen? -- I might have been a journalism major, and have an extensive vocabulary, but I don't know any of this!......I guess I'll have to make my own puzzle, then. I thought for a minute about a few of the words I was going to use, and set my plan into action.
"Hey, Dan?"
"Yeah?" he said without stopping or looking over.
"What's another word for attractive? Begins with B..."
"Beautiful." he said without missing a beat.
"Hey, you're right!" I'd found a pad of paper and wrote down my first word. I waited a second before the next one.
"Unable to resist...highly appealing...twelve letters, second and third are R's..." He paused for a moment.
"Irresistible." Indeed you are, luv...
"Does passionate have two S's?" Of course I knew it did, but this game gave me a way to bug Dan without him knowing it.
"Look it up." he said quickly, probably to make me believe he was oh, too busy for me! I went and got my dictionary.
"Oh, let's see," I flipped through the pages. "Passionate.....passionate....here it is!..." I cleared my throat. "Feeling powerful or loving...feeling sexual desire or lust...two S's..." I emphasized desire and lust, causing Daniel to raise his head a little. Now I've got your attention...
"Hmm...one who has great skill or expertise is...blank...ends in E D."
"Talented...?" he offered. I think I had fifty percent of his attention now, as opposed to the former zero percent.
"Yes! Wow, Hon, you're pretty good at these..." I tapped my chin with my pen, indicating my contemplation. "Mindful of others...logical...deep...caring..."
"Thoughtful." I noticed that his head was inclined towards me more than it had been, and the song he played now was slower and simpler, taking less concentration.
"Right again!" I flashed my quirky smile to congratulate him. "Ok, how about another word for smart"
"Letters?" So now you're interested...
"It has two L's and ends in T," He is so adorable!...The way he's biting his lip, the few stray locks of hair that almost touch his lashes, those artistic hands hovering above the keys...
"I've got it! Intelligent."
"In-tell-i-gent..." I sounded it out as I wrote it down. When I looked up I was pleased to see that Dan had left his bench to sit near me on the sofa. "Next one: Quixotic...of love or strong, idealized affection..." I could feel his endless green eyes on me, and a blush crept up my neck. "Um," I faltered. "It ends in 'omantic'.
"Romantic." He moved closer to see what I'd been writing. I turned a little to block his view.
"You are a genius. You know that don't you? I--"
"Darren, what are you doing? The newspaper's on the floor." I quickly wrote down my last word, in case he got a hold of the list.
"Last one: blank Day-Lewis, star of 1993's The Last of the Mohicans...six letters."
After some mild wrestling, he managed to pry the paper from my hands. After skimming over the words slowly, he looked up at me with teary eyes.
b e a u t i f u l
i r r e s i s t i b l e
p a s s i o n a t e
t a l e n t e d
t h o u g h t f u l
i n t e l l i g e n t
r o m a n t i c
D a n i e l
"Darren?" The smile on his face made me positively melt and before I knew it I was being hugged rather nicely.
"No, it couldn't be...the third letter is N, and it ends in L," I was silenced with a warm, appreciative kiss. Mmmm......This is better than reading any day.......
Needless to say, I was kept quite busy for the rest of the afternoon.
