Miriam looks at Rivers, --I guess he’s not that bad after all…-- Rivers feels like Miriam is staring him.
“What are you looking at?” he asks half-smiling.
Miriam doesn’t know what to do but laugh, she starts to chuckle a bit, “I don’t know… You?”
Rivers is quite satisfied with the answer give, “ok, you can keep looking then.”
“Arigato, Cuomo san.” She says, half bowing. Rivers does nothing but smile, he’s always thought about what it would be like when Miriam and him finally get together, but… is it just like… this?
A few minutes pass in silence.
“What are we doing?” Rivers finally asks. “Are we going to do anything at all?”
“…”
Rivers grabs her hand and takes her to the living room. “Remember the last time we were on this couch together?” He looks up to the ceiling, “that was a long time ago.” Miriam doesn’t know what to say, she is still hesitating about something… something…
“It’s getting late, Rivers.”
Rivers knows what she means by that. “Don’t go.”
“I’m tired though.”
“You can stay here.”
“I don’t wanna.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t.” She gives him a little touch on his shoulder blade along with a puppy face.
“Fine.”
Standing at the door, Rivers still doesn’t want Miriam to leave. “Will you call me tonight?”
“No.”
“But wave at me when you get home?”
“Alright.”
“Miriam,” Rivers holds her hands, pulls her closer a bit for a kiss.
She pulls away. “No, Rivers, no!”
“Miriam!!”
“No. Later. I don’t want to spend my whole night thinking what else we could’ve done.”
He looks at her adoringly, “You’re so cute.”
“You need to come up with something newer.” He pulls her in again for a hug… a long one. “A hug is acceptable for now.”
“G’night, Mim.”
“Bye.” She turns away and walks home. She feels like looking back to see if Rivers is still there, but she doesn’t want to. She knows that he’s watching. However the thought of Rivers watching her walking home gives an invisible pressure. She wants to turn around and tell Rivers to not look at her, yet she knows that Rivers is doing that because he likes her, he really likes her. She remembers the time when Brian drove her home from their “date”, sort of. That comfortable feeling with Brian, the pressure she feels with Rivers. Like a stab in the heart, she ducks down in the middle of the road. She needs to rest, she wishes it will rain so the rain can clear her mind.
“Mim, what are you doing? Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong? Stand up Miriam, the cars are going to crash into us…” He picks up Miriam and brings her back to his house.
Tears are coming out of her eyes, and Miriam doesn’t even know if those are tears of joy or just sad tears. “Ri… Rivers?”
“Yeah,” he answers as he brings her a towel to wipe her face.
She narrows her eyebrows and shakes her head.
“Here,” Rivers offers her the towel. She takes the towel from Rivers’ hand but shakily. He takes the towel back from her, and gently wipes the two lines of tears that are on her face.
She is still crying.
Rivers is worried, quite worried. “Are you sure nothing is bugging you?”
“I don’t know Rivers, I don’t know!!”
--Could it be her PMS?-- Rivers thinks to himself, “Ok then.” --Women can be so scary sometimes-- Rivers thinks. “You just stay here tonight. I’ll be sleeping over there,” he points to the couch opposite to the one Miriam is sitting on.
“No.”
“Um… so you want to go back home?” –-damn, I thought I would get some tonight-- “I’ll walk you home then, c’mon” --but I will respect her-- he laughs at his own thought.
“No.” Miriam says again. She has now managed to control herself, “stay here.”
“Of course I’ll stay here, it’s my house.”
“No, the couch.”
Ch. 11