by Ramona Gore
Emi exhaled into the night, her breath quickly condensed by the cold air. She buried her icy hands even deeper into her pockets in an attempt to regain some warmth in her fingertips. Her cheeks had surely turned pink by now and the padding in her thick coat provided little relief from the brick wall she leaned against. Just as she was about to call it quits, he stepped out of the doorway she stood next to.
“Matt!” She waved before he could walk past.
He whipped his head towards her, but his shoulders soon relaxed from their hiked position once he realized who it was, and the corner of his mouth raised.
“I wasn’t expecting you to stick around after the show,” Matt said, adjusting the guitar case slung over his shoulder.
Emi attempted a casual shrug, but if the expression on his face was any indication, she failed miserably. “I thought I could walk you to your car. After all, you never know what rabid fan might be lurking about.”
“How considerate of you.”
“I try.”
Matt shook his head in bemusement before taking off towards the parking lot. Emi scrambled to catch up, her footsteps audible as she moved through the light layer of snow covering the ground. In her haste, she almost tripped over her own feet trying to match his stride. Matt shot out a hand to steady her and she flashed him a grateful smile. They continued on in silence, except Emi was never one for silence, frantically searching her mind for something to say.
Blurting out the first good idea she had, “Hey, if you ever get famous can I do your rise to fame documentary?”
Matt scoffed. “Sure. If we ever get that far.”
Emi frowned slightly at his pessimism. “But you totally could! Your lyrics are amazing! And your sound is awesome! Here, let’s get a head start on that video.”
She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her phone. Selecting the camera app, Emi pressed record.
“So, Mr. Green, how does it feel to have over a million fans all across the world? What’s your next big hit going to be about?”
Matt put his hand in front of the camera, but Emi swerved around it and it soon became a game. She barraged him with questions:
“Have you heard about your latest scandal yet?”
“Where are you going to play next?”
“Who are you wearing?”
“Is it true you write all your own songs?”
After a while he grew tired of the game and grabbed her wrist. As he pulled her towards him, she tilted her face upwards to avoid smashing it into his chest. Emi laughed breathlessly with a large smile, her eyes meeting his. Her breath caught and for a moment, she found herself lost in their deep blue shade, easily comparing them to the summer sky and the ocean. His eyes sparkled with something she couldn’t identify but couldn’t wait to find out. She wanted nothing more than to lean in and—
Emi took a step back, forcing herself to calm down before she could do something she would regret. She cleared her throat and after a beat she was able to find her voice.
“But honestly Matt,” Emi said, seriously. “If there’s something else you want to do in the future that’s fine, but if there isn’t, stop being so negative. Soon that negativity will start affecting every part of your life and I don’t want to see that happen to you. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t be negative. Period.”
A small smile graced his face at her words. “I’ll be sure to give it a shot.”
Matt glanced at the limb in his grasp, seemingly realizing that he had been unconsciously brushing his thumb against her skin, before letting go. Emi put more distance between them and waved her phone at him.
“I’m still keeping this. Could be worth a fortune one day. Can you imagine? Real footage of the great Matt Green!” She giggled at the thought of her what-if scenario while he rolled his eyes at Emi’s enthusiasm.
“Whatever. Need a ride home?” He jingled his keys as they came to a halt in front of his car.
Before slipping into the passenger seat, Emi sneaked a final glance at him, wishing for one more thing she didn’t dare put in words just yet. But who knew what may come to pass in the future as long as she had hope.
© Ramona Gore
Ramona Gore (she/they) is currently a Cinema and History major at Binghamton University, minoring in Asian and Asian American Studies. Her work has been published in Idle Ink, coalitionworks, Roi Fainéant Press, Haunted Words Press, and All Existing Literary Magazine.
Find out more on Twitter @ramonavegagore or website ramonavegagore.weebly.com.
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